Connecting central vowels and high vowel fricativization using double place specification Evidence from Lutuv (Lautu) Chin
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The phonological (i.e. featural) specification of central vowels, specifically high central vowels, has been a source of debate. While several featural representations, ranging from radical under-specification to novel, class-specific features, none of these approaches appear to be able to account for the behavior of central vowels in Lutuv (Lautu), a South-Central Tibeto-Burman Chin language. High central vowels in Lutuv trigger fricativization in aspirated stop onsets—/pʰɨ/ is produced as [psɨ] and /tʰʉ/ as [tfʉ]. In this paper, I will argue that, following the “shared features” model of feature geometry (Clements 1991; Clements & Hume 1995), central (high) vowels in Lutuv are specified for two place features, [coronal] and [dorsal]. I further suggest that central vowels of this specification are the natural result of a raising chain shift which centralizes front and back vowels via the addition of an antagonistic place node. This approach also provides a basis for the relationship between centralization and high vowel fricativization, and suggests that the fricativization process in Lutuv is driven by two factors: (a) the historical promotion of V-Place features to C-Place features in fricativized vowels via chain shift, and (b) the spreading of articulatory and perceptual burden of producing complex sounds via linking of C-Place features between segments. This is then accounted for using a series of Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolkensky 1993) constraints designed at replicating the cross-linguistic rarity of place feature combinations such as [coronal][dorsal] and [labial][coronal] which, in Lutuv, interact with constraints encouraging the leftward linking of C-Place-specified features.
Downloads
Article Details
The Indiana University Linguistics Club Working Papers (the "Publisher") and Author(s) agree as follows.
1. Publication and Promotion: In consideration of the Publisher's agreement to publish the Work, Author hereby grants and assigns to Publisher the non-exclusive right to print, publish, reproduce, or distribute the Work throughout the world in all means of expression by any method known or hereafter developed, including electronic format. Author further grants Publisher the right to use Author's name in association with the Work in published form and in advertising and promotional materials.
2. Copyright: Copyright of the Work remains in the Author's name.
3. Prior Publication and Attribution: Author agrees not to publish the Work in print form prior to publication of the Work by the Publisher. Author agrees to notify IULCWP before publishing the Work elsewhere.
4. Author Representations: The Author represents and warrants that the Work: (a) is the Author's original Work and that the Author has full power to enter into this Agreement; (b) does not infringe the copyright or property of another; (c) contains no material that is obscene, libelous, or defamatory. Author shall indemnify and hold Publisher harmless against loss of expenses arising from breach of any such warranties.
5. Licensing and Reuse: Reuse of the published Work will be governed by a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ). This lets others remix, tweak, and build upon the Work non-commercially; although new works must acknowledge the original IULCWP publication and be non-commercial, they do not have to be licensed on the same terms.