the skeleton: its contents, its shape, its function

Egg 12, Wrocław, 2012-07-23–2012-07-27
Péter Szigetvári, szigetvariATelteDOThu

schedule

session 1: how the skeleton was born, autosegmental phonology

Autosegmental phonology abstracts the phonetic properties from segments, showing that some properties simultaneously belong to more than one segment and that a single segment may contain several “incompatible” properties. Once (almost) all phonetic properties are abstracted, there remains the skeleton. What counts as a phonetic property that can be “autosegmentalized” is also subject to debate. We will see how and why properties become autosegments. [notes]

session 2: early debates, CV or X?

For some researchers (e.g., Clements & Keyser 1983) the abstraction of phonetic properties stops before the last step, the skeletal points remain specified for the consonant- or vowelhood of the segment. Others (e.g., Levin 1985, Lowenstamm & Kaye 1986) argue that this is redundant, skeletal points are totally unspecified, they are absolutely contentless slots, whose identification with consonants and vowels is governed by syllabic constituency. We will weigh some of the arguments. [notes]

session 3: moras

Onset consonants do not cause compensatory lengthening, coda consonants may. What is the source of this asymmetry? A standard solution is the introduction of the mora, a diacritic linked to some consonants and not to others. This offers an acceptable analysis of some “difficult” cases of compensatory lengthening (like Hungarian hida > hiid ‘bridge’), excluding allegedly impossible cases (like the hypothetical ala > laa). We will see how. [notes]

session 4: strict CV skeletons

Researchers have somewhat randomly posited phonetically uninterpreted segments in phonological representations, but it was Government Phonology (especially Kaye etal. 1990, Kaye 1990) that systematically examined the nature of these objects, notably of empty nuclei. If we allow this typologically marked object in our theory, it seems sensible to make full use of it. The logical conclusion of Government Phonology’s view of syllable structure is the strict CV model. We will see why. [notes]

session 5: CV vs VC

If we accept that the skeleton consists of strictly alternating consonantal and vocalic slots, we still have several possible options for the shape of the skeleton. It could be that it constantly contains an even number of slots ([CVCV…CV] or [VCVC…VC]), it could also be that it contains an odd number of slots ([CVC…VC] or [VCV…CV]) or some combination of these. Although apparently only the edges of a strictly alternating CV skeleton may be distinctive, in fact, the internal patterning of the skeleton also has consequences. We will see how vowel syncope, the consonant lenition, and high vowel gliding are related to each other and to the internal patterning of the skeleton. [notes]

references