The aim of this book is to demonstrate that, in a
representation-based model, the phonological organization of speech
sounds within a word is reducible to the licensing properties of
nuclei with respect to structurally defined complexities which pose
varying demands on the licenser. It is assumed that the primitive
licensing relation is that between a nucleus and its onset (O N).
There are two main types of complexities concerning the onset
position. Substantive complexity is an important aspect of
phonological organisation at the melodic level, while the syllabic
configurations in which the onset may be found are referred to
under the heading of formal complexity. At the melodic level,
complexity is defined in terms of the number of privative primes
called elements. The asymmetries in the subsegmental
representations of consonants and vowels are shown to play a
pivotal role in understanding a number of phenomena, such as
typological patterns, markedness effects, phonological processes,
segmental inventories, and, what is most important, the model
allows us to see a direct connection between phonological
representations and processes. For example, the deletion of [g] in
Welsh initial mutations is strictly related to the fact that the
prime which crucially defines this object also happens to be the
target of Soft Mutation. The complexity at the syllabic level is
defined in terms of formal onset configurations called governing
relations, of which some are easier to license than others. The
formal complexity scale is not rerankable, and corresponds directly
to the markedness of syllabic types. Since each formal
configuration requires licensing from the following nucleus,
syllable typology can be directly derived from the licensing
strength of nuclei. The interaction between the higher prosodic
organisation, for example, the level of the foot, and the syllabic
level is also easily expressible in this model because higher
prosody is built on nuclei. Therefore, prosody may tamper with the
status of nuclei as licensers by deeming some of them as
prosodically weaker than others, thus producing a non-rerankable
scale of nuclear licensers (a " P). The inclusion of the empty
nucleus as a possible licenser allows us to unify the scale of
relatively marked contexts in segmental phenomena, and also to
account for such problems as extrasyllabicity, complex clusters,
super heavy rhymes, and other exceptional strings. The role of
nuclei as licensers in unifying various levels of phonological
representation from melody to word structure is unquestionable.
There are other areas of phonological theory which can be expressed
in this model. These include the role of nuclear strength scales in
register switches, dialectal variation, historical development,
language acquisition, and the interaction between phonology and
morphology.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
