Description
TitleStrong Positions and Laryngeal Features in Yukatek Maya
PublisherAmherst, Mass. : Graduate Linguistics Student Association, University of Massachusetts
Date Created2011
Extent14 p.
DescriptionYukatek Maya has two phonological phenomena, allophonic aspiration and [h]-epenthesis, which insert the feature [spread glottis] at the right edge of the prosodic word and phonological phrase respectively. Providing an OT analysis, then, requires constraints which privilege [s.g.] in certain `weak' positions. This sort of constraint, however, conflicts with many theories of positional privilege since it prefers a marked form in a ‘weak' position. Despite this, we show that a limited class of such constraints are necessary to account for aspiration and [h]-epenthesis in Yukatek Maya. Furthermore, these processes are argued to instantiate a cross-linguistic pattern favoring certain laryngeal features at the right edge of larger prosodic constituents. This pressure, which we term Final Laryngeal Strengthening, is argued to be the phonologization of a gradient phonetic pressure: the articulatory effort required to maintain persistent voicing throughout longer prosodic units.
NoteThe definitive version of this paper is published in NELS 39: Proceedings of the 39th Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society (2011) and is available at https://www.createspace.com/3756873.
NoteAnderBois, S. (2011). Strong Positions and Laryngeal Features in Yukatek Maya. In S. Lima, K. Mullin, & B. Smith (Eds.), Proceedings of the 39th Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society (NELS 39). Amherst, MA: GLSA.
GenreConference Paper or Lecture
LanguageEnglish
CollectionRutgers Optimality Archive
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
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