Backness Distinction in Phonology
A Polish Perspective on the Phonemic Status of «y»
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Beschreibung
The book argues for the underlying status of the vowel «y» on the basis of palatalization processes in Polish. It is shown that the absence of «y» is empirically unfeasible as it leads to morphologization of completely regular phonological rules and demands an extensive use of diacritics, which may also result in segment indexation.
This book discusses the phonological consequences of the backness distinction in high vowels. It focuses on a single-phoneme approach which does not recognize the existence of the vowel y. The author demonstrates that the role of y is crucial for the analysis of Polish palatalization. If y is recognized as a separate phoneme, then the processes receive a straightforward account in Lexical Phonology and Optimality Theory, the two frameworks used in the study. On the other hand, the absence of y leads to unwarranted exceptionality and entails an extensive use of diacritics or lexical constraints. The analyses show, however, that the lack of y is empirically unfeasible and requires segment indexation, a solution unheard of in phonology.
Autor*in
Pawel Rydzewski
Themen in »Backness Distinction in Phonology«
Backness Distinction Indexed constraints Lexical exceptions Optimality Theory Palatalization Perspective Phonemic Phonology Phonology Polish Rydzewski Slavic languages Status