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Specific Exceptions Driving Variation: The Case Of Spirantization In Modern Hebrew, Michal Temkin Martinez, Ivana Müllner

Michal Temkin Martinez

Spirantization in Modern Hebrew has high levels of variation in its acquisition and production largely due to the high frequency of exceptions (Adam 2002). In this paper, we report the results of an experiment examining variation in the production of Modern Hebrew Spirantization (MHS) in real and nonce verb paradigms, linking the patterns of variation to specific exceptions that are encoded in the orthography. Spirantization in Modern Hebrew is characterized by the alternation of the stops [p], [b], and [k] with [f], [v], and [χ], respectively. Fricatives generally occur in post-vocalic position and stops occur elsewhere. This alternation is especially …