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Modeling Acceptability Of Variation In Modern Hebrew, Michal Martinez

Michal Temkin Martinez

Modern Hebrew spirantization (MHS) is a highly variable process with many exceptions. This paper reports the results of an experiment testing the acceptability of variation in alternating and exceptional segments in Modern Hebrew spirantization. Consequently, an Optimality Theoretic (OT) analysis, combining stochastic constraint ranking (Hayes & MacEachern 1998, Boersma 1998, Zuraw 2000, Boersma & Hayes 2001, Hayes 2004) and set-based indexation (Pater 2000) is used to model the results. In MHS the stops [p], [b], and [k] alternate with their fricative counterparts [f], [v], and [χ]. Fricatives occur in post-vocalic position and stops occur elsewhere. This is illustrated in these …