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Morphology Commons

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Comparative and Historical Linguistics

Ian D. Clayton

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Morphology

Phonetics In Phonology: Evidence From Scottish Gaelic Preaspiration, Ian D. Clayton Jan 2011

Phonetics In Phonology: Evidence From Scottish Gaelic Preaspiration, Ian D. Clayton

Ian D. Clayton

Through factorial typology, Optimality Theory is able to predict a range of theoretically possible grammars. However, factorial typology is sometimes too powerful a tool: there may be a systematic mismatch between the range of grammars predicted and those actually attested. Many scholars have offered solutions to this overgeneration problem; for instance, Wilson’s targeted constraints (2001), and Steriade’s P-map (2001) aim to constrain the predictive power of OT by invoking cognitive factors. However, other scholars (e.g. Ohala 2005, Barnes 2002, Myers 2002) assert that typological gaps may be accounted for through the diachronic operation of phonetic factors; it is therefore redundant …


On The Perceptual Robustness Of Preaspirated Stops [Poster], Ian D. Clayton Jan 2010

On The Perceptual Robustness Of Preaspirated Stops [Poster], Ian D. Clayton

Ian D. Clayton

Some phonological patterns are rare crosslinguistically, others commonplace. Rare patterns must be (a) seldom innovated or (b) diachronically unstable. For instance, preaspirated stops occur in < 1% of languages, while postaspirated stops occur in almost 29% (Maddieson 1984). Prevailing explanations have considered only (b), attributing preaspiration’s scarcity to a presumed but unverified perceptual inferiority to postaspiration. Preaspirated stops are hard to hear, it is claimed, thus diachronically unstable (Silverman 2003, Bladon 1986). This study concludes from both experimental and typological evidence that preaspirated stops are better characterized as infrequently innovated but diachronically stable, consistent with Greenberg’s (1978) State-Process model.


Analytic Or Channel Bias: Explaining Variation In Scottish Gaelic Preaspiration, Ian D. Clayton Jan 2009

Analytic Or Channel Bias: Explaining Variation In Scottish Gaelic Preaspiration, Ian D. Clayton

Ian D. Clayton

Through factorial typology, Optimality Theory predicts a range of theoretically possible grammars. However, factorial typology can result in overgeneration, e.g. by predicting unattested epenthetic repairs to *NC̥ (Pater 1999). To solve this overgeneration problem, extensions to OT have been proposed, such as targeted constraints (Wilson 2001) and the P-map (Steriade 2002). However, others scholars assert that such typological gaps result diachronically from phonetic factors; thus, attributing them to UG is redundant (Ohala 2005, Barnes 2002, Myers 2002). This paper supports the second view, drawing evidence from asymmetries in the typology of Scottish Gaelic (SG) preaspirated voiceless stops. First, the paper …


Phonetics In Phonology: Evidence From Scottish Gaelic Preaspiration [Poster], Ian D. Clayton Jan 2008

Phonetics In Phonology: Evidence From Scottish Gaelic Preaspiration [Poster], Ian D. Clayton

Ian D. Clayton

No abstract provided.


An Instrumental Investigation Of Scottish Gaelic Preaspiration, Ian D. Clayton Jan 2007

An Instrumental Investigation Of Scottish Gaelic Preaspiration, Ian D. Clayton

Ian D. Clayton

No abstract provided.