<OT> New Posting: ROA-559

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ROA 559-1102

Testing Licensing by Cue

Alexei Kochetov <kochetov@haskins.yale.edu>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=559


Abstract:
This paper tests the hypothesis Licensing by Cue 
(Steriade 1997) applying it to the distribution of 
Russian plain-palatalized contrast in coronal stops /t/ 
vs. /tj/ in two environments (V_C, V_#). The hypothesis 
holds that the maintenance of the contrast should 
correspond to more acoustic information in the signal 
and higher identification rate, and that its 
neutralization should be accompanied by fewer cues and 
lower recognition of the segments. The results of 
acoustic and perceptual experiments do not fully 
support the hypothesis: while the relative acoustic and 
perceptual salience of the contrast before three 
consonants (_#k, _#n, _#s) correlates with within-word 
neutralization patterns, the lack of neutralization 
after three vowels (a_, u_, and i_) does not follow 
from the acoustic and perceptual results. The findings 
suggest that acoustic and perceptual factors play a 
certain role in maintenance and neutralization of 
phonological contrasts, however, the mapping between 
acoustics and phonology is not direct.

Keywords: licensing, contrast, phonetic cues, phonotactics, markedness,
palatalization, Russian

Areas: Phonology, Phonetics

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=559