<OT> New Posting: ROA-563

[roa@equinox.rutgers.edu]

ROA 563-1102

The emergence of contrastive palatalization in Russian

Jaye Padgett <padgett@ucsc.edu>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=563


Abstract:
The well-known contrast in Russian between palatalized 
and non-palatalized consonants originated roughly one 
thousand years ago. At that time consonants were 
allophonically palatalized before front vowels. When the 
‘jer’ (high, lax) vowels disappeared in certain 
positions, the palatalization formerly triggered by the 
front jer remained, leading to a palatalization contrast 
across most consonant types. At the same time or soon 
thereafter, a rule is said to have been established by 
which /i/ surfaced as central (barred i) after 
non-palatalized consonants. This paper analyzes these 
two sound changes within a version of Dispersion Theory 
(DT, Flemming 1995a) elaborated by Ní Chiosáin & Padgett 
(2001) and Padgett (1997, to appear). DT differs from 
other current models of phonology in its fundamentally 
systemic orientation: constraints evaluate not only 
isolated forms as is usual, but sets of forms in 
contrast. References to these systems of contrast is key 
to the statement of constraints governing the perceptual 
distinctiveness of contrasts on the one hand, and 
constraints directly penalizing merger (neutralization) 
on the other. The analysis of the Russian facts here 
illustrates how this theory works, and provides an 
explanation for the otherwise mysterious allophonic 
/i/-backing rule, and for the historical emergence of 
this rule as a consequence of the loss of the jers.

Keywords: Russian, Old Russian, Old East Slavic, palatalization, velarization,
jer, contrast, perceptual distinctiveness, merger, neutralization

Areas: Phonology,Historical Linguistics

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=563