<OT> New Posting: ROA-579

[Rutgers Optimality Archive]

ROA 579-0203

Coronal epenthesis and markedness

Linda Lombardi <LL57@umail.umd.edu>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=579


Abstract:
Recent work on the special properties of coronal consonants (e.g. 
 Paradis and Prunet 1991) has shown that coronals behave in some 
 ways as unmarked consonants.  In this paper I will address the 
 claim that epenthetic segments tend to be coronal.  This behavior 
 has been used to argue that coronals are Placeless.  However, 
 laryngeal consonants (?,h) are also common epenthetic segments 
 and have also been argued to be Placeless.  Obviously it is 
 problematic if both laryngeals and coronals need to be Placeless, 
 since we must be able to distinguish them by place of articulation 
 within a language.  The empirical basis for the claim about 
 coronal epenthesis has also been unclear, with only a single 
 example commonly cited.

        In Optimality Theory, it is possible to analyze 
 markedness phenomena without underspecification by the use of 
 markedness constraints: in this case, the proposal of Prince and 
 Smolensky 1993, Smolensky 1993 that there is a universally ranked 
 hierarchy *Dor, *Lab >> *Cor.  I will argue first of all that by 
 extending this hierarchy to include the laryngeals, we can 
 account for their appearance as the 'unmarked' epenthetic 
 segment.  I will then show that coronals do sometimes occur 
 as epenthetic segments, but that this is only the case in limited 
 situations, showing the classic signs of constraint conflict. 
 For example, in some cases of coronal epenthesis higher-ranked 
 constraints demand that the consonant be sonorant; therefore the 
 lowest-marked Place that is possible will be Coronal. 
 

Keywords: markedness, epenthesis, coronal, glottal, underspecification

Areas: Phonology

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=579