<OT> New Posting: ROA-636

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ROA 636-1203

A New Look at Partial Reduplication in Korean

Hyung-Soo Kim <csjennykim at hanmail.net>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=636


Abstract:
An approach based on the phonological process of dissimilation
turns out to do a better job of explaining the so-called
asymmetry and delaryngealization in partial reduplication
of ideophonic words in Korean than any of previous constraint-bas
ed analyses, including those done under Optimality Theory,
calling into question the wisdom of many of the theoretical
assumptions of such approaches. While the previous analyses
had to make the unmotivated postulation of final velar consonant
extrametricality and accept the partial reduplication in,
e.g. culu-luk ¡°dribbling of rain, tear, etc.¡± as a type
of infixation, the processual approach adopted here does
away with such assumptions, explaining the reduplication
instead as a natural consequence of the dissimilation of
consonant clusters, by first suffixing the final CVC syllable
of the base followed by elision of the first velar consonant
in coda position by the dissimilation of kCVk# --> ¨ªCVk#.
It is shown that this rule of dissimilation of consonant
clusters, with the necessary refinements and extensions
made, can also be applied to cases of the so-called asymmetry
in, e.g. tu-tuNsil <*tuN-tuNsil ¡°floating gently¡± and
t'ekt'ekul<*t'ek-t'ekul ¡°rolling; rumbling¡± as well as
those of delaryngealization in, e.g. p'apaN <*p'aN-p'aN
¡°banging sound (of a gun)¡± thus providing a unified explanation
of Korean partial reduplication, unlike the previous analyses
in which as many as three separate solutions had to be assumed.

Comments: to be published in Studies in Phonetics, Phonology, and Morphology 9.2. The Phonology-Morphology Circle of Korea
Keywords: Korean partial reduplication, dissimilation, synergia, asymmetry, delaryngealization
Areas: Phonology, Morphology, reduplication
Type: Journal Article

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=636