<OT> New Posting: ROA-771

[roa at ruccs.rutgers.edu]

ROA 771-0805

Vowel Feature Licensing at a Distance

Rachel Walker <rwalker at usc.edu>

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=771


Abstract:
This paper centers on the problem of transparency in Romance
metaphony patterns, wherein a post-tonic high vowel triggers
height assimilation in a stressed vowel. Two patterns are
contrasted involving words with antepenultimate stress:
systems that show height assimilation across a transparent
penult and systems that exhibit harmony in both an intervening
penult vowel and the stressed antepenult. A two-fold proposal
is made. First, it is argued that metaphony is driven by
a licensing constraint which requires that marked structure
be associated with a strong position. In metaphony, the
high, unstressed vowel is marked by virtue of its perceptual
difficulty. Second, a generalized licensing constraint formulation is proposed, under which licensing is satisfied by various
configurations. These include direct licensing and indirect
licensing configurations (Steriade 1995), and also a new
configuration, termed identity licensing, in which marked
structure in a weak position is licensed through a correspondent
in a strong position. Identity licensing maintains strict
segmental locality (Ni Chiosain & Padgett 2001) by positing
a copied feature in forms showing assimilation across a
transparent penult vowel. Applications of the generalized
licensing approach to the Asturian Lena Bable and Nalon
Valley varieties and the Cantabrian Tudanca variety are
discussed.

Comments: In Proceedings of WCCFL 23
Keywords: correspondence, licensing, locality, vowel harmony, metaphony, Romance, Lena Bable, Nalon, Tudanca
Areas: Phonology
Type: Conference Proceedings Chapter

Direct link: http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?roa=771