The Formal Dynamism of Categories: Stops vs. Fricatives, Primitivity vs. Simplicity

Ulfsbjorninn, Shanti

Abstract

Minimalist Phonology (MP; Pöchtrager 2006) constructs its theory based on the phonological epistemological principle (Kaye 2001) and exposes the arbitrary nature of standard Government Phonology (sGP) and strict-CV (sCV), particularly with reference to their confusion of melody and structure. For Pöchtrager, these are crucially different, concluding that place of articulation is melodic (expressed with elements), while manner of articulation is structural. In this model, the heads (xN and xO) can license and incorporate the length of the other into their own interpretation, that is xN influences xO projections as well as its own and vice versa. This dynamism is an aspect of the whole framework and this paper in particular will show that stops and fricatives evidence a plasticity of category and that, although fricatives are simpler in structure, stops are the more primitive of the two. This will be achieved phonologically through simply unifying the environment of application of the licensing forces within Pöchtrager's otherwise sound onset structure. In doing so, we automatically make several predictions about language acquisition and typology and show how lenition in Qiang (Sino-Tibetan) can be more elegantly explained.

Citation

Ulfsbjorninn, S. (2008). The Formal Dynamism of Categories: Stops vs. Fricatives, Primitivity vs. Simplicity. Poznán Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, 44(1), 121-146. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10010-008-0006-y

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2008
• Deposit Date: Aug 5, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 16, 2023
• Journal: Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics
• Print ISSN: 0137-2459
• Electronic ISSN: 1897-7499
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 44
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 121-146
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10010-008-0006-y
• Keywords: onset, government phonology, GP 2.0, functional structure, phonological derivation, strict cv, Qiang, Sino Tibetan, fricatives, stops, licensing, phonology
• Publisher URL: http://versita.metapress.com/content/65468526279vn752/
• Additional Information: References : Bernhardt, B.H. and J.P. Stemberger, 1998. Handbook of phonological development from the perspective of constraint-based non-linear phonology. San Diego: San Diego University Press. Bernstein-Ratner, N., 1994. "Phonological analysis of child speech". In Sokolov, J. and C. Snow (eds.), Handbook of research in language development using CHILDES. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 324-372. Breen, G. and R. Pensalfini, 1999. "Arrente: A language with no syllable onsets". Linguistic Inquiry 30. 1-26. Charette, M., 1990. "License to govern". Phonology 7. 233-253. Charette, M., 1991. Conditions on phonological government. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chin, S. and D. Pisoni, 1997. Alcohol and speech. San Diego: San Diego University Press. Chomsky, N. and M. Halle, 1968. The sound pattern of English. New York: Harper and Row. Costa, J. and M.J. Freitas, 1998. "V and VC as unmarked structures: Evidence from the acquisition of Portuguese". Paper presented at the conference The Syllable, Typology and Theory, Tübingen University. Fikkert, P., 1994. On the acquisition of prosodic structure. [Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Leiden.] Fikkert, P., 1994. "On the acquisition of rhyme structure in Dutch". In Bok-Bennema, R. and C. Cremers (eds.), Linguistics in the Netherlands. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 37-48. Guasti, M.T., 2002. Language acquisition: Growth of grammar. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Higginson, R.P., 1985. Fixing assimilation in language acquisition. [Unpublished PhD dissertation, Washington State University.] Jensen, S., 1994. "Is ? an Element: Towards a non-segmental phonology". SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics and Phonetics 4. 71-78. Kaye, J., 2001. A fresh look at Putonghua onset-rhyme pairs. [Ms., Guangdong University.] Kaye, J., J. Lowenstamm and J.R. Vergnaud, 1990. "Constituent structure and government in phonology". Phonology 7. 193-231. Kirchner, R., 2001. An effort based approach to consonant lenition. London: Routledge. LaPolla, R.J., 2003. "Qiang". In Thurgood, G. and R.J. LaPolla (eds.), The Sino-Tibetan languages. London: Routledge. 573-587. Lowenstamm, J., 1996. "CV as the only syllable type". In Durand, J. and B. Laks (eds.), Current trends in phonology: Models and methods. Salford: European Studies Research Institute, University of Salford. 419-441. Pöchtrager, M., 2006. The structure of length. [Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Vienna.] Trask, L., 1997. Historical linguistics. London: Arnold. Nelson, W., 1983. "Physical principles for economies of skilled movement". Biological Cybernetics 46(2). 135-147. Roberts, I., 2008. Markedness. [Ms., University of Cambridge.] Scheer, T., 2004. A lateral theory of phonology: What is CVCV and why it should be. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Shariatmadari, D., 2006. "Sounds difficult? Why phonological theory needs ease of articulation". SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics 14. 207-226. Szigetvári, P., 1999. VC Phonology: A theory of consonant lenition and phonotactics. [Unpublished PhD dissertation, Eötvös Lorand University, Budapest.] Ulfsbjorninn, S., 2008. "(N''' = domain): Syllables as a type of possible constituent". Paper presented at the CUNY Phonology Forum on the Syllable. Zamuner, T.S., L. Gerken and M. Hammond, 2005. "The acquisition of phonology based on input: A closer look at cross-lingusitic and child language data". Lingua 115(10). 1403-1426.