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In spoken French, the phonological processes of liaison and resyllabification can render word and syllable boundaries ambiguous. In the case of liaison, for example, the /n/ in the masculine indefinite article un [oẽ] is normally latent, but when followed by a vowel-initial word the /n/ surfaces and is resyllabified as the onset of that word. Thus, the phrases un air ‘a melody’ and un nerf ‘a nerve’ are produced with identical phonemic content and syllable boundaries [oẽ.nɛʁ]). Some research has suggested that speakers of French give listeners cues to word boundaries by varying the duration of consonants that surface in liaison environments relative to consonants produced word-initially. Production studies (e.g. Wauquier-Gravelines 1996; Spinelli et al. 2003) have demonstrated that liaison consonants (e.g. /n/ in un air) are significantly shorter than the same consonant in initial position (e.g. /n/ in un nerf). Studies on the perception of spoken French have suggested that listeners exploit these durational differences in the segmentation of running speech (e.g. Gaskell et al. 2002; Spinelli et al. 2003), though no study to date has tested this hypothesis directly. The current study employs a direct test of the exploitation of duration as a segmentation cue by manipulating this single acoustic factor while holding all other factors constant. Thirty-six native speakers of French and 54 adult learners of French as a second language (L2) were tested on both an AX discrimination task and a forced-choice identification task which employed stimuli in which the durations of pivotal consonants (e.g. /n/ in [oẽ.nɛʁ]) were instrumentally shortened and lengthened. The results suggest that duration alone can indeed modulate the lexical interpretation of sequences rendered sequences in spoken French. Shortened stimuli elicited a significantly larger proportion of vowel-initial (liaison) responses, while lengthened stimuli elicited a significantly larger proportion of consonant-initial responses, indicating that both native and (advanced) non-native speakers are indeed sensitive to this acoustic cue. These results add to a growing body of work demonstrating that listeners use extremely fined-grained acoustic detail to modulate lexical access (e.g. Salverda et al. 2003; Shatzman & McQueen 2006). In addition, the current results have manifest ramifications for study of the upper limits of L2 acquisition and the plasticity of the adult perceptual system in that they show evidence nativelike sensitivity to non-contrastive phonological variation. / text

This thesis deals with the nature and definition of phonological similarity and shows that, when similarity plays a role in the motivation of phonological processes, it is evaluated over abstract, phonological features and not purely phonetic properties. Empirical evidence for this position is drawn from the domain of consonant harmony. Typological studies of consonant harmony (Hansson 2001, Rose and Walker 2004) have argued that segments which interact in consonant harmony processes must be highly similar to one another. This thesis provides analyses of a range of consonant harmony processes and demonstrates that, in each case, the notion of similarity needed in order to determine participating segments is evaluated over contrastive feature specifications. Contrastive specifications are established according to language-specific feature hierarchies (Jackobson and Halle 1956, Dresher 2003, forthcoming) with some features taking scope over others. Languages analyzed in some detail include Bumo Izon, Kalabari Ijo, Hausa, Dholuo, Anywa, Tzutujil and Aymara. Two definitions of similarity are proposed in order to account for two sets of cases. In one set of consonant harmony processes, interacting segments are similar in the sense that they constitute the natural class of segments contrastively specified in the harmonic feature. In another set of cases, participating segments must be similar according to the following definition; they must differ in only a single marked and contrastive feature specification.

This thesis deals with the nature and definition of phonological similarity and shows that, when similarity plays a role in the motivation of phonological processes, it is evaluated over abstract, phonological features and not purely phonetic properties. Empirical evidence for this position is drawn from the domain of consonant harmony. Typological studies of consonant harmony (Hansson 2001, Rose and Walker 2004) have argued that segments which interact in consonant harmony processes must be highly similar to one another. This thesis provides analyses of a range of consonant harmony processes and demonstrates that, in each case, the notion of similarity needed in order to determine participating segments is evaluated over contrastive feature specifications. Contrastive specifications are established according to language-specific feature hierarchies (Jackobson and Halle 1956, Dresher 2003, forthcoming) with some features taking scope over others. Languages analyzed in some detail include Bumo Izon, Kalabari Ijo, Hausa, Dholuo, Anywa, Tzutujil and Aymara. Two definitions of similarity are proposed in order to account for two sets of cases. In one set of consonant harmony processes, interacting segments are similar in the sense that they constitute the natural class of segments contrastively specified in the harmonic feature. In another set of cases, participating segments must be similar according to the following definition; they must differ in only a single marked and contrastive feature specification.

Consonant gemination as a phonological feature plays a major role in the Sinhala language. The absence of true gemination in English causes perception problems for native English speakers when attempting to distinguish minimal pairs in Sinhala created by gemination. This study examined whether native English learners' difficulties in perceiving consonant gemination in Sinhala could be reduced by creating phonological awareness of it through formal training. Four native Sinhala speakers were asked to record thirty-two Sinhala minimal pairs. These recordings were used to set up the audio test instruments. Twenty-four native English speakers participated in the pre-test, a teaching/training session, and the post-test. The pre-test consisted of an AX discrimination task, where the subjects heard two stimuli (A and X) and had to decide if those two stimuli were the same or not. The 20-minute teaching/training session, which was the study's primary independent variable, was given to educate the participants about the gemination contrast in Sinhala. The same audio test was repeated as the post-test. The data analysis included descriptive statistics and a t-test for dependent samples through SPSS statistics version 20. The findings of the study showed a significant difference between the pre-test and the post-test. The data also revealed the teaching/training session to have a high level of effectiveness regarding gemination contrast. Perception of the gemination contrast had increased in the post-test, while perception of words without this contrast had decreased in accuracy, possibly as a result of hypercorrection.

Saurssure argues that the relationship between form and meaning in language is arbitrary, but sound symbolism theory argues that there are forms in language that can develop non-arbitrary association with meanings. This thesis proposes that there is a sound symbolic association between consonants and action words. To be more specific, a stop sound is likely to be associated with the action of percussion and a continuant sound with continuing movements. Evidence for such an association was found through three empirical studies. The findings of two experiments revealed that such an association is motivated by the gestures when pronouncing the consonants and by their phonetic features. A study of the verbs in Teochew dialect also revealed a similar sound symbolic association existing in the colloquial language. This thesis was conducted to direct attention to the use of empirical methods to investigate sound symbolism in real language. / 2015-10-03

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Thesis advisor: Michael J. Connolly / The Insular Celtic languages, such as Irish and Welsh, distinctively feature a morphophonemic process known as initial consonant mutation. Essentially the initial sound of a word changes due to certain grammatical contexts. Thus the word for 'car' may appear as carr, charr and gcarr in Irish and as car, gar, char and nghar in Welsh. Originally these mutations result from assimilatory phonological processes which have become grammaticalized and can convey morphological, semantic and syntactic information. This paper looks at the primary mutations in Irish and Welsh, showing the phonological changes involved and exemplifying their basic triggers with forms from the modern languages. Then it explores various topics related to initial consonant mutations including their historical development and impact on the grammatical structure of the Celtic languages. This examination helps to clarify the existence and operations of the initial mutations and displays how small sound changes can have a profound impact upon a language over time. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Slavic and Eastern Languages. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Cette étude apporte un nouveau corpus à la description du paysage linguistique de Basse-Bretagne et participe de ce fait à une meilleure connaissance de la langue bretonne dans son ensemble. Les habitudes langagières constatées dans ce parler haut-vannetais seront décrites à partir d'exemples issus de langue parlée, et de langue chantée, collectés auprès de vingt-cinq locuteurs traditionnels originaires de Languidic, nés entre 1919 et 1950. Après avoir défini le terroir dialectal de ce breton, haut vannetais intérieur de transition, nous présentons son système vocalique, qui est un élément distinctif entre les parlers de ce sous-dialecte. Nous verrons quele timbre des voyelles peut être centralisé ou neutralisé selon leur quantité, qui est elle-même dépendante de celles des consonnes. Le système consonantique sera défini et exposé en tenant compte de la typologie du breton, étant une langue à mutations consonantiques. Le schéma accentuel, bien que principalement oxytonique, présente de nombreuses variations. Les mutations consonantiques des initiales s'organisent en trois principaux groupes, s'associant pour certains mutateurs, créant ainsi trois types de mutations hybrides, auxquels il faut ajouter trois mutations isolées. La morphologie et la syntaxe du parler sont exposées et tenant compte des différents usages, allant du registre familier quotidien, à la langue soutenue des chants, qui sont une des richesses de ce terroir, où les traditions orales ont su se maintenir jusqu'à nos jours. / This work presents a new study of work to the visual description of dialectology in the lower region of Brittany and participates in providing a better understanding of the Breton language in its entirety.The usages and customs of this micro-dialect from this part of Brittany known as haut-vannetais will be described from examples of spoken language and song. These are collected from twenty five traditional native speakers originally from Languidic, born between 1919 and 1950. After having defined the dialect area of this local speech, haut-vannetais in transition, we present its vocalic system, which in itself is a distinct element between different spoken sub dialects. We will see that the tone of vowels could be centralised or neutralised depending on their quantity. This also applies for the consonants. The consonantal system will be defined and exposed by considering the typology of Breton, with initial consonant mutations. The lexical stress, which is principally oxytonic presents numerous variations. There are three principal classes of mutation, three hybrid and three isolated mutations. The morphology and syntax of this sub dialect is exposed in consideration of different usages, ranging from familiar everyday language to received pronunciation used whilst singing, which give a richness to the region where the oral traditions have been retaineduntil today.