published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

The subjects of the study were kindergarten and first grade speakers of Czech and English. The Czech language contains a considerably higher frequency and variety of complex syllabic onsets than English. Hence, it was hypothesized that if linguistic input affects children's phonological awareness development, Czech children should show higher levels of ability on the tasks. These differences were expected to appear in preliterate kindergarten children if linguistic input, more than literacy and/or general cognitive factors, impacts significantly on phonological awareness. / The finding that preliterate Czech children were more advanced in the ability to manipulate complex syllable onsets suggests that oral language input has an important effect on developing phonological awareness skills. Furthermore, its effect appears to be independent of the effects of literacy.

This study describes the grammar of the Idaacha dialect of Yoruba in the areas ofphonology and morphophonemics within the framework of generative phonology and the autosegmental approach. In particular, it builds upon Kouyomou's (1986) major work, Phonologie de la langue Idaasha, and argues that the language has eighteen consonants, /b/,/m/, /f/, /t/, /d/, /s/, /n/, /1/, /r/, /c/, /j/, /j/, /k/, /g/, /kp/, /gb/, /w/, /h/, and twelve vowels, /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/, /c/, /o/, /a/, r/, /u/, /E /, /o/, /a/.Particular attention is paid to vowel harmony (VH) and tones. It is argued that the high vowels, /i/, r/, /u/, and /u/ do not participate in this process. As one would expect, VH rules do not apply across word boundaries; they apply before processes such as contraction, abbreviation, and compounding. In regard to tones, it is pointed out that a three-way tonal system is a major characteristic of the language. However, a phenomenon of M/L neutralization is underlined in a specific environment: a final low tone in a verb followed by a direct object noun. In this environment, a low (L) tone changes to mid (M), but the M/L alternation is optional before an initial low-toned noun.In addition to describing these phonological processes, this work examines the morphophonemics of the language. It argues that, like Standard Yoruba (SY), Idaacha hasopen syllables: V and CV. Therefore, words are shaped as VCV, CVCV, VCVCV, and longer lexical items build upon these basic sequences. Morphemes are described with special reference to derivational processes. The issue of prefixation is discussed, and it is claimed that, besides the existing nominalizing prefixes, one cannot prove convincingly, on the basis of synchronic analysis, that the initial vowel in every VCV noun is a prefix. The morphophonemics of nominals is described with regard to associative constructions, noun compounding, verb-noun contraction, and deverbal nouns. / Department of English

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 180-188) / Microfiche. / xii, 188 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

No description available.

Peng, Yaya. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-164). / Text in English with some Chinese characters; abstract also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.i / 中文摘要 --- p.ii / AKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.iv / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- GOAL OF THE THESIS --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THESIS --- p.1 / Chapter 1.3 --- Data collection --- p.2 / Chapter 1.4 --- Theoretical framework --- p.3 / Chapter 1.4.1 --- The architecture of OT --- p.3 / Chapter 1.4.2 --- OT in the thesis --- p.5 / Chapter 1.5 --- ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS --- p.7 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- PHONEMIC INVENTORIES --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1 --- BACKGROUND OF XUZHOU DIALECT --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Dialectal classification --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Phonetic inventories --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2 --- Previous studies on phonemic inventories of Standard Chinese --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Concept of Phoneme --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Apical “vowels´ح --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Palatal consonants --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3 --- PHONEMIC INVENTORY OF XUZHOU VOWELS --- p.25 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- High vowels --- p.25 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Mid vowels --- p.26 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Low vowels --- p.28 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Apical “vowels´ح --- p.29 / Chapter 2.3.5 --- Nasal vowels --- p.32 / Chapter 2.3.6 --- Summary --- p.37 / Chapter 2.4 --- PHONEMIC INVENTORY OF XUZHOU CONSONANTS --- p.39 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Labials --- p.39 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Dentals --- p.40 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Retroflexes --- p.42 / Chapter 2.4.4 --- Velars --- p.43 / Chapter 2.4.5 --- Palatals --- p.44 / Chapter 2.4.6 --- Nasals --- p.49 / Chapter 2.4.7 --- Summary --- p.50 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- PHONOTACTICS --- p.52 / Chapter 3.1 --- Syllables in Xuzhou --- p.52 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Previous studies on prenuclear glides in Standard Chinese --- p.52 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Prenuclear glides in Xuzhou syllable structure --- p.59 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Onsets and rimes --- p.61 / Chapter 3.2 --- Co-occurrences within rimes --- p.62 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Co-occurrences within rimes without medials --- p.62 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Co-occurrences within rimes with j-medial --- p.64 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Co-occurrences within rimes with w-medial --- p.65 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Co-occurrences within rimes with u-medial --- p.65 / Chapter 3.2.5 --- Generalizations and summary --- p.67 / Chapter 3.3 --- Co-occurrences between onsets and rimes --- p.68 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Co-occurrences between labial onsets and rimes --- p.68 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Co-occurrences between dental onsets and rimes --- p.72 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Co-occurrences between retroflex onsets and rimes --- p.77 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- Co-occurrences between palatal onsets and rimes --- p.79 / Chapter 3.3.5 --- Co-occurrences between velar onsets and rimes --- p.80 / Chapter 3.3.6 --- Co-occurrences between onsets and rimes with apical nuclei --- p.81 / Chapter 3.3.7 --- Generalizations and summary --- p.82 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- OT ACCOUNT FOR XUZHOU PHONOTACTICS --- p.84 / Chapter 4.1 --- OPTIMALITY THEORY --- p.84 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Basic concepts --- p.84 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Comparison with rule-based theories --- p.85 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Comparison with constraint-and-repair theories --- p.87 / Chapter 4.1.4 --- Summary --- p.88 / Chapter 4.2 --- PREVIOUS STUDIES ON PHONOTACTICS WITHIN A SYLLABLE --- p.89 / Chapter 4.3 --- CONSTRAINT INTERACTIONS IN XUZHOU PHONOTACTICS --- p.94 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Co-occurrence restriction on height --- p.94 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Co-occurrence restriction on roundedness --- p.97 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Co-occurrence restriction on backness --- p.99 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Co-occurrence restriction on labials --- p.102 / Chapter 4.3.5 --- Co-occurrence restriction on coronals --- p.106 / Chapter 4.3.6 --- Co-occurrence restriction on palatals and velars --- p.110 / Chapter 4.4 --- SUMMARY --- p.115 / Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- MORPHOPHONEMIC ALTERNATIONS UNDER L-SUFFIXATION AND OT ACCOUNT --- p.117 / Chapter 5.1 --- Phonological representations of the suffix --- p.117 / Chapter 5.2 --- BASIC FACTS OF L-SUFFIXATION IN XUZHOU --- p.118 / Chapter 5.3 --- Previous studies on diminutive suffixation in Chinese dialects --- p.123 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Feature-geometric approach --- p.123 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Constraint-and-repair approach --- p.127 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Optimality-theoretic approach --- p.129 / Chapter 5.4 --- Optimality-theoretic account --- p.133 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Suffixation --- p.133 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Vowel retraction --- p.136 / Chapter 5.4.3 --- Vowel insertion --- p.139 / Chapter 5.4.4 --- Coda deletion and vowel nasalization --- p.141 / Chapter 5.4.5 --- Coda contraction --- p.145 / Chapter 5.4.6 --- Suppression of vowel retraction/insertion under coda deletion --- p.147 / Chapter 5.5 --- Summary --- p.152 / Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- CONCLUSION --- p.154 / Chapter 6.1 --- Main findings and arguments --- p.154 / Chapter 6.2 --- CONTRIBUTIONS --- p.156 / Chapter 6.3 --- LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE STUDIES --- p.157 / REFERENCES --- p.158

<div>Korean phonology features a cross-linguistically rare tripartite contrast in its stop series between lax, tense, and aspirated segments. Extant evidence suggests this contrast is the result of a fifteenth-century phonological restructuring wherein tense segments, previously an allophone of lax sounds, achieved distinct phonemic status. However, the historical record suggests that almost immediately a pattern of lax segments ‘tensifying’ began, with words featuring lax onset sounds being realized increasingly with tense sounds until the novel pronunciation was universal. While the action of these shifts is sporadic throughout the lexicon, the resulting changes are unidirectional, with the domain of tense segments expanding at the cost of lax sounds. It has been posited in previous research that such sound changes may suggest a rebalancing of functional load across underutilized segments.</div><div>A similar phenomenon in contemporary Korean where speakers exhibit differing pronunciations of onset segments in a number of lexical items is analyzed herein, with the argument that it is best understood as the continuation of these historical processes. Far from an idiosyncratic speaker habit or dialectal quirk, these unexpected tense segments can be interpreted as surface evidence of phonological pressures active since late Middle Korean. The present study explored novel tensified onset pronunciations from a demographic standpoint, aiming to clarify which speaker populations have adopted new variant forms through two experiments. The first featured the elicitation of ‘tensification-prone’ items by native speakers in a production task, while the second used a combination of acceptability judgments of tensified items and attitudinal surveys regarding the use of novel tense pronunciations.</div><div>The results confirm that tensification is active in contemporary Korean, but that a decisive conclusion as to its demographic associations remains elusive. The acceptability judgment experiment suggests that younger speakers and self-affirmed dialect users are more likely to prefer tensified variants, while the production task revealed no significant relationship between these factors and actual pronunciation behavior. Finally, the findings are considered in context of deeper changes in Korean phonology whereby tense and lax segments are increasingly associated with word onset and medial/final position, respectively.</div><div><br></div>

No description available.

This dissertation is an empirical and theoretical study of sentence-level prosody in Conamara (Connemara) Irish. It addresses the architecture of the syntax-phonology interface and the relation between syntactic constituent structure and prosodic structure formation. It argues for a fully interactional view of the interface, in which the phonological form may be influenced by a number of competing factors, including constraints governing syntax-prosody correspondence, linearization, and prosodic well-formedness. The specific proposal is set within the framework of Match Theory (Selkirk 2009, 2011), an indirect-reference theory of the syntax-prosody interface in which correspondence between syntactic and prosodic constituents is governed by a family of violable Match constraints. These constraints call for a one-to-one correspondence between syntactic and prosodic structure, to the extent that prosodic structure may be recursive under pressure from the recursive nature of syntactic phrases. However, this direct correspondence can be overruled by other interacting constraints, including prosodic markedness constraints and, as proposed here, other correspondence relations, as on the linearization of hierarchical syntactic structures. This dissertation argues that the distribution of pitch accents in Conamara Irish provides direct evidence for Match Theory. It is proposed that two phrasal pitch accents, L-H and H-L, demarcate the edges of phonological phrases, where L-H accents specifically target only those phrases which are recursive. Using the distribution of these pitch accents as indicators for the presence of prosodic boundaries, the dissertation investigates a variety of syntactic structures in both the clausal and nominal domain. It is argued that there is a close correspondence between syntactic and prosodic structure in default cases, but that this direct correspondence may be subverted in favour of a structure which better satisfies higher-ranked prosodic markedness constraints. Finally, this dissertation addresses pronoun postposing, a process pervasive in Irish dialects in word order appears to be sensitive to prosodic structure. This dissertation proposes to account for this phenomenon using the theoretical framework developed in the dissertation, in which the main patterns are accounted for through the interaction of Match constraints, prosodic markedness constraints, and a proposed violable constraint on the linearization of syntactic structure.