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<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>

L'objectif de cette thèse est de modéliser les changements en chaîne historiques dans les théories phonologiques modernes. Martinet (1952, 1955, 1970) distingue deux principales catégories de changements en chaîne: les chaînes de propulsion et les chaînes de traction. Les chaînes de propulsion seront traitées dans la première partie de cette thèse (chapitres 2 et 3). Afin de modéliser les chaînes de propulsion, un modèle existant est utilisé: La théorie de préservation du contraste de Łubowicz (2003, 2012). Concernant la modélisation des chaînes de traction, qui sera principalement traitée dans la seconde partie de le thèse (chapitres 4 et 5), une nouvelle théorie sera proposée, basée sur les travaux phonétiques de De Boer (2001). Cette proposition est basée sur la notion des domaines piliers. Le chapitre 1 s'ouvre sur l'observation que ni les théories dérivationnelles orientées vers l'input – type SPE – ni les théories orientées vers l'output, comme la théorie de l'optimalité de Prince & Smolensky (TO) sont en mesure de formaliser les changements en chaîne. Dans les théories dérivationnelles, il est possible d'obtenir une bonne description des changements en chaîne. Cependant, afin de faire cela, nous devons briser les liens unissant les différentes étapes des changements en chaîne. Par conséquent, nous perdons l'interdépendance systémique entre les stades, ce qui est au cœur des changements en chaîne. Concernant la théorie de l'optimalité, sa structure stricte sur deux niveaux se révèle problématique dans le cas des changements en chaîne. Dans un changement en chaîne schématique comme /a/ → [e] > /e/ → [i], il est impossible pour la TO, dans la même analyse, de faire en sorte que [e] soit un candidat optimal et /e/ un candidat bloqué. Dans le chapitre 2, nous analysons et comparons plusieurs amendements à la théorie de l'optimalité proposés pour rendre compte des changements en chaîne. Beaucoup d'entre eux ne sont pas satisfaisants dans le cas des changements en chaîne car ils ne parviennent pas à modéliser la force systémique des changements en chaîne. La seule théorie qui semble accomplir cet objectif est la théorie de préservation du contraste (CPT) de Łubowicz. Cette théorie est basée sur les notions de contraste, préservation du contraste et elle évalue des scénarios au lieu de candidats individuels. La préservation du contraste est accomplie à travers la transformation du contraste. La notion de transformation du contraste signifie que les niveaux de contraste du système pré-changement sont préservés dans le système post-changement mais leur nature change. Une observation sur la CPT est que Łubowicz l'avait originellement conçue pour les changements en chaîne synchroniques. Dans le chapitre 2, nous démontrons que la CPT est en mesure de modéliser la force systémique qui donne aux changements en chaîne diachroniques leur cohérence. Ainsi, dans le chapitre 3, nous décidons de tester la validité de la CPT sur de véritables changements en chaîne historiques. Nous avançons deux études de cas sur deux changements en chaîne. Le premier, bien connu, est le changement en chaîne vocalique du Grand Changement Vocalique Anglais (English Great Vowel Shift). L'autre changement en chaîne est la Seconde Mutation Consonantique allemande (High German Consonant Shift). Nous démontrons que la CPT est en mesure de rendre compte de ces deux changements en chaîne. Au terme du chapitre 3, la CPT est testée sur une autre catégorie de changements en chaîne : les changements en chaîne observés dans l'acquisition de la langue maternelle. Le changement en chaîne étudié est s → θ → f. Ce changement en chaîne est différent des deux autres car il n'y a pas de nouveau niveau de contraste créé. Le dernier stade du changement en chaîne se conclut par une fusion. Encore une fois, la CPT peut rendre compte de ce changement en chaîne de manière satisfaisante. / The aim of this thesis is to formalise historical chain shifts within modern phonological theories. Martinet (1952, 1955, 1970) distinguishes two main categories of chain shifts: push chains and pull chains. Push chains will be dealt with in the first main part of this thesis (chapters 2 and 3). For modelling of push chains, an existing model is used: Łubowicz's (2003, 2012) Contrast Preservation Theory. For modelling pull chains, which will be the focus of the second part of this thesis (chapters 4 and 5), a new theory will be proposed, based on the phonetic work by De Boer (2001). This proposition is based on the notion of the pillar domains (domaines piliers). Chapter 1 starts with the observation that neither the derivational, SPE-like, theories or output driven theories like Prince's & Smolensky's Optimality Theory (OT) are able to formalise chain shifts properly. Within the derivational theories, it is possible to get a correct description of a chain shift. However, in order to do that, we have to break the links between the different stages of the chain shift. Therefore, one loses the systemic interdependence of the different stages, which is the essence of the chain shift. As regards to Optimality Theory, it is the two-level structure of the theory which proves problematic for chain shifts. In a theoretical chain shift such as /a/ → [e] > /e/ → [i], it is impossible for OT to make, in the same analysis, [e] an optimal candidate and /e/ a non-optimal one. In chapter 2, we analyse and compare several output-driven propositions that have been made to account for chain shifts. Many of them are not satisfactory because they do not manage to model the systemic motivation of chain shifts. The only theory that seems able to complete this objective is Łubowicz's Contrast Preservation Theory (CPT). This theory is based on the notions of contrast, contrast preservation and it evaluates scenarios rather than individual candidates. Contrast preservation is achieved through contrast transformation. The term contrast transformation indicates that the contrast levels of the input system are preserved but that their nature is different in the output system. One observation about CPT is that Łubowicz designed it for synchronic chain shifts. In chapter 2, we prove that CPT is able to model the perceptible coherence in diachronic chain shifts. In chapter 3, thus we decide to test the validity of CPT on actual historical chain shifts. It is tested on two cases. One is the well-known vocalic chain shift the Great Vowel Shift in English. The other one is the Second German Sound Shift (or High German Consonant Shift). We demonstrate that CPT is able to account for both of these chain shifts. At the end of chapter 3, CPT is tested on another type of chain shifts, i.e. chain shifts in first-language acquisition. The studied chain shift is s → θ → f. This chain shift is different from the other two because there is no new contrast level created. The last stage of this chain shift ends with a merger . Once again, CPT can account for this chain shift in a coherent way.

Problem of Archaism and Innovation in the Eastern Iranian Languages The presented dissertation aims to bring new information concerning the classification of the Eastern Iranian languages. Instead of commonly accepted two branches of Eastern Iranian (Northern and Southern) it seems that there can be classified at least five branches of Eastern Iranian languages, moreover, Avestan can form its own branch, which possibly may include also Khwārezmian. The main issue of the presented thesis was to show archaisms and innovations of the language group in focus. Such task is an issue for numerous studies so the main attention was paid to historical development of Sogdian and Yaghnōbī - two closely related Eastern Iranian languages. Linguistic proximity of Sogdian and Yaghnōbī has been observed shortly after discoveries of the first Sogdian documents in Chinese Turkestan on the beginning of the 20 th century, for a long time it has been supposed that Yaghnōbī is a modern descendent of Sogdian. By analysis of phonology, grammar and vocabulary of both languages I tried to find clues that may answer this question. From diachronic view there is no much difference between Sogdian and Yaghnōbī, individual changes may be interpreted as "dialectal", but there is one phenomenon that influenced different...

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