The Central Chadic languages are a diverse and fascinating collection of languages, spoken in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. The phonologies of these languages have intrigued linguists since they were... Show moreThe Central Chadic languages are a diverse and fascinating collection of languages, spoken in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. The phonologies of these languages have intrigued linguists since they were first studied, due to their minimal sets of phonemic vowels (sometimes only one), complex systems of vowel harmony, and extensive use of palatalized and labialized consonants. Analysis of these languages led to the proposal of phonemic units referred to as ‘prosodies’, which act on both vowels and consonants, allowing Central Chadic phonologies to be described in a neat and succinct way. This study looks at the diverse phonological systems found within Central Chadic, and reconstructs the phonological system of their ancestor language. This system is itself simple and succinct, and includes one phonemic prosody and just three phonemic vowels. The study describes the phonological processes that led from this system to the many phonological systems that are in use today, shedding light both on the history of the languages, and on issues in the analysis of these languages. Show less
The Feature Co-occurrence Constraint theory proposed in this dissertation provides a means to capture the development of the language-learning child's segment inventory. It does this by combining a... Show moreThe Feature Co-occurrence Constraint theory proposed in this dissertation provides a means to capture the development of the language-learning child's segment inventory. It does this by combining a growing set of features with constraints that are automatically activated as soon as these features are acquired. Representation and derivation go hand in hand, and develop together during acquisition. The Feature Co-occurrence Constraint theory builds on a minimal view of phonology, where the inventory is seen as epiphenomenal rather than a mentally ‘real’ object, features are few and monovalent, and the constraint set is limited to no more than two types. The theoretical consequences of the proposal for both feature theory and constraint theory are worked out in detail and a thorough discussion of phonological acquisition is provided, making this book of interest to both theoretical phonologists as acquisitionists. Show less
