This dissertation examines the Malayic varieties spoken in Kelantan and Terengganu, two Malaysian states located on the northeast coast of the Malay Peninsula. It focuses on three varieties, namely... Show moreThis dissertation examines the Malayic varieties spoken in Kelantan and Terengganu, two Malaysian states located on the northeast coast of the Malay Peninsula. It focuses on three varieties, namely Kelantan Malay, Coastal Terengganu Malay and Inland Terengganu Malay, all belonging to the Malayic subgroup within the Austronesian language family. On the basis of data gathered through linguistic fieldwork undertaken by the author, this dissertation provides the most comprehensive description of these languages to date and offers an analysis of their historical developments.The three Malayic varieties under investigation display notable similarities in their phonological and morphosyntactic patterns, characterised by significant phonological and morphological reduction. Despite these common features, however, it is concluded that these varieties do not form a discrete subgroup within the Malayic languages. The common changes observed in their consonant systems must have followed distinct developments in the vowel systems. Furthermore, the morphological reduction was primarily driven by internal phonological changes, and no clear traces of substrate influences have been found.It is proposed that Inland Terengganu Malay represents a separate variety, distinct from Kelantan Malay and Coastal Terengganu Malay. A two-wave migration pattern is suggested: speakers of Inland Terengganu Malay likely arrived in the region earlier, whereas the speakers of Kelantan Malay and Coastal Terengganu Malay arrived at a later stage. Show less
This dissertation investigates the phonetic and phonological characteristics of Danish stop consonants, with particular focus on their diachronic origin and synchronic variation. Using data... Show moreThis dissertation investigates the phonetic and phonological characteristics of Danish stop consonants, with particular focus on their diachronic origin and synchronic variation. Using data-oriented and statistical methods, it fills empirical gaps in phonetic research on Danish stops and in doing so contributes to our understanding of the overall sound system of the language.The dissertation reports the results of a number of studies which combine spontaneous speech corpora with state-of-the-art techniques in statistical modeling. Topics considered include intervocalic voicing, which is shown to be rare in all stops and in almost all phonetic contexts, and affrication of aspirated stop releases, which is shown to be strongly dependent on place of articulation. The dissertation also investigates a range of phonetic parameters in a legacy corpus of traditional varieties of Jutland Danish, with the results showing systematic regional variation even in minute acoustic details. Show less
This dissertation is about verse, some of its recurrent features, and cognitive aspects which can explain their prevalence. Verse includes a range of verbal phenomena, most typically songs and... Show moreThis dissertation is about verse, some of its recurrent features, and cognitive aspects which can explain their prevalence. Verse includes a range of verbal phenomena, most typically songs and poems, but also nursery rhymes, religious chants or demonstration slogans. Compared to everyday speech, all these forms show additional layers of structure, like a regular alternation of accented syllables or a fixed melody. Every linguistic community in the world engages in verse, but certain features seem suspiciously widespread. On the one hand, I have developed computational tools in order to assess systematically how widespread individual verse features are. On the other hand, I have conducted behavioural experiments to investigate to which extent these widespread features may stem from properties of human cognition. Using these two approaches, the thesis examines three aspects of verse: constituent structure, final strictness, and textsetting. Although verse constitutes a prototypically creative activity subject to extensive cultural variability, it is nonetheless bound and shaped by our cognitive system. Show less
The present study deals with the phonological system of three Iranian Balochi dialects namely Mirjaveh Sarhaddi (MBS), Sarawani Balochi (SB) and Lashari Balochi (LB). Those three selected Iranian... Show moreThe present study deals with the phonological system of three Iranian Balochi dialects namely Mirjaveh Sarhaddi (MBS), Sarawani Balochi (SB) and Lashari Balochi (LB). Those three selected Iranian Balochi dialects are spoken respectively in Mirjaveh, Sarawan, and Lashar in Sistan and Balouchestan province, which is located in the southeast of Iran. As t the title of the present research, both descriptive and theoretical approaches (Optimality Theory) are concerned, since they can complement each other, connecting language (i.e. Balochi) to language (i.e. universal grammar), and give a formal and precise description and analysis of the grammatical properties of Iranian Balochi dialects sounds. Show less
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
This book presents a description of Konso, a Cushitic language spoken by about 250,000 speakers in South-West Ethiopia. It presents analyses of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language.... Show moreThis book presents a description of Konso, a Cushitic language spoken by about 250,000 speakers in South-West Ethiopia. It presents analyses of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language. Aspects of pragmatics including greetings and leave-taking expressions, interjections and ideophones as well as the link between naming of week days and how these relate to the distribution ofbig markets in the Konso area are discussed. A sample of two texts and a list of singular-plural pairs of nouns with their corresponding gender values is included.The data underlying the analyses are based on the author’s native speaker intuition and fieldwork in Konso area where other native speakers are consulted.Konso phonology is characterised by having a full set of labial, alveolar, palatal and uvular implosives but no ejectives which contrasts with what is observed in geographically and some genetically related languages. The language has a rich morphology as evidenced in its nominal and verbal inflection. The work accounts the intricate link between gender and number marking in nominals,it explicates variation in number- and person-marking in affirmative and negative verb paradigms and presents analyses of nominal and verbal derivation.Various clause-linking strategies and the way these relate to person markingof the subject are examined. Word order in simple as well as complex clausesis discussed.A Grammar of Konso is of interest to specialists in Cushitic and Afroasiatic languages for historical-comparative purposes. It will be a valuable source for typological comparison and for testing theoretical claims Show less
This book presents a description of Sandawe, a Khoisan language spoken by approximately 60 000 speakers in Dodoma Region, Tanzania. The study presents an analysis of the phonology, morphology, and... Show moreThis book presents a description of Sandawe, a Khoisan language spoken by approximately 60 000 speakers in Dodoma Region, Tanzania. The study presents an analysis of the phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language, as well as a sample of four texts. The data for this dissertation were gathered by the author during fieldwork in the area where the language is spoken. The language has a rich phonology, with sets of lateral fricatives and affricates, ejectives, and fifteen clicks. The nominal domain is characterized by the absence of regular number marking. The verbal domain, on the other hand, shows various ways of number marking, which can express participant plurality and pluractionality. The study further provides a comprehensive description of the morphology and semantics of verbal derivation, such as iterative, factitive, causative and middle stems, and verbal case markers that introduce an additional pronominal object. Sandawe has various types of clitics, notably subject/modality markers and mediative clitics, which have a variable position in the clause. A grammar of Sandawe is of relevance to specialists in Khoisan studies as well as to general linguists and typologists interested in number marking, verbal derivation, and clitics. Show less
This work is the first comprehensive description of Makalero, a language spoken by approximately 6,500 speakers in the Iliomar subdistrict, in the south-east of the Republic of East Timor. Makalero... Show moreThis work is the first comprehensive description of Makalero, a language spoken by approximately 6,500 speakers in the Iliomar subdistrict, in the south-east of the Republic of East Timor. Makalero has been classified as belonging to the Trans-New Guinea family, making it one of the westernmost Papuan languages. While it retains scattered derivational and inflectional processes, it is largely isolating in structure. Underlying the organisation of discourse at a very basic level is the rigid structure of the Makalero clause, which allows for the expression of two verbal arguments at most. A characteristic feature of this clause structure is the presence of two distinct, mutually exclusive argument positions within the verb phrase, the first of which is reserved for undergoers, while the second may express either undergoers, or location and manner information. The description brought forward in this dissertation is not couched in a particular theoretical framework, although insights from several linguistic theories are adduced to support the analysis. The appendices provide transcripts of several Makalero texts as well as a Makalero-English and an English-Makalero word list. Show less
This thesis investigates the grammar of Sheko, an Omotic language spoken in southwest Ethiopia. The study presents an analysis of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language, amply... Show moreThis thesis investigates the grammar of Sheko, an Omotic language spoken in southwest Ethiopia. The study presents an analysis of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language, amply illustrated by examples. The supplements contain a sample of texts and an extensive word list. Among other things, the author discusses the interrelation between gender, definiteness and number in nominal morphology. Some nominal morphology also occurs on verbal forms. In the verb system, stem formation, aspectual and modal distinctions as well as stance marking are treated. The language has a rich array of complex verb constructions, such as medial clauses and serial verb constructions, next to different types of subordinate clauses. In relative clauses, a resumptive pronoun may occur before the antecedent. One of the divergent ways in which interrogatives are formed is by ‘subtractive morphology’, i.e. dropping off a grammatical element which is obligatorily present in declaratives. Furthermore, subject clitics attach to a variety of hosts in correlation to information structure and focus. These and a number of other issues make the work valuable for specialists of Omotic and Afroasiatic studies as well as for general linguists and anyone interested in the typology of language. Show less
This thesis presents a thorough survey of the central aspects of the phonology of Shaoxing Chinese from a synchronic perspective and on the basis of recent theoretical phonological developments,... Show moreThis thesis presents a thorough survey of the central aspects of the phonology of Shaoxing Chinese from a synchronic perspective and on the basis of recent theoretical phonological developments, with the secondary goal of casting some light on current issues in Modern Chinese (Mandarin). In particular, the thesis presents an analysis of syllable structure, focusing on the syllabic status of the prenuclear glide in Shaoxing, contributing a multiple-specifier X-bar syllable structure, which allows a syllable to be parsed into Onset and Final, instead of Onset and Rhyme. It argues that the prenuclear glide in Shaoxing is neither in the Onset nor in the Rhyme, but located in the specifier position of N''. This thesis claims that both voiced initial obstruents and low-register tones, though in complementary distribution, occur in the underlying representation in Shaoxing. It assumes that there are 'filler' onsets in the surface representation to satisfy the consonant-tone correlation and that there are also onsetless syllables which are toneless when unstressed, enabling liaison in Chinese. The thesis also presents a systematic and explicit formulation of the intricacies of tone sandhi in SX. It assumes that tone sandhi in Shaoxing is realized by tone feature spreading and delinking, and does not involve register features. It presents a metrically-based analysis with a hierarchical constraint ranking that precisely captures the tonal sandhi behaviour and accounts for all the sandhi rules in Shaoxing disyllabic structures. Show less
This thesis describes several patterns of phonetic variation in Sign Language of the Netherlands. While lexical variation between different regions has been found in the Netherlands, little is... Show moreThis thesis describes several patterns of phonetic variation in Sign Language of the Netherlands. While lexical variation between different regions has been found in the Netherlands, little is known about phonetic or phonological variation. Phonetic variation in the realization of some of the traditional handshape and orientation features is analyzed in detail. Furthermore, data were elicited from different registers: short-distance signing (__whispering__) was compared to long-distance signing (__shouting__). Results show that differences between registers lead not only to variation in movement size, but also to changes in the traditional phonological categories. In enlarged realizations, as in shouting, handshape and orientation changes may be enhanced by a location change; in reduced forms, as in whispering, location changes may be realized as changes in orientation or handshape. While the distinction between the three parameters handshape, orientation and location remains valid, it is argued that their definition needs to be stated in global perceptual targets rather than in detailed articulatory terms in a comprehensive analysis of the various differences between registers. The data thus provide evidence for a strict separation of perceptual and articulatory characterizations of signs. The lexical specification contains only perceptual targets. The variation is thus not generated by a phonological process, but is a matter of phonetic implementation. Show less
