Monthly Archives: January 2019

Kentner (2018) – Do not repeat: Repetition and reduplication in German revisited

Do not repeat: Repetition and reduplication in German revisited
Gerrit Kentner
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004371
December 2018
All languages need to counterbalance the necessary re-use of their elementary vocabulary of phonemes, morphemes, and words with the imperative to avoid redundancy. The (
hopefully representative and near-exhaustive) list of repetitive phenomena in German that is offered here suggests that German avoids redundancy in the lexicon by rather
strictly prohibiting exact adjacent repetition of phonological material. The only cases that may override this ban appear to be abbreviations (BBC, DDR), onomatopoeias
(Wauwau), and ideophones (ballaballa). In all other cases, the ban on exact adjacent repetition holds, and it does so across all levels of the phonological hierarchy (se
gment – syllable – foot – word).

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004371
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in:
ke
ywords:
reduplication, repetition, german, morphology, phonology

Do & Lai (2018) – Measuring phonological distances in a tonal language: an experimental and computational investigation with Cantonese

Measuring phonological distances in a tonal language: an experimental and computational
investigation with Cantonese

Youngah Do, Ryan Ka Yau Lai
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004369
October 2018
To explore how speakers measure phonological distances in tonal languages, we conducted distance judgement tests of word pairs from Cantonese speakers, then fit Bayesian
multilevel models to predict the results from various distance metrics. We find that Hamming distances between segments based on multivalued features and tonal represe
ntations incorporating pitch contours, including pitch changes across syllables when applicable, consistently perform best. Moreover, onsets are consistently weighted he
avier than codas and tones, although the importance of the nucleus varies between monosyllabic and disyllabic words. We discuss how the current results inform the unders
tanding of phonotactic learning models of tonal languages.

Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/004369
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in:
ke
ywords:
phonological distances, computational phonology, bayesian modeling, tone, cantonese, phonology

CfP, 27mfm Fringe: “Teaching Phonology: The State of the Art”

CALL FOR PAPERS

27mfm Fringe

“Teaching Phonology: The State of the Art”

Date: Wednesday 22 May 2019 (afternoon only, approximately 2-6pm)

Call deadline: 28 February 2019

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/yunikim/mfmfringe

A workshop on “Teaching Phonology: The State of the Art” will be held at the University of Manchester on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 as a satellite event to the 27th Manchester Phonology Meeting.

This workshop is intended to allow us to exchange ideas about what we do when we teach phonology, what we teach and how we might tackle particular topics and issues. We are interested in submissions that explore what, how, and/or why phonology is taught across varied institutions and contexts. With diverse views among researchers about the remit and basic assumptions of phonology, against the backdrop of shifting winds in higher education, how has the teaching of phonology evolved from how we ourselves were taught at varying times in the past? What core topics are selected for introductory courses – and what is left out – and how are this foundation built on in more advanced courses? What types of assignments are given? Do you use a textbook? If so, which one? With bimodal grade distributions being anecdotally common, how can difficult topics be explained in more accessible ways? What other novel teaching methods can be used?

We are open to suggestion as to what a presentation might involve and we invite colleagues to propose something. We imagine that the session might involve a range of types of presentation, from 10 minute descriptions of what the syllabus is at your institution, to longer talks on pedagogical issues, or even a panel on a particular subject. We will have up to around 4 hours during the workshop, and we will encourage those attending to bring along their syllabus even if they don’t plan to give a talk.

In order to propose a topic, please send a PDF attachment to Yuni Kim (y.kim@essex.ac.uk) by 28 February 2019. In no more than 250 words, you should set out what you would like to talk about and how long you imagine you might want to talk for. (We reserve the right to suggest a different timing if your proposal is accepted.) In the document, please also include your name and institution to help us ensure a varied range of perspectives.

The program will be announced in late March. This is a very informal meeting and there will be no registration fee.

Organisers: Yuni Kim (Essex), Patrick Honeybone (Edinburgh), Elizabeth Zsiga (Georgetown)

Call for Papers – Workshop on Sound Change 5 DEADLINE JANUARY 25!

Call for Papers – Workshop on Sound Change 5

The 5th International Workshop on Sound Change (WSC 5) will take place June 21-23, 2019, at the University of California, Davis. The WSC 5 is part of the conference series held in conjunction with the 2019 Linguistic Institute at UC Davis.

The WSC began as a small meeting where researchers investigating aspects of sound change from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives could be brought together and work on substantive issues in the field and share ideas and findings. The core idea behind the WSC 5 is to bring together researchers working on sound change who come from a variety of different backgrounds and disciplines to have conversations, integrate their perspectives and insights, and make substantive progress on questions the remain in the field.

The Special theme of the 5th WSC is sound change in endangered and small speech communities. Sound change research, as in most work in phonetics and phonology, have focused on languages that have historically been dominant or where speakers are easily accessible. The dynamic of language endangerment and interaction between small groups of speakers may provide unique opportunities for sound change to take place. Small speech communities has different social factors than large communities, leading to the phonetic and cognitive influences to interact and diffuse in different ways when there are fewer agents. How sound change might originate and diffuse in speech communities of different sizes is poorly understood. Furthermore, endangered and small languages are often heavily influenced by other languages and cultures, making sound change more likely. In order to make useful models and predictions about when and how sound change will occur, we need to explore these patterns in diverse speech communities.

Selections of papers on the theme of WSC 5 will also be considered for publication in a special collection (the online equivalent of a special issue).

In addition to the Special theme, the WSC 5 will be a place where scholars come together and make substantive progress on outstanding theoretical questions and issues in the field. General issues addressed at the workshop often include questions regarding the identification of the sources of sound change, and the mechanism of sound change propagation.

We welcome Abstracts from researchers investigating any aspect of sound change from a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches. Submissions addressing any and all aspects of sound change are encouraged – there is no need for submitted abstracts to engage with the theme.

Possible topics might include:

  • Perceptual, articulatory, and aerodynamic investigations into the phonetic origins of sound change

  • The role of individual variation in articulation, perception, and sociolinguistic monitoring in sound change actuation

  • Computational modeling of sound change propagation

  • The connection between language acquisition and language learning on sound change

  • Contact-induced variation in sound change

  • Biological foundations of sound change

The workshop will consist of oral presentations, discussion sessions, and poster sessions. Abstract submitters may choose to have their abstract considered either for a poster only, or for a poster or a talk.

Travel grants of up to $400 will be awarded on a competitive basis for graduate student presenters!

Anonymized abstracts (PDF, 12 point font, max 1 page text + 1 page figures and references) may be submitted via EasyAbstracts from http://linguistlist.org/easyabs/wsc5 . You may submit no more than one abstract as first author.

Call for papers: 27th Manchester Phonology Meeting

CALL FOR PAPERS

Twenty-Seventh Manchester Phonology Meeting

23-25 MAY 2019

Deadline for abstracts: 28 January 2019

Conference website: http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/mfm/27mfm.html

With a special session entitled ‘Is there lexically-specific phonology?’, featuring the following invited speakers:

* Claire Moore-Cantwell (Simon Fraser University & UBC)
* Jennifer L. Smith (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
* Jochen Trommer (Universitaet Leipzig)

Invited discussant
* Ricardo Bermudez-Otero (University of Manchester)

There will also be a Fringe Workshop on the afternoon of Wednesday 22nd May, timed to coincide with the mfm, on ‘Teaching phonology: the state of the art’, organised by Yuni Kim, Elisabeth Zsiga and Patrick Honeybone. More details about this will be released soon.

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BACKGROUND

We are pleased to announce the Twenty-Seventh Manchester Phonology Meeting (27mfm). The mfm is the UK’s annual phonology conference, with an international set of organisers. It is held in late May every year in Manchester (central in the UK, and with excellent international transport connections). The meeting has become a key conference for phonologists from all over the world, where anyone who declares themselves to be interested in phonology can submit an abstract on anything phonological in any phonological framework. In an informal atmosphere, we discuss a broad range of topics, including the phonological description of languages, issues in phonological theory, aspects of phonological acquisition and implications of phonological change.

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SPECIAL SESSION

There is no conference theme – abstracts can be submitted on anything, but a special themed session has been organised for Friday afternoon, entitled ‘Is there lexically-specific phonology?’. This will feature the invited speakers listed (in alphabetical order) above and will conclude in an open discussion session when contributions from the audience will be very welcome.

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ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

**This mentions only a few details – please consult the website for full information:
http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/mfm/27mfm.html

* There is no obligatory conference theme for the 27mfm – abstracts can be submitted on anything phonological.

* We are using the Linguist List’s EasyAbstracts system for abstract submission. Abstracts should be uploaded to the 27mfm’s page on the EasyAbstracts site by 28th January 2019:
http://linguistlist.org/easyabs/27mfm

* Full papers will last around 25 minutes with around 5 minutes for questions, and there will be high-profile poster sessions lasting one and a half hours. When you submit your abstract, you will be asked to indicate whether you would be prepared to present your work either as a talk or a poster paper or only as a poster.

* We aim to finalise the programme, and to contact abstract-senders by late February, and we will contact all those who have sent abstracts as soon as the decisions have been made.

**Further important details** concerning abstract submission are available on the conference website. Please make sure that you consult these before submitting an abstract: www.lel.ed.ac.uk/mfm/27mfm.html

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ORGANISERS

Organising Committee:

The first named is the convenor and main organiser, If you have any queries about the conference, feel free to get in touch (patrick.honeybone@ed.ac.uk).

* Patrick Honeybone (Edinburgh)
* Ricardo Bermudez-Otero (Manchester)
* Patrycja Strycharczuk (Manchester)

Treasurer
* Michael Ramsammy (Edinburgh)

Advisory Board:
* Adam Albright (MIT)
* Jill Beckman (Iowa)
* Stuart Davis (Indiana)
* Laura J. Downing (Gothenburg)
* Silke Hamann (Amsterdam)
* S.J. Hannahs (Newcastle upon Tyne)
* Kristine A. Hildebrandt (Southern Illinois)
* Yuni Kim (Essex)
* Martin Kramer (Tromso)
* Nancy Kula (Essex)
* Nabila Louriz (Hassan II, Casablanca)
* Joan Mascaro (UAB)
* Kuniya Nasukawa (Tohoku Gakuin)
* Marc van Oostendorp (Meertens & Nijmegen)
* Tobias Scheer (Nice)
* James M. Scobbie (QMU)
* Koen Sebregts (Utrecht)
* Jennifer L. Smith (UNC Chapel Hill
* Nina Topintzi (Thessaloniki)
* Jochen Trommer (Leipzig)
* Francesc Torres-Tamarit (Paris 8)
* Christian Uffmann (Duesseldorf)
* Ruben van de Vijver (Duesseldorf)
* Sophie Wauquier (Paris 8)
* Draga Zec (Cornell)
* Elizabeth Zsiga (Georgetown)
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

Hussain and Shinohara (2019) Partial devoicing of voiced geminate stops in Tokyo Japanese

Authors: Qandeel Hussain & Shigeko Shinohara
 
Abstract:
Tokyo Japanese has a constraint against voiced geminate stops in its native lexicon. The present study investigates whether recently introduced word-medial voiced geminate stops [C1V1C(C)2V2] are differentiated from voiceless geminates and voiced singletons in terms of duration, voicing during closure, and spectral moments of stop release bursts. The findings suggest that the voiceless and voiced singleton stops were clearly differentiated by C2 duration. In contrast, C2 duration of the voiceless and voiced geminate stops was not significantly different. The devoicing of the word-medial stops was not only observed in voiced geminates, but voiced singletons also showed devoicing. The duration of the preceding vowel (V1) distinguished the voicing contrast in both singleton and geminate stops. The first four spectral moments of C2 stop release bursts did not distinguish the length and voicing contrasts in stops. These results indicate that, although word-medial voiced geminate stops are fully or partially devoiced, the Tokyo Japanese speakers lengthen the preceding vowels (V1) to maintain a voicing contrast. Production patterns of the voiced geminates are considered in relation to marginal or intermediate phonological contrast.