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- Title
Perceptual distinctness and long-distance laryngeal restrictions.
- Authors
Gallagher, Gillian
- Abstract
In this paper, I present an analysis of the typology of laryngeal co-occurrence restrictions based on contrast markedness. The key ingredient of the analysis, for which I provide experimental support, is that laryngeal co-occurrence phenomena reflect a preference for maximising the perceptual distinctness of contrasts between words (Flemming 1995, 2004). An AX discrimination task finds that the contrast between an ejective and a plain stop is less accurately perceived in the context of another ejective in the word than in the context of another plain stop in the word. Pairs of words like [k'ap'i] and [k'api], which contrast 2 vs. 1 ejectives, are less reliably distinguished than pairs of words like [kap'i] and [kapi], which contrast 1 vs. 0 ejectives. The unifying factor of all laryngeal co-occurrence patterns is the neutralisation of the contrast between words with one and two laryngeally marked segments, exactly the contrast that is shown to be relatively perceptually weak.
- Subjects
PERCEPTUAL learning; LARYNGEALS (Phonetics); LINGUISTIC typology; NEUTRALIZATION (Linguistics); SENSORY perception; VOCABULARY
- Publication
Phonology, 2010, Vol 27, Issue 3, p435
- ISSN
0952-6757
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1017/S0952675710000217