Prototypical Predicates Have Unmarked Phonology

Abstract

Recent work recognizes that phonological processes and phonotactics can be sensitive to lexical category. Moreover, there are strong cross-linguistic tendencies concerning the nature of phonological differences between categories. One such tendency is a hierarchy of phonological privilege, N > A > V: nouns tend to license more phonological contrasts and tolerate more marked structures than adjectives, with verbs showing the least privilege and therefore the greatest phonological unmarkedness.<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="zxx">This paper proposes that the N > A > V hierarchy of phonological privilege derives from a more general scale, according to which protypical designators (or arguments) have more phonological privilege, and prototypical predicates show greater unmarkedness. This approach predicts that even <em>within</em> a given lexical category, such as V, category members that are more prototypical as predicates should show greater unmarkedness.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="zxx">A case study is presented in support of this proposal. In Tokyo Japanese, unergative verbs (more-prototypical predicates) show greater phonological unmarkedness with respect to pitch accent than unaccusative verbs (less-prototypical predicates). Some preliminary implications of this finding for our understanding of lexical-category effects in phonology, and of the role of markedness scales in the grammar, are also considered.</p>

Phonology of proper names

“…The generalisation above has been theoretically expressed in the form of ‘name‐specific faithfulness’. Proponents of the idea (Jaber & Omari, 2018; Moreton et al., 2017; also see Smith, 2014, p. 1) claim that proper names are inherently placed high in the hierarchy of grammatical privilege and that faithfulness constraints relativised to them are universally available. This is an extension of the theory of positional faithfulness (Beckman, 1997, 1999).…”

Asymmetric Correlations between English Verb Transitivity and Stress

“…Smith (2013Smith ( , 2014 argues that this is the basis for a di↵erence in the distribution of unaccentedness among unaccusative and unergative verbs in Tokyo Japanese.…”

Exceptional prosodification effects revisited in Gradient Harmonic Grammar

“…Tranel (1981) questionsDell's (1970) generalisation about the absence of stem-internal oeV sequences, noting that oeV is found in proper names like Panhard [pÒaʁ]. However, this can be understood as the result of a positional privilege afforded to proper nouns(Smith 2014, Moreton et al 2017 that does not alter the basic generalisation about stem-internal phonotactic restrictions.…”