The &lt;i&gt;loi de position&lt;/i&gt; and the acoustics of French mid vowels

Storme, Benjamin

doi:10.5334/gjgl.300

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Although this paper will not attempt to provide a systematic explanation for these subtle contextual effects, and will instead mainly focus on the general, cross-linguistically robust asymmetry between word-final V# and VC#, the existence of contextual variability in the distribution of tense and lax vowels is not surprising. For instance, the fact that tense–lax contrasts are only allowed word-finally in Standard French can be understood as an effect of vowel reduction: there is less target undershoot in word-final syllables, due to the presence of stress (see Storme 2017b and citations therein), and therefore more vowel contrasts can be accommodated in this position, in accordance with Flemming's (2005) model of vowel reduction. Similarly, vowel undershoot in unstressed syllables in Chamorro might make the vowel space too compressed to maintain distinct allophones in this position.…”

Section: Language Surveysupporting

confidence: 54%

“…However, if laxing and shortening are caused by different mechanisms, they should not always have the same distribution. And indeed, mid-vowel laxing in Southern French applies before coda [s], but mid-vowel shortening does not (Storme 2017b).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hypothesis 3 was formulated by Jakobson et al (1952: 36–39), and is supported by a range of studies showing that tense vowels are more peripheral than lax vowels (e.g. English: Stevens 1998: 296, Javanese: van Zanten 1989: 72; Québec French: Martin 2002; Southern French: Storme 2017b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Contrast enhancement as motivation for closed syllable laxing and open syllable tensing

Storme

2019

Phonology

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This paper proposes that closed syllable laxing and open syllable tensing of non-low vowels are motivated by conflicting strategies of contrast enhancement in vowel–consonant sequences. Laxing enhances the distinctiveness of consonant contrasts by allowing for more distinct VC formant transitions, in particular in sequences involving a non-low vowel followed by an oral labial/coronal/velar consonant (e.g. [p t k]). Tensing enhances the distinctiveness of vowel contrasts by providing more distinct formant realisations for vowels. Linguistic variation results from different ways of resolving the tension between maximising vowel dispersion and maximising consonant dispersion. Laxing typically applies before coda consonants as a way to compensate for the absence of good perceptual cues to place of articulation. The hypothesis that laxing enhances the distinctiveness of postvocalic place contrasts is supported by a study of mid-vowel laxing in French, which corroborates the general claim that perceptual contrast plays a role in shaping phonotactic restrictions.

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Section: Language Surveysupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contrast enhancement as motivation for closed syllable laxing and open syllable tensing

Storme

2019

Phonology

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“…This difficulty should be increased in the context under consideration, namely in non-final syllables. Indeed, there is substantial target undershoot in non-final syllables as compared to word-final syllables in French, resulting in close-mid and open-mid vowels being closer in the acoustic space non-finally than wordfinally (Storme, 2017a). Moreover, close-mid and open-mid vowels do not contrast in non-final syllables in morphologically simple words (Tranel, 1987), making it potentially harder to detect differences between the two vowels in this context.…”

Section: [E]-[ɛ] and [O]-[ɔ] Alternations: Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for suffix cohesion in French

Storme

2020

French Language Studies

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In a language, suffix cohesion refers to the fact that suffixed words behave phonologically as simple or complex units depending on the suffix they are built with. This article uncovers a previously undescribed pattern of suffix cohesion in French, where words suffixed with vowel- and glide-initial suffixes behave phonologically like simple units (e.g. fêtiez [fet-je] ‘you partied’) and words built with other consonant-initial suffixes behave phonologically like complex units (e.g. fêterez [fɛt-ʁe] ‘you will party’). The evidence comes from a reassessment of well-known data on [ə]–[ɛ] stem alternations and from an acoustic study of [e]–[ɛ] and [o]–[ɔ] alternations in suffixed words as pronounced by 10 speakers living in the Paris area. The suffix’s phonological shape is found to provide the best account of the data among a set of factors that have been argued to be relevant to suffix cohesion in other languages (in particular resyllabification). The French pattern has important theoretical implications for theories of suffix cohesion as it is not prosodically conditioned. An alternative analysis in terms of paradigm uniformity is proposed, where suffixed words are treated as complex units phonologically if the suffix’s phonological shape facilitates the perceptual recognition of the base corresponding to the suffixed word’s stem.

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“…sol [sɔl] 'floor', sec [sɛk] 'dry.MASC') or in open syllables followed by schwa (e.g. sole [ˈsɔlə] 'sole', sèche [ˈsɛʃə] 'dry.FEM'), a pattern known as the loi de position (Durand 1995, Eychenne 2014, Storme 2017 and references therein). 4 Third, 'nasal vowels' are actually realised as oral vowels followed by a nasal glide, which is usually velar, especially in word-final position ([ɛŋ oeŋ ɔŋ aŋ]), or sometimes homorganic with the following consonant if it is a stop (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the deletion of word-final schwa in Southern French

Eychenne

2019

Phonology

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Although a growing body of literature in formal phonology has espoused the view that phonological knowledge is gradient and probabilistic, this perspective remains somewhat controversial. This paper provides further empirical support for this strand of work: it offers an analysis of the gradient deletion of word-final schwa in Southern French, using a corpus containing 7787 data points obtained from 45 subjects spread over three dialectal areas (the Basque Country, Languedoc and Provence). In addition to confirming or nuancing previous findings about the role of several phonological and non-phonological variables, the study demonstrates the influence of lexical frequency, grammatical category, sonority and the feature specification of the consonant before schwa.

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The <i>loi de position</i> and the acoustics of French mid vowels

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

Contrast enhancement as motivation for closed syllable laxing and open syllable tensing

Contrast enhancement as motivation for closed syllable laxing and open syllable tensing

Evidence for suffix cohesion in French

On the deletion of word-final schwa in Southern French

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