Debrecen08

Timing in Phonology; an advanced course

Ben Hermans

Many processes change the length of segments. Often these are rather perplexing phenomena because they seem to be contradictory. For instance, vowels are typically lengthened in open syllables, but the opposite, shortening in open syllables also exists. Another example: vowels are typically shorted in closed syllables, but, curiously enough, its opposite also exists: sometimes vowels do get lengthened specifically in closed syllables. To account for these phenomena a random collection of rather arbitrary devices has been invented, like the Stress-to-Weight Constraint or consonant extrametricality. In this course I will try to work out a theory of the syllable and the foot within which a coherent and more principled analysis can be developed of timing processes. The phenomena I will discuss in the course are the following: 1) Open Syllable Lengthening and its relation with Compensatory Lengthening. 2) Closed Syllable Lengthening in various Germanic dialects. 3) Cluster Lengthening and its relation with various types of Umlaut/Metaphony phenomena. 4) Special attention will be given to the intervocalic consonant. I will give various examples of the relevance of intervocalic C for timing processes. 5) Attention will also be given to a particularly interesting type of timing process: the ontogenesis of the tonal accents in Limburg dialects.

The slides for this class can be found here, here, and here.

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