In the field of formal approaches to the syllable, the Strict CV theory (Lowenstamm 1996; Segeral and Scheer 2001, 2008; Scheer 2004, among others) has introduced a radical change of view compared to autosegmental models. The core of the... more
In the field of formal approaches to the syllable, the Strict CV theory (Lowenstamm 1996; Segeral and Scheer 2001, 2008; Scheer 2004, among others) has introduced a radical change of view compared to autosegmental models. The core of the proposal is the fundamental assumption that the sequence CV is not just the fundamental syllable type, but rather the only syllable type in all the world’s languages. Inevitably, this assumption has profound consequences on the principles of phonological analysis. As a result, although strict CV is an outgrowth of Government Phonology (GP) and the two models share common epistemological goals and some central principles, they differ from each other in crucial aspects. Although the proponents of Strict CV have taken into account a considerable amount of phonological phenomena of different languages, such radical change in the approach to the syllable and to phonological structure in general is obviously debatable (cf. van Oostendorp 2013). This pape...
The paper concerns the nature of segmental primes and the relationship between phonological categories and phonetic surface. The view of classic Element Theory and Government Phonology, that elements correspond to acoustic signatures in... more
The paper concerns the nature of segmental primes and the relationship between phonological categories and phonetic surface. The view of classic Element Theory and Government Phonology, that elements correspond to acoustic signatures in the speech signal, is here applied to phenomena of phonetics-phonology mismatch, maintaining that the ambiguity that may occasionally arise in phonetic forms needs not to be attributed to an allegedly arbitrary transduction from phonology to phonetics. A non-phonemic conception of segments is adopted, whereby the elemental content of segments, which is lexically established, may undergo changes determined by prosodic and segmental licensing.
The article concerns some developments of Element Theory that extend X-bar theory to the realm of phonology in order to represent the internal structure of segments. While maintaining some fundamental assumptions of Element Theory... more
The article concerns some developments of Element Theory that extend X-bar theory to the realm of phonology in order to represent the internal structure of segments. While maintaining some fundamental assumptions of Element Theory concerning the nature of melodic primes, these models propose a radically different conception of the segment and of larger phonological domains compared to autosegmentalist approaches. The article discusses some issues emerging from the adoption of X-bar theory and notation with regard to the representation of lenition phenomena, and suggests that the complex hierarchical structure that according to these theories corresponds to a segment poses problems of descriptive adequacy and raises a general question about learnability.
The paper discusses the question of “overgeneration”, that in the literature concerning segmental phonology and Element Theory in particular has been often proposed as a major concern affecting the definition of elemental inventories.... more
The paper discusses the question of “overgeneration”, that in the literature concerning segmental phonology and Element Theory in particular has been often proposed as a major concern affecting the definition of elemental inventories. Beyond specific representational needs, the danger of overgeneration is the motivation generally mentioned for progressively shrinking the inventory in successive versions of Element Theory. The paper argues, on the one hand, that cuts in the element set may cause effects of “undergeneration” and hinder the representation of relevant properties of grammar, and on the other hand, that the dimension of segmental inventories of natural languages are largely determined by principles that are not uniquely linguistic. On this basis, the proposal is advanced that overgeneration is no relevant issue for a theory whose goal is to provide a model of I-language.
The paper deals with the nature of segmental primitives. Although the conception of features as binary units has dominated phonological literature for decades, it has been challenged in convincing ways by the alternative theory according... more
The paper deals with the nature of segmental primitives. Although the conception of features as binary units has dominated phonological literature for decades, it has been challenged in convincing ways by the alternative theory according to which primitives are monovalent units. The paper compares the two aforementioned approaches by focusing on the representation of vowels. I will argue in favour of the unarist conception through a discussion of data concerning vowel harmony and metaphony in Italo-Romance varieties
In phonology, segmental content has been predominantly represented in terms of binary features. Although binary features may provide an elegant description of some segmental contrasts, it is far from clear that speaker/hearer’s knowledge... more
In phonology, segmental content has been predominantly represented in terms of binary features. Although binary features may provide an elegant description of some segmental contrasts, it is far from clear that speaker/hearer’s knowledge about segments is organized in a binary way, as we illustrated with specific reference to vocalic alternations (metaphony etc.). The debate about binarity in phonology has a potential parallel in morphosyntax. While syntactic categories (N, V, v, T etc.) are monovalent, a model like Distributed Morphology depends on standard generative phonology for a number of formal properties, including the adoption of binary features. Thus 1 st and 2 nd persons are [+participant] while 3 rd person is the absence of such properties, namely [-participant]. We argue that this is not the most economical set of assumptions, specifically in the explanation of the syntactic generalization known as the Person Case Constraint (PCC). For both phonology and morphology, we ...
The paper deals with the allomorphic variation in the definite article and the object clitic in Neapolitan. After considering a phenomenon of article and clitic deletion of the dialect of Roma and reviewing the analyses that have been... more
The paper deals with the allomorphic variation in the definite article and the object clitic in Neapolitan. After considering a phenomenon of article and clitic deletion of the dialect of Roma and reviewing the analyses that have been developed on this topic, the paper takes into account a similar phenomenon in Neapolitan. The proposal here advanced is that l-deletion in Neapolitan dialect should be considered an instance of allomorphic variation instead of a purely phonological process.
