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Stopping and Affrication in Yonaguni Ryukyuan
日本硏究
2016,
(40), pp.117-136
Publisher : The Center for Japanese Studies
Research Area : Japanese Language and Literature
Publisher : The Center for Japanese Studies
Research Area : Japanese Language and Literature
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This paper aims to examine stopping and affrication in Yonaguni Ryukyuan within the framework of Optimality Theory. Voiced fricatives became voiced stops in Yonaguni Ryukyuan due to a markedness constraint *Ons/VcdFric, which bans voiced fricatives in onset position. Contrary to voiced fricatives, voiceless fricatives did not become voiceless stops. I account for this asymmetry by ranking constraints such as 〚*Ons/VcdFric ≫ Ident(strid) ≫ *Ons/VclsFric〛. *Ons/VcdFric was more highly ranked than the faithfulness constraint Ident(strid), so voiced fricatives changed to voiced stops. But *Ons/VclsFric was less ranked than Ident(strid), so voiceless fricatives did not change to voiceless stops. Voiceless fricative /ʃ/ became affricate [ʧ] or [ʧʔ] before /i/ in Yonaguni Ryukyuan. It was caused by a markedness constraint *PalFric, which bans palatal fricatives. Despite of *PalFric, [ʃi], which was changed from /se/ by vowel raising and palatalization, did not become [ʧi] or [ʧʔ] in Yonaguni Ryukyuan. To account for this counter-feeding opacity, I propose a locally conjoined constraint [Ident(cont) & Ident(high)]Body A faithfulness constraint Ident(cont) was lower ranked than the markedness constraint *PalFric in Yonaguni Ryukyuan, so /ʃi/ changed to [ʧi] or [ʧʔi]. However, since the composite constraint [Ident(cont) & Ident(high)]Body was more highly ranked than *PalFric, [ʃi], which was changed from /se/ by vowel raising and palatalization, did not change to [ʧi] in Yonaguni Ryukyuan.
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