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The effects of semantic context on voicing neutralization
1Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, State University of New York, Buffalo 14260.
Phonetica
|January 1, 1993
Summary
Regressive voice assimilation in Catalan shows complete neutralization when semantic context is present. However, a voicing contrast is realized in neutral contexts, as shown by vowel duration.
Area of Science:
- Phonetics and Phonology
- Linguistic Research
- Acoustic Phonetics
Background:
- Regressive voice assimilation is a common phonological process.
- Voicing neutralization, the loss of voicing distinctions, is a key aspect of assimilation.
- Understanding the factors influencing neutralization is crucial for phonological theory.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of semantic information in regressive voice assimilation in Catalan.
- To determine the conditions under which complete versus incomplete voicing neutralization occurs.
- To explore the acoustic correlates, specifically vowel duration, of underlying voicing.
Main Methods:
- Constructed two experimental contexts: one with semantic information biasing word meaning, and one without.
- Analyzed regressive voice assimilation in Catalan within these contexts.
- Measured vowel duration as a potential acoustic cue for underlying voicing.
Main Results:
- Vowel duration was found to distinguish underlying voicing exclusively in the neutral context (without semantic information).
- In the presence of semantic information, voicing neutralization was observed.
- Absence of semantic information led to the realization of a voicing contrast.
Conclusions:
- Semantic information plays a critical role in triggering voicing neutralization during regressive assimilation in Catalan.
- The realization of voicing contrasts is dependent on the presence or absence of semantic cues.
- Vowel duration serves as an acoustic cue for voicing only when semantic information does not interfere with neutralization.