Matthew Dabkowski
Biographic Data
| ID | 635880 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Matthew Dabkowski |
| GIVEN NAMES | Matthew |
| FAMILY NAME | Dabkowski |
| SIGNATURE | DABKOWSKI M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Berkeley |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3414-4726 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Discontinuous vowel harmony in Guébie: Cyclic interleaving of syntax and phonology
This article introduces the phenomenon of discontinuous harmony, where the target and trigger of harmony are separated by intervening nonharmonizing words. We present a case study from Guébie (Kru; Côte d’Ivoire) in which particle verbs are split via focus movement. Despite appearing at opposite edges of the clause, the verb controls harmony on the particle without affecting the vowels of intervening material. While discontinuous harmony would ap…
Deglottalizing contamination in A'ingae historical derivatives
I describe and analyze the phonological form and historical trajectory of nominal derivatives in A’ingae (ISO 639-3: con), an underdocumented Amazonian isolate. Some words historically derived with otherwise preglottalized nominalizers have no glottalization today. I propose that these “exceptions” are reflexes of originally glottalized words, which underwent semantic shift and lost glottalization due to contamination from the plain (i.e. non-glo…
The Semantics and Expression of Apprehensional Modality
Apprehensionality refers to the semantic domain of negative prospective epistemic modality and the formal expressions used to encode it. In this article, we break down the apprehensional situation into five prototypical components: (I) future reference, (II) possibility, (III) negative evaluation, (IV) avertive intent, and (V) a preferred action. In doing so, we propose a framework for comparing synchronic and diachronic aspects of the semantics …
Complex diachronies of final nasalization in Austronesian and Dakota
Final nasalization of voiced stops is phonetically unmotivated (i.e. not a consequence of universal articulatory or perceptual tendencies). As such, final nasalization has been deemed an impossible sound change. Nonetheless, Blust (2005; 2016) proposes that final nasalization took place in four Austronesian languages: Kayan-Murik, Berawan dialects, Kalabakan Murut, and Karo Batak. In this paper, we argue final nasalization in these languages is n…
Two grammars of A’ingae glottalization: A case for Cophonologies by Phase
This paper describes and analyzes phonological processes pertinent to the glottal stop in A’ingae (or Cofán, iso 639-3 : ). The operations which the glottal stops undergo and trigger reveal an interaction of two morphophonological parameters: stratum and stress dominance. First, verbal suffixes are organized in two morphophonological domains, or strata. Within the inner domain, glottal stops affect stress placement, which I analyze as an interact…
A Q-Theoretic Solution to A’ingae Postlabial Rounding
I describe and analyze a process of postlabial rounding in A’ingae (isolate, iso 639-3: con): after labial consonants, the diphthong /ae/ may surface as [oe]. However, a postlabial monophthongal /a/ always surfaces faithfully as [a]. To capture these facts, I propose an analysis couched in Q-Theory, where one vocalic target of a diphthong corresponds to fewer subsegments than a monophthong. This predicts that diphthongs might show an emergence-of…
The blurring history of intervocalic devoicing
The intervocalic position favors voicing in stops. Yet, some languages have been reported to feature the opposite (unnatural) process of intervocalic devoicing. This paper investigates two such case studies. Pre-Berawan intervocalic * b and * g have developed into Berawan k. Pre-Kiput intervocalic * g , * ɟʝ , and * v have developed into Kiput k , cç , and f , respectively. To account for the data, we invoke Beguš’s (2018, 2019) blurring process …
The phonology of A'ingae
A'ingae (or Cofán, ISO 639‐3: con) is an indigenous language isolate spoken in northeast Ecuador and southern Colombia. This paper presents the first comprehensive overview of the A'ingae phonology, including descriptions of (i) the language's phonemic inventory, (ii) phonotactics and a number of related phonological rules, (iii) nasality and nasal spreading, as well as (iv) stress, glottalisation, their morphophonology, and aspects of clause‐lev…
Rationale and Precautioning Clauses: Insights from A’ingae
We describe and analyze the semantics of rationale and precautioning clauses (i.e. in order to- and lest-clauses) through a detailed case study of two operators in A’ingae (or Cofán, iso 639-3: con, an Amazonian isolate): the infinitive -ye ‘inf’ and the apprehensional -sa’ne ‘appr.’ We provide a new account of rationale semantics and the first formal account of precautioning semantics. We propose that in structures such as [$p$ [(in order) to$q$…
Postlabial raising and paradigmatic leveling in A’ingae: A diachronic study from the field
This paper discusses and analyzes the variation between ai and ɨi in A’ingae(or Cofán, an Amazonian isolate, ISO 639-3: con) by comparing the data reported in Borman’s (1976) dictionary with contemporary productions. In Borman (1976), ai does not generally appear after labial consonants; the distribution of ɨi is not restricted. In some modern productions, postlabial ai is allowed when the diphthong crosses a morpheme boundary (a + i). I propose …
A'ingae reduplication is phonologically optimizing
In this paper, I describe and analyze reduplication in A’ingae (ISO 639-3: con), an understudied and endangered Amazonian isolate. The reduplicant is a suffix -ʔσ, where ʔ is a fixed segment and σ is a syllable copied from the right edge of the word. Only disyllabic roots can be reduplicated, and the disyllabic root is parsed as a trochaic foot in the surface form. If the second syllable of the root is a diphthong, it undergoes monophthongization…
The origins of the Austronesian voice system and subject-only restriction
The Austronesian voice system (AVS) is among the most typologically intriguing and well-studied phenomena in syntax. Previous diachronic accounts have used the comparative method to argue that either the voice function or the nominalization function of the voice affixes should be reconstructed to Proto-Austronesian (PAn). We propose an alternative path of development using internal reconstruction as a primary methodological tool. First, we recons…
Paraguayan Guaraní and the typology of free affix order
Cross-linguistically, affix order is commonly determined by semantic scope (Rice 2006) or a morphological template. Less frequently, affix order is free, which means that suffixes can be reordered without a concomitant change in scope. To address the question of what gives rise to and constrains free affix order (FAO), I present a case study of Paraguayan Guaraní (or PG, Tupí-Guaraní, Paraguay, ISO 639-3: gug). I argue that FAO in PG should be an…
Prosody drives Paraguayan Guaraní suffix order
In Paraguayan Guaraní (Tupian, ISO 639-3: gug), suffix order is determined by several factors, including syntactic scope, morphotactic restrictions, free variation, and prosody.Paraguayan Guaraní suffixes form two syntactic classes: predicate-level suffixes and clause-level suffixes. Both syntactic classes include stressable and stressless suffixes. Predicate-level suffixes typically precede clause-level suffixes. However, stressable suffixes alw…
Dominance is non-representational: Evidence from A'ingae verbal stress
A'ingae (or Cofán) is a language isolate spoken in the Ecuadorian and Colombian Amazon. This study presents a description and analysis of the language's morphologically conditioned verbal stress assignment. Specifically, I show that A'ingae verbal morphemes can be classified with two binary parameters: the presence or absence of prestressing and the presence or absence of stress deletion (i.e. dominance), which vary independently. I formalise my …
Exploratory blockmodeling for one-mode, unsigned, deterministic networks using integer programming and structural equivalence
Simultaneous-direct blockmodeling for multiple relations in Pajek
No prominent works on this page.
Simultaneous-direct blockmodeling for multiple relations in Pajek
Exploratory blockmodeling for one-mode, unsigned, deterministic networks using integer programming and structural equivalence
Dominance is non-representational: Evidence from A'ingae verbal stress
A'ingae (or Cofán) is a language isolate spoken in the Ecuadorian and Colombian Amazon. This study presents a description and analysis of the language's morphologically conditioned verbal stress assignment. Specifically, I show that A'ingae verbal morphemes can be classified with two binary parameters: the presence or absence of prestressing and the presence or absence of stress deletion (i.e. dominance), which vary independently. I formalise my …
Paraguayan Guaraní and the typology of free affix order
Cross-linguistically, affix order is commonly determined by semantic scope (Rice 2006) or a morphological template. Less frequently, affix order is free, which means that suffixes can be reordered without a concomitant change in scope. To address the question of what gives rise to and constrains free affix order (FAO), I present a case study of Paraguayan Guaraní (or PG, Tupí-Guaraní, Paraguay, ISO 639-3: gug). I argue that FAO in PG should be an…
Prosody drives Paraguayan Guaraní suffix order
In Paraguayan Guaraní (Tupian, ISO 639-3: gug), suffix order is determined by several factors, including syntactic scope, morphotactic restrictions, free variation, and prosody.Paraguayan Guaraní suffixes form two syntactic classes: predicate-level suffixes and clause-level suffixes. Both syntactic classes include stressable and stressless suffixes. Predicate-level suffixes typically precede clause-level suffixes. However, stressable suffixes alw…
Rationale and Precautioning Clauses: Insights from A’ingae
We describe and analyze the semantics of rationale and precautioning clauses (i.e. in order to- and lest-clauses) through a detailed case study of two operators in A’ingae (or Cofán, iso 639-3: con, an Amazonian isolate): the infinitive -ye ‘inf’ and the apprehensional -sa’ne ‘appr.’ We provide a new account of rationale semantics and the first formal account of precautioning semantics. We propose that in structures such as [$p$ [(in order) to$q$…
Postlabial raising and paradigmatic leveling in A’ingae: A diachronic study from the field
This paper discusses and analyzes the variation between ai and ɨi in A’ingae(or Cofán, an Amazonian isolate, ISO 639-3: con) by comparing the data reported in Borman’s (1976) dictionary with contemporary productions. In Borman (1976), ai does not generally appear after labial consonants; the distribution of ɨi is not restricted. In some modern productions, postlabial ai is allowed when the diphthong crosses a morpheme boundary (a + i). I propose …
A'ingae reduplication is phonologically optimizing
In this paper, I describe and analyze reduplication in A’ingae (ISO 639-3: con), an understudied and endangered Amazonian isolate. The reduplicant is a suffix -ʔσ, where ʔ is a fixed segment and σ is a syllable copied from the right edge of the word. Only disyllabic roots can be reduplicated, and the disyllabic root is parsed as a trochaic foot in the surface form. If the second syllable of the root is a diphthong, it undergoes monophthongization…
The origins of the Austronesian voice system and subject-only restriction
The Austronesian voice system (AVS) is among the most typologically intriguing and well-studied phenomena in syntax. Previous diachronic accounts have used the comparative method to argue that either the voice function or the nominalization function of the voice affixes should be reconstructed to Proto-Austronesian (PAn). We propose an alternative path of development using internal reconstruction as a primary methodological tool. First, we recons…
Complex diachronies of final nasalization in Austronesian and Dakota
Final nasalization of voiced stops is phonetically unmotivated (i.e. not a consequence of universal articulatory or perceptual tendencies). As such, final nasalization has been deemed an impossible sound change. Nonetheless, Blust (2005; 2016) proposes that final nasalization took place in four Austronesian languages: Kayan-Murik, Berawan dialects, Kalabakan Murut, and Karo Batak. In this paper, we argue final nasalization in these languages is n…
Two grammars of A’ingae glottalization: A case for Cophonologies by Phase
This paper describes and analyzes phonological processes pertinent to the glottal stop in A’ingae (or Cofán, iso 639-3 : ). The operations which the glottal stops undergo and trigger reveal an interaction of two morphophonological parameters: stratum and stress dominance. First, verbal suffixes are organized in two morphophonological domains, or strata. Within the inner domain, glottal stops affect stress placement, which I analyze as an interact…
A Q-Theoretic Solution to A’ingae Postlabial Rounding
I describe and analyze a process of postlabial rounding in A’ingae (isolate, iso 639-3: con): after labial consonants, the diphthong /ae/ may surface as [oe]. However, a postlabial monophthongal /a/ always surfaces faithfully as [a]. To capture these facts, I propose an analysis couched in Q-Theory, where one vocalic target of a diphthong corresponds to fewer subsegments than a monophthong. This predicts that diphthongs might show an emergence-of…
The blurring history of intervocalic devoicing
The intervocalic position favors voicing in stops. Yet, some languages have been reported to feature the opposite (unnatural) process of intervocalic devoicing. This paper investigates two such case studies. Pre-Berawan intervocalic * b and * g have developed into Berawan k. Pre-Kiput intervocalic * g , * ɟʝ , and * v have developed into Kiput k , cç , and f , respectively. To account for the data, we invoke Beguš’s (2018, 2019) blurring process …
The phonology of A'ingae
A'ingae (or Cofán, ISO 639‐3: con) is an indigenous language isolate spoken in northeast Ecuador and southern Colombia. This paper presents the first comprehensive overview of the A'ingae phonology, including descriptions of (i) the language's phonemic inventory, (ii) phonotactics and a number of related phonological rules, (iii) nasality and nasal spreading, as well as (iv) stress, glottalisation, their morphophonology, and aspects of clause‐lev…
Deglottalizing contamination in A'ingae historical derivatives
I describe and analyze the phonological form and historical trajectory of nominal derivatives in A’ingae (ISO 639-3: con), an underdocumented Amazonian isolate. Some words historically derived with otherwise preglottalized nominalizers have no glottalization today. I propose that these “exceptions” are reflexes of originally glottalized words, which underwent semantic shift and lost glottalization due to contamination from the plain (i.e. non-glo…
The Semantics and Expression of Apprehensional Modality
Apprehensionality refers to the semantic domain of negative prospective epistemic modality and the formal expressions used to encode it. In this article, we break down the apprehensional situation into five prototypical components: (I) future reference, (II) possibility, (III) negative evaluation, (IV) avertive intent, and (V) a preferred action. In doing so, we propose a framework for comparing synchronic and diachronic aspects of the semantics …
Discontinuous vowel harmony in Guébie: Cyclic interleaving of syntax and phonology
This article introduces the phenomenon of discontinuous harmony, where the target and trigger of harmony are separated by intervening nonharmonizing words. We present a case study from Guébie (Kru; Côte d’Ivoire) in which particle verbs are split via focus movement. Despite appearing at opposite edges of the clause, the verb controls harmony on the particle without affecting the vowels of intervening material. While discontinuous harmony would ap…
Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation (13 works) · Linguistics (12 works) · Phonetics and Phonology Research (12 works) · Computer Science (11 works) · Philosophy (11 works) · Mathematics (8 works) · Linguistic Variation and Morphology (7 works) · Phonology (6 works) · Language and cultural evolution (4 works) · Vowel (4 works)