Conditions on the variable interpretation of |U| in Japanese

Bibliographic Data

ID7913172
AuthorsPhillip Backley (Tohoku Gakuin University, corresponding author), Kuniya Nasukawa (Tohoku Gakuin University)
Year2020
Volume20
Issue1
Pages84-101
Publication date2020-03-16
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLinguistic Variation (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2211-6834 • E-ISSN: 2211-6842
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/lv.16012.bac
OpenAlexW3001952337
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited16

This paper examines the historical and phonological properties of h in Japanese. It shows that, by analysing a specific case of segmental variation, we not only deepen our understanding of the sound which varies but also shed light on some general characteristics of the sound system as a whole. Using an Element Theory approach ( Anderson and Jones 1974 ; Kaye et al . 1985 ; Harris and Lindsey 1995 ; Scheer 1999 ; Nasukawa 2005 ; Cyran 2010 ; Backley 2011 ), the discussion focuses on the distribution of the element |U|, arguing that |U| is naturally weak in Japanese. This helps explain two idiosyncrasies in Japanese phonology – the restricted distribution of labial consonants and rounded vowels, and the patterning of h with labials. In modern Japanese, labiality is phonologically and phonetically weak. In vowels, u and w are produced without lip rounding, as unrounded [ɯ] and [ɰ]. And in consonants, the labial stop p is banned from certain contexts. These facts point to the inherent weakness of |U| in Japanese, where weakness refers to structural headedness; following Backley and Nasukawa (2009) , it is assumed that labials are represented by headed |U| (cf. non-headed |U| in velars). To account for the restricted distribution of labials, it is argued that labiality (headed | U |) is only realised in Japanese if a specific structural condition is met: |U| must co-occur with (i.e. be supported by) another element from the same sub-group of ‘dark’ elements. Thus, the paper exploits the natural division between dark elements {|A|, |U|, |L|} and light elements {|I|, |H|, |Ɂ

Geometry · Linguistics · Phonology · Political science · Sound change · Law · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Mathematics · Philosophy · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Psychology · Speech Recognition and Synthesis

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