Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics vol. 45 (1), 2009
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item LISTENER ORIENTED REPRESENTATIONS IN NATURAL PHONOLOGY(Versita Ltd., de Gruyter, 2009) Schwartz, GeoffreyWhile Natural Phonology has long contended that phonemes are specified for their phonetic properties, followers of the theory have concentrated primarily on phonological processes, in- stead of delving into the details of pronounceable representations. In the area of representation, NP has thus failed to pursue its claim that systematic articulatory and perceptual phenomena be- low the level of segmental contrast must be treated phonologically. By building an explicit model of representation in NP, we may help the theory to meet one of its primary challenges: “to con- firm the hypothesis that speech processing is categorical, or phonological, down to the level of the actual phonetic (pronounceable) representation” (Donegan 2002: 79). Prominence Phonology (Schwartz, in press) is an NP-inspired model that seeks to take Donegan’s call to action to heart, introducing new and phonetically explicit representations based upon scalar yet monovalent ele- mental primes. This paper introduces these representations with the goal of refining our view of the signal so as to develop a phonological view of speech.Item NP EXTENSION: B&B PHONOTACTICS(Versita Ltd., de Gruyter, 2009) Dziubalska-Kołaczyk, KatarzynaThis paper will report on an extension of the framework of Natural Phonology in the area of syl- lable phonology and phonotactics. In particular, it will present a universal model of phonotactics constructed within Beats-and-Binding Phonology (B&B Phonology, cf. Dziubalska-Kołaczyk 2002) – a syllable-less theory of phonology embedded in Natural Phonology. The thrust of the theory is the claim that intersegmental cohesion determines syllable structure, rather than being determined by it (if one insists on the notion of the “syllable” which is epiphenomenal here). The core of B&B phonotactics is the Net Auditory Distance Principle, according to which phonologi- cal naturalness of clusters can be evaluated.Item NATURAL PHONOLOGY AS A FUNCTIONAL THEORY(Versita Ltd., de Gruyter, 2009) Balas, AnnaThis paper presents Natural Phonology as a functional theory. Natural Phonology is shown to be functional in two senses: as focusing on explanation and thus increasing our understanding of how language works, and as having practical applications, especially to second language acquisi- tion and speech therapy. The contribution argues that crucial as formalism is in computational linguistics and speech technology, Natural Phonology, with less rigid and less formalized claims, has important applications in the areas where language and not totally predictable human factors are involved. The paper discusses approaches to autonomy in language, explanation and hy- pothesis in Natural Phonology, and applications of Natural Phonology.