Default unstressed initial syllable? re-

[Joe Pater]

Dear all,
In both Gnanadesikan's and Smith's data, the pattern is one of
replacement of an initial unstressed syllable by a default syllable
(the term "dummy" is Gnanadesikan's, I think). I don't recall either
one discussing the perseverative pattern.

You can get a pre-publication version of Amalia's paper here - it's one
of the first, and one of the best applications of Optimality Theory to
phonological acquisition:

http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?id=77

Best,
Joe.

On Jan 10, 2005, at 3:32 PM, Brian MacWhinney wrote:

> Folks,
>     It seems to me that Lynn's son and Sharon's son show patterns that
> are similar in one respect, but different in another.  Sharon reports
> this:
>
>> My son at age 3 also used a "default" unstressed initial syllable,
>> except in his case the syllable was "buh."  So we ate buhsketti, and
>> buhzagna,  about and around became "buhbout," and "buhwound"
>> aquarium was "buhkarium" etc.  He began by using it for unstressed
>> schwa syllables in the initial position, but then began using it for
>> other initial unstressed syllables.  For example museum became
>> "buhzeum," refrigerator was "buhfidgewator," and I was a "buhfessor."
>>  He held onto this pattern for a long time, especially for the 3-4
>> syllable words.
>
> Here we see the /buh/ substituting for CV structures in the target.
> Words like "about" often have an initial glottal that makes them
> qualify as having initial CV.  So this involves simply substituting a
> simple CV for a more difficult initial CV.
>
> Lynne's son is doing the same, but the difference is that the
> potential source of the substituted CV was possibly an earlier
> epenthetic syllable in forms such as "recycling rebins."  The earlier
> use of /re/ seems to reflect syllable-level perseveration rather than
> the use of a filler.  In any case, the point is that the substituting
> /re/ in Lynne's son case has a very different potential origin,
> although its function at the time in question is similar.
>
> The problem is that I think we need some way of distinguishing between
> syllables that perform substitutions in the prosodic grid and
> syllables that open up new slots.  To me, the term "filler" is limited
> to filling a slot.  So, the second /re/ in "recycling rebins" would
> not be a filler.  I'm not sure what "dummy" means in this case.
>
> In regarding to all of these accounts, including  Smith (1973) and
> Gnanadesikan (2004), it would be useful to know whether the
> substituting syllable is always used for substitution or whether it is
> ever actually  being inserted where no syllable existed.
> Sorry, I don't have Gnanadesikan and I don't know where in my copy of
> Smith to go to look this up.
>
> Also, I am assuming that neither Smith or Gnanadesikan are reporting
> the additional aspect of Lynn's son profile in which the filler
> potentially derives from an earlier epenthetic.
>
> ---Brian MacWhinney
>
>