15.894, Diss: Ling Theories: McCrary: 'Reassessing...'

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-15-894. Tue Mar 16 2004. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 15.894, Diss: Ling Theories: McCrary: 'Reassessing...'

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1)
Date:  Mon, 15 Mar 2004 14:25:55 -0500 (EST)
From:  kristie_mccrary at yahoo.com
Subject:  Reassessing the Role of the Syllable in Italian Phonology

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Mon, 15 Mar 2004 14:25:55 -0500 (EST)
From:  kristie_mccrary at yahoo.com
Subject:  Reassessing the Role of the Syllable in Italian Phonology

Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Program: Program in Romance Linguistics and Literature
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2004

Author: Kristie Marie McCrary

Dissertation Title: Reassessing the Role of the Syllable in Italian
Phonology: An Experimental Study of Consonant Cluster Syllabification,
Definite Article Allomorphy and Segment Duration.

Linguistic Field: General Linguistics, Linguistic Theories,
Morphology, Phonetics,Phonology

Subject Language: Italian (code: ITN)

Dissertation Director 1: Donca Steriade
Dissertation Director 2: Colin Wilson
Dissertation Director 3: Patricia Keating
Dissertation Director 4: Bruce Hayes

Dissertation Abstract:

One of the main arguments for the inclusion of syllables in
phonological theory is that syllable-based analyses shed light on the
interrelatedness of multiple phenomena. This dissertation investigated
the role of the syllable in Italian phonology in three domains through
a series of experiments with native speakers of Standard Italian: (i)
native speaker intuition of consonant cluster syllabification, (ii)
definite article allomorphy (il vs. lo), and (iii) segment duration.
The primary goal was to test the predictions of syllable-based
analyses.  The secondary goal was to test the claimed convergence of
multiple phenomena on the same syllable structure.  The consonant
cluster syllabification experiments found that native speakers do not
use knowledge of sonority distance constraints, sonority sequencing
constraints, or the maximum onset principle when confronted with the
task of string division.  Instead, two strategies for string division
were identified: (i) the word-based syllables strategy (Steriade,
1999), and (ii) the phonotactic-constraint satisfaction strategy.  The
co-existence of these two strategies was reflected in increased
response variability in cases where the strategies conflicted.  The
syllable-based analysis of masculine singular definite article
allomorphy (il vs. lo) was not supported by the experimental data.  A
syllable-independent phonotactic analysis was proposed in which the
same constraints that govern word-internal phonotactics are ranked
above the *lo constraint [il is the default].  It was also found that
article allomorph selection is only marginally predictable before
non-native clusters.  The segment duration experiments found that the
maintenance of contrastive length has far reaching effects on the
duration of both consonants and vowels.  Speakers only produced
categorical segment duration differences in the phonotactic context
where length is contrastive.  Consonant length is contrastive and
differences in consonant duration were categorical.  Vowel length is
not contrastive and differences in vowel duration were gradient.  No
evidence for open-syllable vowel lengthening was found.  The
cross-experimental comparison found that variability in one domain
(e.g. allomorphy), does not correspond to variability in the others
(e.g. string division, duration).  Therefore, the syllable-based
analysis was not able to simultaneously generate predictions in
multiple domains.

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