28.4484, Review: Achinese; Kinyarwanda; Sundanese; Zulu; Quechuan; Phonology; Typology: Bennett (2015)

Thu Oct 26 18:56:53 UTC 2017

LINGUIST List: Vol-28-4484. Thu Oct 26 2017. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 28.4484, Review:  Achinese; Kinyarwanda; Sundanese; Zulu; Quechuan; Phonology; Typology: Bennett (2015)

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Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2017 14:56:47
From: Amanda Dalola [dalola at mailbox.sc.edu]
Subject: The Phonology of Consonants

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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/26/26-1766.html

AUTHOR: Wm G.  Bennett
TITLE: The Phonology of Consonants
SUBTITLE: Harmony, Dissimilation and Correspondence
SERIES TITLE: Cambridge Studies in Linguistics 147
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2015

REVIEWER: Amanda Dalola, University of South Carolina

REVIEWS EDITOR: Robert A. Coté

SUMMARY

“The Phonology of Consonants: Harmony, Dissimilation, and Correspondence” by
William G. Bennett provides a novel optimal theoretic analysis of the
phenomenon of dissimilation (the avoidance of similar sounds/segments) by
reconceptualizing it instead as the avoidance of surface correspondences.
Calling on recent work in Agreement by Correspondence (ABC), this title
successfully demonstrates that dissimilation is a possible outcome of the
Surface Correspondence Theory (SCT). The book first develops the SCT by
articulating an exhaustive list of its predictions for dissimilatory processes
and then tests them in a series of case studies featuring data from
typologically diverse languages. The discussion culminates in a typological
survey of 154 dissimilation patterns taken from a sample of 134 languages,
which can be accessed in a downloadable and searchable electronic database
hosted on the book’s accompanying website. 

Chapter 1, “Introduction,” develops the previous research on the ABC theory
(Walker, 2000a, 2000b, 2001; Hansson, 2001/2010, 2007; Rose & Walker, 2004)
and presents the main tenet of the book—that dissimilation should be viewed
not merely as the avoidance of similarity but rather as the response to more
stringent conditions attached to it. It reasons that harmonizing consonants
are required to correspond only because they are first similar in some way;
dissimilar consonants, then, remove the need to correspond because they were
never similar in the first place. This rationale is used to show that
consonant harmony is rooted in similarity rather than proximity, which
explains its ability to act at a distance.

Chapter 2, “The surface correspondence theory,” provides an optimal theoretic
account of the author’s Surface Correspondence Theory of Dissimilation (SCTD),
which serves as the basis of the analysis. Based on ABC, the essence of the
SCTD is that a correspondence relation holds over the consonants in an output
form, and that these correspondences are evaluated through two types of
markedness constraints: CORR constraints, which assign violations for
non-correspondence between consonants which share some particular feature, and
CC-Limiter constraints, which assign violations when there is correspondence
between consonants that do not meet some further condition specified by each
constraint. The text goes on to visualize the complete list of possible
interactions resulting from various types of correspondence, yielding forms
that may exhibit assimilation, assimilation + harmony or dissimilation.

Chapter 3, “Kinyarwanda: the effects of domain edges, and the adequacy of a
single SCorr relation,” is a case study of the two long-distance consonant
interactions found in the language: sibilant harmony (retroflexion agreement
within the stem) and Dahl’s Law (voiceless  voiced stop dissimilation in
prefix if stem begins with voiceless stop). Using the same concept of
correspondence, the data is able to account for both processes: sibilant
retroflexion harmony can be accounted for by ABC, while Dahl’s Law
dissimilation can be explained as avoidance of penalized correspondence.

Chapter 4, “Sundanese: complementary assimilation and dissimilation,” is a
case study of Sundanese’s complex pattern of interlocking [r]~[l]
alternations: L-assimilation turns /r/ into an infix [l] when following a
root-initial /l/, while R-dissimilation turns an infix /r/ into [l] when it
precedes an/r/ in the root. In terms of position, L-assimilation can only
happen if /r/ and /l/ are the onsets of two adjacent syllables, while
R-dissimilation can happen only if two /r/s are not onsets of adjacent
syllables. Correspondence accounts for these phenomena as follows: where it is
possible, L-assimilation can be explained by ABC, and where it is not,
R-dissimilation can be explained as an avoidance of penalized correspondence.

Chapter 5, “Quechua and Obolo: the role of syllable edges,” presents a
parallel case study of Quechua laryngeal dissimilation (between epenthetic
glottal stops and glottalized consonants) and Obolo nasal agreement (between
nasals and stops in the same syllable). The phenomena are discussed in tandem
because they are both analyzed as arising from the same surface correspondence
relation interacting with other language-specific limits on phonotactics.
While Obolo represents a one-direction (R-to-L) harmony pattern, it does so
uniquely through the interaction of faithfulness constraints, without the need
to posit any constraints on directionality. The examination of Quechua reveals
that the SCTD is also able to handle indiscriminate dissimilation patterns
that are not overtly edge-conditioned, by using CC-Limiter constraints to
prohibit initial correspondence.

Chapter 6, “Chol and Ponapean: complete identity effects,” begins by examining
the Complete Identity Effect (CIE), in which consonants participate in an
identical-or-else-dissimilated system (Suzuki, 1999). The majority of the
chapter is dedicated to analyzing the CIE as it surfaces in Chol, where two
ejectives are tolerated in the same root only if they are identical. The
discussion then pivots into one of identity in just some respects, or the
Sufficient Identity Effect (SIE), taking as an example the phenomenon of
labio-velar agreement in Ponapean. In this laxer,
agreeing-or-else-dissimilated system, consonants must only be partially
identical to be excused from dissimilating. The SCTD accounts for both of
these systems via the free ranking of CC-IDENT constraints.

Chapter 7, “ Zulu labial dissimilation,” presents a case study of
long-distance dissimilation occurring in passive verb forms, in which a root
containing a medial or final [labial] consonant is combined with the passive
suffix /-w/, causing the underlying root labial to surface as a (pre-)palatal
consonant. The SCTD is able to account for this process via the interaction of
CORR constraints and CC-Limiter constraints. The chapter also evaluates
several alternative analyses based on the Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP),
a prohibition against the co-occurrence of similar consonants. Because the
segment-level implementations of the OCP predict too much dissimilation, and
autosegmental OCP makes dissimilation too restricted, the author concludes
that the SCTD must not be viewed as a subset of the OCP, but rather as a
separate and superior theory for accounting for the attested patterns of
dissimilation in Zulu.

Chapter 8, “Segmental blocking effects in dissimilation,” explains the SCTD’s
ability to account for blocking effects, by calling on data from liquid
dissimilation in Yidiny, Latin and Georgian to demonstrate two plausible
interpretations of blocking patterns: blocking-by-bridging and double
assimilation. In blocking-by-bridging, dissimilation fails because extraneous
correspondence with the blocker segment resolves violations of the Limiter
constraint, while in double assimilation, the different types of CC-Limiter
constraints and different domains of CORR constraints interact to produce
double dissimilation systems with various properties. The chapter ends by
pointing out the unresolved nature of the relationship between segmental
blocking and intervention, and proposes its solution may lie in a more
articulated theory of directional asymmetries.

Chapter 9, “Typological survey of dissimilation,” presents an observed
typology of long-distance dissimilation, compiled from a cross-linguistic
survey of 154 potential cases and informed by an additional 100+ other
reported dissimilatory patterns not technically viewed as cases of synchronic
long-distance dissimilation. Six main typological findings are found: (1) the
typology of dissimilation is unexpectedly limited and asymmetrical, (2) the
mismatch prediction is borne out clearly for structural factors, (3) the
mismatch prediction is borne out less clearly for features. (4)
segment-adjacent and long-distance dissimilation are not the same, (5)
dissimilation is not the reverse of assimilation, and (6) dissimilation is not
about markedness.

Chapter 10, “Closing remarks,” concludes the work by restating its main
premise: the SCTD is able to derive dissimilation from the same surface
correspondence relation posited for long-distance consonant harmony; it is
based on a more precise formalization of the surface correspondence relation
as an equivalence relation, which partitions surface consonants into
correspondence classes. It is unlike previous/competing theories, e.g. the
OCP, because it does not need to posit any constraints that explicitly forbid
similar consonants. The chapter ends with a discussion of three unresolved
issues of the SCTD: segment-adjacent dissimilation, directionality, and
correspondence structure without the occurrence of alternations.  

EVALUATION

“The Phonology of Consonants: Harmony, Dissimilation, and Correspondence” is a
well-argued, innovative and unparalleled treatment of consonant dissimilation
as explained by the interaction of correspondence relations. Its progression
builds logically and is easy-to-follow, and the structure within each chapter
is lucid and predictable. An added benefit to this collection is that any of
the case study chapters are coherent on a near-stand-alone basis (together
with the theoretical prefacing of the SCTD in Chapter 2), should one choose to
select just one for study.

Perhaps the only area of this treatise that requires more explanation is
certain details surrounding the compilation of the typological survey of
dissimilation. The twelve factors under examination are defined in Chapter 9,
but not all of the descriptions make it clear how each categorization might
have been determined. For example, the plausibility category is meant to gauge
whether or not a described case of dissimilation both exists in the synchronic
grammar as it has been reported and qualifies as an instance of long-distance
dissimilation. One situation given to exemplify non-plausibility is that of a
historical alternation that wasn’t very widespread diachronically, and is no
longer attested synchronically (Modern Greek rhotic dissimilation). The
absolute nature of this example is fairly straightforward, but nowhere is it
explained if all examples marked with the “diachronic” label in the database
of excluded cases represent this same statistical tendency. Assuming that they
do not and that some processes may still be weakly present in their respective
synchronic grammars begs the question of how widespread a phenomenon must be
in order to be considered worthy of a theoretical account. Other reasons for
non-plausibility are given in this category, which the author himself openly
flags as having been “assessed subjectively” (p. 328), but the presence of a
singular soft spot in an otherwise methodologically rigorous account is
somewhat unexpected.

A great strength of this book lies in its ability to ground its in-depth
theoretical analysis in an expansive collection of real-word data that
illustrates different types of dissimilation phenomena in typologically
diverse languages. That the typological supplement and dissimilation database
have been made accessible on the publisher website is an added bonus for
educators looking to quickly illustrate the theory in a lesson or problemset,
or corpus linguists looking to find quantitative tendencies among the set of
included or excluded cases. As such, this book represents an excellent tool
for introducing and reinforcing both theoretical concepts and empirical
practices in the discussion of dissimilation and assimilation.

Aimed at those with a fluency in OT and an interest in assimilatory and
dissimilatory processes, “The Phonology of Consonants: Harmony, Dissimilation,
and Correspondence” is a comprehensive and game-changing addition for
phonologists and advanced students working within the OT framework. 

REFERENCES

Hansson, G.O. (2001). Theoretical and typological issues in consonant harmony.
PhD
thesis, University of California, Berkeley.

Hansson, G.O. (2007). Blocking effects in agreement by correspondence.
Linguistic
Inquiry, 2, 395-409. 

Hansson, G.O. (2010). Consonant Harmony: Long-Distance Interaction in
Phonology.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Revised version of Hansson
(2001).

Rose, S. & Walker R. (2004). A typology of consonant agreement as
correspondence.
Language, 80, 475-531.

Suzuki, K. (1999). Identity avoidance vs. identity preference: The case of
Sundanese.
Presentation at the annual meeting of the LSA. Los Angeles, January 7.

Walker, R. (2000a). Long-distance consonantal identity effects. In Proceedings
of
WCCFL, 19, 532-545.

Walker, R. (2000b). Yaka nasal harmony: Spreading or segmental correspondence?
In Proceedings of BLS, 26, 321-332. 

Walker, R. (2001). Consonantal correspondence. In Proceedings of the Workshop
on
the Lexicon in Phonetics and Phonology, 73-84. Edmonton: University of
Alberta.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Amanda Dalola is an Assistant Professor of French and Linguistics at the
University of South Carolina. Her research interests include phonetics,
sociophonetics, phonology, lab phonology, history of French and technology in
the L2 classroom.

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