Vocalic labialization in Baghdadi Arabic: representation and computation

• Islam Youssef ^[1]
  1. [1] Telemark University College, Norway
• Localización: Lingua: International review of general linguistics, ISSN 0024-3841, Nº 160, 2015, págs. 74-90
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper concentrates on morphological categories in Baghdadi Arabic where the appearance of a short high vowel [u] or [i] is predictable, i.e. a process of vocalic labialization. The process is contingent upon the presence of an underlying /i/ or an unspecified (e.g. epenthetic) vowel, and it is triggered either by one labial-velar glide or by the collective influence of neighboring labial and emphatic/velar/uvular consonants. The consequence is that surface [u] in this language is analyzed as having both [labial] and [dorsal] features under a vocalic node. This treatment raises a number of theoretical questions regarding cross-category C-to-V assimilation effects and locality in spreading. I provide detailed and closely-intertwined representational and computational accounts of the pattern that address these important theoretical issues