Language Change within the Theory of Government Phonology

• Authors: Karolina Drabikowska

Title variants

PL

Zmiana językowa w świetle fonologii rządu

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

PL

The present paper is concerned with phonological change from the point of view of Government Phonology, as defined by Kaye, Lowenstamm, Vergnaud (1985, 1990), Harris (1994), Cyran (1997, 2010), Gussmann (2002) and Bloch-Rozmej (2008) among others. The research has a form of a diachronic case study, namely the case of the Early Middle English development, traditionally referred to as the elimination of the front rounded vowel in four dialects of Middle English, that is, the East Midland, the North, the West Midland and the South Western dialects. The process disposing of OE /y/ deserves closer attention since it is characterised by a great complexity. In the majority of cases the high front rounded vowel was simply unrounded regardless of the context. In this case we might argue that the palatal element was retained, while roundness was removed. However, especially crucial for the analysis is the change which distinguishes the latter two dialects, namely lOE /y/ → eME /u/ in palatalised environment in the West Midlands and the South West. What is particularly interesting is the fact that the palatal element I in lOE /y/ is not preserved in palatalised context. Conversely, it is roundness that is preserved rather than the palatal element. A closer scrutiny of historical data allows us to determine the role of a licensing constraint and a revised version of the Obligatory Contour Principle in these developments as well as to discover the limitations imposed on both of the abovementioned processes by headedness and constituency.

PL

Artykuł poświęcony jest zagadnieniu zmiany dźwiękowej w świetle fonologii rządu, zaproponowanej przez m.in. Kaye’a, Lowenstamma, Vergnaud (1985, 1990), Harrisa (1994), Cyrana (1997, 2010), Gussmanna (2002) i Bloch-Rozmej (2008). Przedmiotem badań jest zmiana polegająca na eliminacji samogłoski przedniej przymkniętej zaokrąglonej w okresie wczesnym średnioangielskim w czterech wybranych dialektach: północnym, centralno-wschodnim, centralno-zachodnim i południowo-zachodnim. W dialektach północnym i centralno-wschodnim, samogłoska /y/ utraciła zaokrąglenie bez względu na kontekst. Natomiast w pozostałych dwóch dialektach /y/ zachowała zaokrąglenie, przechodząc w samogłoskę tylną przymkniętą zaokrągloną /u/ w kontekście spółgłosek podniebienno-dziąsłowych. W tym przypadku samogłoska utraciła element palatalny I, który jest także obecny w spółgłoskach podniebienno-dziąsłowych. Przedstawiona analiza danych historycznych pozwala na określenie roli licencjonowania i tzw. Obligatory Contour Principle oraz nałożonych na nich ograniczeń przez funkcję elementów i ich przynależność do komponentów sylaby.

Keywords

EN

wczesny średnioangielski; zmiana fonologiczna; samogłoski; funkcja elementów

PL

Early Middle English; phonological change; vowels; element function

• Publisher: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II. Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL
• Journal: Roczniki Humanistyczne
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 5: Neofilologia
• Pages: 071-083

Contributors

author

Karolina Drabikowska

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