POLISH FRONT VOWELS OR BAUDOUIN DE COURTENAY REDIVIVUS

• Authors: Gussman E.
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The paper reviews arguments pertaining to the phonological status of the Polish vowels (i) and ('crossed' i); it is concluded that none of the previously proposed interpretations does justice to the complex phonological behaviour of the vowels. The paradigmatic bias of the phonological tradition should be overcome in favour of a balance between the paradigmatic and the syntagmatic areas of the phonological organization. The syntagmatic tilt found in Government Phonology is shown to work well for the Polish data. An interpretation of the Polish front vowels is offered where the central role is played by elements rather than features. Vocalic and consonantal elements are shown to interact in such a way that the distribution of the vowels and the palatalisation of the preceding onset consonant become inseparable. Special attention is paid to the impossibility of ('crossed' i) word-initially; it is argued, however, that the mechanisms controlling this vowel are generally at work in the language. One of the consequences is the impossibility of initial ('inversed' 3) in native words.

Keywords

EN

GOVERNMENT PHONOLOGY; POLISH VOWELS; VOCALIC & CONSONANTAL ELEMENTS

Discipline

• PHILOLOGY_&_LINGUISTICS: PHILOLOGY & LINGUISTICS

• Publisher: Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk
• Journal: Studies in Polish Linguistics
• Year: 2004
• Volume: 1
• Pages: 103-130
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Gussman E.

• E. Gussman, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza, ul. H. Wieniawskiego 1, 61-712 Poznan, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

07PLAAAA02435069