Browsing by Author "Smith, Laura Catharine"

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    Calgary Working Papers in Linguistics, Volume 18, Winter 1996
    (University of Calgary, 1996-01) Bailey, Julie A; Pasquini, Ana; Rowsell, Lorna V; Smith, Laura Catharine
    The editors of this issue, Julie Bailey, Ana Pasquini, Laura Smith and Lorna Rowsell, are pleased to present the eighteenth issue of the Calgary Working Papers in Linguistics published by the Department of Linguistics at the University of Calgary. The Papers published here represent works in progress and as such should not be considered in any way final or definitive.
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    Calgary Working Papers in Linguistics, Volume 19, Winter 1997
    (University of Calgary, 1997-01) Pasquini, Ana; Rowsell, Lorna V; Smith, Laura Catharine
    The editors of this issue, Ana Pasquini, Loma Rowsell and Laura Catharine Smith, are pleased to present the nineteenth issue of the Calgary Working Papers in Linguistics published by the Department of Linguistics at the University of Calgary. The papers contained in this volume represent works in progress and as such should not be considered in any way final or definitive.
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    Holtzmann's law: getting to the hart of the Germanic verscharfung
    (1997) Smith, Laura Catharine; Murray, Robert W.
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    The role of L1 feature geometry in the acquisition of L2 segmental phonology: acquiring /θ/ and /ð/ in English
    (University of Calgary, 1997-01) Smith, Laura Catharine
    Why do second language learners fail to acquire certain L2 phonemic contrasts even long after they have "mastered" the L2 syntax? In this paper, I seek to provide an answer to this question. Research by Brown (1993) indicates that the learner's L1 feature geometry plays a role in the acquisition of L2 segmental phonology. This hypothesis is tested by examining the inability of Japanese, German, Turkish and French (Canadian and European) learners of English to correctly perceive /θ/ and /ð/. I argue that the lack of the feature [distributed] in these languages is the source of these errors. This feature marks the contrast between /θ-ð/ and /s-z/ in English. Although feature geometry cannot predict the specific errors for each language, I argue that it can constrain the list of possible candidates which will be substituted for the interdentals. The error phones perceived share the same structure or have minimally less structure than that of the target phone. I suggest that the specific error phone is then determined at the phonetic level of the learner's L1.
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    Vennemann's bifurcation theory of the Germanic and German consonant shifts
    (University of Calgary, 1996-01) Smith, Laura Catharine
    Vennemann presents a plausible alternative to Grimm's succession of Germanic and High German sound shifts. As part of his argumentation, Vennemann gives a systematic revision of the Proto-Germanic obstruent inventory which he reconstructs internally from Germanic data. He also looks beyond the Germanic data to posit a Paleo-Germanic obstruent system. While revising Grimm's traditional theory, Vennemann also reformulates Verner's Shift and how it would apply to his alternative glottalic approach.
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    What's all the fuss about 16 words? A new approach to Holtzman's Law*
    (University of Calgary, 1999-01) Smith, Laura Catharine
    This paper provides a unified analysis for Holtzmann's Law or the Germanic Verscharfung (hereafter, GV). This Germanic phenomenon is usually described as the strengthening of the PIE glides +i and +u to Gothic and and Old Norse and respectively. In the present work, I posit plausible sound changes based on the assumption that laryngeals were extant in early Germanic when the accent was still mobile. Furthermore, I contend that the laryngeals rather than glides underwent GV strengthening. The motivation for sound changes, as I assert, can be explained by the preference laws of syllable structure. The analysis provided herein also accounts for parallel phonological developments of GV and non-GV forms from common PIE roots, e.g. ON snūa 'to turn' versus ON snugga 'to look askance'. Finally, the analysis offers an explanation for the existence of GV reflexes in West Germanic.