Volume 10, Summer 1984

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https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/100041

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Browsing Volume 10, Summer 1984 by Subject "Constraints (Linguistics)"

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    Calgary Working Papers in Linguistics, Volume 10, Summer 1984
    (University of Calgary, 1984-06) Grover, Cynthia; Hildebrand, Joyce; Taylor-Browne, Karen
    This is the tenth in the series of working papers published by LOGOS, the Student Linguistics Society at the University of Calgary. These papers represent the current research in progress of students and faculty members and as such should not be considered in any way final or definitive. Appearance of papers in this volume does not preclude their publication in another form elsewhere.
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    Variable productivity: evidence from the English lax vowel constraint
    (University of Calgary, 1984-06) Westby, Deanna
    The productivity of the English Surface Phonetic Constraint which forbids the occurrence of a lax vowel word finally is tested by means of a number of experimental techniques, in order to ascertain whether apparent rule productivity varies in accordance with the particular criteria adopted: borrowing; memory for nonsense forms; a syllable division language game; and pluralization tasks including both recognition and production. The results of the experiments reported in section two demonstrate that there exists a methodological difficulty for claims about rule productivity: productivity tests do not all give the same results. For example, speakers make very few errors in repeating nonsense words ending in the disallowed lax vowel, yet no borrowings into English retain a final lax vowel from the source language. In addition, this research has some bearing on the usefulness of the tense/lax distinction for English vowels in such producitivity testing.