A comparison of Japanese and Blackfoot vowel devoicing

Date
2014-09
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Calgary
Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts the factors that contribute to devoicing in Japanese and Blackfoot. Japanese vowel devoicing has received rigorous discussion in linguistic literature. Tsuchida (2001) provides a particularly persuasive argument for Japanese vowel devoicing using the Optimality Theory Framework (Prince and Smolensky 2004); she argues that all Japanese voiceless fricatives are specified for [SG] and devoicing occurs when this [SG] feature is shared within a syllable. The notion that voiceless vowels carry the feature [SG] can also be extended to instances of Blackfoot vowel devoicing. Blackfoot voiceless vowels generally occur in two contexts: They occur word finally, and word-medially when they are followed by the palatal/dorsal sounds [x]/[ç], which are orthographically represented as <h>. In contrast to Japanese voiceless fricatives, it appears that not all Blackfoot voiceless fricatives distribute the [SG] feature. The Blackfoot palatal fricative [ç] and the dorsal fricative [x] both trigger devoicing, whereas the fricative [s] does not. To explain this patterning of [x] and [ç], Reis Silva (2008) argues that [x] and [ç] are not fricatives, but rather preaspiration ([SG]) specified on certain obstruents. In this paper, I will discuss the constraints proposed in Tsuchida (2001), and extend/adapt those constraints to Blackfoot word final vowel devoicing. Additionally, In my analysis of Blackfoot word-medial vowel devoicing, I will adopt Reis Silva’s (2008) analysis that [x]/[ç] are not fricatives, but preaspiration specified on obstruents. Lastly, I argue that the word-medial vowel devoicing that occurs with [x] and [ç] is phonological rather than phonetic.
Description
Keywords
Linguistics, Algonquian languages, Blackfoot, Siksika language, Japanese language, Phonology, Optimality theory (Linguistics), Constraints (Linguistics), Distinctive features (Linguistics)
Citation
St. Goddard, R. (2014). A comparison of Japanese and Blackfoot vowel devoicing. Calgary Working Papers in Linguistics, 28(Fall), 81-96.