This study investigates the phonological behavior of coronal consonants, i.e. sounds produced with the tip or blade of the tongue. The analysis draws on data from over 120 languages and dialects. A definition of coronality is proposed that rejects the current view holding that palatals are positively marked for this feature. The feature [coronal] is assumed to be privative; the natural class of noncoronals is captured with the feature [peripheral], which dominates [labial] and [velar] in feature geometry. The book contains a detailed examination of the phonological patterning of segments belonging to each of the six coronal subplaces (i.e. interdental, dental, alveolar, retroflex, palatoalveolar, and alveolopalatal). A universal set of features is posited that accounts for these facts. Inventories of coronal consonants are treated in depth and impossible contrasts are accounted for with several if-then statements. The present study also contains a lengthy analysis of the phonology of rhotic consonants. A set of features is postulated which captures natural classes involving rhotics and nonrhotic consonants and which distinguishes the various stricture types among rhotics (i.e. trill vs. tap vs. approximant).

Phonetics and Phonology, Volume 2: The Special Status of Coronals: Internal and External Evidence contains a phonetic survey of coronal articulations and discusses many aspects of the phonological behavior of coronals as opposed to noncoronals. This book discusses the asymmetry and visibility in consonant articulations, coronal places of articulation, and underspecification of coronals in English. The cluster condition in Attic Greek, palatalization and representation of coronal, and relationship between laterality and coronality are also elaborated. This publication likewise covers the cross-linguistic survey of consonant harmony, coronals in child phonology, and coronal transparency in vowel spreading. This volume is intended for graduate students and scholars interested in phonology, phonetics, general linguistics, psycholinguistics, or language pathology.

This study investigates the phonological behavior of coronal consonants, i.e. sounds produced with the tip or blade of the tongue. The analysis draws on data from over 120 languages and dialects. A definition of coronality is proposed that rejects the current view holding that palatals are positively marked for this feature. The feature [coronal] is assumed to be privative; the natural class of noncoronals is captured with the feature [peripheral], which dominates [labial] and [velar] in feature geometry. The book contains a detailed examination of the phonological patterning of segments belonging to each of the six coronal subplaces (i.e. interdental, dental, alveolar, retroflex, palatoalveolar, and alveolopalatal). A universal set of features is posited that accounts for these facts. Inventories of coronal consonants are treated in depth and impossible contrasts are accounted for with several if-then statements. The present study also contains a lengthy analysis of the phonology of rhotic consonants. A set of features is postulated which captures natural classes involving rhotics and nonrhotic consonants and which distinguishes the various stricture types among rhotics (i.e. trill vs. tap vs. approximant).

First published in 1994. This study aims to provide evidence for the natural class of sounds comprised of front vowels, front glides and coronal consonants. The author also shows that a revised definition of the articulator feature [coronal] properly characterises this natural class of sounds. The study provides a formal representation of front vowels and coronal consonants and their interaction within a nonlinear model of feature organisation. This title will be of interest to students of language and linguistics.

This carefully crafted volume appeals to a wide audience of phonologists, general linguists, and psycholinguists. Phonologists and psycholinguists turn to this book as an essential tool to evaluate competing theories of markedness and segmental structure. General linguists find modern answers to traditional questions, with a view to applying the results to historical linguistics, acquisition theories, and phonetics. Seven of the ten papers concentrate on internal evidence (phonological arguments) and the other three are based on external evidence (normal and aphasic speech errors) and phonetics. This combination of internal and external evidence aims at settling numerous claims, often unsubstantiated or even contradictory, to the effect that the special status of coronals is reflected both in phonology proper and in connected domains. The importance of the problems raised by coronals, the perspectives from which these problems are approached, and the quality of contributions make this book a standard reference work in phonology and general linguistics.

Originally published in 1973, this book is an account of how the child learns the sound system of his native language, or how he learns to speak. A theory of the acquisition of phonology is derived from a detailed and rigorous analysis of the developing speech of a young child observed over a period of two years. The details of this analysis are elaborated in depth in chapters two and three and the major results of the study are given in chapter four. The final chapter is devoted to the implications of language acquisition for linguistic theory in general and generative phonology in particular. In addition to the obvious relevance of this work to general linguists and psychologists working on language acquisition, it was of considerable importance to speech therapists and all those involved medically with the observation and treatment of infant speech, in that it provided a characterisation of normal development which could act as a yardstick by which to measure abnormal or pathological conditions.

This widely acclaimed textbook provides a complete introduction to the phonology of human languages ideal for readers with no prior knowledge of the subject. This skilfully written text provides a broad, yet up-to-date, introduction to phonology. Assuming no previous knowledge of phonology or linguistic theory, the authors introduce the basic concepts and build on these progressively, discussing the main theories and illustrating key points with carefully chosen examples. A wide range of phenomena are covered: speech production, segmental contrasts, tone, quantity, prosodic structure, metrical relations and intonation. The main theories, including feature geometry and optimality theory are introduced, and their contributions to our understanding of phonology, as well as their shortcomings, are discussed objectively. This new edition has been updated and revised to meet the needs of today's students. Difficult points are given fuller explanation, references have been updated, and new exercises have been introduced to enable students to consolidate their learning.

Drawing on a dual expertise of rare intensity, Mirco Ghini's book is a major contribution to both Romance dialectology and phonological theory. It gives a comprehensive account of the segmental and metrical phonology of the Ligurian dialect of the village of Miogliola, North-west Italy. Based on the author's own fieldwork, it is the first in-depth study of this area, also tracing its development from Latin. Feature assignment, underspecification, and quantity alternations are most prominent among the general theoretical issues on which the particulars of Miogliola phonology, meticuously analysed, are brought to bear with elegance and force.