A short study on the consonantal behavior in Somali using Optimality Theory. The goal was to use data from Somali speakers in order to create an account of the constraint rankings used in OT, some traditional and some ad-hoc.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction and Background Information
2. Epenthesis vs. Deletion
3. Somali Geminates and the Process of Degemination
4. Intervocalic Spirantization of Unaspirated Stops
5. Spirantization After a Guttural Consonant
6. Coalescence
7. Conclusion/The Intrigue
Research Objectives and Key Topics
The scholarly work aims to provide an Optimality Theory account of consonantal behavior in Somali. It focuses on several phonological phenomena within the language to understand how specific constraints interact to determine the surface form of Somali words.
- The spirantization of unaspirated stops in specific environments.
- The process of degemination of double consonants.
- The coalescence of consonant clusters at morpheme boundaries.
- The delabialization of word-final /m/ to [n].
- The ranking of faithfulness constraints to explain the surface realizations.
Excerpt from the Book
3. Somali Geminates and the Process of Degemination
The first phonological aspect of Somali that I want to address is the occurrence of geminates in the language and the process of degemination and in which instances this phenomenon occurs. Only sonorants are observed occurring as geminates in the language, therefore the inventory of geminates is confined to [mm, nn, rr, ll]. Furthermore, geminates are only found word-internally and never occur root-initially. There is phonetic grounding for the geminate inventory seen here, as sonorants are much easier to pronounce in the lengthy manner in which geminates require.
Somali does not permit geminate stops however; any underlying instance of geminate stops must undergo degemination. Degemination is the reduction of a pair of double consonants within a word, meaning the pair is reduced to one singular consonant. This process occurs rather frequently in Somali due to the fact that many suffixes begin with a consonant, particularly with respect to nouns; gender is marked via the suffixes /-ga/ and /-da/ which denote masculine and feminine definiteness respectively. This account of degemination will focus on masculine and feminine nouns in their definite forms. It is important to note that degemination seems to occur solely within an intervocalic environment.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction and Background Information: This section provides an overview of the Somali language and states the primary focus on consonantal behavior, emphasizing that a complete phonological account is beyond the scope of this paper.
2. Epenthesis vs. Deletion: This chapter establishes the language's general preference for epenthesis over deletion to maintain the CVC syllable structure.
3. Somali Geminates and the Process of Degemination: This chapter analyzes how Somali handles underlying geminate stops through the process of degemination and identifies the relevant constraints.
4. Intervocalic Spirantization of Unaspirated Stops: The text explains the phenomenon where stops are weakened into fricatives when they appear between vowels.
5. Spirantization After a Guttural Consonant: This chapter examines why guttural consonants trigger spirantization and introduces the *GUTTSTOP constraint.
6. Coalescence: This section discusses the reduction of consonant clusters (/ld/ and /lt/) and their realized outputs through a specific Optimality Theory ranking.
7. Conclusion/The Intrigue: This concluding section synthesizes the findings and discusses how the ranked constraints successfully account for the examined phonological phenomena in Somali.
Keywords
Somali, phonology, Optimality Theory, spirantization, degemination, coalescence, delabialization, consonants, geminates, guttural, epenthesis, constraint ranking, phonotactics, morphology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The paper provides a phonological analysis of Somali, specifically focusing on the behaviors of consonants and how they interact in various environments using the framework of Optimality Theory.
What are the central phonological topics addressed?
The core topics are spirantization, degemination, coalescence of consonant clusters, and the word-final delabialization of the nasal /m/.
What is the primary goal of the study?
The primary goal is to determine the correct constraint rankings within Optimality Theory that account for the observed surface outputs of the various phonological processes mentioned.
Which scientific framework is utilized throughout the analysis?
The author uses the Optimality Theory framework, employing faithfulness and markedness constraints like MAX, DEP, LEN, and NOGEM to show how Somali phonology functions.
What is the scope of the main analysis?
The analysis covers how underlying representations change into surface forms when specific consonant patterns arise, such as during the addition of definite suffixes.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Somali phonology, consonantal behavior, Optimality Theory, spirantization, degemination, coalescence, and constraint ranking.
Why are guttural consonants treated differently in Somali phonology?
The work suggests they are treated differently because they are specified for the pharyngeal articulator node, creating a natural class that behaves differently than other segments.
How does the author explain the delabialization of word-final /m/?
By comparing root forms with their plural counterparts, the author demonstrates that word-final /m/ consistently surfaces as [n], and introduces the constraint *M# to account for this preference.
What role do definite markers play in these phonological processes?
Suffixes like /-ga/ and /-da/ often trigger processes like degemination and coalescence, as their addition creates consonant clusters or intervocalic environments that the language must resolve.
- Quote paper
- Jonathan Aleksandrowicz (Author), 2018, An Optimality Theory Account of Somali Consonantal Behavior, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1244872
