The phonetics and phonology of retroflexes

Title page......Page 2
Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 10
Abbreviations and symbols......Page 12
1. Introduction......Page 14
1.1 Markedness of retroflexes......Page 16
1.2 Phonetic cues and phonological features......Page 19
1.3 Outline of the dissertation......Page 21
2. Articulatory variation and common properties of retroflexes......Page 24
2.1 Phonetic terminology......Page 25
2.2  Parameters of articulatory variation......Page 27
2.2.1 Speaker dependency......Page 28
2.2.2 Vowel context......Page 29
2.2.3 Speech rate......Page 30
2.2.4.1. Plosives......Page 31
2.2.4.2. Nasals......Page 33
2.2.4.3. Fricatives......Page 34
2.2.4.4. Affricates......Page 36
2.2.4.5. Laterals......Page 37
2.2.4.6. Rhotics......Page 38
2.2.4.7. Retroflex vowels......Page 39
2.2.5. Language family......Page 40
2.2.6. Inventory size......Page 41
2.3. Common articulatory properties of retroflexion......Page 45
2.3.2. Posteriority......Page 46
2.3.4. Retraction......Page 47
2.3.5. Summary of characteristic properties......Page 52
2.4.1. Polish......Page 53
2.4.2. Russian......Page 54
2.4.3. Slavic post-alveolar fricatives as non-prototypical retroflexes......Page 55
2.5.1.  Palatalization as change in primary articulation......Page 57
2.5.2. Counterexamples: Toda and Kashmiri......Page 60
2.6. Summary and outlook......Page 63
3. Acoustic cues and perceptual properties of retroflexes......Page 66
3.1. Acoustic cues used for the description of retroflexes......Page 67
3.2.1. Apicality......Page 68
3.2.2. Posteriority......Page 69
3.2.3. Sublingual cavity......Page 70
3.2.5. Summary of acoustic consequences......Page 71
3.3.1. Formant frequencies......Page 72
3.3.2. Spectral shape......Page 76
3.3.2.2. Polish post-alveolar fricatives......Page 78
3.3.2.3. Toda apical post-alveolar sibilants......Page 79
3.3.3. Further acoustic cues......Page 81
3.4. Vowel dependency of cues......Page 82
3.5. Symmetrical spread of retroflex cues......Page 85
3.6. Retroflexion as a weak cue and its possible enhancement......Page 89
3.7. Acoustic incompatibility: Retroflexion and palatalization......Page 90
3.8. Summary......Page 91
4. Retroflex processes and their phonetic grounding......Page 94
4.1.1. Examples......Page 96
4.1.2. Phonetic grounding......Page 100
4.2.1. Examples......Page 103
4.2.2. Phonetic grounding......Page 105
4.3. Non-occurrence of retroflexes in front vowel context......Page 107
4.3.1. De-retroflexion in front vowel context......Page 108
4.3.2. Change of front vowels in retroflex context......Page 109
4.3.2.1. Retraction of front vowels......Page 110
4.3.2.2. Lowering of front vowels......Page 112
4.3.2.3. Diphthongization of front vowels......Page 113
4.3.2.4. Rounding of front vowels......Page 114
4.3.3. Phonetic grounding......Page 115
4.3.4. Exception: The ruki-rule in Sanskrit......Page 120
4.4. Retroflexion of vowels......Page 124
4.4.1. Examples......Page 125
4.4.2. Phonetic grounding......Page 126
4.5. Phonotactics of retroflex segments......Page 127
4.5.1. Examples......Page 128
4.5.2. Phonetic grounding......Page 130
4.6. Assimilation of retroflexion......Page 131
4.6.1. Local assimilation......Page 132
4.6.2. Non-local assimilation......Page 135
4.6.3. Phonetic grounding......Page 136
4.7. Excursion: Retroflex fricatives in Toda......Page 138
4.8. Conclusion......Page 140
5. Phonological representations of retroflexes......Page 144
5.1. The functions of features......Page 145
5.2.1. Jakobson, Fant, & Halle (1952)......Page 147
5.2.2. Chomsky & Halle (1968)......Page 149
5.2.3.1. Basic notions......Page 150
5.2.3.2. Proposals for retroflexes patterning with vowels......Page 152
5.2.3.3. Why does FG fail?......Page 154
5.3.1. Flemming: Dispersion Theory of Contrast......Page 157
5.3.2. Hamilton: Gestural and Perceptual Theory of Markedness......Page 161
5.3.3. Steriade: Licensing by Cue......Page 163
5.3.4. Boersma: Functional Phonology......Page 166
5.4. Featural representation of retroflexes: Present approach......Page 170
5.4.1. Perceptual representations......Page 172
5.4.2. Articulatory representations......Page 174
5.5. Conclusion......Page 177
6.1. Constraints on perceptual representations......Page 180
6.2. Constraints on articulatory representations......Page 183
6.3. Analysis of phonological processes of retroflexes......Page 186
6.3.1. Retroflexion via rhotics......Page 187
6.3.2. Retroflexion via back vowels......Page 190
6.3.3.1. De-retroflexion......Page 192
6.3.3.2. Vowel retraction and lowering......Page 193
6.3.3.4. Vowel rounding......Page 200
6.3.3.5. Secondary palatalization......Page 202
6.3.5. Phonotactics of retroflex segments......Page 204
6.3.6. Assimilation of retroflexion......Page 206
6.4. Conclusion......Page 209
7.1. Phonetic characteristics of retroflexes......Page 212
7.2. Phonological representations of retroflex processes......Page 215
7.3. Alleged universality of the retroflex class......Page 217
7.4. Future research......Page 220
Samenvatting in het Nederlands......Page 222
Curriculum Vitae......Page 224
References......Page 226
Index......Page 236