Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Metrical phonology'

Recent developments in metrical theory have led to the situation in which there are now at least four different approaches to stress assignment. One approach uses only a grid to represent the relative prominence of syllables in a word (cf. Prince 1983); aside from representational conventions, the grid -only approach differs from the other three in that it does not posit any metrical constituency. Second, the constituentized grid approach also represents stress with a grid, but by enhancing the representations with parentheses, metrical constituency is also indicated (cf. Halle and Vergnaud 1987). Hayes (1987) has recently developed an approach employing representations like those in the constituentized grid approach; I will refer to this as the templatic approach. This approach is different insofar as the constituents which are available in the theory are not derived from parameters, but rather it is the constituent templates themselves which are the primitives of the theory. The fourth approach is one in which relative prominence is indicated with arboreal structures, rather than with grids (cf. Hayes 1981, Hammond 1984). In this paper I will present an analysis of the stress pattern of Pacific Yup'ik which follows Rice (1988), and I will claim that this analysis has important implications for each of the approaches mentioned above. Pacific Yup'ik is a particularly interesting testing ground for metrical theories; for our purposes here, the interesting aspect is that an adequate analysis of the stress pattern has broad implications for various approaches to stress assignment.

This dissertation explores the relationship between English phonotactics – sequential dependencies between adjacent segments – and the metrical parse, which relies on the division of words into syllables. Most current theories of syllabification operate under the assumption that the phonotactic restrictions which co-determine syllable boundaries are constrained by word edges. For example, a syllable can never begin with a consonant sequence that is not also attested as a word onset. This view of phonotactics as categorical is outdated: for several decades now, psycholinguistic research employing monosyllables has shown that phonotactic knowledge is gradient, and that this gradience is projected from the lexicon and possibly also based on differences in sonority among consonants located at word margins. This dissertation is an attempt to reconcile syllabification theory with this modern view of phonotactics. In what follows, I propose and defend a gradient metrical parsing model which assigns English syllable boundaries as a probabilistic function of the well-formedness relations that obtain between potential syllable onsets and offsets. I argue that this well-formedness is subserved by the same sources already established in the phonotactic literature: probabilistic generalizations over the word edges as well as sonority. In support of my proposal, I provide experimental evidence from five sources: (1) a pseudoword hyphenation experiment, (2) a reanalysis of a well-known, large-scale hyphenation study using real English words, (3) a forced-choice preference task employing nonwords presented as minimal stress pairs, (4) an online stress assignment experiment, and (5) a study of the speech errors committed by the participants of (4). The results of all studies converge in support of the gradient parsing model and correlate significantly with each other. Subsequent computer simulations suggest that the gradient model is preferred to the categorical alternative throughout all stages of lexical acquisition. This dissertation contains co-authored material accepted for publication.

This dissertation develops a theory of minimality and foot structure in metrical phonology and prosodic morphology. Central to the theory is the proposal that whether foot structures may be satisfied by a minimum of phonological content is determined by specifying binary values for a new parameter, the Minimal Structure Parameter. The theory of minimality is embedded within a larger theory of prosody which construes metrical footing as mapping to templates. Under this view, metrical templates are subject to the same universal principles, for example Template Satisfaction and Maximization of Association, which constrain association to templates in morphological foot mapping and syllabification. The dissertation argues that the Minimal Structure Parameter together with these principles provides not only a uniform account of diverse metrical phenomena, but offers in addition a principled treatment of an unexpected parallel between metrical and morphological systems: morphological foot structures as well as those in metrical systems may permit subcanonical exemplars of feet. In addition to the parallel just noted, the dissertation finds two differences between metrical and morphological foot structures. First, while metrical feet must specify head elements, morphological feet do not require them. One argument is based on templatic asymmetries between metrical and morphological surface foot inventories. The occurrence of certain foot structures in metrical systems but not in morphology (e.g. trisyllabic feet [σ σ σ], Revised Obligatory Branching feet [σμμ σ]) is explained under the theory of minimality and headship developed within. Second, the minimal constraint on metrical feet is either one or two morae, whereas the minimum for subcanonical feet in morphology is two morae. This is also made to follow from the head/no-head distinction: a metrical foot can be no smaller than the smallest head permitted by the language. In morphology where feet do not specify heads, Minimal Structure defaults to the universal inventory of feet and imposes as the minimal criterion the smallest foot template defined by UG--the bimoraic foot. This work contributes to prosodic theory in (i) aligning theory with data, (ii) aligning metrical theory in particular with theories of templates in morphology and syllabification, and (iii) defining more precisely one constraint on templatic association.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 2010.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-199).
Only very few phonological processes are reported to be conditioned by stress. There are two major patterns of stress-sensitive processes: segments are lengthened under stress, and vowels become louder. Two other phonological patterns are reported in the presence of stress, although they don't seem to enhance prominence of the stressed position: the preservation of segmental contrast and the enhancement of acoustic properties of the releases in stress-adjacent consonants. The main question of this dissertation is why there are so few segmental processes that show sensitivity to stress. Why are the major segmental processes affecting consonants (e.g. place assimilation, nasalization and voice neutralization) not sensitive about whether their trigger or target is in a stressed position? The analysis of prosodic conditioning presented here has three components: First every stress-conditioned process is enforced by a markedness constraint requiring the perceptual prominence of a metrically strong position. Languages use two strategies to implement this prominence: increasing the duration of the stressed position, or increasing the perceptual energy of the stressed vowel. Second, increasing the loudness of the stressed vowel has side-effects on the realization of stress adjacent stop releases, which result from the subglottal mechanisms used to produce the increase in loudness. These side-effects constitute the small class of stress-conditioned segmental alternations which are not directly enhancing the prominence of the stressed position. Third, both the effects of prominence requirements and the side-effects of prominence enhancement on the phonetic realization of segments in stressed positions may affect the perceptual distinctiveness between contrasting sounds in stressed positions: if the perceptual distinctiveness between contrasting sounds is decreased in a stressed position, contrast neutralization might arise. If the perceptual distinctiveness between contrasting sounds is increased in a stressed position, stress-conditioned contrast preservation might arise. Contrast preservation in stressed positions is therefore not an effect of Positional faithfulness; it emerges as the indirect consequence of prominence enhancement. The set of segmental features which may be targeted by stress-sensitive processes is extremely limited since it is restricted to those features which can be affected by one of three processes: duration, loudness and effects of raised subglottal pressure on stop releases.
by Maria Giavazzi.
Ph.D.

I examine those linguistic features of Old English and Old Norse which serve as the basic elements for the metrical systems of those languages. I begin with a critical survey of recent work on Old English metrical theory in chapter 1, which suggests that the four-position and word-foot theories of metre are the most viable current frameworks. A further conclusion of this chapter is that stress is not, as is often claimed, a core element of the metre. In chapter 2, I reassess the phonological-metrical phenomenon of Kaluza's law, which I find to be much more regular and widely applicable within Bēowulf than has previously been recognized. I further argue that the law provides evidence that Old English phonological foot structure is based on a preference for precise bimoraism. In chapter 3, I examine the role of syllables in the Norse Eddic metre fornyrðislag, which supports a view of resolution and phonological feet similar to that found in Old English, though Norse prosody is much more tolerant of degenerate, light feet. I reconsider the other major Eddic metre, ljóðaháttr, in chapter 4, integrating the insights of Andreas Heusler and Geoffrey Russom to propose a new system of scansion for this notoriously recalcitrant verse form. This scansion provides important support for the word-foot theory, and suggests that linguistic elements larger than syllables or phonological feet play a crucial role in early Germanic verse. In the final chapter, I give a diachronic account of Germanic metre and relevant linguistic structures, arguing that the word-foot theory provides the best metrical framework for understanding the development of Germanic alliterative verse. This metrical system is linguistically supported by Germanic word structures and compounding rules, and interacts with bimoraic phonological feet, all of which have a long history in Proto- and pre-Germanic.

This study describes the verse design of Old English poetry in terms of modern phonological theory, developing an analysis which allows all OE verse lines to be described in terms of single metrical design. Old English poetry is typified by a single type of line of variable length, characterised by four metrical peaks. The variation evident in the lengths of OE metrical units has caused previous models to overgenerate acceptable verse forms or to develop complex typologies of dozens of acceptable forms. In this study, Metrical phonology and Optimality theory are used to highlight some aspects of the relationship between syntax, phonology and verse metrics in determining how sentences and phrases interact with the verse structure to create variation. The main part of the study is a metrical model based on the results of a corpus analysis. The corpus is centred on the OE poems Genesis and Andreas, complemented by selected shorter poems. A template of a prototypical line is described based on a verse foot which contains three vocalic moras, and which can vary between 2 and 4 vocalic moras distributed across 1 to 4 syllables. Each standard line is shown to consist of four of these verse feet, leading to a line length which can vary between 8 and 16 vocalic moras. It is shown that the limited variation within the length of the verse foot causes the greater variation in the length of lines. The rare, longer ‘hypermetric’ line is also accounted for with a modified analysis. The study disentangles the verse foot, which is an abstract metrical structure, from the prosodic word, which is a phonological object upon which the verse foot is based, and with which it is often congruent. Separate sets of constraints are elaborated for creating prosodic words in OE, and for fitting them into verse feet and lines. The metrical model developed as a result of this analysis is supported by three smaller focused studies. The constraints for creating prosodic words are defended with reference to compounds and derivational nouns, and are supported by a smaller study focusing on the metrical realisation of non-Germanic personal names in OE verse. Names of biblical origin are often longer than the OE prosodic word can accommodate. The supporting study on non-Germanic names demonstrates how long words with no obvious internal morphology in OE are adapted first to OE prosody and then to the verse structure. The solution for the metrical realisation of these names is shown to be patterned on derivational nouns. The supporting study on compound numerals describes how phrases longer than a verse are accommodated by the verse design. It is shown that compound numerals, which consist of two or more numeral words (e.g. 777 – seofonhund and seofon and hundseofontig) are habitually rearranged within the text to meet the requirements of verse length and alliteration. A further supporting study discusses the difference between the line length constraints controlling OE verse design and those for Old Norse and Old Saxon verse. Previous studies have often conflated these three closely related traditions into a single system. It is shown that despite their common characteristics, the verse design described in this study applies to all OE verse, but not to ON or OS.

The aim of this study is to explore which Jordanian-Urban-Arabic-speakers use English loanwords more and how those loanwords get adapted. Two research questions were addressed in the study: Firstly, what phonological repair strategies do English loanwords undergo in the speech of Jordanian-Urban-Arabic-speaking female university students? Secondly, is there an association between frequent use of English and the use of English loanwords and phonological repair strategies in the speech of the respondents? A verbal questionnaire was used to collect the data from two groups of respondents; respondents who specialize in English and those who do not. The data consist of transcripts of audio-recordings of 60 respondents. The data were analysed in the framework of three theories: Odden’s (2005) presentation of Distinctive Feature Theory, Hayes’ (1989) Moraic Theory, and Hayes’ (1995) Metrical Stress Theory. The first theory dealt with segmental issues in the data, the second theory helped analyse the moraic structures of the data, and the third helped capture the metrical structures of the data and lexical stress shift. The findings show that the fashion in which the phonological repair strategies of syncope, epenthesis, glottal stop [ʔ] prosthesis, closed syllable shortening, de-clustering, vowel lengthening, vowel shortening, gemination, and word primary stress shift occur in loanwords has been clearly defined in the Phonological Repair Principle (PRP). According to the PRP, which has been proposed in the present study, repairs occur at the segmental level, which is defined by the Prosodic Hierarchy (PH) as the lowest phonological level, in favour of satisfying phonological constraints at higher phonological levels in the PH. It has been found that frequent use of English and the use of both loanwords and the strategies of consonantal substitution and epenthesis are correlated. There is a clear difference in the percentages of the pronunciations of the loanwords and the use of the strategies in the speech of the two groups; the respondents who specialise in English are more likely to use the loanwords and to maintain English phonemes and final clusters in the loanwords than the respondents who do not. According to the Substitution Optimality Principle (SOP), which has been proposed in the study, the strategy of consonantal substitution applies in a predictable fashion: a consonantal phoneme constitutes an optimal substitute if it shares more phonological features with the foreign one than does any other consonantal phoneme; redundant phonological features do not count. In this way, the optimal substitute for the foreign consonantal phoneme has been clearly defined. The study has drawn on a number of distinctive-feature-based rules, and moraic and metrical rules, which are related to the strategies that the loanwords undergo. The findings of the present study have been discussed in relation to other previous work on loanword phonology, and evaluation of the present study and previous research literature has been provided. The findings have added to the literature of loanword phonology and helped fill gaps. Recommendations for further studies have been suggested.

This study proposes that metrical constituents are inherently headless and stress is autosegmental. Chapter 2 argues that, since stress is the only diagnostic for the presence of a metrical head, the latter is redundant and must be eliminated from phonological theory. Further arguments for the inherent headlessness of feet are cited fl:om the theory of prosodic morphology (McCarthy and Prince 1990, Crowhurst 1991b) and from the facts of Yidinʸ stress (Dixon 1977, Crowhurst 1991a, Crowhurst and Hewitt, to appear). Next, stress is shown to exhibit the following auto segmental properties: stability (Bedouin Hijazi Arabic) , morphemic stress (Spanish, Turkish, Tagalog) and the ability to float (Mayo, Tagalog). After comparing the properties of stress with those of autosegments, it is concluded that stress is an autosegment. Assuming that feet can be either disyllabic, bimoraic or iambic (Hayes 1991), the above conclusion predicts the existence of five types of binary stressed feet. These are the left- and right-stressed syllabic foot, instantiated by Warao and Mayo, respectively, the left- and right-stressed moraic foot, instantiated by Cairene Arabic and Turkish, respectively, and the iambic foot, instantiated by Hixkaryana. The asymmetric nature of the iamb is attributed to the Weight-to-Stress Principle (Prince 1990), which allows stress to be assigned directly to heavy syllables. Furthermore, this principle predict6 all and only the attested types of unbounded stress systems. Chapter 5 argues that stressless feet and unfooted stresses are instantiated in Mayo, and the theories of Halle and Vergnaud 1987a, b and Hayes 1987, 1991 are shown to be incapable of accounting for these facts. The autosegmental theory of stress advances phonological theory in three ways. First, it eliminates most of the principles and devices which up to now have been used only to describe stress, leaving only the abstract stress autosegment which is itself subject to the principles of autosegmental theory. Second, this approach attributes many of the apparent differences between stress and tone to differences in their respective domains rather than differences in their formal properties. Third, the autosegmental theory of stress facilitates the formalization of a number of stress systems with heretofore complex analyses, including Yidinʸ, Mayo, Cairene Arabic, Turkish, Khalkha Mongolian and Tagalog.

Esta dissertação trata da queda de sílaba em limite de palavra no falar da cidade paulista de Capivari, observando-se em quais contextos esse processo fonológico pode ocorrer e em quais nunca ocorre. Para realizar essa análise, são considerados três níveis fonológicos, quais sejam: segmental, prosódico e métrico. A queda de sílaba é tratada como dois tipos distintos de redução fonológica: na elisão silábica, há dessemelhança entre as consoantes das sílabas envolvidas; com relação à haplologia, as consoantes das sílabas são iguais ou semelhantes ? a diferença entre elas está apenas no traço [sonoridade]. Pôde-se constatar, pela análise de contextos segmentais, que tanto a elisão silábica quanto a haplologia são processos regidos pelas mesmas regras, uma vez que ambos os processos se dão no mesmo ponto de consoante para que possa haver efetiva queda de sílaba. E, da mesma forma, esses processos fonológicos podem ocorrer em qualquer nível da hierarquia prosódica. Isso evidencia que a elisão silábica e a haplologia são de fato o mesmo processo fonológico. Finalmente, a análise métrica aponta as mesmas propriedades para a elisão silábica e para a haplologia no que diz respeito ao uso desses processos para otimizações rítmicas
This work deals with syllable deletion in word boundary in Capivari speech, a city from the countryside of São Paulo state. It was checked in which contexts this phonological process can occur and in which it can never occur. To fulfill this analysis three phonological levels were considered: segmental, prosodic and metrical. Syllable deletion is dealt as two distinct types of phonological reduction: in syllable drop, the syllable\'s consonants are distinct from each other; in haplology, the consonants are equal or alike - the difference between them is only the feature [sonority]. By the analysis of segmental contexts, it has been proved that both syllable drop and haplology are types of processes which are governed by the same rules, for both of them must have the same consonant place node, so that there can be in fact syllable deletion. In the same way, both the phonological processes may occur in any prosodic level from which it is evident that syllable drop and haplology are actually the same phonological process. To verify if both the processes are rhythmically used in the same way it has been pointed out by metrical analysis that syllable drop and haplology present the same properties as regards to optmization

Spoken by the Fulni-ô indians, whose community is located in Águas Belas district, approximately 300 Km from Recife, Yaathe is an indigenous language belonging to Macro-Jê phylum. Live and spoken by almost 3,700 members of the group, according to data provided by FUNASA in 2006, it executes religions and social functions in the tribe, being the only native language still spoken in the Northeast of Brazil. (COSTA, 1999). In spite of a large study having already been undertaken of the Yaathe language, little is known about its accentual system in phonetics terms as well as linguistically. Hence, this study was conducted focusing on an experimental phonetic description of accent, aiming more consistent formulations of its organization in the referred language. To reach our goals, we used acoustic analyses principles, conjoined with technical procedures of laboratorial phonetics and, following that, analysis principles of Metrical Phonology. Data processing showed that taking into account only phonological criteria, it is not possible to define clearly the rules of assignment of stress in Yaathe, calling for a morphological study to observe the behavior of accent in words with an internal structure. From a phonetic point of view, we have reached the following results: i) pitch has not a linguistic function as the melodic pattern is always rising in the word; ii) length and intensity, either together or isolated, are the phonetic correlate of accent; iii) the accent prominence occurs in the right margin of the word, in the last or in the second-to-last syllable. From the phonological point of view, it was not possible to formulate rules for the assignment of accent in the language. Nevertheless the research made possible to sketch some hypothesis that can be pursued in the future towards a better understanding of the prosodic system of Yaathe.
Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Alagoas
Falada pelos índios da tribo Fulni-o, cuja reserva indígena localiza-se no município de Águas Belas, a cerca de 300 quilômetros de Recife, o Yaathe é uma língua indígena pertencente ao tronco lingüístico Macro-Jê. Viva e falada por cerca de 3.700 indivíduos do grupo, segundo dados fornecidos pela FUNASA em 2006, ela desempenha funções rituais e sociais na aldeia, sendo a única língua nativa ainda falada no Nordeste do Brasil. (COSTA, 1999). Apesar de um amplo estudo já desenvolvido sobre o Yaathe, pouco se sabe a respeito do seu sistema acentual, tanto em termos fonéticos como em termos de funcionamento lingüístico. Dessa forma, portanto, direcionamos a elaboração desse trabalho para uma descrição fonéticoexperimental do acento, visando formulações mais consistentes a respeito da sua organização na língua referida. Para tanto, utilizamos os pressupostos de análise acústica, aliando procedimentos técnicos de fonética laboratorial e, posteriormente, princípios de análise da Fonologia Métrica. A apreciação dos dados mostrou que levando em conta critérios puramente fonológicos não seria possível definir claramente as regras de atribuição acentual para o Yaathe, fazendo-se necessário, portanto, um estudo de caráter morfológico, observando o comportamento do acento em palavras com estrutura interna. Do ponto de vista fonético, obtivemos os seguintes resultados: i) o pitch não tem função lingüística, uma vez que a curva melódica na palavra é sempre ascendente; ii) duração e intensidade, ora conjuntamente, ora isolados, são os correlatos fonéticos do acento; iii) a proeminência acentual ocorre na margem direita da palavra, na última ou na penúltima sílaba. Fonologicamente, não foi possível decidir as regras de acentuação da língua. Entretanto, a pesquisa permitiu esboçar hipóteses que poderão ser investigadas posteriormente para um melhor conhecimento do sistema prosódico do Yaathe.

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Focusing on Brazilian Portuguese phonology, specifically on the attribution of marked and unmarked stress of non-verbs in this language, this Master’s Dissertation has as its main goal researching the phonological knowledge in students from four different levels of Elementary School – 3 rd, 5th, 7thand 9thyear – in relation with the attribution of primary stress in syllables. According to Bisol (1992), are considered to be unmarked: (1) words in which the second syllable (from the right, to the left) carries the stress and the following and last syllable is light and (2) words in which the stress falls on the last and heavy syllable. The method of this study consisted of creating and applying three different tests: in the first test, students were asked to read invented words; in the second test, students were asked to attribute the primary stress to invented words; and, in the third test, students were asked to create words. Based on the Metrical Phonology and on Bisol’s (1992) proposition for stress attribution in Portuguese, the results show that the students’ phonological grammar (Brazilian Portuguese native speakers) fit the established stress pattern for Brazilian Portuguese, since no words were created with non-licensed stress. The three types of primary stress that belong to the language system can be considered to be part of students’ phonological knowledge, being effectively productive only the cases in which the primary stress is considered to be unmarked. The research corpus also allowed the discussion on the attribution of stress to word sending in high vowels /i/ and /u/, since data showed that, in the invented lexical items with this context, the attribution of last-syllable and second-syllable (right-left)stress had similar occurrences. Among the main results found, it is relevant to mention that, when attributing the primary stress to new words, it is possible to perceive the emergency of the internal grammar and it is also possible to establish a relation between progressive contact with the writing acquisition and graphic stress marks in school and their interference on students’ phonological knowledge.
Com foco na fonologia do Português Brasileiro (PB), particularmente na atribuição do acento marcado e não marcado a não-verbos da língua, o objetivo primeiro do presente estudo foi buscar o desvelamento do conhecimento fonológico que alunos de quatro anos distintos do Ensino Fundamental (EF)– 3º, 5º, 7º e 9º anos–possuem em relação ao acento primário. Seguindo-se Bisol (1992), consideraram-se não marcados o acento paroxítono de palavras terminadas em sílabas leves e o acento oxítono de palavras terminadas em sílabas pesadas. A metodologia da pesquisa incluiu a criação e a aplicação de três testes distintos: o primeiro teste exigia dos alunos a leitura de palavras inventadas, o segundo pedia a atribuição do acento primário em palavras inventadas e, o último, solicitava a criação de palavras. Analisados à luz da Fonologia Métrica (FM) e da proposta de Bisol (1992) para o acento em português, os resultados evidenciaram que a gramática fonológica dos alunos, falantes nativos de PB, integra a pauta acentual da língua, uma vez que jamais foram criadas palavras com acento não licenciado. Os três tipos de acento primário presentes no sistema – oxítono, paroxítono e proparoxítono – podem ser reconhecidos como pertencentes ao conhecimento fonológico dos alunos, sendo que se mostram efetivamente produtivos apenas os casos de acento primário considerados não marcados. O corpus da pesquisa também permitiu a discussão do acento atribuído às palavras terminadas nas vogais altas /i/ e /u/, já que os dados mostraram, nos itens lexicais inventados com esse contexto, a atribuição do acento oxítono e paroxítono em índices próximos. Dentre os principais resultados extraídos da aplicação dos testes aos alunos do Ensino Fundamental, merece destaque que, na atribuição do acento primário a palavras novas, há a emergência da gramática internalizada e que o contato progressivo com a escrita e com as regras de acentuação na escola pode interferir nesse conhecimento fonológico.

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This paper describes the behavior of variable medial post-stressed vowel in nouns, in the dialect of the town of Sapé, located in the state of Paraiba. In this context, there were done two analyses. The first one is a variationist, in order to verify the effects of deletion of the medial post-stressed vowel, and compare the results with other studies of similar nature. To do so, we adopted the theoretical basis in Labov (1972) and Weinreich; Labov; Herzog (1968). The second analysis, phonological character, focused on analyzing the processes triggered either by resistance to syncope - the raising and rounding of the medial post-stressed vowels, based on Câmara Jr. (2002 [1970]) and Battisti; Vieira (2005) the former one is an occurrence of syncope: assimilation, resyllabification and restructuring of the feet, from two theoretical models Metrical Phonology: The Selkirk (1982) on the syllable, and Hayes (1995) on the accent. Under the Sociolinguistics Variation point of view, one analyzed statistically, linguistic and social variables that favor the deletion of the medial post-stressed vowel. The results were compared to those of other studies that aimed to investigate the same phenomenon, but with speech data from other regions of Brazil. It was found that the fact of year of schooling is the most important one in the medial poststressed vowels deletion in three out of four works under study, as well as the following phonological context, which was considered the most conducive to the process focused on this study. But Amaral (1999) and Lima (2008) state that the liquid vibrant is the most vibrant favoring the process of deletion, while Silva (2006) and Ramos (2009), state that the liquid side is the one. Thus, after the erasure process it occurs medial post-stressed vowel, the consonantal segment remaining after the deletion is incorporated herein to the stressed syllable, either to attack the unstressed final syllable, through resyllabification, causing a restructuring of syllabic feet, transforming them into penultimate stressed words as, respectively: música ~ musca and xícara ~ xicra. whenever this deletion does not occur, the medial post-stressed vowels [e] and [o] face prosecution for opening, for example, in a.bó.b[o].ra ~ a.bó.b[o].ra, and revolt in ár.v[o].re ~ ár.v[o]re. It is through this process of assimilation that a segment assimilates characteristics of the previous segment, as in física ~ [fizga], and/or segment, as in música ~ [musca].
O presente trabalho descreve o comportamento variável das vogais postônicas mediais, em nomes, no dialeto da cidade de Sapé, localizada no interior do estado da Paraíba. Nesse contexto, objetivaram-se duas análises: uma variacionista, a fim de verificar os efeitos do apagamento da vogal postônica medial e comparar os resultados com outros estudos de mesma natureza. Para tanto, foram adotadas as propostas teóricas de Labov (1972) e de Weinreich, Labov e Herzog (1968). A segunda análise, de caráter fonológico, visou analisar os processos desencadeados ora pela resistência à síncope o alçamento e o arredondamento das vogais postônicas mediais, a partir da discussão de Câmara (2002 [1970]) e de Battisti e Vieira (2005) ora pela ocorrência da síncope: assimilação, ressilabação e reestruturação dos pés, a partir de dois modelos teóricos da Fonologia Métrica: o de Selkirk (1982), sobre sílaba, e o de Hayes (1995), sobre o acento. Sob a égide da Sociolinguística Variacionista, analisaram-se, estatisticamente, as variáveis linguísticas e sociais que favorecem o apagamento da vogal postônica medial. Os resultados foram comparados com os de outros trabalhos que tiveram por objetivo investigar o mesmo fenômeno, porém com dados de fala de outras regiões do Brasil. Constatou-se que o fator ano de escolarização é o mais relevante no processo de apagamento da vogal postônica medial em três dos quatro trabalhos em estudo, assim como o contexto fonológico seguinte, que foi tido por todos como sendo o mais propício ao processo aqui em estudo. Porém Amaral (1999) e Lima (2008) apontam a líquida vibrante como a mais favorecedora do processo de apagamento, ao passo que Silva (2006) e Ramos (2009), a líquida lateral. Assim sendo, depois de ocorrer o processo de apagamento da postônica medial, o segmento consonantal restante após o apagamento é incorporado ora à sílaba tônica, ora ao ataque da sílaba átona final, por meio da ressilabação, o que provoca uma reestruturação dos pés silábicos, transformando-as em palavras paroxítonas, como, respectivamente, em: música ~ musca e xícara ~ xicra. Quando não ocorre esse apagamento, as vogais [e] e [o] postônicas mediais sofrem processos de abertura, como por exemplo, em a.bó.b[o].ra ~ a.bó.b[o].ra, e de alçamento, em ár.v[o].re ~ ár.v[o].re. É por esse processo de assimilação que um segmento assimila características do segmento precedente, como em fizica ~ fizga, e/ou do segmento seguinte, como em música ~ musca.

Orientador: Gladis Massini-Cagliari
Banca: Gisela Collischonn
Banca: Flaviane Romani Fernandes Svartman
Banca: Rosane de Andrade Berlinck
Banca: Marcia Valeria Zamboni Gobbi
Resumo: Esta tese de doutorado tem por objetivo confirmar a possibilidade de uma conexão entre a música e a linguística no desenvolvimento de uma nova metodologia para o estudo da prosódia de línguas mortas ou de períodos anteriores de línguas vivas. Tal metodologia baseia-se, resumidamente, na observação das proeminências musicais de textos poéticos musicados, na observação das proeminências linguísticas do texto dos poemas, junto com a observação da estrutura métrica dos mesmos. Sendo assim, partiu-se da ideia de que o tempo forte do compasso musical (o primeiro tempo) marca preferencialmente uma proeminência no nível linguístico, podendo servir de base para a localização das sílabas tônicas das palavras do texto, o que poderia fornecer pistas para o estudo do acento lexical de palavras em línguas que já não possuem falantes, nem registros orais. O corpus utilizado na pesquisa que sustenta essa tese constitui-se de um recorte das cem primeiras Cantigas de Santa Maria de Afonso X, tomadas a partir das suas versões transcritas por Anglés (1943) para a notação musical atual. Os dados foram coletados por meio da elaboração de fichas de análise, as quais mostram, de maneira clara, as coincidências entre proeminências nos níveis musical e linguístico. Vale ressaltar que foram coletadas trinta e oito mil e dezoito palavras, por meio das quais foi possível analisar a atribuição do acento lexical nas três pautas prosódicas existentes no português arcaico (oxítonas, paroxítonas e proparoxítonas), além e abrirmos uma discussão a respeito da tonicidade de monossílabos e o status prosódico de clíticos; também foi possível analisar a ocorrência do acento secundário, uma das maiores contribuições deste trabalho para a descrição da prosódia dessa língua. Dialogando com os trabalhos de... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: This thesis aims to confirm the possibility of a connection between Music and Linguistics on the development of a new methodology applied to the study of the prosody of dead languages or ancient periods of living languages. This methodology is based on the observation of musical prominences of poetic texts with musical notation, and on the observation of linguistic prominences of the texts, considering their metrical structure. There is a great probability of the musical stresses (the first beat of the measure) to coincide with the stressed syllable of the words. This fact provides clues for the study of lexical stress in past periods of the language. The corpus used for this research is composed by the first hundred Cantigas de Santa Maria, which were compiled by Alfonso X and transcribed for the contemporary musical notation by Anglés (1943). The data were collected by means of the elaboration of boards which show the coincidences between prominences at musical and linguistic levels. It is important to point out that thirty eight thousand and eighteen words were collected; this fact enabled the analysis of the attribution of the lexical stress in Medieval Portuguese. Moreover it was possible to discuss the prominence grade of monosyllables and to analyze the occurrence of secondary stresses, maybe the largest contribution of this research in the description of the prosody of that language. Dialoguing with previous researches such as Massini-Cagliari (1995, 1999, 2005) and Costa (2006) - regarding the attribution of the lexical stress in Medieval Portuguese - and Collishonn (1994) - regarding the secondary stress in Brazilian Portuguese - we could verify that the methodology developed in this thesis brought significant contributions for the description of the Medieval Portuguese phonological component as it allowed the analysis of... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Doutor

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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
Esta tese de doutorado tem por objetivo confirmar a possibilidade de uma conexão entre a música e a linguística no desenvolvimento de uma nova metodologia para o estudo da prosódia de línguas mortas ou de períodos anteriores de línguas vivas. Tal metodologia baseia-se, resumidamente, na observação das proeminências musicais de textos poéticos musicados, na observação das proeminências linguísticas do texto dos poemas, junto com a observação da estrutura métrica dos mesmos. Sendo assim, partiu-se da ideia de que o tempo forte do compasso musical (o primeiro tempo) marca preferencialmente uma proeminência no nível linguístico, podendo servir de base para a localização das sílabas tônicas das palavras do texto, o que poderia fornecer pistas para o estudo do acento lexical de palavras em línguas que já não possuem falantes, nem registros orais. O corpus utilizado na pesquisa que sustenta essa tese constitui-se de um recorte das cem primeiras Cantigas de Santa Maria de Afonso X, tomadas a partir das suas versões transcritas por Anglés (1943) para a notação musical atual. Os dados foram coletados por meio da elaboração de fichas de análise, as quais mostram, de maneira clara, as coincidências entre proeminências nos níveis musical e linguístico. Vale ressaltar que foram coletadas trinta e oito mil e dezoito palavras, por meio das quais foi possível analisar a atribuição do acento lexical nas três pautas prosódicas existentes no português arcaico (oxítonas, paroxítonas e proparoxítonas), além e abrirmos uma discussão a respeito da tonicidade de monossílabos e o status prosódico de clíticos; também foi possível analisar a ocorrência do acento secundário, uma das maiores contribuições deste trabalho para a descrição da prosódia dessa língua. Dialogando com os trabalhos de...
This thesis aims to confirm the possibility of a connection between Music and Linguistics on the development of a new methodology applied to the study of the prosody of dead languages or ancient periods of living languages. This methodology is based on the observation of musical prominences of poetic texts with musical notation, and on the observation of linguistic prominences of the texts, considering their metrical structure. There is a great probability of the musical stresses (the first beat of the measure) to coincide with the stressed syllable of the words. This fact provides clues for the study of lexical stress in past periods of the language. The corpus used for this research is composed by the first hundred Cantigas de Santa Maria, which were compiled by Alfonso X and transcribed for the contemporary musical notation by Anglés (1943). The data were collected by means of the elaboration of boards which show the coincidences between prominences at musical and linguistic levels. It is important to point out that thirty eight thousand and eighteen words were collected; this fact enabled the analysis of the attribution of the lexical stress in Medieval Portuguese. Moreover it was possible to discuss the prominence grade of monosyllables and to analyze the occurrence of secondary stresses, maybe the largest contribution of this research in the description of the prosody of that language. Dialoguing with previous researches such as Massini-Cagliari (1995, 1999, 2005) and Costa (2006) - regarding the attribution of the lexical stress in Medieval Portuguese - and Collishonn (1994) - regarding the secondary stress in Brazilian Portuguese - we could verify that the methodology developed in this thesis brought significant contributions for the description of the Medieval Portuguese phonological component as it allowed the analysis of... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

It is well-known that the early assignment of prominence in sequences like THIRteen MEN vs. thirTEEN, (defined as the Rhythm Rule, or post-lexical stress shift), is an optional phenomenon. This dissertation examines some of the factors that encourage the application of stress shift in English and how it is phonetically realised. The aim is to answer two sets of questions related to why and how stress shift occurs in English: 1a) Does prosodic boundary strength influence stress shift? 1b) Does the adjacency of prominences above the level of the segmental string encourage stress shift? 2) How is stress shift realized? a) Is stress shift only a perceptual phenomenon? and b) Which syllables, if any, change acoustically when stress shift is perceived? To answer these questions, four experiments were designed. The first three experiments test whether the strength of the prosodic boundaries before and after the target word (e.g., canteen) influence stress shift. The effect of the strength of the left-edge prosodic boundary was investigated by comparing perceived stress patterns of the target (e.g., canteen) as produced in isolation where it is preceded by an utterance- and a phrase- initial prosodic boundary (the Isolated condition) with its rendition when embedded in a frame sentence (e.g., Say canteen again) where the left prosodic boundary before canteen is weaker (the Embedded condition). Results show a very clear tendency towards late phrasal prominence on the final accentable syllable (e.g., -teen in canteen) in the Embedded condition while in the Isolated condition this pattern appeared in less than half of the targets, showing that the stronger left boundary increased the incidence of stress shift. Two more experiments manipulated the strength of the boundary to the right of the target (#) respectively by changing the syntactic parse of the critical phrase (e.g. canteen cook) in sequences like (1) and by manipulating constituent length as in (2). Results showed that the syntactic manipulation significantly affected the strength of the prosodic boundary between the clashing words which was stronger in (1b) relative to (1a), and affected the incidence of stress shift, which was higher in (1a) relative to (1b). The length manipulation also affected the rate of stress shift, which was significantly higher in the phrase with the shorter word, e.g., soups (2a) relative to phrase with the longer word, e.g., supervisors (2b). (1) Example from the Syntax Experiment a. Who is the canteen (#) cook these days? (Pre-modifier + Noun) b. How do the canteen (#) cook these days? (NP + VP) (2) Example from the Length Experiment a. It should include the canteen (#) soups again. (Shorter constituent) b. It should include the canteen (#) supervisors again. (Longer constituent) Whilst we knew from the literature that the grouping of the clashing words within one Intonational Phrase (IP) encourages stress shift, results from the Syntax and Length experiments indicate that this (i.e., the phrasing of the clashing words within same IP) is not sufficient condition for the occurrence of stress shift, and that fine-grained degrees of boundary strength below the Intonational Phrase can drive changes in prominence pattern. The fact that higher rates of stress shift (and associated significant acoustic changes) were driven by manipulations of constituent length --for sequences with the same syntactic structure-- provides support for the idea that prosodic (rather than syntactic) boundaries directly influence stress shift. The fourth experiment tests the definition of stress clash in English in cases like fourteen candles where the two main lexical prominences are strictly adjacent along the time dimension, in fourteen canoes where the prominences are not adjacent in time, but adjacent at the higher levels of the metrical hierarchy, and in fourteen canteens where the main lexical prominences are not adjacent, and do not clash. This experiment highlighted and resolved an unacknowledged disagreement about what clash status sequences with one weak intervening syllable (e.g., fourTEEN caNOES). The fourTEEN caNOES type were shown to behave like metrically clashing sequences (e.g., fourteen CANdles) in attracting stress shift, and differently from the non-metrically-clashing sequences (e.g., fourteen CANTEENS) in discouraging it. These results provide empirical support for the Standard Metrical Theory (e.g. Selkirk, 1984; Nespor & Vogel, 1989) claim that 1) stress clash matters in triggering stress shift and that 2) stress clash in English is defined at the higher prosodic levels and not restricted to the level of the segmental string as indirectly assumed in a growing body of research (e.g., Vogel, Bunnel & Hoskins, 1995; Tomlinson, Liu & Fox Tree, 2014). Along with the establishment of prosodic boundary strength as one of the predictors influencing stress shift, another important contribution of the thesis is providing empirical evidence that the English Rhythm Rule is not solely a perceptual phenomenon and that it is associated with acoustic correlates. The main correlates of perceived stress shift consistently appearing across experiments is the decrease in the duration of the main lexical prominence of the target (e.g., -teen in canteen) and the increase of fundamental frequency and Sound Pressure Level peaks and on the initial syllable (e.g., canin canteen), when followed by a main clashing phrasal prominence. The acoustic analysis shows that the first accentable syllable also contributes in the perception of stress shift. This latter result does not lend support to the deletion formulation of the Rhythm Rule (Gussenhoven, 1991) which stipulates that the impressions of stress shift are solely associated with changes of prominence in the last accentable syllable of the target (e.g. -teen in canteen). Along with the determination of the acoustic correlates of perceived stress shift in English, the present research 1) indicates that fine-grained gradations of prosodic boundary strength can influence stress shift, 2) shows that while stress clash can increase the incidence of stress shift, stress shift can take place even in environments completely free of stress clash, and 3) provides evidence that stress clash should not be construed simply as the concatenation of two main lexical prominences along the time dimension.

La thèse actuelle présente une étude ERP du traitement du stress métrique en français. En effet, l'accentuation métrique joue un rôle important dans la compréhension des langues comme l'anglais et le néérlandais, mais son rôle dans le traitement du français n'est pas bien connu. Le français est une langue traditionnellement décrite sans accent. Cette thèse remet en question cette vision traditionnelle et s'aligne sur deux modèles métriques d'accentuation français, proposant que l'accent est encodé dans des patrons cognitifs sous-jacents. Dans notre étude interdisciplinaire en français sur le traitement des contraintes métriques, nous adoptons une approche fonctionnelle. Nous utilisons la méthode des potentiels évoqués (ERP), qui nous fournit une mesure extrêmement sensible et précise nous permettant de déterminer s’il existe un accent métrique en français et dans quelle mesure l'accent métrique aide l’auditeur à comprendre la parole. Nous montrerons que l'accent métrique facilite le traitement de la parole en français
The current dissertation presents an ERP-investigation of metrical stress processing in French. Indeed, while metrical stress is well known to play an invaluable role in speech comprehension, its functions in French speech processing are unclear. French is a language traditionally described as having no accent. This dissertation questions the traditional view and aligns to two metrical models on French accentuation, which propose stress to be encoded in cognitive templates underlying the abstract representation of the word. In our interdisciplinary investigation of metrical stress processing in French, we take a functional, yet metrically rooted, approach. We use the method of Event-Related Potentials (ERP), which provides us with a highly sensitive and temporally precise measure allowing us to determine whether there is metrical stress in French, and to what extent metrical stress aids the listener in speech comprehension. We will show that metrical stress facilitates processing throughout French comprehension and argue for metrical stress, as well as the domain of the word, to be given a more prominent place in the descriptions of French prosody

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The aim of this thesis is to raise a hypothesis about the syllabic structure of the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), firstly attempting to find its core. For this approach the theory of syllable in Oral Language (LOs) based on authors such as Goldsmith (1990), Selkirk (1982) Collischonn (1996) among others, then phonological studies in the field of sign languages (LS) under the assumptions for instance, Frame and Karnopp (2004), Xavier (2006) and Sandler and Lillo-Martin (2006). Based on this approach, we crossed two areas of studies raising a hypothesis about the internal syllable structure in Libras based on the metric theory. By hypothesis, we confront it with data collected from our field research. To support this study, we use the proposed written signs named ELiS. The corpus was collected with deaf fluent in Libras, of both genders and various ages. Part of the corpus was collected with deaf Canadians, users of Quebecois Sign Language, however we highlight that this was only used to provide the evidence of the syllabic structure that is found in Brazil may also be found abroad. The volunteers answered a directed interview then they were asked to name pictures in their own native Sign Languages (SL). This Research allows us postulate that, as for Libras, the syllabic structure is composed as follows: Onset - Hand Configuration (which includes the Hand Shape and Orientation); Nuclei - Point of Coordination (or Location) and Coda - Movement. The search result is highly important for Libras once it strengthens phonological studies of this language as well as it leads to a way of good signal formation through its syllabic structure. It is very significant for the Deaf Community because it reaffirms the status of this language as natural and gives empowerment to its users. Besides being able to contribute to new linguistical thinking about the spoken language.
O foco desta dissertação é levantar uma hipótese sobre a estrutura silábica da Língua Brasileira de Sinais (Libras), objetivando encontrar primeiramente seu núcleo. Para isto abordamos a teoria de sílaba nas Línguas Orais (LOs) baseados em autores como Goldsmith (1990), Selkirk (1982) Collischonn (1996) entre outros, em seguida os estudos fonológicos na área das Línguas de Sinais (LS) sob os pressupostos, por exemplo, de Quadros e Karnopp (2004), Xavier (2006) e Sandler e Lillo-Martin (2006). Após essa abordagem, cruzamos as duas áreas de estudos levantando uma hipótese sobre a estrutura interna da sílaba na Libras com base na teoria métrica. Com a hipótese formulada, confrontamo-la com os dados colhidos em nossa pesquisa de campo. Como apoio neste nosso estudo, usamos a proposta de escrita de sinais denominada ELiS. O corpus foi coletado com surdos fluentes em Libras, de ambos os sexos e idades variadas. Parte do corpus foi colhido com surdos canadenses, usuários da Língua de Sinais Quebequense, mas ressaltamos que esse foi usado apenas para dar um indício de que a estrutura silábica encontrada no Brasil parece ser também encontrada fora. Os colaboradores responderam a uma entrevista direcionada e depois lhes foram apresentadas figuras para que as nomeassem em suas LS nativas. Através da pesquisa postulamos que, para a Libras, a estrutura silábica se compõe da seguinte forma: Ataque – Configuração de Mãos (que compreende o Formato de Mão e a Orientação); Núcleo – Ponto de Articulação (ou Locação) e Coda – Movimento. O resultado da pesquisa é muito importante para a Libras, pois fortalece os estudos fonológicos dessa língua bem como indica um caminho de boa formação do sinal através de sua estrutura silábica. Ela é bastante significativa para a Comunidade Surda, pois, mais uma vez, reafirma o estatuto desta língua como natural e dá empoderamento aos seus usuários, além de poder contribuir para novas reflexões linguísticas acerca das LOs.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico
O estudo investigou a produÃÃo e a percepÃÃo do padrÃo acentual e a reduÃÃo vocÃlica em pares mÃnimos de lÃngua inglesa em aprendizes brasileiros de lÃngua inglesa, divididos igualmente em trÃs nÃveis diferentes de proficiÃncia, a fim de verificar que fatores lingÃÃsticos e sociais poderiam ser responsÃveis pela mà pronÃncia desses itens lexicais. A produÃÃo dos padrÃes acentuais foi avaliada atravÃs de tarefas de leitura e repetiÃÃo de sentenÃas. A percepÃÃo dos participantes foi mensurada atravÃs de atividades de iscriminaÃÃo acentual e categÃrica. Esperou-se que o nÃvel de proficiÃncia lingÃÃstica fosse diretamente proporcional ao nÃmero total de acertos por testes, hipÃtese que foi confirmada parcialmente, pois os resultados apontaram que em alguns casos, o nÃvel de proficiÃncia do aprendiz nÃo à o Ãnico responsÃvel pelo sucesso na atribuiÃÃo do acento e de reduÃÃo vocÃlica, mas sim o tempo de exposiÃÃo à lÃngua, confirmado pela quantidade de horas-aula anteriores ao inÃcio do curso na instituiÃÃo em que o corpus foi coletado. Uma outra hipÃtese preliminar da pesquisa foi a de que o sucesso na produÃÃo dos pares mÃnimos devia-se a uma boa percepÃÃo deles. No entanto, essa hipÃtese nÃo foi confirmada pelo fato dos totais de acertos dos testes de produÃÃo nÃo acompanharem linearmente os resultados quantitativos dos testes de percepÃÃo, que revelaram capacidades mais do que satisfatÃrias no que diz respeito à percepÃÃo da mudanÃa de acento e determinaÃÃo da categoria lexical. Os testes de produÃÃo apresentaram um nÃmero excessivamente reduzido de emissÃes corretas na reduÃÃo vocÃlica, caracterÃstica fundamental para a inteligibilidade de alguns pares mÃnimos. As variÃveis sociais nÃo influenciaram significativamente no fenÃmeno de mà produÃÃo do acento primÃrio de pares mÃnimos.
The study aimed at investigating the production and perception of English minimal pairs in a group of Brazilian students of English as a foreign language, equally divided in three different proficiency levels in order to verify which linguistic and social factors could be responsible for the mispronunciation of those lexical items. The stress pattern production was evaluated through reading activities and sentence repetition. The perception of the participants was measured through stress and categorical discrimination activities. It was expected that the linguistic proficiency level would be directly proportional to the amount of correct answers per test, which was partially confirmed, for the results revealed that, in some cases, the learnerâs proficiency level is not the only factor responsible for determining the success in stress attribution and vowel reduction, but the amount of hours each one had before studying in the institution where the corpus was collected. Another hypothesis of the research considered that success in the production of the minimal pairs would be a result of a satisfactory perception of those same pairs. However, this hypothesis was not confirmed because the amount of correct answers in the production tests did not accompany the quantitative results of the perception tests, what revealed that learnersâ capacities to perceive stress shift and determining the lexical category are more than satisfactory. The production tests presented an excessively reduced number of correct utterances in vowel reduction, which is a fundamental feature for the intelligibility of some minimal pairs. The social variables did not interfere at all with the minimal pairs stress production.

A systemic perspective was employed in completing a phonological analysis and developing an intervention plan for Jarrod, a 7;0 year old child who exhibited a severe speech sound disorder characterized by inconsistency. Results of the Systemic Phonological Analysis of Child Speech (SPACS) revealed a limited sound system that was characterized by phonotactic inventory constraints, positional constraints, and sequence constraints. Mapping the child-to-adult sound systems through phoneme collapses revealed a logical and symmetrical system that maintained systematicity, yet permitted variability. Based on the organizational principles suggested by the phoneme collapses, targets were identified for intervention using the distance metric approach, which is based on the function of sounds within a given system rather than the characteristics of a given sound, and assumes that targets will interact dynamically with the child's unique sound system. Finally, a multiple oppositions treatment approach intended to facilitate learning across phoneme collapses and lead to system-wide phonological restructuring was described.

SILVA, Ana Cristina Cunha da. A produção e percepção do acento em pares mínimos de língua inglesa por aprendizes brasileiros. 2005. 118f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Linguistica) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Letras Vernaculas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística, Fortaleza-CE, 2005.
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The study aimed at investigating the production and perception of English minimal pairs in a group of Brazilian students of English as a foreign language, equally divided in three different proficiency levels in order to verify which linguistic and social factors could be responsible for the mispronunciation of those lexical items. The stress pattern production was evaluated through reading activities and sentence repetition. The perception of the participants was measured through stress and categorical discrimination activities. It was expected that the linguistic proficiency level would be directly proportional to the amount of correct answers per test, which was partially confirmed, for the results revealed that, in some cases, the learner’s proficiency level is not the only factor responsible for determining the success in stress attribution and vowel reduction, but the amount of hours each one had before studying in the institution where the corpus was collected. Another hypothesis of the research considered that success in the production of the minimal pairs would be a result of a satisfactory perception of those same pairs. However, this hypothesis was not confirmed because the amount of correct answers in the production tests did not accompany the quantitative results of the perception tests, what revealed that learners’ capacities to perceive stress shift and determining the lexical category are more than satisfactory. The production tests presented an excessively reduced number of correct utterances in vowel reduction, which is a fundamental feature for the intelligibility of some minimal pairs. The social variables did not interfere at all with the minimal pairs stress production.
O estudo investigou a produção e a percepção do padrão acentual e a redução vocálica em pares mínimos de língua inglesa em aprendizes brasileiros de língua inglesa, divididos igualmente em três níveis diferentes de proficiência, a fim de verificar que fatores lingüísticos e sociais poderiam ser responsáveis pela má pronúncia desses itens lexicais. A produção dos padrões acentuais foi avaliada através de tarefas de leitura e repetição de sentenças. A percepção dos participantes foi mensurada através de atividades de iscriminação acentual e categórica. Esperou-se que o nível de proficiência lingüística fosse diretamente proporcional ao número total de acertos por testes, hipótese que foi confirmada parcialmente, pois os resultados apontaram que em alguns casos, o nível de proficiência do aprendiz não é o único responsável pelo sucesso na atribuição do acento e de redução vocálica, mas sim o tempo de exposição à língua, confirmado pela quantidade de horas-aula anteriores ao início do curso na instituição em que o corpus foi coletado. Uma outra hipótese preliminar da pesquisa foi a de que o sucesso na produção dos pares mínimos devia-se a uma boa percepção deles. No entanto, essa hipótese não foi confirmada pelo fato dos totais de acertos dos testes de produção não acompanharem linearmente os resultados quantitativos dos testes de percepção, que revelaram capacidades mais do que satisfatórias no que diz respeito à percepção da mudança de acento e determinação da categoria lexical. Os testes de produção apresentaram um número excessivamente reduzido de emissões corretas na redução vocálica, característica fundamental para a inteligibilidade de alguns pares mínimos. As variáveis sociais não influenciaram significativamente no fenômeno de má produção do acento primário de pares mínimos.

This dissertation presents a qualitative and quantitative analysis of aspects of the intonation and prosody of an Australian polysynthetic language, Bininj Gun-wok (BGW; also referred to as Mayali). The theoretical framework is autosegmental-metrical phonology, as adapted to the description of intonation by Pierrehumbert (1980); Bruce (1977) and others. The analysis focuses principally on two dialects, Kuninjku and Manyallaluk Mayali (MM), with some reference to the Kunwinjku, Kune, Gun-Djeihmi and Kundedjnjenghmi dialects.

This dissertation proposes a model of word stress in a derivational version of Optimality Theory (OT) called Harmonic Serialism (HS; Prince and Smolensky 1993/2004, McCarthy 2000, 2006, 2010a). In this model, the metrical structure of a word is derived through a series of optimizations in which the ‘best’ metrical foot is chosen according to a ranking of violable constraints. Like OT, HS models cross-linguistic typology under the assumption that every constraint ranking should correspond to an attested language. Chapter 2 provides an argument for modeling stress typology in HS by showing that the serial model correctly rules out stress patterns that display non-local interactions, while a parallel OT model with the same constraints and representations fails to make such a distinction. Chapter 3 discusses two types of primary stress—autonomous and parasitic—and argues that limited parallelism in the assignment of primary stress is warranted by a consideration of attested typology. Stress systems in which the primary stress appears to behave autonomously from secondary stresses require that primary stress assignment be simultaneous with a foot’s construction. As a result, a provision to allow primary stress to be reassigned during a derivation is necessary to account for a class of stress systems in which primary stress is parasitic on secondary stresses. Chapter 4 takes up two issues in the definition of constraints on primary stress, including a discussion of how primary stress alignment should be formulated and the identification of vacuous satisfaction as a cause of problematic typological predictions. It is proposed that all primary stress constraints be redefined according to non-vacuous schemata, which eliminate the problematic predictions when implemented within HS. Finally, chapter 5 considers the role of representational assumptions in typological predictions with comparisons between HS and parallel OT. The primary conclusion of this chapter is that constituent representations (i.e., feet) are necessary in HS to account for rhythmic stress patterns in a typologically restrictive way.

This study contributes to the search for metrical order in the 90,000 extant long lines of the late fourteenth-century Middle English Alliterative Revival. Using the 'Gawain'-poet's 'Patience' and 'Cleanness', it refutes nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholars who mistook rhythmic liveliness for metrical disorganization and additionally corrects troubling missteps that scholars have taken over the last five years. 'Chapter One: Tame the "Gabble of Weaker Syllables"' rehearses the traditional, but mistaken view that long lines are barely patterned at all. It explains the widely-accepted methods for determining which syllables are metrically stressed and which are not: Give metrical stress to the syllables that in everyday Middle English were probably accented. 'Chapter Two: An Environment for Demotion in the B-Verse' introduces the relatively stringent metrical template of the b-verse as a foil for the different kind of meter at work in the a-verse. 'Chapter Three: Rhythmic Consistency in the Middle English Alliterative Long Line' examines the structure of the a-verse and considers the viability of verses with more than the normal two beats. An empirical investigation considers whether rhythmic consistency in the long line depends on three-beat a-verses. 'Chapter Four: Dynamic "Unmetre" and the Proscription against Three Sequential Iambs' posits an explanation for the unusual distributions of metrically unstressed syllables in the long line and finds that the 'Gawain'-poet's rhythms avoid the even alternation of beats and offbeats with uncanny precision. 'Chapter Five: Metrical Promotion, Linguistic Promotion, and False Extra-Long Dips' takes the rest of the dissertation as a foundation for explaining rhythmically puzzling a-verses. A-verses that seem to have excessively long sequences of offbeats and other a-verses that infringe on b-verse meter prove amenable to adjustment through metrical promotion. 'Conclusion: Metrical Regions in the Long Line' synthesizes the findings of the previous chapters in a survey of metrical tension in the long line. It additionally articulates the key theme of the dissertation: Contrary to traditional assumptions, Middle English alliterative long lines have variable, instead of consistent, numbers of beats and highly regulated, instead of liberally variable, arrangements of metrically unstressed syllables.
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This dissertation addresses the way a linguistic grammar can yield to poetic organization in a poetic text. To this end, two corpora are studied: the sung lyrics of country music singer Hank Williams, Sr. and the rapped lyrics of gansgta rap artist Snoop Dogg. Following a review of relevant literature, an account of the poetic grammar for each corpus is provided, including the manifestation of musical meter and grouping in the linguistic text, the reflection of metrical grouping in systematic rhyme, and rhyme fellow correspondence. In the Williams corpus, final cadences pattern much as in the English folk verse studied in Hayes and MacEachern (1998), but differ in that there are more, and therefore more degrees of saliency. Rhyme patterns reflect grouping structure and correlate to patterns in final cadences, and imperfect rhyme is limited to phonologically similar codas. In the Snoop Dogg corpus syllables do not always align with the metrical grid, metrical mapping and rhyme patterning often challenge grouping structure, and imperfect rhyme is more diverse, as has been shown to be the case for contemporary rap generally (Krims 2000, Katz 2008). Following Rice (1997), Golston (1998), Reindl and Franks (2001), Michael (2003), and Fitzgerald (2003, 2007), meter, grouping and rhyme are modeled as driving phonological, morphological and syntactic deviation in Optimality Theoretic terms. In the Hank Williams corpus, metrical mapping and grouping constraints are shown to drive a number of linguistically deviatory phenomena including stress shift, syllabic variation and allomorphy, while rhyme patterning constraints govern syntactic inversion. In the Snoop Dogg corpus, rhyme fellow correspondence and rhyme patterning constraints play a more significant role, driving enjambment, syllabic variation, and allomorphy. Some linguistically deviatory phenomena derive from ordinary language variation, e.g. (flawr)~(flaw.[schwa]r), and some do not, e.g. syllable insertion in insista. The latter is more common in the Snoop Dogg corpus.
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