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Patterns and timing of glottalisation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2001

Darin Howe
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
Douglas Pulleyblank
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia

Abstract

Through an investigation of glottalisation in several languages of North America, this article examines the role of perception in the grammatical distribution of segments. Specifically, we consider the hypothesis that perceptual factors on the timing of glottalisation in consonants determine the arrangement of such consonants phonologically. Our conclusion is in the negative. In the cases we study, the distribution of glottalisation appears to be governed by syllable structure, not by glottal timing. We interpret the patterns presented as evidence for a modular theory of phonetics and phonology rather than a theory where properties of articulator timing are directly referenced by phonological constraints. Patterns of glottalisation result from the interaction of phonological submodules that are largely independent of each other, though properties of particular modules may be influenced by phonetic factors.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

We would like to thank participants at the GLOW Phonetics in Phonology Workshop, University of Potsdam, April 1, 1999, as well as Gene Buckley, Marion Caldecott, Madelaine Plauché, Bill Weigel and Suzanne Wertheim for sharing information on their languages of expertise and Eun-Sook Kim for comments on a draft of the article. Research for this article was supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.