The Phonetics and Phonology of Contrast : : The Case of the Romanian Vowel System / / Margaret E. L. Renwick.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DGBA Backlist Complete English Language 2000-2014 PART1
• VerfasserIn: Renwick, Margaret E. L.,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter Mouton, , [2014]; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2014
• Language: English
• Series: Phonology and Phonetics [PP] , 19
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (201 p.)
• Other title: Frontmatter --; Foreword --; Contents --; 1. Introduction --; 2. Relative frequency of Romanian phonemes --; 3. On the origins of /ᵻ/ in Romanian --; 4. The distribution of /e̯a/ and /o̯a/ in Romanian --; 5. Distributional evidence for marginal contrast --; 6. Acoustics of Romanian monophthongs --; 7. Acoustics of Romanian diphthongs --; 8. Perception of vowels in Romanian --; 9. A multidimensional model of contrast --; References --; Index
• Format: Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
• ISBN: 9783110362770; 9783110238570; 9783110238457; 9783110636970; 9783110742961; 9783110369526; 9783110370270
• ISSN: 1861-4191
• DOI: 10.1515/9783110362770
• Access: restricted access
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Margaret E. L. Renwick.

This book proposes that phonological contrast, in particular the robustness of a phonemic contrast, does not depend solely on the presence of minimal pairs, but is instead affected by a set of phonetic, usage-based, and systemic factors. This perspective opens phonology to a more direct interpretation through phonetic analysis, undertaken in a series of case studies on the Romanian vowel system. Both the synchronic phonetics and morpho-phonological alternations are studied, to understand the forces that have historically shaped and now maintain the phonemic system of Romanian. A corpus study of phoneme type frequency in Romanian reveals marginal contrasts among vowels, in which a sharp distinction between allophones and phonemes fails to capture relationships among sounds. An investigation of Romanian /(7;/ provides insight into the historical roots of marginal contrast, and a large acoustic study of Romanian vowels and diphthongs is a backdrop for evaluating the phonetic and perceptual realization of marginal contrast. The results provide impetus for a model in which phonology, phonetics, morphology and perception interact in a multidimensional way.