Velar fronting in German dialects : : a study in synchronic and diachronic phonology / / Tracy Alan Hall.

• VerfasserIn: Alan Hall, Tracy,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin, Germany, : : Language Science Press,, [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (922 pages)

Velar Fronting (VF) is the name for any synchronic or diachronic phonological process shifting the velar place of articulation to the palatal region of the vocal tract. A well-known case of VF in Standard German is the rule specifying that the fricative [x] assimilates to [ç] after front segments. VF also refers to the change from velar sounds like [ɣ k g ŋ] to palatals ([ʝ c ɟ ɲ]). The book provides a thorough investigation of VF in German dialects: Data are drawn from over 300 original sources for varieties that are (or were) spoken in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other countries. VF differs geographically along three parameters: (A) triggers, (B) targets, and (C) outputs. VF triggers (=A) are typically defined according to vowel height: In some systems VF is induced only by high front vowels, in others by high and mid front vowels, and in yet others by high, mid, and low front vowels. Some varieties treat consonants ([r l n]) as triggers, while others do not. VF can be nonassimilatory, in which case the rule applies even in the context of back segments. In many varieties of German, VF targets (=B) consist of the two fricatives [x ɣ], but in other dialects the targets comprise [x] but not [ɣ]. In some places, VF affects not only [x ɣ], but also velar stops and the velar nasal. The output of VF (=C) is typically palatal [ç] (given the input [x]), but in many other places it is the alveolopalatal [ɕ]. A major theme is the way in which VF interacts with synchronic and diachronic changes creating or eliminating structures which can potentially undergo it or trigger it. In many dialects the relationship between velars ([x]) and palatals ([ҫ]) is transparent because velars only occur in the back vowel context and palatals only when adjacent to front sounds. In that type of system, independent processes can either feed VF (by creating additional structures which the latter can undergo), or they can bleed it by eliminating potential structures to which VF could ap.

Table of Contents

List of maps -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Theoretical background -- 3 Allophony (Part 1) -- 4 Allophony (part 2) -- 5 Underapplication opacity -- 6 Neutral vowels -- 7 Quasi-phonemicization of palatals -- 8 Phonemicization of palatals (part 1) -- 9 Phonemicization of palatals (part 2) -- 10 Phonemicization of palatals (part 3) -- 11 Velar noncontinuants as targets -- 12 Targets, triggers, and rule generalization -- 13 Velar fronting in Lower Bavaria -- 14 The nonassimilatory fronting of velars -- 15 Velar fronting islands -- 16 When and where was velar fronting phonologized? -- 17 Velar Fronting in Standard German -- 18 Summary and conclusion -- Appendix A: Classification of High and Low German dialects711 -- Appendix B: Historical map715 -- Appendix C: List of German dialects investigated717 -- Appendix D: Versions of velar fronting757 -- Appendix E: Family tree for Germanic languages759 -- Appendix F: Modern reflexes of historical dorsal sounds761 -- Appendix G: The status of [x] and [ç] in loanwords -- Appendix H: Inventories of nonsyllabic sounds -- Appendix I: Velar fronting parallels in a selection of Indo-European lan-guages -- Appendix J: List of places in Lower Bavaria (SNiB)785 -- Appendix K: List of dialect dictionaries789 -- Appendix L: List of linguistic atlases791 -- References795 -- Index.