Iterated learning models of language evolution have typically been used to study the emergence of language, rather than historical language change. We use iterated learning models to investigate historical change in the accent classes of two Korean dialects. Simulations reveal that many of the patterns of historical change can be explained as…

The three types of stresses namely "word stress," "compound stress" and "phrasal stress" are the key elements to determine the exact means of conveying a specific intent in an utterance. Therefore during perception and production of such meaning carrying codes, being able to use the right stress pattern is vitally…

North Kyungsang Korean (NKK) is a pitch accent language in which each word has one of a restricted set of possible tonal patterns, and where the tonal pattern of a given lexical word is not fully predictable. This dissertation reports on a corpus study of accent patterns in existing words and the results of a study in which NKK speakers were asked…

This dissertation addresses the extent to which linguistic behavior can be described in terms of the projection of patterns from existing lexical items, through an investigation of Korean reduplication. Korean has a productive pattern of reduplication in which a consonant is inserted in a vowel-initial base, illustrated by forms such as "alok"--"t…

The present study is an attempt to account for current changes taking place in the behaviour of what are commonly taken to be stress-neutral endings in contemporary British English. The methodological framework being that of Lionel Guierre, this study aims for comprehensive coverage, via a survey of Guierre's original database (which was initially…

Combinational characterization and statistical and computational techniques for generalizing rule analysis to the inference of rule order are applied to the problems of the reduction of the syllable-final consonants s, n, and r in Caribbean Spanish. Results show that aspiration and deletion can be seen as intrinsically ordered in both s and r…

An analysis of Old English phonology examines two traditional sound changes, the First and Second Frontings, that have been analyzed by different linguists with rather abstract theories. These analyses are refuted, and a more concrete and realistic treatment is proposed for each. Examination of Anglo-Frisian Brightening, or First Fronting, raises…

Describes some of the current research on Brazilian Portuguese phonology. Various techniques are discussed that analysts utilize to investigate Brazilian Portuguese nasality. (49 references) (CB)

This paper presents patterns of accentual alignment in two varieties of Spanish spoken in the Basque Country: Lekeitio Spanish (LS), with speakers whose other native language is Lekeitio Basque (LB); and Vitoria Spanish (VS), with monolingual speakers of Spanish from the city of Vitoria. These patterns are compared to those of Madrid Spanish (MS),…

Analysis of the distributional properties of non-syllabic vowels within word boundaries in Italian demonstrates: the role of phonological constraints on the distribution of non-syllabic words; the syllabification possibilities within each type of sequence by setting up a structural model; and the phonemic occurrences in vowel sequences collected…

Traditional descriptions of Italian phonology have occasionally suggested that some type of connection exists between "raddoppiamento sintattico" (RS) and the word internal consonant length contrast. (RS is defined as a systematic lengthening of the first consonant of the second word in a two-word sequence in certain syntactic and phonological…

Examines the phonetic characteristics of babbling by a pair of fraternal twins raised in a bilingual environment (English/Serbian). The study focused on the basic articulatory form of babbling, the impact of twinship on babbling patterns, and whether effects specific to one or another of the ambient languages could be observed. (30 references)…

This guide provides an overview of the salient features of the Japanese language from the perspective of the beginning-level English-speaking learner. Chapters address these topics: the Japanese language and its historic and cultural setting; phonology (sounds and syllables, word accentuation; loanwords; connected speech); writing (scripts,…