How the Phoneme Inventory Changes its Shape: A Cognitive Approach to Phonological Evolution and Change
In this paper I propose an interpretation of a series of phonological changes in the history of English (including Old English Breaking and the early Modern English Great Vowel Shift) from a cognitive phonology perspective. My analysis is based on Nathan (1886, 1995, 1996), who applies prototype th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad de Zaragoza
2008-12-01
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| Series: | Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/9704 |
| _version_ | 1797385625385566208 |
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| author | Javier Enrique Díaz Vera |
| author_facet | Javier Enrique Díaz Vera |
| author_sort | Javier Enrique Díaz Vera |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
In this paper I propose an interpretation of a series of phonological changes in the history of English (including Old English Breaking and the early Modern English Great Vowel Shift) from a cognitive phonology perspective. My analysis is based on Nathan (1886, 1995, 1996), who applies prototype theory to phonological description. In Nathan's analysis, the louder a sound is, the more prototypical effects it possesses. In processes of phonological change, phonemes change their number of prototypical effects. According to this view, we propose a classification that is based on two different prototypicality effects: degree of height and degree of peripherality. By treating both sound and meaning unit as mental categories, I try to show how the principles of categorization and generalization motivate similar diachronic patterns both in the phonological and in the semantic domain.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:56:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-51c7d8861fbd476ab9591e635aaaf2f1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1137-6368 2386-4834 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:56:52Z |
| publishDate | 2008-12-01 |
| publisher | Universidad de Zaragoza |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-51c7d8861fbd476ab9591e635aaaf2f12023-12-19T17:24:12ZengUniversidad de ZaragozaMiscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies1137-63682386-48342008-12-013710.26754/ojs_misc/mj.20089704How the Phoneme Inventory Changes its Shape: A Cognitive Approach to Phonological Evolution and ChangeJavier Enrique Díaz Vera0Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha In this paper I propose an interpretation of a series of phonological changes in the history of English (including Old English Breaking and the early Modern English Great Vowel Shift) from a cognitive phonology perspective. My analysis is based on Nathan (1886, 1995, 1996), who applies prototype theory to phonological description. In Nathan's analysis, the louder a sound is, the more prototypical effects it possesses. In processes of phonological change, phonemes change their number of prototypical effects. According to this view, we propose a classification that is based on two different prototypicality effects: degree of height and degree of peripherality. By treating both sound and meaning unit as mental categories, I try to show how the principles of categorization and generalization motivate similar diachronic patterns both in the phonological and in the semantic domain. https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/9704Cognitive phonologySound changeSemantic changeOld EnglishLinguistic variation |
| spellingShingle | Javier Enrique Díaz Vera How the Phoneme Inventory Changes its Shape: A Cognitive Approach to Phonological Evolution and Change Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies Cognitive phonology Sound change Semantic change Old English Linguistic variation |
| title | How the Phoneme Inventory Changes its Shape: A Cognitive Approach to Phonological Evolution and Change |
| title_full | How the Phoneme Inventory Changes its Shape: A Cognitive Approach to Phonological Evolution and Change |
| title_fullStr | How the Phoneme Inventory Changes its Shape: A Cognitive Approach to Phonological Evolution and Change |
| title_full_unstemmed | How the Phoneme Inventory Changes its Shape: A Cognitive Approach to Phonological Evolution and Change |
| title_short | How the Phoneme Inventory Changes its Shape: A Cognitive Approach to Phonological Evolution and Change |
| title_sort | how the phoneme inventory changes its shape a cognitive approach to phonological evolution and change |
| topic | Cognitive phonology Sound change Semantic change Old English Linguistic variation |
| url | https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/9704 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT javierenriquediazvera howthephonemeinventorychangesitsshapeacognitiveapproachtophonologicalevolutionandchange |