Kevin Liang (UCLA) «An experimental study of Catalan consonant alternations»

Seminari del CLT

Divendres, 7 de novembre de 2025
Horari: 15:30h
Aula 202

Resum:

We describe two “wug-test” experiments covering consonant alternations in Catalan. We chose our alternations and stimulus items with the goal of testing hypotheses in phonological theory. Our findings provide support for the following claims: (1) Speakers are capable of frequency- matching exceptionful phonological patterns in the lexicon. To a limited degree, speakers productively extend (2) opaque and (3) saltatory phonology. In post-hoc examination of the data, we sought explanations for why speakers deviate from frequency matching and located several possible mechanisms. First, speakers seem to tacitly reference orthography, matching more closely the alternations that are spelt. Second, speakers often respond to lexical patterns that are poorly attested by “avoidance”: using unusual morphology that lets them avoid making a phonological choice. Lastly, participants differ substantially both in their degree of avoidance and in their detailed phonological preferences