Perceptual distinctness and long-distance laryngeal restrictions

• Published in: Phonology Vol. 27; no. 3; pp. 435 - 480
• Main Author: Gallagher, Gillian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.12.2010
• Subjects: Alveolar consonants; Cognition & reasoning; Consonants; Context; Cultural assimilation; Dentistry; Dictionaries; Distinctive Features (Language); Glottalization; Laryngology; Larynx; Linguistics; Markedness; Neutralization; Perceptions; Phonemes; Phonetics; Syllables; Tableaux; Theoretical typology; Velar consonants; Vowels; New York; Chicago Illinois; California; United States > US
• ISSN: 0952-6757; 1469-8188
• DOI: 10.1017/S0952675710000217

In this paper, I present an analysis of the typology of laryngeal co-occurrence restrictions based on contrast markedness. The key ingredient of the analysis, for which I provide experimental support, is that laryngeal co-occurrence phenomena reflect a preference for maximising the perceptual distinctness of contrasts between words (Flemming 1995, 2004). An AX discrimination task finds that the contrast between an ejective and a plain stop is less accurately perceived in the context of another ejective in the word than in the context of another plain stop in the word. Pairs of words like [k'ap'i] and [k'api], which contrast 2 vs. 1 ejectives, are less reliably distinguished than pairs of words like [kap'i] and [kapi], which contrast 1 vs. 0 ejectives. The unifying factor of all laryngeal co-occurrence patterns is the neutralisation of the contrast between words with one and two laryngeally marked segments, exactly the contrast that is shown to be relatively perceptually weak.