Máire Ní Chiosáin

Irish palatalisation and the representation of place features

The structural relationship of the primary/consonantal place features and the secondary/vowel place features has been the focus of much recent work in geometrical and hierarchical feature theories. Sagey (1986), Halle (1986), Selkirk (1988, 1991a, b) and others propose representations in which the secondary/vowel place features are structurally dependent on primary/consonantal place features, while Archangeli & Pulleyblank (1987), Steriade (1987), Clements (1989, 1991), Hume (1990, 1992) and Odden (1991) argue for the structural independence of primary/consonantal and secondary/vowel place features, though to different degrees.

An acoustic and perceptual study of Connemara Irish palatalization

Palatalization contrasts are subject to certain asymmetries across languages (Takatori 1997, Kochetov 2002). For example, they are preferred at the beginning of words or syllables rather than at the end, and they are preferred in coronals rather than labials. Kochetov (2002, 2004) argues that these asymmetries are perceptually motivated, and he provides supporting evidence from Russian. We report on results of an acoustic and perceptual study of palatalization in Connemara Irish. Our acoustic analysis documents a range of properties distinguishing palatalized from non-palatalized consonants in Irish, though our acoustic data come from only one speaker. Based on a speeded AX discrimination task, our perceptual results in some ways parallel Kochetovs for Russian (listeners show degraded performance for the coda contrast compared to the onset contrast), and in some ways do not (they do not perform better on coronals than on labials).

An Ultrasound Study of Connemara Irish Palatalization and Velarization

Author(s): Bennett, Ryan; Chiosain, Maire Ni; Padgett, Jaye; McGuire, Grant | Abstract: We present the first ultrasound analysis of the secondary palatalization contrast in Irish, analyzing data from five speakers from the Connemara dialect group. Word-initial /pʲ(bʲ) pˠ(bˠ) tʲ tˠ kʲ kˠ fʲ fˠ sʲ sˠ xʲ xˠ/ are analyzed in the context of /iː uː/. We find, first, that tongue body position robustly distinguishes palatalized from velarized consonants, across place of articulation, manner, and vowel place contexts, with palatalized consonants having fronter and/or higher tongue body realizations than their velarized counterparts. This conclusion holds equally for labial consonants, contrary to some previous descriptive claims. Second, the nature and degree of palatalization and velarization depend in systematic ways on consonant place and manner. In coronal consonants, for example, velarization is weaker or absent. Third, the Irish consonants examined resist coarticulation in backness with a following vowel. In all of these respects Irish palatalization is remarkably similar to that of Russian. Our results also support an independent role for pharyngeal cavity expansion/retraction in the production of the palatalization contrast. Finally, we discuss preliminary findings on the dynamics of the secondary articulation gestures. Our use of principal component analysis (PCA) in reaching these findings is also of interest, since PCA has not been employed a great deal in analyses of tongue body movement.

Tongue body shape during the production of Irish palatalization and velarization

Irish is an endangered Celtic (Goidelic) language that has a rare phonemic contrast between palatalized and velarized consonants for all places and manners of articulation. Using ultrasound tongue body imaging of 15 native speakers we provide comparative data on the phonetic realization of the contrast, specifically focusing on how place, manner, and vowel context each affect tongue body position during production for each of the three major dialects. Using principal components analysis, we find evidence for the role of tongue root advancement in the contrast independent of the (less surprising) roles of tongue body frontness and raising. This data have consequences for our understanding of the relationship between phonetic and phonological categories as well as the role of perceptual saliency in shaping inventories.