Lecture 9: How Do Ranked Constraints Explain Japanese Compound Accent?, Phonology, Part 2

TL;DR

Japanese compound nouns receive one accent near the boundary between their two parts, preferably at the beginning of the second word. If that placement would accent the final syllable, Japanese instead retracts the accent to the end of the first word, showing that avoiding final accent outranks placing accent on the second word. Read on to see how candidates, violations, and a phonological tableau represent these competing requirements.

Transcript

[SQUEAKING] [RUSTLING] [CLICKING] NORVIN RICHARDS: OK. So last time, we ended on one of these cliffhangers. And so I rushed you through a bunch of Japanese data. And then we got to this new bit of linguistic technology-- [BUZZING] that's going to be annoying-- this new bit of linguistic technology and went through it pretty fast. So what I want to ... Read More

Key Insights

• 👂 Phonology involves analyzing sound changes in language.
• 👂 Sounds can be categorized based on specific features and constraints.
• 👂 Languages may have specific rules for certain classes of sounds, leading to different sound changes and patterns.
• 😜 The use of ranked constraints or ordered rules can help describe phonological processes in languages.

Questions & Answers

Q: How is accent placed in Japanese compound nouns?

A Japanese compound made from two parts receives one accent on a syllable near the boundary between the words. The accent is placed on the second word when possible, but it moves to the end of the first word if placement on the second word would make it final.

Q: Does a Japanese compound preserve the accents of its original words?

Not necessarily. The compound has only one accent, and its accented syllable does not have to match the accented syllable of either original word; the raw-egg example places it on a syllable that is not normally accented in either part.

Q: Why does accent move in compounds whose second word has only one syllable?

Accent on a one-syllable second word would also be accent on the compound's final syllable. Because Japanese places greater importance on avoiding final accent, it retracts the accent to the end of the first word.

Q: What does the Kagawa prefecture example demonstrate?

Although Kagawa alone has accent on its first syllable, the expression for Kagawa prefecture places accent immediately before the compound boundary. The second half is only one syllable long, so accenting it would violate the stronger requirement against final accent.

Q: Which Japanese compound-accent constraint has higher priority?

The requirement not to accent the last syllable has higher priority than the preference to place accent on the second word. When those requirements conflict, Japanese satisfies the nonfinal-accent requirement and moves the accent to the first word.

Q: How are Japanese compound-accent patterns like the laws in Isaac Asimov's robot stories?

Both involve requirements arranged by priority. Just as a lower robot law is disobeyed when it conflicts with a higher law, the preference for accent on the second word is overridden when it would conflict with the stronger ban on final accent.

Q: What is a tableau in phonological analysis?

A tableau is a table representing how different laws interact when determining an output such as accent placement. The most important laws appear toward the left, while less important laws appear toward the right.

Q: How does a phonological tableau evaluate possible accent placements?

The analysis considers all the places where accent could be put and treats each placement as a candidate. Asterisks mark where a candidate violates a law, allowing candidates to be compared under the ranked requirements.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Phonology involves analyzing sound changes in language.

• Sounds can be classified into different categories based on their characteristics, such as sonorants and obstruents.

• Languages may have specific rules or constraints that affect certain classes of sounds, such as devoicing final obstruents or avoiding specific sound combinations.

• Some sound changes can be described using ranked constraints, while others may need to be described as ordered rules.