Autosegmental phonology
Encyclopedia
Autosegmental phonology is the name of a framework of phonological analysis proposed by John Goldsmith
in his PhD thesis in 1976 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT).
As a theory of phonological representation, autosegmental phonology
developed a formal account of ideas that had been sketched in earlier work by several linguists, notably Bernard Bloch
(1948), Charles Hockett (1955) and J. R. Firth
(1948). On such a view, phonological representations consist of more than one linear sequence of segments
; each linear sequence constitutes a separate tier. The co-registration of elements (or autosegments) on one tier with those on another is represented by association lines. There is a close relationship between analysis of segments into distinctive features and an autosegmental analysis; each feature in a language appears on exactly one tier.
The working hypothesis of autosegmental analysis is that a large part of phonological generalizations can be interpreted as a restructuring or reorganization of the autosegments in a representation. Clear examples of the usefulness of autosegmental analysis came in early work from the detailed study of African tone languages, as well as the study of vowel and nasal harmony systems. A few years later, John McCarthy
proposed an important development by showing that the derivation of words from consonantal roots in Arabic
could be analyzed autosegmentally.
As a theory of the dynamic of phonological representations, autosegmental phonology includes a Well-formedness Condition on association lines (each element on one tier that "may" be associated to an element on another tier "must" be associated to such an element, and association lines do not cross) plus an instruction as to what to do in case of a violation of the Well-formedness Condition: add or delete the minimum number of association lines in order to maximally satisfy it. Many of the most interesting predictions of the autosegmental model derive from the automatic effects of the Well-formedness Condition and their independence of language-particular rules.
In the first decade of the development of the theory, G. N. Clements developed a number of influential aspects of the theory involving harmonic processes, especially vowel harmony
and nasal harmony, and John McCarthy generalized the theory to deal with the conjugational system of classical Arabic
, on the basis of an autosegmental account of vowel and consonant slots on a central timing tier (see also nonconcatenative morphology
).
John Goldsmith
John Anton Goldsmith is the Edward Carson Waller Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, with appointments in Linguistics and Computer Science. He was educated at Swarthmore College, where he obtained his B.A. in 1972, and at MIT, where he completed his Ph.D. in Linguistics...
in his PhD thesis in 1976 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT).
As a theory of phonological representation, autosegmental phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
developed a formal account of ideas that had been sketched in earlier work by several linguists, notably Bernard Bloch
Bernard Bloch
----Bernard Bloch, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., was an American linguist.He is one of the post-Bloomfieldian linguists.He taught at Brown University and Yale University.- Literary works :...
(1948), Charles Hockett (1955) and J. R. Firth
J. R. Firth
John Rupert Firth , commonly known as J. R. Firth, was an English linguist. He was Professor of English at the University of the Punjab from 1919-1928...
(1948). On such a view, phonological representations consist of more than one linear sequence of segments
Distinctive feature
In linguistics, a distinctive feature is the most basic unit of phonological structure that may be analyzed in phonological theory.Distinctive features are grouped into categories according to the natural classes of segments they describe: major class features, laryngeal features, manner features,...
; each linear sequence constitutes a separate tier. The co-registration of elements (or autosegments) on one tier with those on another is represented by association lines. There is a close relationship between analysis of segments into distinctive features and an autosegmental analysis; each feature in a language appears on exactly one tier.
The working hypothesis of autosegmental analysis is that a large part of phonological generalizations can be interpreted as a restructuring or reorganization of the autosegments in a representation. Clear examples of the usefulness of autosegmental analysis came in early work from the detailed study of African tone languages, as well as the study of vowel and nasal harmony systems. A few years later, John McCarthy
John McCarthy (linguist)
John McCarthy is a linguist and professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a speciality in phonology and morphology...
proposed an important development by showing that the derivation of words from consonantal roots in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
could be analyzed autosegmentally.
As a theory of the dynamic of phonological representations, autosegmental phonology includes a Well-formedness Condition on association lines (each element on one tier that "may" be associated to an element on another tier "must" be associated to such an element, and association lines do not cross) plus an instruction as to what to do in case of a violation of the Well-formedness Condition: add or delete the minimum number of association lines in order to maximally satisfy it. Many of the most interesting predictions of the autosegmental model derive from the automatic effects of the Well-formedness Condition and their independence of language-particular rules.
In the first decade of the development of the theory, G. N. Clements developed a number of influential aspects of the theory involving harmonic processes, especially vowel harmony
Vowel harmony
Vowel harmony is a type of long-distance assimilatory phonological process involving vowels that occurs in some languages. In languages with vowel harmony, there are constraints on which vowels may be found near each other....
and nasal harmony, and John McCarthy generalized the theory to deal with the conjugational system of classical Arabic
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
, on the basis of an autosegmental account of vowel and consonant slots on a central timing tier (see also nonconcatenative morphology
Nonconcatenative morphology
Nonconcatenative morphology, also called discontinuous morphology and introflection, is a form of word formation in which the root is modified and which does not involve stringing morphemes together...
).
External links
- "The Aims of Autosegmental Phonology" by John Goldsmith
- Autosegmental analysis of intonation (Lexicon of Linguistics)
- Autosegmental phonology (Doctoral dissertation by John Goldsmith)
- What is autosegmental phonology? (SIL)