Sound change in Australia: Current knowledge and research priorities (with Erich Round)

Sound change in Australia: Current knowledge and research priorities

Luisa Miceli U.Western AustraliaErich R. Round U.Queensland, Australia

Sound change in Australia requires explanation

• Australian languages

• atypical homogeneity in synchronic sound patterns (Busby 1979, Dixon 1980, Hamilton 1996, Evans 1996)

• less recognized — atypical diachronic sound patterns

• Roadmap

• nature of problem posed by sound change

• begin to piece together some parts of the problem

The poverty of Australian sound change

Non-identical, regular correspondences are needed

• For testing hypotheses of genetic relationship → comparative method

• Demonstration of cognacy → sound correspondences:

• amply attested

• regular

• a significant number must involve non-identical sounds

• (near-)identical correspondences → could be due to borrowing

Non-identical, regular correspondences are needed

• Discussions of comparative method

• don’t often highlight the role of non-identical regular correspondences

• Evidence from non-identical correspondences

• grants confidence → identical correspondences also reflect inheritance

• without that evidence → arguments for cognacy are weaker

In Australia, non-identical correspondences are scarce

• Narrow differentiation → typical

Jiwarli kampa- cook, burn

Nyangumarta kampa- cook (tr), burn (intr)

Warlpiri kampa- be burning – of fire; burn it – of fire

Djabugay kampa(:) cook in earth oven

Wik-Mungknh ka:mp- cook in earth oven

Yingkarta kampa-ñi be burning, cooking

Wirangu kampa- cook, eat

Martuthunira kampa be burning, cooking

Manjiljarra kampa cook, burn

Walmajarri kampa cook it

Kaytetye ampe- burn

Uradhi aβa- cover with sand

Theory provides no obvious response

• Problem

• Poverty of non-identical correspondences

• Apparent poverty of sound change

• Current theory — what to do with such data??

• What to do?

• first, better understand how it comes about

The poverty of Australian phonological diversity

Australian languages are synchronically similar

• Synchronically, very similar:

• Phonemic inventories Busby 1979

• Phonotactic constraints Hamilton 1996

• Morpheme structure conditions (at least Pama-Nyungan) Dixon 1980

• Metrical systems

• No lexical tone

coronalcoronal peripheralperipheral

apicalalveolar

apicalretroflex

laminalpalatal

dorsalvelar bilabial

plosive t ʈ c k p

nasal n ɳ ɲ ŋ m

lateral l ɭ ʎ

trill r

rhoticapprox. ɻsemi-vowel j w


apicalalveolar

apicalretroflex

laminalpalatal


plosive t ʈ c k p

nasal n ɳ ɲ ŋ m

lateral l ɭ ʎ

trill r



apicalalveolar

apicalretroflex

laminalpalatal


plosive t ʈ c k p

nasal n ɳ ɲ ŋ m

lateral l ɭ ʎ

trill r



apicalalveolar

apicalretroflex

laminalpalatal


plosive t ʈ c k p

nasal n ɳ ɲ ŋ m

lateral l ɭ ʎ

trill r



apicalalveolar

apicalretroflex

laminalpalatal


plosive t ʈ c k p

nasal n ɳ ɲ ŋ m

lateral l ɭ ʎ

trill r



apicalalveolar

apicalretroflex

laminalpalatal


plosive t ʈ c k p

nasal n ɳ ɲ ŋ m

lateral l ɭ ʎ

trill r


Phoneme inventories are highly similar

• Bardi

• Kukata

• Nyungar, Pintupi

• Umbugarla, Walmatjarri, Nyangumarta, Wambaya, Wardaman, Jingulu, Warnman, Watjarri, Yankunytjatjara, Nyigina, Kunin....


apicalalveolar

apicalretroflex

laminalpalatal


plosive t ʈ c k p

nasal n ɳ ɲ ŋ m

lateral l ɭ ʎ

trill r


Phoneme inventories are highly similar

• Kalkatungu, Badimaya, Payungu, Kariyarra, Kurrama, Martuthunira, Ngarluma, Panyjima, Putijarra, Kija, Guugu Yimidhirr, Ganggalida, Wubuy, Ngawun, Marra, Lardil, Kayardild, Jiwarli, Gooniyandi...


apicalalveolar

apicalretroflex

laminaldental

laminalpalatal


plosive t ʈ t ̪ c k p

nasal n ɳ n̪ ɲ ŋ m

lateral l ɭ l ̪ ʎ

trill r


Australian languages are synchronically similar

• Synchronically, very similar:

• Phonemic inventories Busby 1979

• Phonotactic constraints Hamilton 1996

• Morpheme structure conditions (at least Pama-Nyungan) Dixon 1980

• Metrical systems

• Don’t offer obvious explanation for sound change

• Static properties, dynamic alternations

We can reason from alternations to sound change

• Synchronic alternations ← sound change antecedents

• Hypothesis:

• continent of absent sound changes:

• morphophonology impoverished

• AusPhon — currently 91 languages (Round 2014)

• 1,786 alternations

Other

DeletionAssimilation

Lenition

P-base

Other

DeletionAssimilation

Lenition

AusPhon

Outcomes are system-preserving

• Deletion and lenition

• preserve typical phonemic inventory and phonotactic patterns

• stops → glides fricatives

• deletions → uncharacteristic clusters

σσ roots escape the most common changes

• Nature of alternations ↔ Lack of observed changes in PN roots

• Butcher (2006): Post-tonic consonants → ‘strong’ position

• Assuming these are resistant to changes such as lenition and deletion:

• Typical disyllabic Pama-Nyungan root, CV(Son).CV(Son)-

• doesn’t contain most common targets (e.g. weak VCV)

STRONG

The role of multilingualism

Are low cognate numbers linked to absent change?

• Pama-Nyungan → low number of potential cognates

• Implies → high rate of lexical replacement

• Paucity of sound change

• High lexical replacement

• Linked?

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< 5% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%> 30%

< 5%5%

10%15%20%25%

>30%

Data: Claire Bowern

Active bilingualism was ubiquitous

• Exogamous marriage patterns → stable, ubiquitous, active multilingualism

• The Australian pattern ← cognitive challenges faced by active bilinguals

• Ellison and Miceli (2013) — lexical choices in code-switching:

• if alternatives are available

• avoidance of ‘doppels’: form–meaning similar across the languages

?

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Mode

Bilingual

Monolingual

Bilinguals avoid doppels

avoidancebilinguals(N=24)

usagemonolinguals (N=25)

The consequences for lexical replacement were tested

• Assumption

• Doppel avoidance → token frequency

• Token frequency → transmission

• Simulations

• Transmission & replacement of doppels in 2 languages

A B C

A

Bilingualism accelerates loss of doppels

B

C

100 generations

100 generations

100 generations

Cognate loss links to multingualism & lack of change

• High proportion of active multingualism

• was the case in Australia

• expected to accelerate the replacement of similar cognate words

• Low levels of sound change

• cognates remain similar

• expected to accelerate their replacement

Summary and conclusions

• Initial observations

• Poverty of non-identical correspondences

• Apparent poverty of sound change

• High rate of lexical replacement

Similar inventories, phonotactics

High lexical replacement

Cognates are similar

Roots are shielded

Plausible connections have been identified

Multi-lingualism

Recurrent changes

Synchronicalternations

Alpher, Barry. 2004. Pama-Nyungan. In C. Bowern and H. Koch (eds), Australian languages: classification and the comparative method. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 92-126.

Busby, Peter. 1979. A classificatory study of phonemic systems in Australian Aboriginal languages. Canberra: Australian National University MA Thesis.

Butcher, Andrew. 2006. Australian Aboriginal languages: consonant salient phonologies and the place-of-articulation imperative. In J. M. Harrington and M. Tabain (eds), Speech Production: Models, Phonetic Processes and Techniques, Psychology Press, 187-210.

Dixon, R.M.W. 1980. Languages of Australia. Cambridge: CUP.

Ellison, M.T & L. Miceli. 2013. New Perspectives on Language Change: L2 Transmission and the Cognitive Basis for Contact-Induced Differentiation of Lexical Forms. ICHL2013, Oslo.

Evans, Nick. 1995. Current issues in the phonology of Australian languages. In John A. Goldsmith (ed.) The Handbook of Phonological Theory. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 723-61.

Hamilton, Philip. 1996. Phonetic constraints and markedness in the phonotactics of Australian Aboriginal languages. Toronto: University of Toronto Ph.D. thesis.

Round, Erich R., 2013. ‘The phonologically exceptional continent: a large cross-linguistic survey reveals why Australia is, and is not, typologically unusual’. ALT 10, Leipzig.

Sound change in Australia: Current knowledge and research priorities (with Erich Round)

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