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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Phoneme inventories are highly similar
• Bardi
• Kukata
• Nyungar, Pintupi
• Umbugarla, Walmatjarri, Nyangumarta, Wambaya, Wardaman, Jingulu, Warnman, Watjarri, Yankunytjatjara, Nyigina, Kunin....
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
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...
coronalcoronal peripheralperipheral
apicalalveolar
apicalretroflex
laminaldental
laminalpalatal
dorsalvelar bilabial
plosive t ʈ t ̪ c k p
nasal n ɳ n̪ ɲ ŋ m
lateral l ɭ l ̪ ʎ
trill r
rhoticapprox. ɻsemi-vowel j w
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
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
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
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
• 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.