Preference for Deletion vs. Epenthesis in Japanese Phonological Adaptations
Lexical Stratification and Input Medium
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4312/ala.12.1.9-18Keywords:
Japanese, phonological adaptation, deletion, epenthesis, verb formationAbstract
This study investigated phonological adaptation of non-loan words in Japanese and their preference for either deletion or epenthesis. Earlier studies argue that non-loan Japanese words prefer deletion while loanwords prefer epenthesis. Studies further show that the input medium affects the adaptation; text-input leads to epenthesis while sound-input to deletion. The present study experimented with text-input of non-loan nonce words and investigated how native Japanese speakers adapt their causative, passive, and potential forms. Results showed a strong preference for deletion in causative forms, a relatively weak preference for deletion in potential forms, and no significant preference in passive forms. The outcome indicates that deletion is not present by default, and further investigation is needed to define factors that influence the selection.
Downloads
References
Altenburg, E. P. & Vago, R. M. (1987). Theoretical implications of an error analysis of second language phonology production. In G. Loup & S. Weinberger (Eds.), Internlanguage phonology: The acquisition of a second language sound system (pp. 148–164). Cambridge, MA: Newbury House.
Fukazawa, H., Kitahara, M., & Ota, M. (1998). Lexical Stratification and Ranking Invariance in Constraint-based Grammars. Proceedings of Chicago Linguistic Society 34.
Hancin-Bhatt, B. (2008). Second language phonology in optimality theory. In J. G. H. Edward & M. L. Zampini (Eds.), Phonology and second language education (pp. 117–146). Amsterdom, Netherlands: John Benjamins. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.36.07han
Kubozono, H. (1997). Lexical markedness and variation: A non-derivational account. West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics 15. Stanford, CA: CSLI, 273-287.
Kubozono, H. (2002). Prosodic structure of loanwords in Japanese: Syllable structure, accent and morphology. Journal of Phonetic Society 6, 79-97.
Lovins, Julie. B. (1975). Loanwords and the Phonological Structure of Japanese. Bloomington: Indiana University Linguistic Club.
Mathieu, L. (2012). Orthographic traces in Romanian and Japanese loanwords: Enriching phonological representations. Journal of Language Contact 5, 144-181. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/187740912X624450
Mattingley, M., Hall, K. C., & Hume E. (2019). Epenthetic vowel production of unfamiliar medial consonant clusters by Japanese speakers. Laboratory Phonology 10, 1-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/labphon.158
Mori, Masatoshi. (1929). The pronunciation of Japanese. Tokyo, Japan: The Harald-sha.
McCawley, J. (1968). The Phonological Component of a Grammar of Japanese. The Hague: Mouton & Co.
Sapir, Edward. (1921). Language: An introduction to the study of speech. Eahway, NJ: Quinn & Boden Company.
Shibuya, K. (1993). Nihongo kanou hyougen no shosou to hatten [Aspects and development of Japanese potential expressions] Bulletin of School of Letters, Osaka University 33, 1-262.
Shoji, S. & Shoji, K. (2014). Vowel epenthesis and consonant deletion in Japanese loanwords from English. Supplemental Proceedings of Annual Meetings on Phonology 2013. Retrieved from: http://journals.linguisticsociety.org/proceedings/index.php/amphonology/article/view/16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3765/amp.v1i1.16
Smith, J. L. (2006). Loan phonology is not all perception: Evidence from Japanese loan doublets. In T. Vance (Ed.), Japanese/Korean Linguistics 14 (pp. 63–74). Stanford, CA: CSLI.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Shinichi Shoji
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors are confirming that they are the authors of the submitting article, which will be published online in journal Acta Linguistica Asiatica by Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia). Author’s name will be evident in the article in journal. All decisions regarding layout and distribution of the work are in hands of the publisher.
- Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit their self to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
