Published by De Gruyter Mouton

Volume 5 Issue 3

Issue of Laboratory Phonology

Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available July 31, 2014

Frontmatter

Page range: i-iii

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Publicly Available July 31, 2014

An identity bias in phonotactics: Evidence from Cochabamba Quechua

Gillian Gallagher

Page range: 337-378

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Abstract

Speakers of Cochabamba Quechua (CQ) participated in two tasks involving phonotactically illegal nonce forms with pairs of identical (e.g., [p'ap'u]) and non-identical ejectives (e.g., [k'ap'u]). In a repetition task, speakers were more accurate on identical than non-identical ejective pairs, though no asymmetry was found in an ABX discrimination task, nor in acoustic analysis of nonce roots with identical and non-identical ejective pairs. The latent preference for identical ejectives is unexpected given the phonotactics of CQ, which categorically disallows both identical and non-identical ejective pairs. The asymmetry is in accord with the typology, however. Many languages systematically exempt identical segments from a phonotactic restriction that applies to non-identical segments. It is argued that this cross-linguistic identity preference has its roots in a synchronic bias in favor of identical segments.

Publicly Available July 31, 2014

An experimental study of the role of social factors in language change: The case of loanword adaptations

Shiri Lev-Ari, Sharon Peperkamp

Page range: 379-401

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Abstract

There is great variation in whether foreign sounds in loanwords are adapted or retained. Importantly, the retention of foreign sounds can lead to a sound change in the language. We propose that social factors influence the likelihood of loanword sound adaptation, and use this case to introduce a novel experimental paradigm for studying language change that captures the role of social factors. Specifically, we show that the relative prestige of the donor language in the loanword’s semantic domain influences the rate of sound adaptation. We further show that speakers adapt to the performance of their ‘community', and that this adaptation leads to the creation of a norm. The results of this study are thus the first to show an effect of social factors on loanword sound adaptation in an experimental setting. Moreover, they open up a new domain of experimentally studying language change in a manner that integrates social factors.

About this journal

De Gruyter Mouton published Laboratory Phonology from 2010 to 2015. Back issues are available on the journal home page.

Laboratory phonology represents the scientific study of the elements of spoken and signed language, their organization, their grammatical function, and their role in speech communication. Research in laboratory phonology uses laboratory or experimental methods and is grounded in quantitative analyses of empirical data from diverse languages. The laboratory phonology approach also extends naturally to the parallel investigation of manual signs as the encoding elements of signed languages. Laboratory phonology is at the leading edge of the general shift towards experimental and quantitative approaches to the study of language across the discipline of linguistics.

The Laboratory Phonology journal publishes research on phonology from a range of disciplinary perspectives including linguistics, psychology, speech & hearing science, communication science, computer science, electrical & computer engineering, and other related fields. The journal encourages submissions on any of the above areas for publication in regular issues and also publishes special issues of select papers from Laboratory Phonology conferences.