26.07.2013 Views

Preaspiration in the Nordic Languages: Synchronic and Diachronic ...

Preaspiration in the Nordic Languages: Synchronic and Diachronic ...

Preaspiration in the Nordic Languages: Synchronic and Diachronic ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

P<strong>in</strong>d’s experiments as well as <strong>the</strong> durational data presented <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

preced<strong>in</strong>g section, show that proportional durations are better suited to<br />

elucidate durational <strong>in</strong>formation from <strong>the</strong> production data than are absolute<br />

durations alone. However, one should keep <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d that P<strong>in</strong>d’s f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

relate to Icel<strong>and</strong>ic, which demonstrably has complementary length<br />

distribution. It should not be taken for granted that an approach highlight<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Pr/VPr ratios is appropriate for all languages that have preaspiration.<br />

3.3 Faroese<br />

The presence of preaspirated stops <strong>in</strong> Faroese was noted by Jacobsen<br />

as early as 1891 <strong>and</strong> has been discussed by a number of researchers<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce, e.g. Jacobsen & Matras (1927–28), Naert (1958), Rischel (1961),<br />

Werner (1963), Zachariasen (1968), Henriksen (1983), Petersen et al.<br />

(1998) <strong>and</strong> Petersen (1994–5). The descriptions of <strong>the</strong> phonological<br />

distribution of preaspiration presented by <strong>the</strong>se authors differ. They all<br />

agree on <strong>the</strong> presence of preaspiration before stops that derive from ON<br />

pp, tt, kk (which yield VC syllables <strong>in</strong> Modern Faroese). This is reflected<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> data analysed for <strong>the</strong> present study, where we f<strong>in</strong>d, for example,<br />

[klhp] glopp ‘gap,’ [h] troyttur ‘tired’ <strong>and</strong> [phk] bakkar<br />

‘banks (e.g., of a river).’ Although it is not explicitly stated, one can <strong>in</strong>fer<br />

from <strong>the</strong>se descriptions that clusters of ON pp, tt, kk + n, l, r, j, v (conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

what is presumably a gem<strong>in</strong>ate fortis 1 stop <strong>in</strong> ON) are also preaspirated<br />

<strong>in</strong> Faroese today. The available data do not conta<strong>in</strong> any such<br />

examples, but <strong>the</strong>y are found <strong>in</strong> words like kettl<strong>in</strong>gur ‘kitten,’ styttri<br />

‘shorter’ <strong>and</strong> lykkja ‘loop.’<br />

However, as regards reflexes of ON p, t, k <strong>in</strong> words like leypa ‘to<br />

run,’ litur ‘colour’ <strong>and</strong> baka ‘to bake,’ which <strong>in</strong> Modern Faroese have a<br />

VC syllable structure, <strong>the</strong> descriptions are contradictory. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to<br />

<strong>the</strong> earlier sources (e.g., Jacobsen 1891, Jacobsen & Matras 1927–28,<br />

Rischel 1961, Werner 1963), ON fortis stops are preaspirated <strong>in</strong> VC syllables<br />

only if <strong>the</strong> preced<strong>in</strong>g vowel is a diphthong that ends as a close<br />

1 Aga<strong>in</strong> it should be po<strong>in</strong>ted out that <strong>the</strong> use of <strong>the</strong> terms “fortis” <strong>and</strong> “lenis” does not<br />

express a phonetic differenciation, but <strong>in</strong>stead provides a way of dist<strong>in</strong>guish<strong>in</strong>g<br />

between <strong>the</strong> two stop series on an abstract level.<br />

– 54 –

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!