Changing Words and Sounds: The Roles of Different Cognitive Units in Sound Change

Topics in Cognitive Science
Márton SóskuthyBill Haddican

Abstract

This study considers the role of different cognitive units in sound change: phonemes, contextual variants and words. We examine /u/-fronting and /j/-dropping in data from three generations of Derby English speakers. We analyze dynamic formant data and auditory judgments, using mixed effects regression methods, including generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs). /u/-fronting is reaching its end-point, showing complex conditioning by context and a frequency effect that weakens over time. /j/-dropping is declining, with low-frequency words showing more innovative variants with /j/ than high-frequency words. The two processes interact: words with variable /j/-dropping (new) exhibit more fronting than words that never have /j/ (noodle) even when the /j/ is deleted. These results support models of change that rely on phonetically detailed representations for both word- and sound-level cognitive units.

Citations

Oct 9, 2018·Topics in Cognitive Science·Jean-Pierre ChevrotPaul Foulkes
Feb 3, 2020·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Margaret E L Renwick, Joseph A Stanley
Mar 3, 2019·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Sam KirkhamEve Groarke
Sep 1, 2018·Topics in Cognitive Science·Gerard DochertyNathaniel Mitchell

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