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wyl118
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Post by wyl118 »

I really have no idea whether this is right. Can you guys help me a little? Thanks in advance!
Last edited by wyl118 on 19 Jun 2020 07:56, edited 2 times in total.
shimobaatar
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Re: Is it correct for the rules of this voice alternations?

Post by shimobaatar »

The situation in "twelfth" is an instance of voicing assimilation. For "eighth" and "tenth", I'd describe it as place assimilation, with /t/ and /n/ becoming dental before /θ/.
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Sequor
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Re: Is it correct for the rules of this voice alternations?

Post by Sequor »

wyl118 wrote: 20 Mar 2020 10:43"voicelesslization"
The suffixes involved are -ize and -ation, so you should think of terms such as palatalization as palatal-iz-ation ((pal- + -ate + -al) + -ize + -ation), and nasalization as nasal-iz-ation ((nas- + -al) + -ize + -ation). Regardless, the correct term for the loss of voicing is "devoicing".

In twelve + -th = twelfth /twɛlfθ/ [tʰw̥ɛlfθ], /v/ undergoes devoicing to /f/ [f] because of regressive assimilation (or "anticipatory" assimilation, if you will) from the following /θ/.

In eight + -th = eighth /eɪtθ/ [eɪt̪θ], as mentioned by shimobaatar, /t/ [t] becomes dental [t̪] because of regressive assimilation for place of articulation from the following dental /θ/. This doesn't affect the phonemic representation, but there's a phonetic change in there (an allophone).

In ten + -th > tenth /tɛnθ/ [tʰɛn̪θ] (or [tʰɛn̪t̪θ]), you see the same thing as with "eighth" (except possibly with an epenthetic [t̪], but this is likely irrelevant for your homework).


An example of regressive assimilation for mode of articulation in Korean (as in the devoicing of "twelfth") would be the stem-final consonant of 뒤쫓다 dwijjotda 'to chase after sth'. Notice the difference between the original /tɕ/ [tɕ ~ dʑ] in 뒤쫓음 /twitɕ͈oɯm/ [tʰwitɕ͈oɯm] and the assimilated versions of it in 뒤쫓기 /twitɕ͈otɕki/ [tʰwitɕ͈otki] (where ㅈ /tɕ/ becomes like ㄷ before ㄱ by losing its original emphasis and released sound) and 뒤쫓는다 /twitɕ͈otɕnɯnta/ [tʰwitɕ͈oɯnda] (where ㅈ /tɕ/ becomes like ㄴ before ㄴ by undergoing nasalization and voicing in a full assimilation to that following ㄴ /n/).
Last edited by Sequor on 21 Mar 2020 18:25, edited 1 time in total.
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wyl118
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Re: Is it correct for the rules of this voice alternations?

Post by wyl118 »

Thank you guys for the detailed information! Thank you even for the assimilation example of Korean language! [:)]
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