Final devoicing in the phonology of German

Auteurs

• Wiebke Brockhaus

Paramètres

• Manuels
• Manuels universitaires

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This book explores the phonological phenomenon of final devoicing within a theoretical framework grounded in principles and parameters rather than rules, primarily using data from German. The initial chapter outlines the alternations and distributional restrictions on voicing that need to be explained. The second chapter reviews and critiques previous analyses of final devoicing in German. Chapters 3 and 4 present an analysis based on Government Phonology (GP), introducing key concepts of the theory as they relate to final devoicing. The author posits that final devoicing is a phonological weakening process linked to the withdrawal of autosegmental licensing from the laryngeal element L, which denotes voicing in obstruents. This process occurs in phonologically 'weak' environments, where prosodic conditions limit the availability of autosegmental licensing. The analysis, initially focused on the prestige variety of German (Hochlautung), is then applied to Northern Standard German, highlighting the phonological distinctions between the two dialects. In the concluding chapter, the author examines the assumption that final devoicing leads to phonological neutralisation, arguing that the GP framework developed earlier contradicts this view. This resolution addresses conflicts between earlier phonological theories and experimental findings on final devoicing.

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• Année de publication: 1995