On the Coronal Palatalization in Early Modern and Present-Day English

In this paper we look at the case of coronal palatalization [t d s z] > [ʧ ʤ ʃ ʒ] in both Early Modern English (EModE) and Present-day English (PDE) with the aim to determine its major phonological factors (such as the context, triggers, etc.) and to explain the existence of numerous palatalized/...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Artur Kijak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of English Studies 2023-09-01
Series:Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://anglica-journal.com/resources/html/article/details?id=614364
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841563105736261632
author Artur Kijak
author_facet Artur Kijak
author_sort Artur Kijak
collection DOAJ
description In this paper we look at the case of coronal palatalization [t d s z] > [ʧ ʤ ʃ ʒ] in both Early Modern English (EModE) and Present-day English (PDE) with the aim to determine its major phonological factors (such as the context, triggers, etc.) and to explain the existence of numerous palatalized/unpalatalized variants found in different accents of contemporary English, e.g. [ʧuːn]/[tuːn]/[tjuːn]. It is argued here that the key to understanding the operation of palatalization in contemporary English is the change in the parameter setting which allows/disallows for the merger of two antagonistic elements within a single melodic expression – the *|U I| constraint. This Middle English (ME) innovation guarantees the coronals, to the exclusion of labials and velars, the right to undergo full palatalization. Moreover, the historical perspective adopted in this paper sheds some light not only on the linguistic micro-variation evident in contemporary accents of English, i.e. the existence of [ʧuːn]/[tuːn]/[tjuːn] variants, but also on the absence of front vowels from the group of potential palatalization triggers. It is pointed out that the evolution of the ME diphthong [iu] > [juː], a process which bears a direct responsibility for the later coronal palatalization and the growth of the heterogeneous forms in PDE, is a natural reaction to the *|U I| constraint.
format Article
id doaj-art-ac7900a43e8e4d5892c9a2b320681598
institution Kabale University
issn 0860-5734
language English
publishDate 2023-09-01
publisher Institute of English Studies
record_format Article
series Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies
spelling doaj-art-ac7900a43e8e4d5892c9a2b3206815982025-01-03T00:13:17ZengInstitute of English StudiesAnglica. An International Journal of English Studies0860-57342023-09-0132252210.7311/0860-5734.32.2.01On the Coronal Palatalization in Early Modern and Present-Day EnglishArtur Kijak0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5048-9022University of SilesiaIn this paper we look at the case of coronal palatalization [t d s z] > [ʧ ʤ ʃ ʒ] in both Early Modern English (EModE) and Present-day English (PDE) with the aim to determine its major phonological factors (such as the context, triggers, etc.) and to explain the existence of numerous palatalized/unpalatalized variants found in different accents of contemporary English, e.g. [ʧuːn]/[tuːn]/[tjuːn]. It is argued here that the key to understanding the operation of palatalization in contemporary English is the change in the parameter setting which allows/disallows for the merger of two antagonistic elements within a single melodic expression – the *|U I| constraint. This Middle English (ME) innovation guarantees the coronals, to the exclusion of labials and velars, the right to undergo full palatalization. Moreover, the historical perspective adopted in this paper sheds some light not only on the linguistic micro-variation evident in contemporary accents of English, i.e. the existence of [ʧuːn]/[tuːn]/[tjuːn] variants, but also on the absence of front vowels from the group of potential palatalization triggers. It is pointed out that the evolution of the ME diphthong [iu] > [juː], a process which bears a direct responsibility for the later coronal palatalization and the growth of the heterogeneous forms in PDE, is a natural reaction to the *|U I| constraint.https://anglica-journal.com/resources/html/article/details?id=614364coronalsglidepalatalizationearly modern englishelement theory
spellingShingle Artur Kijak
On the Coronal Palatalization in Early Modern and Present-Day English
Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies
coronals
glide
palatalization
early modern english
element theory
title On the Coronal Palatalization in Early Modern and Present-Day English
title_full On the Coronal Palatalization in Early Modern and Present-Day English
title_fullStr On the Coronal Palatalization in Early Modern and Present-Day English
title_full_unstemmed On the Coronal Palatalization in Early Modern and Present-Day English
title_short On the Coronal Palatalization in Early Modern and Present-Day English
title_sort on the coronal palatalization in early modern and present day english
topic coronals
glide
palatalization
early modern english
element theory
url https://anglica-journal.com/resources/html/article/details?id=614364
work_keys_str_mv AT arturkijak onthecoronalpalatalizationinearlymodernandpresentdayenglish