1 februari 2006: Lezing Moira Yip

The symbiosis between perception and grammar in loanword phonologyMoira Yip (University College London) is an internationally leading phonologist, known in particular for her work on Chinese dialects and on tone. She is a member of the international Advisory Board of the Franconian Tone project. Several researchers of the Meertens Institute as well as researchers of the University of Amsterdam are involved in this project.

Abstract van Moira Yip:

This paper takes the view that loanword adaptation results from attempts to match the non-native percept of the L2 input, within the confines of the L1 grammar. Neither a purely perceptual nor a purely grammatical account can explain the facts. The L1 grammar includes constraints specific to mimicking foreign inputs. Where not all aspects can be replicated, the grammar prioritizes. In the Cantonese vowel data examined here, tone (the reflex of English stress) and consonants are more carefully replicated than vowel quality, and vowel length is even less important than vowel quality. The paper examines acoustic and psycholinguistic data on L2 vowel perception, and looks closely at the adaptation of English [æ] and [@] in English loans into Cantonese, which lacks both these vowels.

Plaats: Meertens Instituut, Keizerszaal
Datum: 1 februari 2006
Tijd: 11:00 – 12:30 uur