ON
THE
SPECIFICATION
OF
CORONALS
Blanca Palmada and Pep Se a
Uni e si a Au bnoma de Ba celona
We p esen he ela ion be ween assimila o y asy nme ies in Cen al Ca alan and he
unde speci ied cha ac e o Co onal. We accoun o di e ences in he assimila o y
beha iou o co onals by placing La e al and S iden unde Co onal. We assume ha
hese ea u es a e dependen s o Co onal and ha
his
jus i ies he p esence o he
unma ked
a icula o in he unde lying ep esen a ions o si iden and la e al co onals.
The assimila o y possibili ies o cen alised consonan s in Algue ese Ca alan o ce
us o a gue ha La e al and S iden a e double-linked ea u es. We conside an
al ema i e analysis based on Con igu a ional Cons ain s and we demons a e ha
his analysis ails o cap u e he gliding p ocesses which a ec some complex
segmen s in Majo can Ca alan and
Occi an.
The o ganisa ion o ea u es allows us
o p o ide a simple and uni a y accoun , in his way he en ich nen o he
ep esen a ions de i es in a simpli ica ion de componen .
Uni e sal G amma p o ides a ma kedness heo y which supplies in o na ion as o which
ea u es a e unde speci iable. In hs way, he unma ked a icula o node seems o
be
he
Co onal one and hus i mus
be
absen in unde lying ep esen a ions. The pu pose o his
pape is o p o ide e idence in suppo o Unde speci ica ion heo y and o use hls model o
in es iga e he way a ea u e p edic ed o
be
absen in unde lying ep esen a ions can be ac i e
in he phonology o a language.
In line wi h cu en phonological esea ch, ou p oposa1 is consis en wi h he claim ha he
bu den o explana ion should
be
in he ep esen a ional componen a he han in he ule
Ca alan Wo king Pape s in Linguis ics (CWPL),
1991
:
181
-
199
Uni e si a Au bnoma de Ba celona
1.
Assimila o y Pa e ns in Cen al Ca alan
I has been obse ed ha co onals beha e asymme ically wi h espec o o he consonan s in
some languages and his is he case o he co onal nasal and he s op in Ca alan, which
assimila e o all places o a icula ion. I is gene ally assumed ha his beha iou de i es om
he gene al heo y o Unde speci ica ion.
The asy nme ic pa e n o co onals can be illus a ed by he da a in (1) which co espond o an
op ional p ocess o s op assimila ion in Cen al Ca alan. While he co onal s op assimila es o all
places o a icula ion, as can be seen in (la), labial and ela s ops in (lb) and (lc) assimila e
182
componen . Ou a gumen a ion is based on p ocesses o assimila ion, cen alisa ion and gliding
which
can
be
ound in Ca alan and Occi an.
This pape is o ganised as ollows. In Sec ion 1 we p esen he ela ion be ween assimila o y
asymme ies in Cen al Ca alan and he unde speci íed cha ac e o Co onal and we hypo hesize
ha hese asymme ies ha e hei o igin in he Fea u e Geome y. We conclude ha La e al and
S iden a e dependen s o Co onal and ha his jus i ies he p esence o he unma ked
a icula o in he unde lying ep esen a ions o la e al and s iden co onals. We also ske ch wo
ea lie analyses o he way Co onal is in oduced in ep esen a ions: A e y-&ce (1989) and
Pa adis-P une (1989). We a gue ha such analyses canno sol e he p oblem we p esen .
Sec ion
2
deals wi h da a coming om Algue ese Ca alan. We a gue om he assimila o y
possibili ies o cen alised consonan s ha La e al and S iden a e double-linked ea u es. We
conside an al e na i e analysis based on Con igu a ional Cons ain s and in Sec ion
3
we
demons a e ha his analysis ails o cap u e he gliding p ocesses ha a ec some complex
segmen s in Majo can Ca alan and Occi an. We conclude ha he p ocesses conside ed mus be
ea ed in a uni ied manne and no as acciden s. The o ganisa ion o ea u es allows us o
p o ide a simple and uni a y accoun . In his way we ollow he usual s a egy o ob ain ha he
en ichmen o he ep esen a ions de i es in a simpli ica ion ule componen .
only wi hin hei p ima y con en node. This is exac ly he beha iou ha we p edic by
unde speci yng he Co onal node.
(1)
a.
se [ l
se [m] mans
se [P,] ocs
se [I] línies
se [ , S]ais
se [Llilib es
se [k] cases
se [d] dones
se [b bleus
C.
po [kl
po
[kl
pa
po
Ikl oc
po
[kl sol
po [k Slai
po
[k
ai b e
po
[kl cas
'se en'
'se en hands'
'se en i es'
'se en lines'
'se en lambs'
'se en books'
'se en houses'
'se en women'
'se en oices'
' ew'
' ew b ead'
' ew i e'
' ew sun'
' ew lamb'
' ew book'
' ew case'
b.
ca
[PI 'no'
ca
[m] mB 'no hand'
ca [P,]
oc
'no i e'
ca [p] signe 'no sign'
[P $]A 'no lamb'
ca [p Llib e 'no book'
ca
[PI casa 'no house'
Following he s a egy ha phonological p ocesses a e bes explained h ough a ocus on he
ep esen a ional componen , we iew he assimila ion p ocess
as
a simple ope a ion o
sp eading, which akes place om igh o le and only o an emp y posi ion. To make his
clea , compa e
(2a)
and
(2b). The Do sal con en node sp eads o he emp y Place node in (2a),
bu sp eading is blocked in (2b) because he Place node o he i s consonan has he
dependen Labial node and we don' allow cases o sp eading igge ing delinking. (No e ha ,
s ic ly speaking, he
SL
and Place nodes in he ep esen a ion o [ ] a e no p esen
unde lyingly).
(2)
a.
b.
[
I
[kl
[P
1
[kl
X
X
X
I R
1
Place
1
Pke
lke
"SL.
Place
.L
%
-..
--.
-k
-'+-
'X,
%%
--
--%
Do sal
Lablal
Do sal
[b=kl
[md
I
[bxkl
se [ ] [klases
->
se
[kk]
ases ca [p] Blasa
->
ca [pklasa
'se en houses' 'no house'
Conside now he nasal assimila ion da a. The co onal nasal, as does he co onal s op, pa e ns
as i i has no speci ied Place o a icula ion (see he examples in 3a). The o he nasals
assimila e only wi hin hei own p ima y con en nodes: he labial in (3b) can assimila e o a
labioden al, and he ela and pala al nasals in (3c) do no assimila e a all.
(3)
a.
s6 [n] ' hey a e
s6 [m] pocs ' hey a e ew'
s6 [q] eliqos ' hey a e happy'
s6 [n] dos ' hey a e wo'
s6 [n] since s ' hey a e since e'
s6 [n] ics ' hey a e ich'
s6 [n, 3le mans ' hey a e b o he s'
s6 [n, Lliu es ' hey a e ee'
s6 [IJ] g ans ' hey a e big'
C.
i
191
Pa
'I
ha e b ead'
a [F] elig 'happy yea '
b.
so [ml
so [ml pocs
so [ lj] eli~os
so [m] dos
so [m] since s
so [m] ics
so [m 3le mans
so [m oiu es
so [m] g ans
'we a e
'we a e ew'
The assimila ion o he co onal nasal is pa allel o ha o he co onal s op. I s a icula ion is
o ally dependen on he ollowing consonan . We p edic his beha iou by unde speci ing he
co onal node in he ep esen a ion o he nasal in
(4).
I Co onal is he unma ked speci ica ion o Place, hen we expec o ind a unique pa e ning o
Co onals a leas in ela ion o assimila o y p ocesses. Bu his is no wha we ind i we look a
he beha iou o he la e al and ica i e co onals. They pa e n as he o he consonan s do and
hei assimila o y possibili ies a e es ic ed o hei own p ima y con en node. We will

demons a e ha Co onal is p esen in he unde lying ep esen a ions o [I] and [s] and ha hls
may
be
used o explain hei assimila o y pa e n.
La e al assimila ion di e s om he assimila ion o s ops and nasals in ha la e als assimila e
only i hey can p ese e hei co onal cha ac e , as can
be
seen in
(5).
(5)
e
@I
e [ll pa
e
@I
oc
e @] dia
e [l] sol
e [I] ic
e
U,
31ema
e [l, Llib e
e
111
gos
' he'
' he b ead'
' he i e'
' he day'
' he sun'
' he ich'
' he b o he '
' he book'
' he dog' (Masca ó (1976))
In he analysis o bo h he s op and he nasal co onals we ha e accoun ed o he assimila ion o
all places o a icula ion by pos ula ing he absence o a speci ied Co onal node in hose
segmen s. The gene al es ic ion o la e als o he Co onal a icula o , as a gued by Le in
(1988)
among o he s, can
be
exp essed in ea u e geome y by malung La e al a daugh e o he
Co onal node. The ep esen a ion o he co onal la e al, wi h a speci ied Co onal node, gi en
in (6) accoun s s aigh on a dly o i s assimila o y possibili ies.
The e is phonological e idence o a signi ican associa ion be ween La e al and Co onal e en in
he case o
pala al
and ela la e als. These Do sal la e als ha e also a Co onal node, consis en
wi h he claim ha he ea u e la e al is a dependen o Co onal.
Independen suppo o his posi ion can be ound in he al e na ion o he s op and ica i e
allophones o he oiced obs uen s in Ca alan, Basque and Spanish. We ollow he s anda d
analysis o he gene al p ocess. Basically, we assu ne Con inuan Sp eading om le o igh ,
i.e. om a segmen in a Rime o a segmen in he Onse o he ollowing syllable, and
[-
con ]
as he unma ked alue. Ca alan has bo h pala al and ela la e als and in his language
Con inuan Sp eading egula ly akes place om le o igh as can
be
seen
in
(7a). The s op
appea s a e a
[-
con ] segmen and a e a pause. Ins ead he ica i e appea s when he oiced
obs uen ollows a
[+can ]
segmen as in he las wo examples. I has been obse ed ha he
[+con inuan ] alue does no sp ead in homo ganic sequences. In he exa nples o (7b) la e als
assimila e o he ollowing den al, he homo ganici y equi emen is me and he sp eading o
he con inui y alue is blocked. The same si ua ion holds in he case o he pala al la e al.
Clea ly, i pala al and ela la e als assimila e o a den al hey ha e o ha e a Co onal node.
(7)
a.
ambbja
blá
n3 13a
bizl3a
b.
alkáída
belCdía
'en y'
'whea '
'new' ( em.)
'bishop'
'mayo '
'nice day'
We ha e accoun ed o he pa e n o la e als wi h espec o assimila o y p ocesses by
speci ying he Co onal a icula o which is p edic ed o
be
absen in unde lying ep esen a ions.
The conside a ion o La e al as a dependen o Co onal jus i ies he p esence o his unma ked
a icula o . We assume ha bo h pala al and ela la e als a e complex segmen s which b anch
a he Place node. We will e u n la e o he ep esen a ion o pala als and he ela la e al as
complex segmen s in ela ion o gliding p ocesses in Sec ion
3.
Le 's desc ibe now he assimila o y possibili ies o he co onal ica i e. As
can
be seen in (8a)
[s] does no assimila e o a labial o ela segmen . In some dialec s a p og essi e assimila o y
e ec can
be
obse ed when he co onal ica i e ollows a sono an pala al in (8b). The
co onal ica i e also assimila es o [ ] in he example in
(&)
and he esul ing segmen has been
cha ac e ised
as
a ica i e un illed in Masca 6
(1976).
(8) a.
mé [S] pa 'mo e b ead'
mé
[s] camps 'mo e ields'
m [s Jlo s 'mo e lowe s'
b.
S
as
'yea s'
'g ains o ga lic'
(8)
c.
mé [z] [ loba +me [J loba 'mo e clo hes'
The beha iou o he co onal ica i e which assimila es only wi hin i s p ima y con en node
and o pala als can be de i ed s aigh o wa d om he p esence o Co onal in he
ep esen a ion o [s] in
(9).
S iden is ele an only o co onals and we exp ess hls by malung he ea u e S iden a
dependen o he Co onal node. As in he case o [l] in ela ion o La e al, he speci ica ion on
he unma ked a icula o in he ep esen a ion o [s] is jus i ied by malung S iden a dependen
o Co onal. I La e al o S iden a e speci ied o some segmen , hen he
Node Gene a ion
con en ion gi en in
(10)
will c ea e au oma ically a Co onal node. Assuming his we can
main ain he unma ked cha ac e o Co onal.
(16)
b.
més
És
'mo e'
' h ee'
mes Éns
sspáls
'mo e ains'
' h ee poles'
A e delinlung o S iden he e is no jus i ica ion o he p esence o Co ona1 and i dele es
because, as he unma ked a icula o , i mus
be
absen om unde lying ep esen a ions. The
Seconda y A icula o , i.e. Do sal, becomes Pnma y and S iden canno eassocia e. I he
a ec ed s iden is no
a
complex segmen , he delinked ea u e can eassocia e and his esul s
in no change in he ep esen a ions. The gliding p ocess a ec ing a pala al s iden is illus a ed
in
(17).
Manne
Place
[con ]
A pa allel p ocess o dela e alisa ion in Occi an has been desc ibed by Sauze
(1982)
as
labialisa ion.
As
can
be
seen in
(18)
a
la e al in syllable inal posi ion loses i s co ona1 and
la e al p ope ies when i is ollowed by ano he consonan .
(18)
[ al
'i COS~S' [ ow
31
'i will cos '
Ea]
'i is necessa y' [kow
j]
'i will
be
necessa y'

The la e al in Occi an, as in Ca alan, is a ela one and we ep esen hem
as
complex segmen s
wi h bo h Co onal and Do sal a icula o s. The gliding p ocess consis s in an ope a ion which
delinks La e al and he loss o Co onal is a consequence o i . In his way he emaining Do sal.
a icula o is in e p e ed
as
Pnma y, as ep esen ed in
(19).
I
Co ond
Do sal
4.
Conclusion
To summa ize, we ha e accoun ed o asymme ies in he assimila o y beha iou o co onals by
placing La e al and S iden unde Co onal. The obse a ion o dialec s which p esen
cen disa ion o place p io o he assimila ion o ces us o ecognise he double-dependency o
hese wo ea u es. Finally, we examine gliding p ocesses a ec ing s iden s and la e als o
show ha Con igu a ional Cons ain s do no su ice and a solu ion based on Fea u e
Geome y is equi ed.
*A i s e sion o his pape was p esen ed a he
1990
GISELLE, Gi ona. We would like o
hank M. Hega y
,
J.I. Hualde, J. Masca ó and D. Pulleyblank o hei use ul commen s.
This esea ch has been suppo ed
by
a DGICYT g an
PB
89-0324.
Re e ences
A changeli, D.
-
D. Pulleyblank
(1986)
"The Con en and S uc u e o Phonological
Rep esen a ions", ms., Uni e si y o A izona
&
Uni e si y o Sou he n Cali o nia.
A e y,
P.-K.
&ce
(1989)
"Segmen S uc u e and Co onal Unde speci ica ion"
,
Phonology
,
6,
179-200.
Cho, Y
.Y.
(1990)
Pa ame e s o Consonan al Assimilu ion,
Doc o al disse a ion, S an o d
Uni e si y.
Huaide, J.I.
(1988)
A
Lexical Phonology o Basque,
Doc o al disse a ion, Uni e si y o
Sou he n Cali o nia.
Kuen, H.
(1932)
"El dialec o de Algue y su posición en la his o ia de la lengua ca alana",
Anua i
de
1
'O icina Ronuinica
de
Lingüís ica i Li e a u a,
5,
121-177.
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(1988)
A
Place o La e al in he Fea u e Geome y
,
ms., Uni e si y o Texas.
Masca ó, J.
(1976)
Ca alan Phonology and he Phonological Cycle
,
Doc o al disse a ion,
MIT.
Palmada,
B.
(1991)
La
onologia del ca aM i elsp incipis ac ius.
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Uni e si a Au bnoma de Ba celona.
Pai nada,
B.-
P. Se a
(1990)
"On he Speci ica ion o he Co onal Node: E idence om
Ca alan"
,
pape p esen ed a he
1990
GISELLE, Gi ona.
Pa adis,
C.-J.F.
P une
(1989)
"On co onal anspa ency",
Phonology,
6,3
17-348.
Sauze ,
P.
(1982)
"Au ou des geminees: des il es a une c i ique de segmen alisme",
Reche ques linguis iques,
10,64-
123.
Yip
,
M.
(1990)
"Double -Dependency in Fea u e Geome y: [mu mu ] in Shangai and Tibe an
and La e al in Cambodian and Co ean", pape p esen ed a he
GLOW
1990,
Camb idge.
UAB-Depa amenl
de
Filologia Ca alana
Edi ici
B
081
93
Bella e a (Ba celona)
E-mai1 [email p o ec ed]