Going Romance 2003, Nijmegen 20-22 November 2003

A look at the Gallo-Romance trouble with muta cum liquida through the positional prism Philippe Ségéral

Tobias Scheer

Université de Nice Université Paris 7 [email protected] [email protected] this handout and more at www.unice.fr/dsl/tobias.htm Purpose - to show that there is no universal or cross-linguistically stable syllabification of obstruent-liquid clusters. Gallo-Romance is particularly well suited to demonstrate the eternal trouble with TR sequences. - while liquid-obstruent clusters (= RT) always represent Coda-Onset clusters, surface TR may be either syllabified as a branching Onset or as a Coda-Onset sequence. We hold that this typology of TR-identities is not sufficient in order to cover the Gallo-Romance situation. A third object is called, for, i.e. a mono-positional "affricate". - all three possible identities of TR are present in the lexicon, they are not derived by some Coda-capture or the like. The classical Maximal Onset approach encodes a tendency/ markedness, but is irrelevant in the on-line functioning of the grammar. A. General framework [1] Evolution of consonants from Latin to French. Overview : a. b. c. # __ C. __ __ .C "word initial" "post-consonantal"

d. __ # "Coda"

a. examples p porta porte

talpa

taupe

rupta

b bene

bien

herba

herbe

cub(i)tu

t teela d dente k cor ceera *capu g gula gente gamba f fame s sorte r reege

toile dent cœur cire chef gueule gent jambe faim sort roi

cantare ardoore rancoore merceede arca angustia argentu virga infernu versaare terra cam(e)ra mer(u)la cum(u)lu arma cornu malva

chanter ardeur rancœur merci arche angoisse argent verge enfer verser terre chambre merle comble arme corne mauve

plat(a)nu adveniire facta

lup(u) *cap(u) coude ub(i) bib(o) OFr plane mariit(u) avenir nuud(u) faite amiic(u)

rig(i)da sagma

roide somme

steph(a)nu musca barba

Etienne mouche barbe

alba

aube

l

luuna lune

m mare mer n naasu nez B viinu vin

route

gamba jambe cantaare chanter naav(i)gaare nager

w werra guerre *skarwahta échauguette rabja rage j jocu jeu

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leu chef où OFr boif mari nu ami

noos cor amaar(e) fiil(u) cuul(u) fam(e) noon bov(e)

nous cœur aimer fil cul faim non bœuf

maaj(u)

mai

e. V __ V "intervocalic" *sapuutu riipa *nuuba faba viita coda locaare liceere paacaare *agustu paagaanu

su rive nue fève vie queue louer loisir payer août païen

deeforiis dehors causa chose poire pira veela

voile

amaare luuna paavoone lavaare *cawa raja

aimer lune paon laver OFr choue raie

b. summary thereof p p b b t t d d k k/s/$ g g/J f f s s r r l l m m n n B v w g y J

p b t d k/s/$ g/J f s r / ÉPENTH. l / ÉPENTH. m n v g J

ø ø ø ø I I/U ø ø r U ~ø ~ø ø

ø/f ø/f ø ø ø

ø r/ø l /ø ~ø ~ø ø/f

ø/v ø/v ø ø ø / I / Iz ø/I ø z r l m n ø/v

I

I

[2] Two different causalities : a. "phonetic" : produces a segmental effect because of an interaction with neighbours (typically with adjacent vowels) where melodic primes are exchanged : e.g. intervocalic p / b / B —> v, but —> ø if either the preceding or the following vowel is o or u (yields more than one result in a given cell in [1]). b. "positional" : produces a segmental effect because the consonant holds a particular position in the syllabic structure. c. crucially : "positional" > "phonetic" : no "phonetic" process can produce a result which is incompatible with the "positional" regularity. [3] The positional regularity : a. b. # __ C. __ result ≥ original segment : integrity or [max.] strengthening (fortition)

c.

d.

e. __ # V __ V result ≤ original segment : weakening (lenition) or [max.] integrity __ .C

STRENGTH

WEAKNESS

[4] Framework : a. syllabic structure : Government Phonology, in particular "CVCV" option (Lowenstamm 1996) C | p

V | o

C | r

V

\ t

e

C | t

V | a

C | l

V

C \

V /

u

C | n

V | a

/ r

a

b. initial CV (Lowenstamm 1999) : the "beginning of the word", i.e. what phonologists use to refer to as "#", is an empty CV unit. c. lateral relations : Government (G), Licensing (L), both right-to-left d. Empty Category Principle (ECP) : a Nucleus may remain phonetically unexpressed if it is 1) governed by a following (full) Nucleus or 2) word-final (domain-final). [5] Interpretation of consonantal "strength" / "weakness" (Ségéral & Scheer 2001a) : a. three possible configurations of the two lateral forces Government and Licensing (the fourth logical possibility * ø __ ø is ruled out independently, cf. 4d) : i. ii. iii. G G G ø

__

V

Lic

V __

ø

V __ V Lic

Lic

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b. correspond to : i. initial ii. Coda + postconsonantal __{#,C} = {#,C}__ "Coda-miroir" (Ségéral & Scheer 2001a)

iii. intervocalic V__V

c. strength = "preceded by a governed empty nucleus" : only the word-initial and the post-consonantal position correspond to this description G ø ___ B. "Branching onsets" [6] C+yod (Ségéral & Scheer 2001b) : a. are possible "branching onsets" (cf. modern French : rabiot ra.bjo not *rab.jo). b. but always heterosyllabic in Gallo-Romance : rab.ja rage, not *ra.bja i. in all cases (but tj) the fate of C+yod clusters can be interpreted as resulting from • the regular weakening of C in Coda position • the strengthening of yod in post-consonantal position, the result being either gemination (modjolu > mojjolu > moyeu), or segmental fortition of yod to t$ / dJ (rubju > rouge [ruJ) ii. the preceding tonic vowel develops as a checked vowel : rabja > rage, not *rège (compare with : arca > arche but faba > fève). [7] the trouble with mutae cum liquida (henceforth TR), type colubra: a.

b.

i. colubra cathedra tenebras tonitru *taretra (?) [cl. terebra] taratru (Is.S) ii. podagru alacre i. pullitra, -tru feretru ii. integru palpebras palpetra (Varr.) iii. *presbytru [cl. presbyter, presbyteru]

c.

*colubra *catedra *teneblas *tonitru *taretra *podagru *alecru ---*integru -*palpetra -*presbytru

ad retro / de retro

couleuvre OFr. chaiere OFr teniebles OFr tonoire tarière OFr pouacre OFr (h)aliegre poutre OFr fiertre OFr entre entier OFr paupres paupière prêtre OFr prevoire, proarrière / derrière

it. puledro

Nota : retro > OFr riere

[8] The problem : a. the fundamental trouble i. stress moves one vowel right in ...vCvTRv# words (type colubra) : Fr. couleuvre, Sp. culebra. ii. the tonic vowel is unchecked : e.g. diphtongization of short (open) e > ie in *catedra > Ofr chaiere, *teneblas > Ofr teniebles, petra > pierre as in pede > pied (compare with herba > herbe). b. syllabic translation i. stress shift ii. evolution of the tonic vowel

supposes supposes

... C V T . R V # ... C V . T R V #

c. further related facts : i. evolution of T : supposes ... C V . T R V # b > v in colubra > couleuvre as in faba fève, vs subtiile > OFr sotil, cub(i)tu > OFr cote, code ii. final V > @ (= schwa) even when ≠ a supposes ... C V . T R V # *colubra > couleuvre, fabru > Ofr fevre, patre > Ofr pere vs arcu > arc iii. the evolution of velars supposes ... C V T . R V # *integru > entier, sacramentu > Ofr sairement as facta > faite

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[9] Numerous different proposals, of two main types : a. stress placement depends on syllable structure i. anaptyctic vowel (e. g. De Groot 1921), followed by syncope : colubra > colubera > colub(e)ra ii. gemination followed by degemination : • Fouché 1969: 152 (colubra > colubbra > colubra) • Bourciez 1971 : 27 (colubra ("sermo cotidianus") X *collubra ("sermo rusticus") -> colubra "moyen terme") iii. successive or concomitant contrasting syllabification of TR : • Timparano 1965 : 1093 "Piuttosto che ad una netta separazione tra una pronunzia popolare in-tégrum, mantenutasi dall'epoca preistorica fino al sorgere delle lingue romanze, e una pronunzia dotta ín-te-grum, mantenutasi con altrettanta costanza almeno per tutta l'età classica, io credo a une prevalere ora dell'una ora dell'altra accentazione (in conseguenza di sillabazioni diverse) in diverse epoche", and 1095-96, • Loporcaro to app. : §3 "Se si ammette dunque per il latino arcaico e tardo l'eterosillabicità, si deve ricostruire un'evoluzione in quattro fasi : a. lat. arcaico -VC.RV-, b. lat. class. -V.CRV-, c. lat. tardo/proto-rom. -VC.RV, d. lingue rom. -V.CRV-«

b. evolution makes stress placement independent from syllable structure. The algorithm that assigns stress changes under analogical pressure of various kinds. For example : • Pope 1952 : 100 “...the rule for the position of the tonic stress is simplified for in Late Latin it may be said that the penultimate syllable is stressed whenever it contains a long vowel, a diphtong,or a vowel of any kind followed by any two consonants or a double consonant”, • Ward 1951 : 484 “And our accent rule should read : the Latin accent falls on the penult not only when that syllable is long, but also when it is short, provided that it consists of a short vowel followed by stop + l”, • Steriade 1988 : 399 “I suggest then that the stress shift in integra was due to the reinterpretation of the Latin Stress rule as : Stress the penult if it is followed by a consonant cluster”, • Lahiri, Riad & Jacobs 1999 : 395 "trend towards paroxitony",

• Bullock 2001. [10] Not only a Romance problem : a. Latin vowel reduction in internal unstressed open syllables ("internal apophony") i. open syllable facio / conficio = tonitru, pullitra, etc. ii. checked syllable factus / confectus = tenebrae (*tenibrae), integru (*intigru) b. metrical ambiguity in Latin (positio debilis). See Timparano 1965, Loporcaro to appear [11] Our position : the problem is of syllabic nature, i.e. [9a] is correct. The new accent rule advocated by Pope, Ward, Steriade... cf.[9b] is nothing but a linear way of saying that any CC cluster has become heterosyllabic... C. What is / can be TR ? [12] Two known syllabic representations for TR clusters : a. Coda + Onset b. branching Onset with consonantal interaction " crompare (e. g. Elba) "tanto raro in testi letterari • from intervocalic TR capra -> crapa (e. g. Elba) quanto è frequente nei dialetti" • from R in Coda dormire -> dromire (Marche) "con una certa facilità" but : ii --> Coda • from word-initial TR fratello -> fardelo (Rovig.) "piú raro" • from intervocalic TR aprire -> arví (Lig, Romagn.) "neppure comune" iii. --> intervocalic T • from word-initial TR pratica -> pàtriga (OPadov.) "ancora piú raro" • from R in Coda erba -> evra (Nap. "dei secoli passati") "rarissimo" [Note : intervocalic R to word-initial T, e.g. craíno / carino (Elbano di Marciana) : "niente affatto comune".]

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c. la r parassita (Rohlfs 1966 : I.§333) i. #T__ taverna traverna (Velletri) tesoro trisoru (Sicil.) tuono tròno (Umbr.) stella strela (Emil.)

ii. C.T__ genista balista encaustu -mente

ginestra balestra inchiostro -mentre (OLomb...)

iii. V.T__ *anata vitice siepe *arbitu

anatra vetrice scepre(Lucch.) árbatro (Pis.)

d. thus, intervocalic T is a possible landing site for parasitic R. Compare with French [24b] where it is not. [27] Different configurations ? (2) : Gascon a. r-metathesis (Rohlfs 1935 : §399, Baldinger 1958 : 246, Dumenil 1987) i. from post-cons TR --> #T__ ii. from intervoc. TR --> #T__ compraare croumpa paup(e)re praube (ex)combraare escrumba capra crabo ventre brente cup(e)raare croba furunc(u)lu hloronc coop(e)riire crubi proubo *tuuf(e)ra truho pulv(e)re fenestra hrieste *wiip(e)ra gripo capistru crabeste febre hrebe heure castroone creston fabru haure brespes tab(u)la taulo vesp(e)ras ep ten(e)ru trende patriinu payri ep cam(e)ra crambo latraare layra ep spiin(u)la esplingo ep mem(o)raare bremba ep pess(u)lu plesc ep cing(u)la sinclo ep gen(e)ru jendre ep num(e)roosi numbrubi hirund(u)la hurounglo

iii. from R in Coda --> #T__ dormiire droumi firmu hrém forma arroumo formiica arroumigo

[shadowed cells : no R-metathesis]

b. converging movement towards #T__ c. note that TR clusters resulting from T-epenthesis (indicated by ep in i.) undergo R-metathesis as well. d. intervocalic TR : either R-metathesis or (when initial C ≠ T) T•R maintained with consecutive lenition of T (shadowed cells in a.ii) [28] Tentative interpretation : a. Early Romance : * T•R => TR is either TR or T=R b. different distributions according to the position STRONG #__ C.__ TR T=R TR T=R French Italian Gascon

? ? *?

? ? ?

(TR)

* * *

WEAK V__V TR T=R * *

* *

i. French : TR in strong position, T=R in weak position ii. Italian : only TR in weak and strong (post-consonantal) positions iii. Gascon : neither TR not T=R in weak position, avoidance of TR in strong post-consonantal position. Tendancy to "no-TR" ? Note frequent vowel epenthesis in initial TR : branc > baranc (Rohlfs 1935 : §401) : strong evidence for initial TR being T=R and for a tendency to eliminate this structure...

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[29]

F. Conclusion a. there is no way out of the Gallo-Romance trouble without acknowledging a mono-positional "affricate" TR. It goes without saying that the affricate TR does not solve all problems. However, it allows for a fresh look at known data through a new prism. b. for example, epenthesis (cam(e)ra > chambre) and metathesis can be interpreted as positional phenomena that imply lenition and fortition. c. "affricate" TR call for a principled management of syllabic space : nothing falls from heaven. d. the early generative conception whereby syllabification is dynamic and operates over a lexically unsyllabified string does not make sense : the identical phonetic object [TR] enjoys two different syllabic interpretations. The back-bone of this approach, the Maximal Onset principle, is but the expression of a tendency and/ or markedness: most, but not all TR clusters are branching Onsets. When they are Coda-Onset sequences, Codacapture is applied. One could surely think of some transformation that makes them mono-positional structures as well, but what it this good for? TR clusters are not anything per se or in Universal Grammar. They enjoy different syllabic interpretations in various languages, and these are recorded in the lexicon.

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