Vowel Shifts in Mixe

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Statement of Responsibility: 
Bickford, J. Albert
Issue Date: 
1984
Is Part Of Series: 
Linguistic Notes from La Jolla; 12
Extent: 
pages 18-48
Abstract: 
The development of palatalized consonants has had profound effects on the vowel systems in Mixe, although secondary developments have partially obscured the central role of palatalization and have often given the impression that palatalization has been only passively involved in blocking shifts that were otherwise spontaneous. An analysis of these changes is presented which relates disparate facts reported by different researchers, and which directs these facts toward a motivated analysis of two innovative dialects. Theoretical implications of the Mixe data are discussed, and arguments are presented that particle phonology, a system of abstract representations recently proposed by Sanford Schane, allows a better analysis than standard distinctive features. A principle is proposed which helps limit the descriptive power of the framework. The classification of vowels in terms of relative quality is argued to be superior to the common classification in terms of absolute quality.
Publication Status: 
Published
Country: 
Mexico
Content Language: 
Field: 
Work Type: 
Nature of Work: 
Entry Number: 
2332