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An explanation for the early phonemicisation of a voice contrast in English fricatives1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2009

STEPHEN LAKER
STEPHEN LAKER*
Affiliation:
Linguistics and English Language, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, [email protected]
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Abstract

Most handbooks and grammars contend that in Old English the voiced fricatives [v, ð, z] were merely allophones of /f, θ, s/ in sonorous environments. How these voiced fricatives became phonemes is debated among scholars. In this article, all previous accounts are critically reviewed. A new proposal is then presented, which explains the facts in a more direct way than previous theses. I argue that phonemicisation of a previous allophonic voice alternation in fricatives had already taken place in many areas of Anglo-Saxon England through language contact with Brittonic. Voiceless as well as voiced fricative phonemes existed in Brittonic at the time of contact, and language shift would have led directly to the phonemicisation of the previous allophonic variation found in early Old English.

Type
Research Article
Information
English Language & Linguistics , Volume 13 , Issue 2: Re-evaluating the Celtic hypothesis , July 2009 , pp. 213 - 226
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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