Vowel-shifting in the English language : an evolutionary account / Kamil Kaźmierski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kazmierski, Kamil, author.

Series:

Topics in English linguistics ; 88.

Topics in English Linguistics, 1434-3452 ; volume 88

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Vowels--History.

English language.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (234 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin : De Gruyter Mouton, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

English has long been suspected to be a vowel-shifting language. This hypothesis, often only adumbrated in previous work, is closely investigated in this book. Framed within a novel framework combining evolutionary linguistics and Optimality Theory, the account proposed here argues that the replacement of duration by quality as the primary cue to signaling vowel oppositions has resulted in the ‘shiftiness’ of many post-medieval English varieties.

Contents:

Front matter

Acknowledgements

Contents

Abbreviations and Symbols

1. Introduction

2. Informal outline

3. Data and previous accounts

4. Theoretical framework

5. The full account

6. Concluding remarks

Appendix 1: Comparison to other languages

Appendix 2: Chart of vocalic changes

Appendix 3: Materials used for recordings

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed May 1, 2015).

ISBN:

9783110366099

3110366096

9783110394344

3110394340

OCLC:

908074327