Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Sprach- und literaturwissenschaftliche Fakultät - Institut für Slawistik und Hungarologie

24.10. Matěj Kundrát (Tromsø) & Jeffrey Parrott (Zlín): The Czech high front vowel(s) ‘i/y’: A phonemic difference without a phonetic distinction [zoom]

We discuss the (morpho)phonology of the Czech high front vowel(s), typically but not always spelled 'i/y', which despite having an identical phonetic realization [i], nonetheless trigger asymmetric patterns of palatalization and variable dipthongization. Using evidence from these alternations, as well as apparent counterexamples, we argue in favor of strict modularity and against phonetics-based theories of (morpho)phonology.