2017 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
拡大エレメント理論を用いた分節内構造と韻律構造の相関関係の解明
| Project/Area Number |
15K02611
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| Research Institution | Tohoku Gakuin University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
那須川 訓也 東北学院大学, 文学部, 教授 (80254811)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
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| Keywords | phonology / Element Theory / segmental structure / prosodic structure / head-dependency / unified melody-prosody |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This research contributes to the development of the Element Theory (ET) model of segmental structure. ET already offers a strong alternative to distinctive feature theories, but it has the potential to explain non-segmental aspects of phonological structure too. This work investigates how ET expresses information about prosodic domains (syllables, feet, words) within melodic structure. By integrating prosodic and melodic structure, ET enriches our understanding of phonological representations and processes; it also strengthens its own status as an explanatory tool for representing word-sized units cross-linguistically.
During the first two years of this project I conducted a thorough review of the ET literature in order to survey the use of head-dependency relations between (melodic) structural units. From this, my own line of research developed as a study of how the asymmetric relations between elements can be extended from melodic to prosodic structure. In the second year of the project I focused on elements as boundary markers for prosodic domains, while in the third year the focus shifted to the development of structural representations for consonants and CV strings. During the third year my findings were published as journal articles (e.g. Phonological Studies) and as international conference presentations (e.g. OCP15 in UK, GLOW41 in Hungary, PLM2017 in Poland, RFP15 in France).
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Having completed three years of this research project, I remain committed to my original research plan and to the schedule which I set out in my proposal. I have succeeded in addressing all the key issues in my research topic that are required in order to take this project smoothly into its final year.
My starting point was Element Theory (ET) as a model of melodic/segmental structure. My goal, however, is to show that ET has the potential to explain much more than just segmental information: my results are demonstrating that ET is also relevant to prosodic structure in a way which eliminates from phonological representations the need for (1) a formal division between melody and prosody, and (2) traditional prosodic constituents.
I have succeeded in arguing that elements can function effectively as prosodic boundary markers, which provide an aid to efficient language processing. I have also developed a way of representing phonological information as a unified melody-prosody structure in which the phonetic interpretation of a phonological string of consonants and vowels is achieved without explicitly encoding precedence relations into representations.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
During the final year of this project my plan is to continue developing my revised model of Element Theory (ET) as an integrated melodic-prosodic structure. A topic of particular relevance is segmental weakening (e.g. vowel reduction, consonant lenition), because it is sensitive to both prosodic and melodic factors. For this reason, I intend to focus my efforts on a cross-linguistic study of the typology of weakening, and will attempt to incorporate my findings into the model of 'integrated ET' which I have developed so far. I believe that segmental weakening will serve as an ideal testing ground for the viability of the extended ET model.
There are no reasons to change the plan or schedule of my original proposal. I will continue to work closely with colleagues at Tohoku Gakuin University on the use of recursive structure in phonological representations, with a focus on consonant structures and wider-domain strings (feet, words). I have plans to present my work at conferences in the UK, France and Sweden in the coming months. and to publish in several established journals later in the year.
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| Remarks |
(1)は研究成果に関するwebページ
(2)は2016年9月に開催した国際学会（Recursion in Phonology）webページ
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