On the cognitive basis of contact-induced sound change: Vowel merger reversal in Shanghainese
Files
Appendices
Date
2016
Authors
Yao, Yao
Chang, Charles B.
Version
Published version
OA Version
Citation
Y. Yao, C.B. Chang. 2016. "On the cognitive basis of contact-induced sound change: Vowel merger reversal in Shanghainese [online appendices]." Language, vol. 92 no. 2, 2016, p. 433-467. https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2016.0031.
Abstract
This study investigates the source and status of a recent sound change in Shanghainese (Wu, Sinitic) that has been attributed to language contact with Mandarin. The change involves two vowels, /e/ and /ɛ/, reported to be merged three decades ago but produced distinctly in contemporary Shanghainese. Results of two production experiments show that speaker age, language mode (monolingual Shanghainese vs. bilingual Shanghainese-Mandarin), and crosslinguistic phonological similarity all influence the production of these vowels. These findings provide evidence for language contact as a linguistic means of merger reversal and are consistent with the view that contact phenomena originate from cross-language interaction within the bilingual mind.
Description
License
Copyright © 2016 Yao Yao & Charles B. Chang