대한언어학회 전자저널

Seo, Hongwon. (2024). /r/-dissimilation via deletion in American English. The Linguistic Association of Korea Journal, 32(4), 97-110. The aim of this paper is to investigate /r/-dissimilation in American English, focusing specifically on /r/-deletion. Two types of /r/-deletion are analyzed: deletion within the same syllable, where the coda /r/ is obligatorily deleted, and deletion over a longer domain, where several phonological factors suggested by Beckman (1997), in terms of privileged positions, influence deletion. The study explores three primary factors: stress, syllable structure, and the ordering of /r/ sounds. First, regarding stress, /r/-deletion is more likely to occur in unstressed syllables than in stressed ones. Second, /r/ is more likely retained in onset positions than in coda positions; however, /r/ in onset positions is deleted, particularly when it forms part of onset clusters. Lastly, the sequential ordering of two /r/ sounds strongly influences deletion, with the first /r/ being more overwhelmingly deleted than the second. Based on these observations, we propose a Max-/r/Rightmost constraint that favors retention of the rightmost /r/. Among these examined factors, /r/ ordering is shown to be the most critical in determining the deletion target in /r/-dissimilation.

# dissimilation # deletion # Obligatory Contour Principle # constraint # Optimality Theory

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