Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Gradience is a concept that lies at the heart of phonetic and phonological variation and change. This paper explores the phenomenon of nasalisation, a process that takes its origin in phonetic coarticulation and that, as happened in French, may lead to the gradual development of phonemic nasal vowels. We will discuss the stages in which this process unfolded in the history of French and will then zoom in on the Poitevin-Saintongeais region, where the ancient nasal vowel [ɛ̃jn] was retained in some areas and later on spread to other communities. This development seems puzzling at first sight, but we will argue that the distribution can be better understood by invoking socio-economic factors.
Source: Scolia
DOI: 10.4000/scolia.2779
Authors: Janine Berns, Pierre Faure, Haike Jacobs
Language: French
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4383551347