Keywords

Spanish, Dominican Spanish, phonology, s lenition

Abstract

Usage-based phonology (Bybee 2001, 2006, 2010), which is based on exemplar theory (Pierrehumbert 2001, 2003), proposes a memory capacity so expansive that, in theory, all tokens experienced in life could be mapped onto their respective exemplar clouds. However, if a token is similar enough to an existing one, it is simply mapped directly onto that existing token, reinforcing it in memory. This model proposes a very limited need for generative rules to produce the surface form, as the surface forms themselves are stored whole in memory and therefore can be directly accessed during production. It follows that derived words need not be formed by means of a base form, especially if the derived form is of a high enough frequency or if the derived form has a higher frequency than its base form (Hay 2001). Similarly, inflected words within a paradigm may gain autonomy if they are of a high enough frequency (Bybee 1985).

Original Publication Citation

Brown, Earl K. (2011). "Paradigmatic Peer-Pressure: Word-medial, Syllable-initial /s/ Lenition in Dominican Spanish." In Selected Proceedings of the 5th Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Romance Phonology, ed. by Scott Alvord, 46-58. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.