Walker published in Italian Journal of Linguistics

Faculty Rachel Walker and collaborator Yifan Yang have a recent article titled “Consonant Phonotactics in the Moenat Variety of Ladin” appearing in the Italian Journal of Linguistics.

Here is the paper abstract:

This paper provides a study of consonant phonotactics in the present-day Moenat variety of Ladin. This research focuses on the speech of the current generation of younger adults, based on an investigation with a primary consultant and acoustic recordings of multiple speakers. This work systematically investigates singleton consonants and consonant clusters in each position in the word (initial, medial, final) with accompanying illustrations in example words. An accompanying archive of sound files exemplifies the production of each word by two native speakers, one male and one female. Several phonological patterns involving consonants are discussed, including voicing agreement and place neutralization in preconsonantal sibilants, final obstruent devoicing, and nasal place assimilation. In addition, variation in the realization of sibilants is identified.