Theoretical aspects of Gitskan phonology ...

• Main Author: Brown, Jason Camy
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2008
• Subjects: Canada; British Columbia; Tsimshian*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0067187; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0067187

This thesis deals with the phonology of Gitksan, a Tsimshianic language spoken in northern British Columbia, Canada. The claim of this thesis is that Gitksan exhibits several gradient phonological restrictions on consonantal cooccurrence that hold over the lexicon. There is a gradient restriction on homorganic consonants, and within homorganic pairs, there is a gradient restriction on major class and manner features. It is claimed that these restrictions are due to a generalized OCP effect in the grammar, and that this effect can be relativized to subsidiary features, such as place, manner, etc. It is argued that these types of effects are best analyzed with the system of weighted constraints employed in Harmonic Grammar (Legendre et al. 1990, Smolensky & Legendre 2006). It is also claimed that Gitksan exhibits a gradient assimilatory effect among specific consonants. This type of effect is rare, and is unexpected given the general conditions of dissimilation. One such effect is the frequency of both ...