Cross-morphemic palatalisation in Getxo Basque: empty positions, bipositionality and place licensing

Abstract

The variety of Basque characteristic of Getxo exhibits a form of coronal palatalisation that takes place intervocalically within and across words, triggered by a preceding [i] or [j]. This system in particular is interesting because it sets up a paradox as it both applies and does not apply at the word-level. The rule is sensitive to the leftward phonological context within the word-level and the rightward phonological context at the phrase level since in Getxo the trigger and target of palatalisation must come from the same word, yet the process only occurs if this sequence precedes a vowel-initial juncture: /in##V/, /il##V/. A previous solution involves stating palatalisation as a lexical rule and invoking a Duke-of-York Derivation to generate the masses of lexical exceptions attested largely in loanwords. This account misses a crucial generalisation, which is that, loanwords or not, there are no lexical exceptions across morphemes. We capture this generalisation and resolve the ordering paradox by relating palatalisation to the positional distribution of place features general in the language. This analysis involves positional underspecificaiton of nasals/laterals and a coronal default place of articulation. Underspecified nasals and laterals need place when they “become onsets” across word-boundaries, including through palatal spreading. In the reanalysis there are no “lexical exceptions” since these are underlyingly specified for place; neither is there need for word-level versus post-lexical phonology.