The Dialects of the Outer Hebrides = A Linguistic Survey of the Gaelic Dialects of Scotland

Dillon, Myles; Borgström, Carl Hj.

doi:10.2307/409562

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…This might suggest that categoricity in at least some cases has begun to emerge only in the last few generations. This could explain the differences between my observations (speakers born in the years 1943-84) and Borgstrøm's (1940; speakers probably born late 1800s) with respect to the laxing of /i e/, as well as the semi-consistent application of the rules in (3) and (4) in the chronologically intermediate SGDS data (Ness speaker born c.1922).…”

Section: Tense and Lax /I E/contrasting

confidence: 67%

“…V.CV. I do not entertain Borgstrøm's (1937Borgstrøm's ( , 1940Borgstrøm's ( , 1941 oft-repeated claim of VC.V syllabification in Scottish Gaelic, which is based entirely on his perception of a 'break in tension' towards the end of the consonant (probably actually glottalisation, see Morrison 2019: 422ff.). That analysis has no phonological basis and its original justification is incompatible with modern conceptions of the syllable.…”

Section: Tense and Lax /I E/mentioning

confidence: 84%

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Vowel allophony in Ness Gaelic: Phonetic and phonological patterns of laxing and retraction

Morrison¹

2022

Journal of the International Phonetic Association

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The vowel system of the dialect of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Ness, Lewis differs from that of other dialects in several important ways. In particular, several vowels display patterns of allophony that have not been investigated instrumentally and, in some cases, have not been reported before for Scottish Gaelic. This paper documents the Ness system in detail, focusing in particular on the tense–lax opposition in /i e/ and retraction of /a(ː)/ next to velarised consonants. The results of a traditional linguistic fieldwork study are presented first, followed by a detailed acoustic study of nine speakers. The acoustic reality of these allophonic patterns, reflected in F1 and F2 values, is verified statistically using LME modelling. Bimodality in the distribution of tokens in acoustic space, confirmed statistically with Hartigan’s Dip Test, is taken as evidence for the existence of discrete phonological categories (Bermúdez-Otero & Trousdale 2011). It is found that speakers vary as to whether these allophonic oppositions are restricted to the phonetic grammar, or have undergone stabilisation and advanced into the categorical phonology (Bermúdez-Otero 2007, 2015). It is observed that laxing of /i e/ in Ness Gaelic occurs in exactly those contexts where there is a direct transition between the vowel and a following supra-glottal consonant. It is therefore proposed that this tense–lax opposition is grounded in conflicting strategies of contrast enhancement, whereby laxing increases the perceptual distinctiveness of a following consonant by allowing for more distinctive formant transitions, at the expense of the distinctiveness of the vowel itself (Storme 2019).

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Section: Tense and Lax /I E/contrasting

confidence: 67%

Section: Tense and Lax /I E/mentioning

confidence: 84%

Vowel allophony in Ness Gaelic: Phonetic and phonological patterns of laxing and retraction

Morrison¹

2022

Journal of the International Phonetic Association

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“…Carl Marstrander's previous prognostication was even more ominous: 'The Celtic family of languages is slowly but surely nearing its extinction. No national bombast nor Celtic Congresses can conceal this truth' (preface in Borgstrøm 1940). In the three decades from 1951 to 1981 (excepting the 1971 Census returns), there was a decline in the Gaelic-speaking proportion of the population in the Western Isles.…”

Section: Diachronic Analytical Framework In the Research Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community: a comprehensive sociolinguistic survey of Scottish Gaelic

Ó Giollagáin,

Camshron,

Moireach

et al. 2020

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Cross-linguistic patterns of vowel intrusion

2006

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Vowel sounds may be inserted into a word by two mechanisms: insertion of a vocalic articulatory gesture (epenthesis), or retiming of existing gestures to produce a vowel-like transition between consonants (intrusion). I argue that epenthetic vowels are phonological units but intrusive vowels are not. A representation using abstract gestures as well as segments can capture facts about the typology of vowel intrusion.

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The Dialects of the Outer Hebrides = A Linguistic Survey of the Gaelic Dialects of Scotland

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Vowel allophony in Ness Gaelic: Phonetic and phonological patterns of laxing and retraction

Vowel allophony in Ness Gaelic: Phonetic and phonological patterns of laxing and retraction

The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community: a comprehensive sociolinguistic survey of Scottish Gaelic

Cross-linguistic patterns of vowel intrusion

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