Monosyllabicization: patterns of evolution in Asian languages

Alexis Michaud (1)

1 LACITO - Langues et civilisations à tradition orale

Asian languages reveal a continuum from quasi-disyllables to highly eroded monosyllables. These variegated states are now understood to be different stages along a common evolutionary path. An overview is proposed, beginning with the earliest stages of monosyllabicization, before the generalization of a strictly monosyllabic phonological structure. The well-documented processes of consonantal depletion which lead to the development of phonation-type registers and tones are set out within a general model. Lastly, phonological evolutions observed at advanced stages of segmental depletion are discussed. The concluding note concerns the aftermath of segmental depletion: the re-creation of polysyllables.

Mots clés: monosyllabicization; tones; phonation-type registers; tonogenesis; registrogenesis; phonological erosion; consonantal depletion; panchronic phonology; coarticulation; feature shuffling

Mots clés: monosyllabisation; tons; registres de qualité de voix; tonogenèse; registrogenèse; érosion phonologique; simplification consonantique; phonologie panchronique

Domaines: Linguistique

Alexis Michaud. Monosyllabicization: patterns of evolution in Asian languages. Nicole Nau, Thomas Stolz & Cornelia Stroh. Monosyllables: from phonology to typology, Akademie Verlag, pp.115-130, 2012. ⟨halshs-00436432v2⟩