Vol. XXVI Nr. 2
DOI: 10.31178/BWPL.26.2
Kadir Fuseini
The epenthetic vowel quality in Dagbani loans: A Feature Geometry account
Abstract: This paper explores the epenthetic vowel quality in Dagbani loanwords adapted from English and Arabic within the Feature Geometry (FG) model of Clements & Hume (1995). The findings reveal that vowel epenthesis plays a pivotal role as a syllable repair strategy in Dagbani. Three distinct strategies, namely vowel harmony, local/consonantal assimilation, and default vowel epenthesis, were identified to account for the quality of epenthetic vowels in Dagbani loanwords. Default vowel insertion emerged as the primary strategy, with the insertion of the central high vowel /ɨ/ and the front high vowel /i/. Vowel harmony was employed when the intervening consonant was a liquid or dorsal, occurring in word-initial, word-medial, and word-final positions. Conversely, the consonantal assimilation strategy was applied primarily in word-final position. In the context of vowel harmony, only labial features were observed to harmonize, while the consonantal assimilation strategy entailed the spreading of both coronal (palato-alveolar) and labial features. Finally, a segmental representation is provided of the Dagbani place feature in borrowed words, in which both left-to-right and right-to-left feature spreading are attested
Keywords: epenthesis, vowel harmony, local assimilation, default epenthesis
Andrei A. Avram
Auxiliary vowels in word-medial consonant clusters in the history of Maltese
Abstract: Borg (1978) notes that 15th and 16th-century transcriptions of Maltese place names display the auxiliary vowels [a] or [i] inserted into word-medial consonant clusters. According to Borg (1978) the quality of the auxiliary vowel is phonologically conditioned: it is [a] in a back environment, but [i] elsewhere. On this analysis the auxiliary vowels [a] and [i] exhibit complementary distribution. The examination of records of Maltese, however, yields a more complex picture. Auxiliary vowels continue to occur relatively frequently in the 17th-century, as evidenced by archival records of the Roman Inquisition (Cassar 2005), Thezan’s (by 1647) dictionary, the place names in Abela (1647), and Skippon’s (1732) word list collected in 1664. On the strength of the evidence provided by 17th-century records, it is shown that: (i) Maltese resorted to three auxiliary vowels – [a], [ɪ] and [o]; (ii) phonological conditioning is less strict than hitherto assumed, with [ɪ] occasionally occurring in a back environment as well; (iii) left-to-right vowel copying also plays a role in determining the quality of the auxiliary vowel, whereby an /o/ preceding a back consonant determines the selection of [o]. Also, it is shown that the findings are compatible with the hypothesis of a direct link between Sicilian Arabic and Maltese.
Keywords: Maltese, auxiliary vowels, back environment, vowel copying
Hasnaa Hasan Sultan Abdelreheem
English pronunciation in Egyptian EFL classrooms: Attitudes, challenges, and expectations
Abstract: This paper is an effort to explore issues pertaining to pronunciation instruction in Egypt, from the perspective of Egyptian EFL learners and teachers, with an emphasis placed on: views on pronunciation performances, expectations from their lecturers/students and study programmes, challenges faced in learning/teaching English pronunciation, desired proficiency standards and attitudes towards English and the specific items taught, the influence of mother tongue, as well as views on what participants would like to see applied in textbooks and classrooms (e.g. organised activities, behaviour, approaches, methods, etc.). Recommendations based on questionnaire responses by both learners and teachers can be summarised as follows: (i) ensuring the qualifiedness of teachers, lecturers and educators in general (e.g. by seeking a TEFL-related qualification alongside a relevant university degree as position requirements), (ii) teaching English in English for more exposure to the target language content, (iii) minimising teacher-centered classroom performance and allocating most of the class time for student participation and involvement, (iv) directing efforts towards creating an engaging and motivating environment for both teachers and learners by refraining from employing traditional outdated teaching methods that may lead to eliminating chances of effective communicative interaction, (v) applying assessment methods that prioritise development over scores to enhance students’ creativity and critical thinking skills, (vi) integrating the element of pronunciation in the teaching of other language skills, (vii) ensuring the cultural appropriacy and appeal of the study materials to meet the expectations of learners, address the actual teaching/learning objectives and suit the particular EFL context in question.
Keywords: Egyptian EFL classrooms, pronunciation learning, pronunciation teaching
Alin-Gabriel Bucă
Negative bi in Romani. Indic and Iranian connections
Abstract: Negative bi– is the primary indicator of caritivity in Romani and has been invariably recognized as belonging to the pre-European component of the language. Most lexicographic sources and related studies trace it back to OIA वि vi– ‘un-’, but also acknowledge that an Iranian origin is plausible. In Romani, bi– can function as a preposition, non-verbal privative prefix, conjunction, and verbal prefix. This paper argues that these various constructions can be ascribed to different stages in the development of the language and to different contact scenarios. The limited set of verbs containing a reflex of OIA preverbal वि- vi– and the prototypical circumpositional bi…qo template correspond to an early proto-Romani stage (perhaps late MIA or apabhraṃśa), most certainly prior to the departure from the Indian subcontinent. Strongly adjectival compounds (prefixal bi…qo, bi– + adjectives, bi– + adjectival participles) are more likely to have arisen in a post-Indian context, as a result of contact with Persian or other Iranian languages. Finally, the use of bi as a conjunction with subjunctive verbs must be the result of a later, localized convergence within the Balkan Sprachbund. Drawing on the existing literature and the analysis of various Romani texts, the paper also attempts to disambiguate the morphological status of bi– in genitive nominal formations. The lexical-semantic approach proposed by Lieber (2004) and the picture of overlapping and competing negative prefixes in IE languages outlined by Wackernagel (2009) help explain the functional flexibility and diversity of this lone productive negative prefix as the result of subsequent semantic and functional reconfigurations in various contact scenarios.
Keywords: Romani, bi, negative, privative, caritive
R E V I E W A R T I C L E
Csilla Ibolya Sólyom
An overview of third language acquisition research
Abstract: The goal of this paper is to provide a short state-of-the-art review of third language (L3) acquisition research from a generative point of view. I present some of the most important theoretical models of morphosyntactic transfer along with the results of exemplar studies that test them. Research in this field of study is most interested in tracing transfer, identifying its source(s) – first language (L1) and/or second language (L2) – and determining its nature – facilitative or non-facilitative in the process of attaining proficiency in L3 (see Rothman et al. 2019). Experimental results indicate that both previously acquired languages (L1 and L2) can be transferred in a facilitative and non-facilitative manner, approving or contradicting some of the proposed models of transfer. I conclude that there is a need for more research, testing the models across different language combinations and thus providing answers to the questions raised by the field.
Keywords: third language acquisition, transfer, (non-)facilitation, multilingualism
REVIEW
Laura Aull. 2024. You Can’t Write That. 8 Myths About Correct English (Reviewed by Costin-Valentin Oancea)