Journal of Germanic Linguistics - Current Issue

Volume 20 Issue 02

Sat, 31 May 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Journal of Germanic Linguistics, Volume 20 Issue 02

The Journal of Germanic Linguistics (JGL) , published for the Society for Germanic Linguistics (SGL) and the Forum for the Society for Germanic Language Studies (FGLS), carries original articles, reviews, and notes on synchronic and diachronic issues pertaining to Germanic languages and dialects from the earliest phases to the present, including English (to 1500) and the extraterritorial varieties. Contributions are invited on the phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic analysis of these languages and dialects, as well as their historical development, both linguistic and textual. Especially welcome are contributions that address questions of interest to a broad range of scholars concerned with general issues in formal theory, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics. The language of publication is normally English, though manuscripts in German will be considered.

Analogy, Frequency, and Sound Change. The Case of Dutch Devoicing

Research Articles
Johan De Schryver, Anneke Neijt, Pol Ghesquière, Mirjam Ernestus,
Journal of Germanic Linguistics, Volume 20 Issue 02 , pp 159-195

Abstract
This study investigates the roles of phonetic analogy and lexical frequency in an ongoing sound change, the devoicing of fricatives in Dutch, which occurs mainly in the Netherlands and to a lesser degree in Flanders. In the experiment, Dutch and Flemish students read two variants of 98 words: the standard and a nonstandard form with the incorrect voice value of the fricative. Dutch students chose the non-standard forms with devoiced fricatives more often than Flemish students. Moreover, devoicing, though a gradual process, appeared lexically diffused, affecting first the words that are low in frequency and phonetically similar to words with voiceless fricatives.*

Level Stress in North Germanic

Research Articles
Gjert Kristoffersen,
Journal of Germanic Linguistics, Volume 20 Issue 02 , pp 87-157

Abstract
This article is an investigation of the acoustic properties of the so-called level stress prosody still found in some varieties of North Germanic. Level stress occurs in disyllabic words where a light root syllable has been preserved from Old North Germanic, and is described as having stress more or less evenly distributed across the two syllables. It is argued that level stress is the result of a perceptual ambiguity caused by the delayed synchronization of the accent 2 melody in level stress words, due to the shorter duration of the light root syllable. Due to this delay, both syllables may be interpreted as independent tonal and thereby stressed accent 1 domains, competing with the interpretation of the two syllables as an accent 2 domain with initial stress.*