Positional Neutralization - Linguistics - University of California ...

articulatory strength they may exhibit simultaneously. Regardless of degree of
linguopalatal contact or strengthening of any other supralaryngeal articulations, the
perceptual difficulties associated with final consonants would suffice to engender such
changes as neutralization of laryngeal features (voicing, aspiration, etc.), neutralization of
place features, or even ultimately debuccalization and loss. In many instances, then,
perceptual factors could ultimately win out in determining the fate of the final consonant
even if the type of articulatory strengthening documented by Keating, Wright and Zhang
were operative.
Turning now to vowels, I will propose a similar explanation of the contradictory
phonological trends encountered in final position. Before turning to the relevant vowel-
quality neutralization patterns, I will review a number of other phonetic tendencies
commonly found in domain-final position. These are relevant here in that, while they are
natural concomitants of the phonetic final lengthening described above, their effects on
the perceptual robustness of vowel contrasts realized in final syllables are the opposite of
those of final lengthening and strengthening. To wit, these phonetic patterns have the
effect ultimately of obscuring the realizations of vowel contrasts in final position. This
phonetic anti-prominence, in turn, can not only counteract the prominence enhancing
effects of final lengthening, but can even result in the phonologization of neutralizations
taking place specifically in domain-final syllables. It is thus these phonetic factors which
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