Fusion (phonetics)
Encyclopedia
In phonetics
and historical linguistics
, fusion, or coalescence, is the merger of the features
of two segment
into one.
A common form of fusion is found in the development of nasal vowel
s, which frequently become phonemic when final nasal consonant
s are lost from a language. This occurred in French and Portuguese. Compare the French words un vin blanc [œ̃ vɛ̃ blɑ̃] "a white wine" with their English cognate
s, one, vine, blank, which retain the n's.
Another example is the development of Greek
bous "cow" from Indo-European
*gwous. Although *gw was already a single consonant, [ɡʷ], it had two places of articulation, a velar stop ([ɡ]) and labial secondary articulation ([ʷ]). In Greek bous these elements have fused into a purely labial stop [b].
Often the resulting sound has the place of articulation
of one of the source sounds and the manner of articulation
of the other. An example comes from Malay
, where the final consonant of the prefix /məN-/ (where N stands for a "placeless nasal", i.e. a nasal consonant
with no specified place of articulation
) coalesces with a voiceless
plosive at the beginning of the root to which the prefix is attached. The resulting sound is a nasal consonant that has the place of articulation of the root-initial consonant. For example:
becomes /məmotoŋ/ 'cut' ([p] and [m] are both pronounced with the lips) becomes /mənulis/ 'write' ([t] and [n] are both pronounced with the tip of the tongue) becomes /məŋira/ 'guess' ([k] and [ŋ] are both pronounced at the back of the tongue)
An extreme example of fusion occurred in Old Irish, where a vowel fused with a consonant before another consonant. The only feature that remained of the lost consonant was its length, in the form of a long vowel: *[maɡl] → [maːl] "prince". This phenomenon is called compensatory lengthening
.
Vowel coalescence is extremely common. The resulting vowel is often long, and either between the two original vowels in vowel space, as in [ai] → [eː] → [e] and [au] → [oː] → [o] in French (compare English day [deɪ] and law [lɔː]), in Hindi (with [ɛː], [ɔː]), and in some varieties of Arabic; or combines features of the vowels, as in [ui] → [yː] → [y] and [oi] → [øː] → [ø].
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
and historical linguistics
Historical linguistics
Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
, fusion, or coalescence, is the merger of the features
Distinctive feature
In linguistics, a distinctive feature is the most basic unit of phonological structure that may be analyzed in phonological theory.Distinctive features are grouped into categories according to the natural classes of segments they describe: major class features, laryngeal features, manner features,...
of two segment
Segment (linguistics)
In linguistics , the term segment may be defined as "any discrete unit that can be identified, either physically or auditorily, in the stream of speech."- Classifying speech units :...
into one.
A common form of fusion is found in the development of nasal vowel
Nasal vowel
A nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. By contrast, oral vowels are ordinary vowels without this nasalisation...
s, which frequently become phonemic when final nasal consonant
Nasal consonant
A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :...
s are lost from a language. This occurred in French and Portuguese. Compare the French words un vin blanc [œ̃ vɛ̃ blɑ̃] "a white wine" with their English cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
s, one, vine, blank, which retain the n's.
Another example is the development of Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
bous "cow" from Indo-European
Indo-European
Indo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan race, a 19th century and early 20th century term for those peoples who are the native speakers of Indo-European languages...
*gwous. Although *gw was already a single consonant, [ɡʷ], it had two places of articulation, a velar stop ([ɡ]) and labial secondary articulation ([ʷ]). In Greek bous these elements have fused into a purely labial stop [b].
Often the resulting sound has the place of articulation
Place of articulation
In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation of a consonant is the point of contact where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an articulatory gesture, an active articulator , and a passive location...
of one of the source sounds and the manner of articulation
Manner of articulation
In linguistics, manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs are involved in making a sound. Often the concept is only used for the production of consonants, even though the movement of the articulars will also greatly alter the resonant properties of the...
of the other. An example comes from Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, where the final consonant of the prefix /məN-/ (where N stands for a "placeless nasal", i.e. a nasal consonant
Nasal consonant
A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :...
with no specified place of articulation
Place of articulation
In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation of a consonant is the point of contact where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an articulatory gesture, an active articulator , and a passive location...
) coalesces with a voiceless
Voiceless
In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, this is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word "phonation" implies voicing, and that voicelessness is the lack of...
plosive at the beginning of the root to which the prefix is attached. The resulting sound is a nasal consonant that has the place of articulation of the root-initial consonant. For example:
becomes /məmotoŋ/ 'cut' ([p] and [m] are both pronounced with the lips) becomes /mənulis/ 'write' ([t] and [n] are both pronounced with the tip of the tongue) becomes /məŋira/ 'guess' ([k] and [ŋ] are both pronounced at the back of the tongue)
An extreme example of fusion occurred in Old Irish, where a vowel fused with a consonant before another consonant. The only feature that remained of the lost consonant was its length, in the form of a long vowel: *[maɡl] → [maːl] "prince". This phenomenon is called compensatory lengthening
Compensatory lengthening
Compensatory lengthening in phonology and historical linguistics is the lengthening of a vowel sound that happens upon the loss of a following consonant, usually in the syllable coda...
.
Vowel coalescence is extremely common. The resulting vowel is often long, and either between the two original vowels in vowel space, as in [ai] → [eː] → [e] and [au] → [oː] → [o] in French (compare English day [deɪ] and law [lɔː]), in Hindi (with [ɛː], [ɔː]), and in some varieties of Arabic; or combines features of the vowels, as in [ui] → [yː] → [y] and [oi] → [øː] → [ø].