SBE-RCUK: Experimental and Descriptive Investigations of Welsh (cym) Consonant Mutation

大多数人类语言都是通过声音来传达的，因此理解语言声音的工作方式是理解人类语言的核心。这个项目解决了一种不寻常的语言语音现象，即声母变异：单词的声母变化以表达该单词的语法信息，例如威尔士语中的所有格，例如cath“猫”，fy nghath“我的猫”，dy gath“你的猫”，ei chath“她的猫”。为了解决诸如“这样的系统是如何在历史上进化的？”、“儿童是如何学习初始突变的？”以及“为什么这种情况不会发生在像英语这样的语言中？”这样的大问题，重要的是首先要充分了解具有初始辅音突变的语言的使用者的变异辅音的特性。这是研究目标，就威尔士语而言，一种具有丰富和富有成效的初始辅音突变系统的语言。此外，许多美国人有威尔士血统。这个社区的主要遗产语言是威尔士语，这是一种丰富的文学、歌曲、诗歌、历史等文化的媒介。它还为了解威尔士裔美国人社区祖先的世界观和文化提供了一个重要的窗口。可悲的是，威尔士语正濒临灭绝。没有只会说一种语言的人。在威尔士，说这种语言的人数现在不到人口的20%，这种语言的数量将下降到临界数量以下，不再可行，这是一个真正的危险。对这么多威尔士人和威尔士裔美国人的文化和背景的理解的潜在损失是悲剧性的。在这里进行的研究将有助于记录语法系统的非凡方面，并为语言复兴所必需的教学材料提供资源。跨学科和国际团队将应用多种调查工具：使用隐藏启动的知觉研究，使用声学分析和超声波进行发音研究的生产研究，涉及引出，判断任务的传统现场工作，统计语料库工作，以及两项习得研究（一项针对成人，一项针对儿童）。这些异质的方法使研究小组能够从不同的方向研究辅音突变，从而提供了一种独特的综合观点。子项目多种多样，但都集中在两个核心问题上：1)突变是最好被视为词汇现象还是语音现象；ii)突变的确切音系特性是什么。这些研究也将影响语言学理论，包括我们对词汇获取的理解，因为很多形态信息都集中在单词的开头，以及我们对语音系统和变化的组织的理解。该团队的核心已经在苏格兰盖尔语上做了类似的工作，并在威尔士语上做了后勤和描述性的提前工作，因此对这个项目具有独特的定位。该奖项是由SBE-RCUK领导机构协议实现的。

Most human languages are conveyed through the medium of sound, and thus understanding the way language sound works is central to understanding human language. This project addresses an unusual language sound phenomenon, initial consonant mutation: the initial consonant of a word varies to express grammatical information about that word, for example the possessives in Welsh, e.g. cath 'cat', fy nghath 'my cat', dy gath 'your cat', ei chath 'her cat'. In order to address big questions like "How do such systems evolve historically?", "How can children learn initial mutation?", and "Why does this not occur in a language like English?", it is important to first fully understand the properties of the mutating consonants for speakers of a language with initial consonant mutation. This is the research goal, with respect to Welsh, a language with a rich and productive system of initial consonant mutation. In addition, many Americans are of Welsh descent. The primary heritage language of this community is Welsh, a medium for a rich culture of literature, song, poetry, history, etc. It also provides an important window into the world-view and culture of the ancestors of the Welsh-American community. Sadly, the Welsh language is endangered. There are no monolingual speakers. In Wales, the number of speakers is now less than 20% of the population and there is a real danger that the language will decline below critical mass and no longer be viable. The potential loss to the understanding of the culture and background of so many Welsh and Welsh-Americans is tragic. The research to be conducted here will both help document extraordinary aspects of the grammatical system and provide resources for pedagogical materials essential in the revival of the language. The interdisciplinary and international team will apply a diversity of investigative tools: perceptual studies using masked priming, production studies using acoustic analysis and ultrasound for articulatory study, traditional field work involving elicitation, judgment tasks, statistical corpus work, and two acquisition studies (one with adults; one with children). These heterogeneous methodologies allow the team to approach the investigation of consonant mutation from a variety of directions, thus providing a uniquely comprehensive view of the phenomenon. The sub-projects are diverse, but focus on two central questions: i) whether mutations are best viewed as lexical or phonological phenomena; and ii) what the precise phonological properties of mutations are. These studies will also impact linguistic theory, including our understanding of lexical access in a language where a lot of morphological information is concentrated in the beginning of the word and in our understanding of the organization of phonological systems and alternations. The core of the team has done similar work on Scottish Gaelic and done logistical and descriptive advance work on Welsh, and so is uniquely positioned for this project. This award was made possible by the SBE-RCUK Lead Agency Agreement.