Learnability of length-referencing alternation in Japanese and an artificial language. The unnatural alternation of Japanese /g/ nasalization conditioned by mora length is not internalized by native speakers, as evidenced by a wug test extending this pattern to novel words. [abstract and slides for AMP2023] A structure akin to it is also examined in an artificial language learning experiment, which demonstrates a universal learning bias against referencing length, or ‘counting’. [abstract for OCP21]
Utterance-final high vowel diphthongization in Chongqing Mandarin. I analyze vowels such as /i#/[iɪ#] and /u#/[uʊ#] as the results of the interaction of two independent constraints: final lengthening and *HighHigh. [abstract and slides for MFM30] To predict the inventory of diphthongization processes of this kind, I am currently employing dispersion theory. [abstract]