Rule scattering and vowel length in Northern Romance

Abstract

See, stats, and : https : / / www . researchgate . net / publication / 311341763 Rule Romance Article DOI : 10 . 2218 / pihph . 1 . 2016 . 1700 CITATIONS 0 READS 5 1 : Pavel The 10 SEE All . The . All - text and , letting . Abstract In this paper I reconsider the synchronic status of distinctive vowel length and vowel lengthening and shortening rules in Northern Romance variet - ies , in light of Loporcaro ' s (2015) wide - ranging study of vowel quantity in numerous Romance dialects . Loporcaro (2015) argues that these varieties possess distinctive , phonemic vowel length , and mostly do not have syn - chronic rules that produce surface long vowels , contrary to many previous analyses of the relevant patterns . In this paper , I argue instead that that lex - ical vowel length distinctions coexist , in some Northern Romance varieties , with productive phonological rules manipulating vowel quantity . This co - existence is best understood with recourse to the life cycle of phonological processes , and in particular the notion of rule scattering (Bermúdez - Otero 2015) . This approach not only allows us to reach an adequate interpret - ation of the basic facts but also makes further predictions regarding the status of quantity - manipulating rules , which also turn out to be correct , providing further support for the theory of the life cycle .