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On the acquisition of abstract representations for English vowels

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2008

Jeri J. Jaeger
Jeri J. Jaeger*
Affiliation:
University of California, Davis
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Abstract

A basic assumption of generative and lexical phonology is that lexical entries of morphemes contain abstract phonological representations (APRs), and that surface pronunciations are derived from them by rules. Whether and how such a system can be acquired is problematic. This paper looks at the acquisition of APRs for English vowels and the Vowel Shift Rule (VSR), and tries to ascertain (1) whether VSR has any psychological reality, (2) at what age this psychological reality begins to be manifested, and (3) what the source of any psychological reality of VSR is. It finds that (1) pre-literate children show no signs of knowing VSR, (2) literate children and adults show marginal knowledge of only those VSR relations represented by the English vowel letters, and (3) the source of this knowledge can be demonstrated to be the learning of spelling conventions. It is concluded that theories which posit more concrete lexical representations are supported by this evidence.

Type
Research Article
Information
Phonology , Volume 3 , May 1986 , pp. 71 - 97
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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Footnotes

*

I would like to thank John Ohala and Bruce Derwing for comments on an earlier version of this paper, and Linnea Ehri for useful discussions of some of the issues raised. I especially want to thank Anna for sharing with me her insights into language.

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