Mesopotamian Arabic Rhotics: Evidence from Jewish Baghdadī-Baṣrāwī Arabic Presentation, Representation & Formal Account of Government Phonology

Abstract

‘Rhotics’ are known for their phonetic variability; and their irregular universal phonological behaviour, which still, however, known to be conditioned by language-specific phonological systems. Therefore, recent research proposals on rhotics suggest an ‘arbitrary’ relationship between the phonetics and phonology of rhotics; and calls for an underspecification or unspecification for the phonological structure and phonetic content of rhotics. The new data on rhotics, however, motivated some scholars to seek new perspectives for the understanding and formal representation of rhotics collectively.
This study arrives as a contribution to the formal and descriptive study of rhotics in general, and to the understanding of Arabic and Mesopotamian rhotics in particular. Rhotics in Arabic can be typologically classified into two major macro groups: (a) CORONAL-TYPE; and (b) DORSAL-TYPE. This classification is informed, justified and supported by phonological processes and by distributional restrictions exclusive in both types. The CORONAL-TYPE and DORSAL-TYPE are unified in their formal representation by an identity element in the base of their phonological expression.
On the formal and phonological side, this thesis employs Government Phonology and Element theory as a theoretical research framework to capture the unity of rhotics as they occur in Jewish Baghdadi-Baṣrāwī Arabic (JBBA). Rhotics in JBBA, and Arabic in general, were found to be characterized by an |A| element in their phonological expression. The |A| element signifies articulatory openness, and acoustic central spectral energy. The manifestation of the |A| element in rhotics is supported by empirical evidence with tendencies in phonological processes towards extending pharyngealization and/or retraction to adjacent sounds; disfavouring palatalization or fronting environment; and vocalization to a non-front glide or non-front vocalic output. Rhotics in JBBA are composed ‘minimally’ of an |A| element in nuclear position; and of |U.A.L| elements in non-nuclear position.
On the phonetic side, this study also proposes a novel pairing and matching between the articulatory and acoustic properties unique to rhotics. This proposal has also crosslinguistic implications. Thus, this thesis puts forward a TRAJECTORY OF RHOTIC AERODYNAMIC-LINGUAL COMPLEXITY CONTROL. This trajectory mirrors together the articulatory and acoustic properties of rhotics; and projects rhotic variation and distributional frequency. A schematic representation for the stages of aerodynamic and lingual constrictions of rhotics highlights the potential directionality towards simplification in rhotics either by OPENING and/or REDUCTION. Both processes were found to be informed by historical and active processes of lenition.
This model looks at CORONAL- DORSAL rhotics from a holistic view, as overlapping phonetic-phonological systems; which are collectively rooted in an identical set of phonetic manners of articulation. Both CORONAL-DORSAL trills and taps have a ‘complete closure’ and involve ‘quantitive’ differences in the lingual control, and are governed by the reduction continuum. CORONAL-DORSAL fricatives, approximants, and vocalized rhotics all have an ‘incomplete closure’, and involve ‘qualitive’ differences in the aerodynamic control, and are governed by the opening continuum. Thus, the phonetic archetype of rhotics, in general, is phonetically governed within a triad spectrum: (i) CLOSURE; (ii) OPENING; (iii) VIBRATION.