This paper examines the acoustics of underspecification and vowel harmony (VH) in Turkish. In Tur... more This paper examines the acoustics of underspecification and vowel harmony (VH) in Turkish. In Turkish, vowels in suffixes that change according to VH rules are widely believed to be underspecified for rounding and/or backness. Underspecification has previously been thought to persist in the acoustic realization of underspecified segments. In the present study, it was hypothesized that underspecification in Turkish vowels persists in their acoustic realization even after specification due to incomplete specification and that harmonizing vowels assimilate to particular vowel categories rather than the trigger vowels themselves. An experiment was run comparing underspecified suffix vowels to their specified counterparts in roots. Of the vowels underspecified for rounding, unrounded high vowels had a significantly higher F2 and [i] had a significantly lower F2 compared to their specified counterparts at all three points of measurement. This could be a case of enhancement, where the feat...
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Papers by Mark Lanfranca