Analogy, frequency, and sound change: The case of Dutch devoicing

De Schryver, J., Neijt, A., Ghesquière, P., & Ernestus, M. (2008). Analogy, frequency, and sound change: The case of Dutch devoicing. Journal of Germanic Linguistics, 20(2), 159-195. doi:10.1017/S1470542708000056.
This study investigates the roles of phonetic analogy and lexical frequency in an ongoing sound change, the devoicing of fricatives in Dutch, which occurs mainly in the Netherlands and to a lesser degree in Flanders. In the experiment, Dutch and Flemish students read two variants of 98 words: the standard and a nonstandard form with the incorrect voice value of the fricative. Dutch students chose the non-standard forms with devoiced fricatives more often than Flemish students. Moreover, devoicing, though a gradual process, appeared lexically diffused, affecting first the words that are low in frequency and phonetically similar to words with voiceless fricatives.
Publication type
Journal article
Publication date
2008

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