This study aims to explore how the markedness effect shapes Mandarin slips of the tongue with respect to nasals in syllable-final positions. Data were collected via natural speech and elicitation tasks from 35 participants’ reading of 346 test items. Three hundred and eight slips in Mandarin from natural data and 360 slips from elicited data were investigated. This study shows that there exists a strong preference for unmarked coronal nasals over marked dorsal nasals in the syllable-final position in both spontaneous and elicited Mandarin slips. This tendency toward the unmarked [n] reveals that the influence of the unmarkedness effect is present in the coda position in Mandarin slips. Interestingly, this tendency is inconsistent with that found in a previous study by Wan of Mandarin slips in the onset position, which shows a tendency for coronals to be replaced by other sounds. This suggests an onset—coda distinction occurring in Mandarin speech errors, which implies that the markedness effect works differently in distinct syllable positions. More precisely, the unmarkedness effect emerges in the coda position in Mandarin slips, leading to the occurrence of unmarked segments, whereas it submerges in the onset position, resulting in marked segments.
Alderete, J. ( 2004). Dissimilation as local conjunction. In J. J. McCarthy (Ed.), Optimality Theory in phonology: A reader (pp. 394-406). Oxford: Blackwell. (Available on Rutgers Optimality Archive, ROA)
2.
Amanuma, Y., Otsubo, K., & Mizutani, O. ( 1983). Nihongo onseigaku [Japanese phonetics]. Tokyo: Kuroshio.
3.
Archangeli, D.B. ( 1984). Underspecification in Yawelmani phonology and morphology . PhD Dissertation, MIT, Cambridge, MA.
4.
Avery, P., & Rice, K. ( 1989). Segment structure and coronal underspecification . Phonology, 6, 179-200.
5.
Baars, B.J., Motley, M.T., & MacKay, D.G. (1975). Output editing for lexical status from artificially elicited slips of the tongue. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 14, 382-391.
6.
Beckman, J. ( 1997). Position faithfulness, positional neutralization and Shona vowel harmony. Phonology, 14, 1-46.
7.
Beckman, J. ( 2004). Positional faithfulness. In J. McCarthy (Ed.), Optimality Theory in phonology: A reader (pp. 310-342). Oxford: Blackwell .
8.
Boomer, D.S., & Laver, D.M. ([ 1968] 1973). Slips of the tongue. In V. A. Fromkin (Ed.), Speech errors as linguistic evidence (pp. 120-131). The Hague: Mouton .
9.
Botma, B., & van der Torre, E.J. (2000). Markedness in the nasal component. Paper presented at the 8th Manchester Phonology Meeting: Special session abstracts, University of Manchester. (Available on http://www.englang.ed.ac.uk/mfm/8mfmspeshseh.html )
10.
Broselow, E., Chen, S.-I., & Wang, C. ( 1998). The emergence of the unmarked in second language phonology . Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 20, 261-280.
11.
Cho, Y.-M.Y. ( 1991). On the universality of the coronal articulator . In C. Paradis & J. F. Prunet (Eds.), The special status of coronals: Internal and external evidence (pp. 159-179). San Diego: Academic Press.
12.
Cutler, A. ( 1982). Slips of the tongue and language production. The Hague: Mouton.
13.
de Lacy, P. ( 2006). Markedness: Reduction and preservation in phonology . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
14.
Dell, G.S. ( 1984). Representation of serial order in speech: Evidence from the repeated phoneme effect in speech errors. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 10(2), 222-233.
15.
Dell, G.S. ( 1986). A spreading activation theory of retrieval in sentence production. Psychological Review, 93, 283-321.
16.
Fang, S.-X. ( 1986). Zhejiang Yi-wu Fang-yan [n]-Hua-Yun [The dialect of Zhejiang: The rhyme [n] in Yi-Wu]. Chong-Gou Yu-Wen [Chinese Language] , 6, 442-446. (In Chinese)
17.
Fay, D. ( 1980). Transformational errors. In V. A. Fromkin (Ed.), Errors in linguistic performance (pp. 111-122). New York: Academic Press.
18.
Fonte, I. ( 1996). Restrictions on coda: An optimality theoretic account of phonotactics. MA thesis, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
19.
Frisch, S.A. ( 1997). Against underspecification in speech errors. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences, 27, 79-97.
20.
Frisch, S., & Wright, R. ( 2002). The phonetics of phonological speech errors: An acoustic analysis of slips of the tongue. Journal of Phonetics , 30, 139-162.
21.
Fromkin, V.A. ( 1973). The non-anomalous nature of anomalous utterances . In V. A. Fromkin (Ed.), Speech errors as linguistic evidence (pp. 215-242). The Hague: Mouton.
22.
Fromkin, V. A. (Ed.). (1980). Errors in linguistic performance. New York: Academic Press.
23.
Garrett, M.F. ( 1975). The analysis of sentence production. In G. Gower (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (pp. 133-177). New York: Academic Press.
24.
Goldrick, M. ( 2004). Phonological features and phonotactic constraints in speech production. Journal of Memory and Language, 51, 586-603.
25.
Goldrick, M., & Daland, R. ( 2009). Linking speech errors and phonological grammars: Insights from Harmonic Grammar networks. Phonology, 26, 147-185.
26.
Goldrick, M., & Larson, M. ( 2008). Phonotactic probability influences speech production . Cognition, 107, 1155-1164.
27.
Goldrick, M., & Rapp, B. ( 2007). Lexical and post-lexical phonological representations in spoken production. Cognition, 102, 219-260.
28.
Goldsmith, J. ( 1976). Autosegmental phonology. PhD Dissertation, The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
29.
Goldsmith, J. ( 1979). Autosegmental phonology. New York : Garland Press.
30.
Goldsmith, J. ( 1989). Licensing, inalterability, and harmonic rule application . In Papers from the 25th Annual Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society, vol. I (pp. 145-156). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
31.
Hayes, B., & Steriade, D. ( 2004). Introduction: The phonetic bases of phonological markedness . In B. Hayes, R. Kirchner, & D. Steriade (Eds.), Phonetically-based phonology (pp. 1-33). Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
32.
Hsu, H.-L. ( 2004). A preliminary study on perception of [in] and [iŋ] of Mandarin by native speakers of Taiwanese, Hakka, and Mandarin in Taiwan . Manuscript.
33.
Huang, H.-C.J. ( 1995). Place assimilation in Mandarin Chinese. Paper presented at NACCL-7/IACL-4(The Joint Meeting of the Seventh North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics and the Fourth International Conference on Chinese Linguistics), University of Wisconsin , Madison.
34.
Hume, E. ( 1996). Coronal consonant, front vowels parallels in Maltese . Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 14, 163-203.
35.
Hume, E., & Tserdanelis, G. (2002). Labial unmarkedness in Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole. Phonology, 19, 441-458.
36.
Itô, J. ( 1989). A prosodic theory of epenthesis. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 7, 217-259. Itô , J., & Mester, A. (1994). Reflections on CodaCond and alignment. In J. Merchant, J. Padgett, & R. Walker (Eds.), Phonology at Santa Cruz (pp. 27-46). Santa Cruz: Linguistics Research Center , The University of California. (Available on Rutgers Optimality Archive, ROA)
37.
Johnson, K. ( 1997). Acoustic and auditory phonetics. Malden: Blackwell.
38.
Jun, J. ( 1995). Place assimilation as the result of conflicting perceptual and articulatory constraints. Proceedings of the 14th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics (WCCFL 14) (pp. 221-237).
39.
Kager, R. ( 2001). Optimality Theory. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
40.
Kean, M. ( 1975). The theory of markedness in generative grammar . PhD Dissertation, MIT, Cambridge, MA.
41.
Kean, M. ( 1980). The theory of markedness in generative grammar . Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
42.
Kenstowicz, M. ( 1994). Phonology in generative grammar. Malden: Blackwell.
43.
Kiparsky, P. ( 1985). Some consequences of lexical phonology. Phonology Yearbook, 2, 85-138.
44.
Ladefoged, P. ( 2002). Vowels and consonants: An introduction to the sounds of languages. Malden: Blackwell .
45.
Laubstein, A.S. ( 1987). Syllable structure: The speech error evidence . Canadian Journal of Linguistics, 32(4), 339-363.
Li, W.-C. ( 1992). Four mergers in the Mandarin finals of the speech of Taipei. Master’s thesis, Oxford University.
48.
Lombardi, L. ( 1991). Laryngeal features and laryngeal neutralization . PhD Dissertation, The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
49.
Lombardi, L. ( 2002). Coronal epenthesis and markedness. Phonology , 19, 219-251.
50.
MacKay, D.G. ([ 1970] 1973). Spoonerisms: The structure of errors in the serial order of speech. In V. A. Fromkin (Ed.), Speech errors as linguistic evidence (pp. 164-194). The Hague: Mouton.
51.
Maddieson, I. ( 1984). Patterns of sounds. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
52.
McCarthy, J. ( 1986). OCP effects: Gemination and antigemination. Linguistic Inquiry, 17, 207-220. McCarthy, J. (1988). Feature geometry and dependency: A review. Phonetica , 43, 84-108.
53.
McCarthy, J., & Prince, A. ( 2004). The emergence of the unmarked. In J. McCarthy (Ed.), Optimality Theory in phonology: A reader (pp. 483-494). Oxford: Blackwell . (Available on Rutgers Optimality Archive, ROA)
54.
McCarthy, J., & Taub, A. ( 1992). Review of the special status of coronals: Internal and external evidence. Phonology, 9, 363-370.
55.
Meyer, A.S. ( 1992). Investigation of phonological encoding through speech error analyses: Achievements, limitations, and alternatives. Cognition, 42, 181-211.
56.
Myers, S. ( 2004). OCP effects in Optimality Theory. In J. J. McCarthy (Ed.), Optimality Theory in phonology: A reader (pp. 246-267). Oxford: Blackwell. (Available on Rutgers Optimality Archive, ROA)
57.
Nooteboom, S.G. ([ 1969] 1973). The tongue slips into patterns . In V. A. Fromkin (Ed.), Speech errors as linguistic evidence (pp. 144-156). The Hague: Mouton.
58.
Paradis, C., & Prunet, J.F. ( 1991). Introduction: Asymmetry and visibility in consonant articulations . In C. Paradis & J. F. Prunet (Eds.), The special status of coronals: Internal and external evidence (pp. 1-28). San Diego: Academic Press.
59.
Prince, A., & Smolensky, P. ( 1993). Optimality Theory: Constraint interaction in generative grammar. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press .
60.
Pulleyblank, D. ( 1988). Vocalic underspecification in Yoruba. Linguistic Inquiry, 19, 233-270.
61.
Rice, K. ( 1996). Default variability: The coronal-velar relationship . Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 14, 493-543.
62.
Rice, K. ( 2007). Markedness in phonology. In P. de Lacy (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of phonology (pp. 79-97). Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
63.
Roca, I., & Johnson, W. ( 1999). A course in phonology. Oxford : Blackwell.
64.
Rogers, H. ( 2000). The sounds of language: An introduction to phonetics . New York: Longman.
65.
Romani, C., & Calabrese, A. ( 1998). Syllabic constraints on the phonological errors of an aphasic patient. Brain and Language, 64, 83-121.
66.
Shattuck-Hufnagel, S. ( 1982). Three kinds of speech error evidence for the role of grammatical elements in processing. In L. Obler & L. Menn (Eds.), Exceptional language and linguistics (pp. 133-142). New York: Academic Press.
67.
Shattuck-Hufnagel, S. ( 1987). The role of word-onset consonants in speech production planning: New evidence from speech error patterns. In E. Keller & M. Gopnik (Eds.), Motor and sensory processes of language (pp. 17-51). Hillsdale, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum.
68.
Shattuck-Hufnagel, S., & Klatt, D.H. ( 1979). The limited use of distinctive features and markedness in speech production: Evidence from speech error data. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 18, 41-55.
69.
Stemberger, J.P. ( 1989). Speech errors in early child language production . Journal of Memory and Language, 28, 164-188.
70.
Stemberger, J.P. ( 1991). Apparent anti-frequency effects in language production: The addition bias and phonological underspecification. Journal of Memory and Language, 30, 161-185.
71.
Stemberger, J.P. ( 1992). Vocalic underspecification in English language production . Language, 68, 492-524. Stemberger, J.P., & Stoel-Gammon, C. ( 1991). The underspecification of coronals: Evidence from language acquisition and performance errors. In C. Paradis & J. F. Prunet (Eds.), The special status of coronals: Internal and external evidence (pp. 181-199). San Diego: Academic Press.
72.
Steriade, D. ( 1982). Greek prosodies and the nature of syllabification . PhD Dissertation, MIT, Cambridge, MA. Steriade, D. ( 1997). Phonetics in phonology: The case of laryngeal neutralization . Paper presented at the Second International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics, Seoul, Korea.
73.
Trigo, R.L. ( 1988). On the phonological derivation and behavior of nasal glides. PhD Dissertation, MIT, Cambridge, MA.
74.
Van den Broecke, M.P.R., & Goldstein, L. ( 1980). Consonant features in speech errors. In V. A. Fromkin (Ed.), Errors in linguistic performance (pp. 47-65). New York: Academic Press.
75.
Vance, T.J. ( 1987). An introduction to Japanese phonology. Albany: SUNY Press.
76.
Wan, I.-P. ( 2002a). Asymmetry in Mandarin consonant articulations: Evidence from slips of the tongue. Concentric: Studies in English Literature and Linguistics, 28(2), 1-25.
77.
Wan, I.-P. ( 2002b). Alignments of prenuclear glides in Mandarin. Taipei: Crane.
78.
Wan, I.-P., & Jaeger, J. ( 1998). Speech errors and the representation of tone in Mandarin Chinese. Phonology, 15, 417-461.
79.
Wickelgren, W.A. ( 1969). Context-sensitive coding, associative memory, and serial order in speech behavior. Psychological Review , 76, 1-15.
80.
Wickelgren, W.A. ( 1976). Phonetic code and serial order. In E. C. Carterette & M. P. Friedman (Eds.), Handbook of perception, vol. 7 (pp. 225-264). New York: Academic Press.
81.
Wilson, C. ( 2001). Consonant cluster neutralization and targeted constraints . Phonology, 18, 147-197.
82.
Yavas, M.S. ( 2006). Applied English phonology. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
83.
Yip, M. ( 1988). The obligatory contour principle and phonological rules: A loss of identity. Linguistic Inquiry, 19, 65-100.
84.
Zoll, C. ( 1996). Parsing below the segment in a constraint based framework. PhD Dissertation, The University of California , Berkeley.
85.
Zoll, C. ( 1997). Conflicting directionality. Phonology , 14, 263-286.
86.
Zoll, C. ( 2004). Positional asymmetries and licensing. In J. McCarthy (Ed.), Optimality Theory in phonology: A reader (pp. 365-378). Oxford: Blackwell . (Available on Rutgers Optimality Archive, ROA)
