Spelling and the Phonology of Tense Vowels

Abstract

Vowel alternations in English governed by Laxing and Vowel Shift rules (e.g., divine, divinity; serene, serenity) are relatively transparent. The alternating vowels are nonreduced, and the alternations are regular. The vowel alternations governed by Tensing, on the other hand, are opaque. The reduced vowel (schwa), for example, alternates with [iy] , [ey], [uw], and [ow] in tensing enivronments (e.g., manager, managerial; Canada, Canadian; Malthus, Malthusian; Newton, Newtonian). Where the vowels in such pairs are both nonreduced, several lax vowels may alternate with a single tense vowel (e.g., [æ], [a], [ ], [e] alternate with [ey] in the tensing environment: Iran, Iranian; Panama, Panamanian; Shaw, Shavian; actuary, actuarial). Furthermore, the tense diphthongs [ay], [æw], [ y] never occur in the tensing environment. These facts plus a strict correlation between the spelling and the pronunciation of the tensed vowels in the output of the Tensing rule suggest a basis for a somewhat abstract analysis of the underlying representations of the vowels to which the rule applies. The alternations governed by Laxing, on the other hand, can be represented concretely underlyingly.