Intervocalic s-voicing, geminates and the Richness of the Base in Veneto Italian

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that the most straightforward analysis of these patterns in Veneto as a voicing contrast does not account for some striking features of the pattern and above all does not account for the correlation we find with other varieties. One approach to saving the surface-true contrast analysis would be to provide a coherent historical account for the data. This route encounters two problems: a) a historical analysis adhering to the strict principles developed within Optimality Theory runs into theoretical problems, as will be discussed in section 2 and b) it runs into empirical problems with Veneto speakers’ performance on nonsense words. In such words, speakers show a tendency to voice voiceless singelton coronal fricatives. Accordingly I will propose an analysis establishing the Veneto patterns as a case of phonological opacity according to which intervocalic s-voicing is an active constraint on the Veneto grammar but is violated in cases of cluster reduction in favour of producing a less marked output structure.