초록 열기/닫기 버튼
In many Semitic languages, the first consonant in geminates underwent diachronic changes into a sonorant, i.e. /n, r,l, m, w, y/. This paper shows that syllable contact hierarchy positively motivates such dissimilation along with No Gemination, while Rose's (2000) OCP indirectly functions to cause dissimilation and prevent epenthesis in diachronic Semitic dissimilation. Furthermore, it exhibits that two types of sonority sequencing principles, i.e., Syllable Contact Hierarchy and Sonority Dispersion Principle conspire to produce less marked sonority sequence between nucleus and coda and between the coda and onset across syllables. This conspiracy is functionally rooted in perceptual highlighting of the syllable break in speech perception by maximizing the sonority distance between syllables and it is related to the effort to make perceptually more salient syllable peaks than margins. Diachronic dissimilation in Semitic also shows that unlike assimilation but like neutralization, dissimilation involves changing marked sequence into unmarked one in terms of sonority.
