Final-obstruent devoicing

Final-obstruent devoicing is a phonological process affecting the pronunciation of obstruents at the end of a word, resulting in a voiceless sound regardless of its original voicing. This phenomenon is observed in several languages, including German, Polish, Russian, Catalan, and Turkish. It plays a significant role in the phonology of these languages, affecting their phonetic and phonemic inventories as well as their morphophonological rules.

Overview

Final-obstruent devoicing involves the devoicing of obstruents – consonants produced with an obstruction in the vocal tract that causes turbulence, such as fricatives, affricates, and stops – when they appear at the end of a word. In languages that exhibit this process, voiced obstruents (e.g., /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/) are systematically pronounced as their voiceless counterparts (e.g., /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/) in word-final position.

Cross-Linguistic Variation

While final-obstruent devoicing is a common feature across many languages, the specifics of its implementation can vary. For instance, the degree to which devoicing is applied and the contexts in which it occurs can differ. In some languages, devoicing may also affect morphological paradigms and lead to alternations in related forms of a word.

German

In German, final-obstruent devoicing is a well-established rule. For example, the word Hund (dog) is pronounced with a voiceless /t/ sound at the end, despite being spelled with a "d".

Polish

Polish exhibits a similar process, but it also includes morphophonological alternations as a result of final-obstruent devoicing. This can lead to different forms of a word when in isolation versus when followed by a suffix.

Turkish

In Turkish, final-obstruent devoicing affects not only the pronunciation but also the orthography of words, as the spelling changes to reflect the devoiced pronunciation in word-final position.

Implications for Phonology and Morphology

Final-obstruent devoicing has significant implications for the phonological and morphological systems of languages in which it occurs. It can lead to neutralization of phonemic contrasts in word-final position, affecting the distribution of phonemes and the phonotactic constraints of the language. Additionally, it can influence morphological processes, such as inflection and derivation, by creating alternations in the phonological forms of morphemes.

See Also

• Phonology
• Obstruent
• Voice (phonetics)
• Morphophonology