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Sound Change in Perception and Production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2026

Tore Janson
Tore Janson*
Affiliation:
Stockholm University
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Abstract

Labov 1981 argues that, in principle, sound changes may be implemented in two ways: through lexical diffusion (when the change is phonetically discrete), or by gradual sound change. It is contended here that although lexical diffusion is an important process, one must also account for discrete sound changes without such diffusion. The mode of progress of such changes is shown to involve an interplay between the production and the perception of the language user. Further, it is demonstrated that gradual sound change can be studied in perception, and that the relation between production and perception in gradual change is in some ways similar to that in discrete change. In both cases, the change in production norm is crucial.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 59 , Issue 1 , March 1983 , pp. 18 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © 1983 by Linguistic Society of America

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