Optimaalsusteoreetiline käsitlus eesti keele fonoloogilisest kujunemisest
Date
2011-10-03
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Abstract
Väitekirjas käsitletakse olulisemaid muutusi eesti keele fonoloogilises süsteemis: laadi- ja vältevahelduse kujunemist, diftongide kadu rõhututest silpidest, sise- ja lõpukadu jm. Neid muutusi on ka varem süstemaatiliselt uuritud, kuid piisavalt ei ole selgitatud muutustevahelisi seoseid ja ka muutuste põhjused pole selged. Erinevaid keelemuutusi aitab seostada ja muutuste aluseks olevaid universaalseid tendentse esile tuua optimaalsusteooria, mis käsitleb keele grammatikat kui universaalsete (igas keeles eksisteerivate) rikutavate kitsenduste hierarhiat. Kui kõikide keelte grammatikates on olemas kõik kitsendused ja keelte grammatikad erinevad ainult kitsenduste tähtsuse (kitsenduste hierarhia) poolest, tähendab keele muutumine kitsenduste hierarhia muutumist. Eesti keele ajalugu kinnitab, et hierarhia muutumisele eelneb juhuslik foneetiline varieerumine ja et alati pole keelt omandavatel lastel võimalik luua selle varieerumisega sobivat grammatikat. Sel juhul keelemuutus takerdub. Eesti keele ajaloos on jäänud poolikuks nt nõrkade sulghäälikute kadu, vrd eesti pime : pimeda ja soome pimeä : pimeän. Keelemuutuste vaheline seos ilmneb, kui mõni kitsendus on oluline mitme erineva muutuse kujunemisel. Eesti keele arenemisel teistest läänemeresoome keeltest erinevaks on olnud oluline roll kitsendusel, mis keelab diftongid ja pikad vokaalid rõhuta silpides. Väitekirjas esitatud keelemuutuste analüüsist on kasu ka tänapäeva keeles toimuvate protsesside mõistmisel.
The thesis discusses major changes in the phonological system of the Estonian language: the emergence of consonant gradation (e.g. jalg : jala ‘foot, Sg.nom/gen’), development of the third degree of length (compare: vilu ‘cool, Sg.nom.’, viilu ‘slice, Sg.gen.’, vii:lu ‘slice, Sg.part.’), the loss of unstressed diphthongs, apocope, syncope, etc. The history of Estonian phonology has also been systematically studied previously, however the connections between changes have not been explained to an acceptable level and the causes of changes have not become clear either. An efficient means for showing how the changes in a language are connected to each other as well as for describing universal processes is the Optimality Theory, which defines grammar as a set of universal hierarchical constraints. The constraints are violable and ranked vis-à-vis one another in a manner particular to the language in question. If the grammars of all languages differ only by the importance of constraints, then the changing of the language means the changing of the constraint hierarchy. The history of the Estonian language proves that the reranking of the hierarchy is preceded by a period of phonetic variation, and that it is not always possible for children acquiring a language to create a grammar that is suitable with the variation. In that case the change is disturbed. Estonian language has not witnessed the loss of stop consonants in words such as pimeda ’dark, Sg.gen.’ (compare: Finnish pimeän). The connections between changes in a language appear when a constraint is important for the development of several different changes. In the development of Estonian language, the constraint that prohibits diphthongs and long vowels in unstressed syllables, has been important. The analysis presented in the thesis is also beneficial for understanding the processes going in the contemporary Estonian language.
The thesis discusses major changes in the phonological system of the Estonian language: the emergence of consonant gradation (e.g. jalg : jala ‘foot, Sg.nom/gen’), development of the third degree of length (compare: vilu ‘cool, Sg.nom.’, viilu ‘slice, Sg.gen.’, vii:lu ‘slice, Sg.part.’), the loss of unstressed diphthongs, apocope, syncope, etc. The history of Estonian phonology has also been systematically studied previously, however the connections between changes have not been explained to an acceptable level and the causes of changes have not become clear either. An efficient means for showing how the changes in a language are connected to each other as well as for describing universal processes is the Optimality Theory, which defines grammar as a set of universal hierarchical constraints. The constraints are violable and ranked vis-à-vis one another in a manner particular to the language in question. If the grammars of all languages differ only by the importance of constraints, then the changing of the language means the changing of the constraint hierarchy. The history of the Estonian language proves that the reranking of the hierarchy is preceded by a period of phonetic variation, and that it is not always possible for children acquiring a language to create a grammar that is suitable with the variation. In that case the change is disturbed. Estonian language has not witnessed the loss of stop consonants in words such as pimeda ’dark, Sg.gen.’ (compare: Finnish pimeän). The connections between changes in a language appear when a constraint is important for the development of several different changes. In the development of Estonian language, the constraint that prohibits diphthongs and long vowels in unstressed syllables, has been important. The analysis presented in the thesis is also beneficial for understanding the processes going in the contemporary Estonian language.
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Keywords
eesti keel, keeleajalugu, fonoloogia, häälikulugu, kitsenduste grammatika, optimaalsusteooria (keelet.), Estonian language, language history, phonology, historical phonetics, constraint grammar, optimality theory (ling.)