A typological shift in the phonological history of German from the perspective of licensing scales

Abstract

The paper argues that the typological shift of German from a syllable language to a word language (Szczepaniak 2007) can be accounted for through reference to a change at the level of the nuclei and their licensing abilities (Cyran 2003, 2010). Old High German used full nuclei in all positions of the word. In the late Old High German period, unstressed vowel reduction took place and entailed a domino effect of further changes. Reduced vowels were granted more licensing potential, and empty nuclei were strengthened too. This parametric shift is assumed to lie at the heart of the whole typological shift. There is no need to state that Old High German “profiled” the syllable, while Modern High German “profiles” the word, since most of the associated phenomena can be explained with more basic mechanisms.