Language games, segment imposition, and the syllable

Abstract

Language games in which the phonological forms of words are systematically altered have been well-studied from a typological perspective. The two most common types of language games entail the transposition of phonological constituents (usually syllables) and the addition of phonemes at one or more locations within the word. Here we examine the latter type, proposing a novel distinction between insertion-type games and imposition-type games (exemplified, for example, by Spanish grande, which has the language game form grafandefe). In previous studies, imposition-type games have been analyzed formally as inserting a CV-template after each vowel of the word. We propose instead that such games involve the imposition of a consonant articulation upon the vowel. Not only is this approach conceptually simpler than the templatic approach, but it also provides an unproblematic account of diphthongal behavior, a natural explanation for the high frequency of inserted labial consonants, and independent support for the concept of the demisyllable.