Galician mid-vowel reduction

Abstract

Contemporary Galician presents a phonemic distinction between open ([-ATR]) and close ([+ATR) mid vowels: /ɛ, ɔ/ vs. /e, o/, respectively, which holds under primary stress. However, in a number of phonologically and/or morphologically defined contexts the [ATR] value of mid vowels, both stressed and unstressed, is predictable. The present study deals with the distribution of open and closed mid vowels in Galician, with special focus on the neutralization of [ATR] distinctions, a process labeled here mid-vowel reduction (MVR), whereby only the closed vowels [e, o] are allowed in unstressed position. While post-tonic mid vowels are systematically subject to MVR, the behavior of pretonic mid vowels establishes a clear split between two major Galician dialectal groups.