An Aspect of Obstruent Voicing Assimilation Direction in Dutch

This paper focuses on the direction of obstruent voicing assimilation in Dutch. Confining examples to compounds and words comprised of a root plus an affix, we provide an alternative analysis based on constraints. Dutch voicing assimilation observed in this study follows one of two general obstruent voicing assimilation mechanisms: the asymmetry between syllable onsets and codas. These basic concepts are well described and formalized in positional faithfulness and we adopted such concepts in proposing relevant constraints within the framework of Optimality Theory. Based on position-specific faithfulness constraints and other general constraints, we provided an analytic tool for onset-driven voicing assimilation when the onset obstruent is a stop in two adjacent obstruents. On the other hand, if the onset obstruent is a voiced fricative, progressive assimilation occurs due to phonetic properties of voiced fricatives in Dutch. These complex-looking voicing assimilation patterns are accounted for by one constraint ranking.