A Phonetic Faithfulness Analysis of Sonorant Devoicing in Icelandic

This study analyzes sonorant devoicing in Icelandic, conditioned by underlyingly aspirated stops (e.g., /vant^ha/ → [van̥ta]). This process exemplifies overapplication opacity: the sonorant surfaces as voiceless even though the triggering aspiration is neutralized. I propose that this opaque interaction arises from the preservation of subphonemic coarticulatory detail. The analysis is developed within the Phonetic Faithfulness model, wherein phonology operates on a phonetically detailed source representation that grammatically encodes anticipatory devoicing. This account derives Icelandic overapplication opacity by appealing to the grammar’s sensitivity to finer-grained phonetic detail, supporting the view that complex phonological patterns can be shaped by phonetic considerations.