자연언어 모음체계 유형 연구

The search for typology of vowel systems of natural language is a necessary anchor point for the study of phonetics and phonology. This paper analyses the vowel systems in terms of phonological typology based on UPSID451. We have considered the questions: (i) for a given number of vowels in human languages, what is the global occupation of the vowel space in terms of peripheral vs. interior vowels?, (ii) concerning peripheral vowels, how are the left and right "boundaries of vowel space occupied, specially what can be said exactly in terms of front vs. back occupation, front vs. back symmetry, and gaps and holes in the peripheral system?, (iii) concerning interior vowels , how is the "interior" of the vowel space occupied, namely what is the relation among the different interior series? We have analysed the vowel systems especially focusing on the way a system of vowels functions as a whole, and the vowels interact within a given system.