The Russian adaptation of [y] as L1 bimodal perception

Contributions to the loanword literature can traditionally be divided into two views: production-based (“phonological”) vs. perception-based (“perceptual”). In an article from 2006, Paradis argues that the Russian adaptation of the vowel [y] can only be explained in terms of phonological features, and that the adaptation cannot have arisen in perception because the resulting /Cju/ sequence is “perceptually unnatural”. This article aims to show that Paradis’ premises are flawed, that a feature-based explanation actually makes incorrect predictions, and that the adaptation can be explained as first-language perception in both the auditory and visual modalities. I will present a Optimality-Theoretic formalization of this process within Boersma’s model of bidirectional phonology and phonetics, in which perception is in fact phonological; I will also present evidence that suggests a crucial role for visual cues.