Consonant Insertions: a Synchronic and Diachronic Account of Amfo'an
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Consonant Insertions: A synchronic and diachronic account of Amfo'an Kirsten Culhane A thesis submitted for the degree of Bachelor ofArts with Honours in Language Studies The Australian National University November 2018 This thesis represents an original piece of work, and does not contain, inpart or in full, the published work of any other individual, except where acknowl- edged. Kirsten Culhane November 2018 Abstract This thesis is a study of synchronic consonant insertions' inAmfo an, a variety of Meto (Austronesian) spoken in Western Timor. Amfo'an attests synchronic conso- nant insertion in two environments: before vowel-initial enclitics and to mark the right edge of the noun phrase. This constitutes two synchronic processes; the first is a process of epenthesis, while the second is a phonologically conditioned affixation process. Which consonant is inserted is determined by the preceding vowel: /ʤ/ occurs after /i/, /l/ after /e/ and /ɡw/ after /o/ and /u/. However, there isnoregular process of insertion after /a/ final words. This thesis provides a detailed analysis of the form, functions and distribution of consonant insertion in Amfo'an and accounts for the lack of synchronic consonant insertion after /a/-final words. Although these processes can be accounted forsyn- chronically, a diachronic account is also necessary in order to fully account for why /ʤ/, /l/ and /ɡw/ are regularly inserted in Amfo'an. This account demonstrates that although consonant insertion in Amfo'an is an unusual synchronic process, it is a result of regular sound changes. This thesis also examines the theoretical and typological implications 'of theAmfo an data, demonstrating that Amfo'an does not fit in to the categories previously used to classify consonant/zero alternations. I demonstrate that the form of consonant inser- tion in Amfo'an is inconsistent with the predictions of Optimality Theory, contending that there is a need for more cross-linguistic study of consonant/zero alternations, so that theoretical and typological models which can account for these processes may be developed. Anowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the encouragement and workof many people, who I would like to thank and and acknowledge here. Firstly, I would like to thank Laurence (Bapa) Jumetan and his family who gen- erously hosted me in Lelogama. Bapa Jumetan is an excellent informant and highly skilled orator. The analysis I give in this thesis would not be possible if not forthe many hours he spent discussing Amfo'an with me. This thesis would not have been possible if it were not for the previous workon Meto by Chuck Grimes, Heronimous Bani, and Owen Edwards. Owen in particular requires acknowledgment for his work on Meto, without which I would not have been able to do this study of Amfo'an. It also would not have been possible with- out the opportunity I was given to study Amfo'an by Unit Bahasa dan Budaya. I owe enormous thanks to Yedida (Oma) Ora who transcribed an enormous number of Amfo'an texts, and who has been an excellent friend. Beth Evans- thank you for being an excellent supervisor and for teaching me historical linguistics. You have made me a much better writer. Mark Donohue- thank you for introducing me to phonology and for sharing your enthusiasm for linguistics with me. Thank you also for your feedback on this thesis. Owen- Thank you for all the time you have spent discussing my analysis with me; my thesis is much better for it. Thank you for making the maps in thisthesis, for teaching me how to use LaTeX, and for all of your support. Thank you also for proofreading my thesis. Au 'neek ko. Beta mo minta makasi buat keluarga besar Jumetan. Dong terima beta deng bae, lindingi beta deng kas makan beta. Makasai buat samua yang tahan beta pung tanya banyak, yang tahan be pung basa Kupang yang kurang bae. Be ju mo minta makasi buat samua orang Amfo'an yang kasi ijin sang beta buat rekaman. Tuhan mem- berkati. Beta ju mo minta makasi buat samua kawan di UBB, khusus Kk Oma, yang beta pung kawan jalan. Beta ju mo minta Makasi buat Kk Ety yang urus samua, Om Nus yang antar beta pi mana-mana. Beta ingat be pung waktu di UBB deng hati senang. Mum and Dad- thank you instilling in me a love of learning. I am so thankful for all of your love and support. It has been a joy to study Amfo'an. I hope that in reading this thesis, you may also see its beauty. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Genesis 1:31 i Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Overview .................................. 1 1.2 Language Background ........................... 2 1.2.1 The Rote-Meto subgroup ..................... 4 1.2.2 Consonant insertion in Meto .................. 5 1.2.3 Consonant insertion and Amfo'an identity ........... 7 1.3 Data presentation ............................. 7 1.4 Methodology ................................ 8 1.5 Phonology ................................. 8 1.5.1 Segmental inventory ....................... 8 1.5.2 Syllable, foot and word ...................... 9 1.5.3 Metathesis ............................. 12 1.6 Thesis structure .............................. 13 2 Consonant/zero alternations 14 2.1 Three types of consonant/zero alternations ............... 15 2.1.1 Epenthesis ............................. 15 2.1.2 Synchronic Deletion ....................... 16 2.1.3 Morphologically Conditioned consonant/zero alternations .. 16 2.1.4 Summary ............................. 21 2.2 Consonant epenthesis in Phonological theory ............. 21 2.3 Case studies ................................ 22 2.3.1 Ajyíninka Apurucayali (Axininca Campa) /t/-zero alternation 23 2.3.2 Mongolian /ɡ/-zero alternation ................. 24 2.4 Typological overview ........................... 25 2.4.1 A brief typological survey .................... 26 2.4.2 Findings .............................. 29 3 Consonant Insertion(s) in Amfo'an 31 3.1 Introduction ................................ 31 3.2 Forms .................................... 31 3.3 Functions of consonant insertion ..................... 31 3.3.1 Consonant Insertion before vowel-initial enclitics ....... 31 3.3.2 Distribution of consonant insertion before enclitics ...... 33 3.3.3 Consonant Insertion and the Noun Phrase ........... 33 ii 3.4 Constructions marked by NP-final consonant insertion ........ 36 3.5 Consonant Insertion after verbs ..................... 39 3.5.1 Distribution of Final consonant insertion ............ 41 3.5.2 Synchronic productivity ..................... 42 3.6 What about/a/? .............................. 42 3.7 Classification ................................ 43 3.7.1 Are the segments underlying? .................. 43 3.7.2 Consonant Insertion before vowel-initial enclitics ....... 44 3.7.3 Final Consonant Insertion .................... 44 3.8 Summary .................................. 47 4 Synronic Account 48 4.1 Background ................................ 48 4.1.1 Autosegmental phonology .................... 49 4.1.2 Optimality theory ......................... 49 4.1.3 Combining Autosegmental Phonology and Optimality Theory 50 4.2 Consonant insertion before enclitics ................... 50 4.2.1 Proposed analysis ......................... 52 4.2.2 Word-initial [ʔ] insertion ..................... 54 4.2.3 No insertion after /a/ ....................... 54 4.2.4 Insertion of /ɡw/ after Va final clitic hosts ........... 55 4.3 Why not glide insertion? ......................... 56 4.4 Consonant insertion and metathesis before enclitics .......... 57 4.5 Final consonant insertion ......................... 63 4.5.1 Possible affixation analyses ................... 63 4.5.2 Theoretical implications ..................... 65 4.6 Summary .................................. 67 5 Diaronic Account 68 5.1 Retention? ................................. 69 5.1.1 Retained consonants in Amfo'an? ................ 69 5.2 Innovation ................................. 71 5.3 Diachronic sources of inserted segments ................ 72 5.3.1 Glide Fortition .......................... 72 5.4 Diachronic source of /l/ insertion .................... 75 5.4.1 What about /a/? .......................... 76 5.5 Development of Phrase-final consonant in Amfo'an .......... 77 5.5.1 Analogy .............................. 77 5.5.2 Development of NP-final suffixation .............. 79 5.5.3 NP final suffixation in Rote-Meto ................ 79 5.5.4 Role of speakers and identity .................. 81 5.6 Parallel processes in other languages in the Timor region ....... 82 5.6.1 Medial-final alternations in Rote-Meto ............. 82 5.6.2 Medial-final alternations in other languages of the Timor region 83 5.6.3 Alor-Pantar languages ...................... 84 iii 5.7 Summary .................................. 84 6 Conclusions and Implications 86 6.1 Conclusions ................................ 86 6.2 Implications ................................ 87 6.2.1 Phonology ............................. 87 6.2.2 Typology ............................. 88 A Cross-linguistic survey of consonant/zero alternations 90 B Selected Amfo'an texts 96 B.1 Yanti Story ................................. 96 B.2 Honey story ................................ 104 iv Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Overview This thesis is a study of synchronic consonant insertion' inAmfo an. In Amfo'an, con- sonant insertion occurs after vowel final words in two environments: before vowel initial enclitics and to mark the right edge of the noun phrase. This constitutes two synchronic processes; the first is a process of epenthesis, while the second is a phono- logically conditioned