Folopa Phonology
by
Neil and Carol Anderson
January 1995 Updated and edited 2009
Summer Institute of Linguistics Papua New Guinea
Folopa Phonology
0. Introduction ...... 1 Phoneme description and distribution ...... 2 1.1 Consonants ...... 2 1.2 Vowels ...... 3 2. Nasalisation ...... 4 3. Stress and tone ...... 6
4. Syllable structure ...... 8 4.1 Vowel sequences ...... 8 4.2 Palatalisation and labialization ...... 12 5. Morphophonemics ...... 14 5.1 Introduction ...... 14 5.2 The Problem ...... 14 5.3 The Verb `do/say' ...... 15
5.4 Noun compounds ...... 16 5.5 Diectics and location ...... 16 5.6 Verb root initial position ...... 17 5.7 Conclusion ...... 17
Folopa Phonology1
0. Introduction The Folopa language is a Papuan language within the Teberan language family of the Trans- New Guinea phylum. It is spoken by approximately 2500 people who live from just north of the Erave river south to the Sirebi and Sireru Rivers extending down to the head water of the Aiowa River. On the west it is bounded roughly by Mt. Murray and on the east by Lake Tebera. 1. Phoneme description and distribution
The phonemes of Folopa are given in Chart 1.
Chart 1
p t k [ f~ф, p] [t, th]
b d [b, p] [d, t, , l]
s h
m n
l [ l , ]
r []
w wh y [w] [w ] [j]
1
Oral Nasal
i u į ų [i ] [ ĩ ] [ũ] e o ę ǫ [e ] [ ẽ ] [o ] é ó [ɛ] [ɔ] [ɛ ] [ɔ ] a [ ]2
1.1 Consonants In addition to the consonants indicated above, the phonetically labialised consonants [pu ku mu] also occur.
The consonants /h/ /wh ([w ])/ occur only in the word initial position. The most phonologically complex and difficult to analyze sounds in Folopa concern the contrast between stops and flaps as is shown below. A further discussion of these is handled in the final section on Morphophonemics. The voiceless consonants /p t k/ and the voiced /b d/ occur in word initial positions. The contrast between /p/ and /b/, and /d/ and / t/ is neutralised in the intervocalic position. 1)a. /derepelepó/ [deɹe] + [pelepɔ] ‘go down’
b. /derépisikè/ [dɛe] + [bisikɛ] ‘scatter’
2)a. /bukutiri/ [buku] + [dii] ‘knee’ b. /wutiki/ [wu] + [tiki] ‘worm’ The consonant /d/ also has allophones flapped [r l] which fluctuate intervocalically in a restricted environment.
3)a. /kapolu/ [kapo] + [du] ‘coin’ b. /kaporu/ [kapo] + [du] ‘coin’ As /r l/ are also phonemes in the language there is a problem distinguishing these allophones of /d/ from the /r l/ phonemes. The prediction of the /t/ allophone of /d/ presents a similar problem. All other consonants occur in word initial and intervocalic position. No consonants occur in word final position. The stops /p t k/ are unaspirated intervocalically. Word initially, /p/ fluctuates between [f] and
2 The phonetic symbol [] is correct, however the symbol [a] is used for convenience being roughly equivalent. 2
[ɸ], /t/ is aspirated [tʰ] and /k/ is unaspirated.
4)a. /pa.pa/ [ɸa. pa] ‘paternal aunt’ b. /ta.tapó/ [tʰa. tapɔ] ‘take hold’ c. /kaka.tapó/ [kaka.tapɔ] ‘writhe in pain’ The consonants /t d s n/ have a dental point of articulation. The flap /l/ has two allophones: nasalized [ɺ ] between nasal vowels and oral [ɺ] between oral 3 vowels. Acoustically, the nasal allophone is very close to [n].
5) a. /d l / [dɔ ɺ ɔ ] ‘straight’ b. /dolo/ [doɺo] ‘hole’ c. /kįlįtap / [k l tapɔ] ‘dance’ d. /bilitapó/ [bilitapɔ] ‘cook’ One other consonantal phone, the laryngeal fricative [], occurs between geminate /a/ or /ą/ as shown in (6)
6) a. /naase/ [naase] ‘hand’ b. /kaae/ [kaae] ‘similar’ c. /naao/ [naao] ‘you’ d. /hąpįsąą/ [ha p sa a ] ‘mud’ e. /kąąè/ [ka a ɛ ] ‘bend’
In Anderson (1974:9) [] was analyzed as an allophone of /h/ since the phone [h] only occurs in word initial position. The resulting phoneme still has very restricted distribution, however, as it cannot occur adjacent to any vowel other than /a/ or /ą/. In this analysis, then, it seems more appropriate to consider it a phonetically predictable, similar to the glottal stop that occurs in many languages before word initial vowels. The sequence [aa] is common in Papuan languages and is often found to occur only with the open central vowel.
1.2 Vowels All vowels can occur initially, between consonants, and finally. The phonemes /i/ and /į/ have two allophones, [i] [į] and [ɪ] [ɪ ], which fluctuate in unstressed syllables. The allophones [i] [į] always occur in stressed syllables.
The phoneme /é / ( [] ) does not occur initially except in the following example which shows contrast etween /e / ( [e] ) and / / [e ] ).
3 Initially it was transcribed as [n]. As more Folopa speakers have become literate, however, they have been able to differentiate between the two consistently. 3
7 a. / p / [ɛ pó] ‘yes’ . /ę/ [e ] ‘me’ The phoneme /e/ occurs initially, but fluctuates with [ɛ] in unstressed syllables in a similar manner to the phoneme /i/ mentioned above. Since most words with initial /e/ have a final stressed syllable the contrast between /e/ and /é/ is neutralized in the initial position.
8) a. /ero/ [ɛo] ‘buttox’ b. /eleke/ [ɛɺeke] ‘arrow’ c. /bérapó/ [bɛapɔ] ‘weak’ d. /beræ/ [bɛe ] ‘cicada’ 3. Nasalization
Oral and nasal vowels contrast in non-nasal environments, as shown is (9-11).
9) a. /tu/ [tʰu] ‘betelnut’ b. /tù/ [tʰu] ‘path’
10) a. /e/ [e] ‘tree species’ . /ę/ [e ] ‘me’
11) a. /pó/ [fɔ] ‘whistle’ . /p / [fɔ ] ‘make a fence’
Adjacent to a nasal consonant, on the other hand, only nasal vowels occur. That is, the contrast between nasal and oral vowels is neutralized in favor of oral vowels, as shown in (12).
12) a. /déma/ [`dɛma ] ‘edge’ b. /ni/ [n ] ‘tree’ c. /nano/ [na no ] ‘later’ Nasalisation acts as a prosody in that it affects a sequence of segments as shown in (13-18).
13) a. /teo/ [tʰeo] ‘not finished’ b. /doi/ [doi] ‘louse’
14) a. /wįyąǫse/ [u a o se] ‘don't fear’ b. /sį’yae/ [s a e ] ‘pull’
15) a. /fopaarapó/ [ɸopaa’apɔ] ‘angry’ . /dąąi/ [da a ] ‘will hit’
16) a. /kwąą/ [kùa a ] ‘joint’ . /kąąę/ [ka a e ] ‘ end’
17) a. /biliyae/ [biɺiae] ‘cook’ b. /kelepaa/ [keɺepaa] ‘face’
18) a. /ǫlą/ [o na ] ‘thing’ b. /kǫleǫ/ [ko ne o ] ‘good ye/hello’ 4
Thus, while sequences of oral vowels, as in (13), contrast with sequences of nasal vowels, as in (14), there are no sequences of oral mixed with nasal vowels. Similarly, both occurrences of [a] from the sequence /aa/ are either oral, as in (15), or nasal, as in (16). Finally, sequences of vowels and /l/ are either all oral, as in (17), or all nasal, as in (18). Since only nasal vowels can occur adjacent to nasal consonants, and sequences of vowels and /l/ always agree in nasality, sequences are always nasalized when adjacent to nasal consonants as shown in (19).
19) a. /mae/ [ ma e ] ‘what’ b. /hamwae/ [ha mu a e ] ‘hold carefully’ c. /aumó/ [ a u mo ] ‘at the decoration’ d. /naai/ [na `a ] ‘intend to eat’
The agreement in nasality outlined above has morphophonemic implications as seen in (20-22)
20) a. /mulapó/ [mu na ne pɔ] ‘have put’ b. /sukalepó/ [suka ne pó] ‘dead’ c. /daalalepó/ [daaɺaɺepó] ‘stood’
21) a. /mulaalopó/ [mu na a no pɔ] ‘will put’ b. /sukaalopó [suka a no pɔ] ‘will die’ c. /daayaalopó/ [daayaalopɔ] ‘will stand’
22) a. /wisirapó/ [wisiapɔ] ‘good’ b. /sukunapó/ [suku na pɔ] ‘dead’ c. /maanapó/ [ma a na pɔ] ‘contained’ In (20a-b) and (18a-b), the affixes /-alepó/ and /-aalopó/ become nasalized since the roots are nasalized. In (20c) and (21c), on the other hand, the affixes are oral since the root is oral. In (22a) the normal stative affix /-rapó/ affixed to the non-nasal root. In (19b-c) the affix becomes /-napó/ because of the nasal root.
Vowels separated by an oral obstruent (including []) can, however, differ in nasality as shown in (23).
23) a. /hąki/ [hãki] ‘type of possum’ . /ątiɹi/ [a tii] ‘ lack salt’ c. /sękae/ [sɛka e ] ‘heavy’ d. /seraa/ [sɛa a ] ‘fat’ e. /asę/ [ase ] ‘draw’ In (a-b) the vowel is nasal at the beginning, but change to oral after /k/ and /t/. In (23c) the vowels are oral at the beginning, but change to nasal after /k/. Finally, in (23d-c) the vowels are oral before the /r/ and /s/ but nasal following /r s/. 5
3. Stress and tone
Every noun contains one stress/tone syllable, usually in the word final position. Stress itself does not seem to be the most important consideration, but is more a result of emphasizing the particular word tone. The stress/tone syllable manifest either high (/), mid (-), or low (\) tone as shown in (24).
24) a. [ o ka ] ‘black bird’
. [ o ka ] ‘flying fox’
c. [ o ka ] ‘black type of soil’ In (24) it can also be noted that each item is colored black. Many sets of tone pairs are related in a similar way. In (25-27) notice that (a.) in each example carries a high tone and represents something that is found in a higher elevation in the real world.
25) a. [hɔ] ‘sugar cane’
b. [hɔ] ‘leg’
26) a. [yia] ‘mosquito’
b. [yia] ‘fish’
27) a. [hae] ‘mother’
b. [hae] ‘soil’ There are also numerous words which differ only in tone that are related semantically. It is thought that in the past words have developed from general terms to more specific words by changing the phonetic qualities of either the vowels, the consonants, or the tone patterns. Unstressed syllables either manifest a mid tone or the same tone as the stressed syllable. This produces rising and falling tone patterns in some words but the changes in pattern do not seem to indicate additional tonemes, as no contrast has been found. In other words, no word pairs have been found that have high tone on the final syllable, for example, that contrast tonally in the unstressed syllables. The different patterns are shown in (28).
28) a. [b t ] ‘type of spider’ (high tone on both syllables)
b. [haɺika] ‘leash’ (mid tone on first syllables, high on final)
c. [sii] ‘mark’ (mid tone on both syllables)
d. [haɺowae] ‘squash’ (mid tone on first syllables, low on final) 6
e. [fukɛ] ‘bird species’ (low tone on both syllables)
f. [suwɛpe] ‘type of vine’ (mid tone on first syllables, low tone on final) When a noun is affixed with any number of affixes the original tone and stress pattern remains on the noun itself. The affixation is always mid tone after a high or mid noun word final syllable, and low or mid after a noun word final low tone as shown in (29). (H=high, M=mid, L=low)
29) a. [kiɺi-kɛɺɛ] ‘ashes also’ H.H-M.M
b. [kisa-ape-tɔɔti] ‘bandicoots specifically’ M.M-M.M-M.L.L (final affix trails off to lower tone)
c. [sikiɺɛ-tamo] ‘with grass’ M.M.L-L.L
d. [naaɺe-ape-kɛɺɛ-tɔɔti] ‘boys also specifically’ M.M.-M.M.M.M.-L.L.L In (29a.) the high tone is followed by a mid tone affix. In (29b) the mid tone carries throughout and trails off slightly on the final two syllables. In (29c) the low tone is followed by a low tone. There is tendency for the tone to fall as the length of the affixation increases as shown in (29d). Verb stems have their own tone and stress pattern but these are perturbed depending on their affixation, as shown in (30-32)
30) a. [biɺi-apɔ] ‘is cooking’ H.H.-M.L
b. [biɺi-yaaɺopɔ] ‘will cook’ H.H.-H.H.M.L
c. [biɺi-yaɺepɔ] ‘cooked’ H.H.-H.M.L
31) a. [doko -tapɔ] ‘remove’ M.M.-M.L
b. [doko -yaaɺepɔ] ‘will remove’ M.M.-H.H.M.L 7
c. [doko -yaɺepɔ] ‘removed’ M.M.-H.M.L
32) a. [biɺi-tapɔ] ‘is planting’ L.L.-M.L
b. [biɺi-yaaɺopɔ] ‘will plant’ L.L.-H.H.M.L
c. [biɺi-yaɺepɔ] ‘planted’ L.L.-H.M.L
When affixed, the verb stem no longer carries the stress but it is shifted over to the affixation.
One exception to the above example is what happens when the vowel sequence [aa] occurs. In verb stems this sequence is always word final. That it would therefore be stressed falls neatly within the pattern stated above. But the stress always falls between the two vowels and they have the timing of two separate syllables (as will be discussed in section 4.). This perturbs normal verb stress tone patterns as the [aa] sequence has stronger influence. The [aa] sequence in the verb stem carries the stress instead of the verb affixation. This is shown in (33).
33) a. [meɺaa-tapɔ] ‘play’
b. [meɺaa-yaaɺopɔ] ‘will play’
c. [melaa-yaɺepɔ] ‘played’
4. Syllable structure
4.1 Vowel sequences The analysis of vowel sequences presented here follows that presented by McElhanon (1967). Examples of the phonetic syllable patterns found in sequences of two vowels are given in (31-33), examples of three vowels are given in (34-38), and examples of four vowels are given in (40-42). (Palatalisation and labialisation are dealt with in section 4.2.) 31)a. [au.mɔ] /aumó/ ‘underneath’ b. [foe] /poe/ ‘larvae’
32)a. [du.a.nɛ] /duané/ ‘accomplished efore’ b. [the.o] /teo/ ‘still in process’ c. [ke.a.ue] /keawe/ ‘possum’ 8
33)a. [io] /yo/ ‘woven ag’ b. [ua.se] /wase/ ‘ ark’ c. [uu.ti] /wuti/ ‘ am oo’
34 a. [ka .ue] /kąwę/ ‘axe’ b. [iei] /yei/ ‘personal effect’ c. [uɛi] /wéi/ ‘water’
35 a. [sĩ.iãe] /sįyąe/ ‘pull’ 36)a. [a.ia] /aya/ `uncle’ b. [o.uɛ] /owɛ/ ‘secret’ c. [ke.a.ue] /keawe/ ‘possum’
37) Falling-V
38)a. [iu.i] /yuwi/ ‘dog’ b. [uu.a] /wua/ ‘coming’
39) Falling-Falling
40 a. [hũɛi] /whéyó/ ‘ ush animal’
41 a. [ũĩ.ã sɛ] /wįyąose/ ‘do not e afraid’
42 a. [ũɛ.ũɛ.a.pɔ] /węwęrap / ‘crooked’ We will first examine the sequences of two vowels, then show how longer sequences can be predicted on the basis of restrictions on two vowel sequences as well as general syllable structure constraints.
The falling diphthongs found in Folopa are listed in Chart 2. ei ɛi ɛe ai ae aɔ ao au ɔi ɔe ɔu oi oe ou In all falling diphthongs except [oe], where the two are the same height, the first vowel is farther back than the second.3 The falling diphthongs presented in Chart 2 can be compared with vowel sequences realised as separate syllables as presented in Chart 3.
Chart 3 i.e i.ɛ i.a i.ɔ i.o i.u e.ɛ e.a e.ɔ e.o
ɔ.a o.i o.ɛ o.a o.ɔ u.i u.e u.ɛ u.a u.ɔ u.o
9
Except for the sequences [o.i u.i], sequences of vowels realised as two syllables are in complementary distribution with sequences realised as falling diphthongs. In most sequences of vowels realised as two syllables the first vowel is articulatorily higher than the second, while in [i.u e.o], where the two are the same height, the second vowel is farther back than the first.4 Ignoring, for the time being, the anomolous [o.i] and [u.i], the realisation of vowel sequences as falling diphthongs or two syllables can be characterised as follows in Syllabification. Syllabification
Given a sequence of vowels V1V2 in which:
1. V1 is articulatorily lower than V2, or
2. V1 and V2 are the same height and V1 is back,
syllabify as a falling diphthong.
Given a sequence of vowels V1V2 in which:
3. V1 is articulatorily higher than V2 or if
4. V1 and V2 are the same height and V2 is back,
syllabify as two syllables. We will return to the analysis of [o.i] and [u.i] after discussing the rising diphthongs. The rising diphthongs found in Folopa are listed in Chart 4 Chart 4 ii ie iɛ ia iɔ io iu ui ue uɛ ua uɔ uo uu
All rising diphthongs begin with a high vowel. Rising diphthongs appear to contrast with sequences of vowels realised as two syllables. For example, the sequences [i.e] and [ie] consist of the same two vowels. The two occur in complementary environments, however, rising diphthongs only occur word initially or after vowels, as shown above in (33), (36), (41), and (42), while sequences of syllabic vowels occur only after consonants, as shown in (32)5. Syllabification, given above, can be modified to incorporate rising diphthongs.
10
Syllabification
Given a sequence of vowels V1V2 in which: 1. V1 is articulatorily lower than V2 or
2. V1 and V2 are the same height and V1 is back,
syllabify as a falling diphthong.
Given a sequence of vowels V1V2 in which:
3. V1 is articulatorily higher than V2 or if
4. V1 and V2 are the same height and V2 is back.
syllabify as two syllables if the sequence follows a consonant, but syllabify as a rising diphthong if the sequence follows a vowel or is word initial. Since the on-glide in a rising diphthong occur in the position that is generally filled by a consonant, that is, word initial and intervocalic, we will represent them in the phonemic forms by /w/ and /y/. This does not indicate, however, that they are non-predictable. Thus, examples (31-42) above are repeated here with the phonemic forms also indicated. 43)a. /aomó/ [au.mɔ] ‘underneathe’ b. /poe/ [poe] ‘larvae’
44)a. /duané/ [du.a.nɛ] ‘accomplished efore’ b. /teo/ [the.o] ‘not finished’ c. /keawe/ [ke.a.ue] ‘possum’
45)a. /yo/ [io] ‘woven ag’ b. /wase/ [ua.se] ‘ ark’ c. /wuti/ [uu.ti] ‘ am oo’
46 a. /kąw į/ [kã.uɛi] ‘axe’ b. /yei/ [iei] ‘personal effect’ c. /wèì/ [uɛi] ‘water’
47 a. /sįyąe/ [sĩ.ãe] ‘pull’
48)a. /aya/ [a.ia] ‘father’ b. /owe/ [o.ue] ‘secret’ c. /keawe/ [ke.a.ue] ‘possum’
49)a. Falling-V
50)a. /yui/ [iu.i] ‘dog’ . /wua/ [uu.a] ‘coming’
51) Falling-Falling 11
52 a. /hųèyó/ [hũɛ.i] ‘ ush animal’
53)a. /wįyąose/ [ũĩ.ão.se] ‘do not e afraid’
54 a. /w w rap / [ũɛ.ũɛ.a.pɔ] ‘crooked’ Returning to the problematic sequences [o.i u.i], we note that Syllabification predicts /oi ui/ should be syllabified [oi ui]. To account for the anomolous syllabification, we note that contrasts do exist between sequences of two vowels, as in (31), and sequences of vowel followed by rising diphthong, as in (36). The sequences [o.i u.i], however, do not appear to contrast with [o.ui u.ui]. therefore, we assume that the contrast between [o.i] and [oi] is due to a phonemic contrast between /owi/ and /oi/ as indicated in (55). 55)a. /do'wi/ [do.i] ‘ ad’ b. /'doi/ [doi] ‘louse’ The only sequence of identical vowels that occurs within morphemes is [aa], which we have analysed as /aa/. In addition to these, the three lengthened vowels [i: ó: é:] occur when the affixes /-i/ ADJECTIVE, /-ó/ VOCATIVE, /-é/ QUESTION are added to morphemes ending in identical vowels. The resulting long vowels are pronounced with two moras of timing. Examples are given in (56). 56)a. /di'liki+i/ ['diliki:] `dark-ADJECTIVE' b. /kópu'só+ó/ [kɔpu'sɔ:] `(name)-VOCATIVE c. /'dé+é/ [d:] `who-QUESTION 4.2 Palatalisation and Labialisation The following phonetically labialised and palatalised consonants occur in Folopa: [pu ku mu hu si hi]. Examples are given in (57).
57)a. [pua] ‘flower’ b. [kuɛ] ‘saliva’ c. [do.kũɛ] ‘tree species’ d. [mũã.ne.pɔ] ‘was lying’ e. [huã.ão] ‘a name’ f. [wĩ ] ‘man’ g. [sia fae] ‘follow’ h. [hia.a.pe] ‘relatives’ These labialised and palatalised consonants contrast with non-labialised and non-palatalised consonants as seen in (58-62). 58)a. [fa] ‘tree species’ . [fua] ‘flower’
12
59)a. [kae] ‘kind’ . [kuae] ‘ ox canyon’
60 a. [mae] ‘what?’ . [muae] ‘ e laid!’
61 a. [ha] ‘tree species’ . [hua] ‘rain’ c. [hia] ‘hus and's parent’
62)a. [sa] ‘sago pounder’ b. [sia] ‘follow’
There is contrast between [CuV] and [Cu.V] for [h] only. There is contrast between [CiV] and [Ci.V] for [s] only. These are shown in (63-64). All other apparent contrasts are across morpheme boundaries so will not be considered as sufficient evidence for or against palatalisation or labialisation. In the following examples, the final syllables are stressed.
63)a. [hu'ã] `tree species' b. [hu.'a] `pile up'
64)a. [si'a] `follow' b. [si.'ae] `pull' There is no non-problematic contrast between sequences [CuV] and [Cu.V] for [m], [p], or [k] and no non-problematic contrast between [CiV] and [Ci.V] for all other consonants except [s]. Examples of [Cu.V] are given in (65). 65)a. [du.a.nɛ] ‘accomplished efore’ b. [bu.a.le.pɔ] ‘covered’ c. [du.e] ‘galip nut’ d. [sũ.ɛ] ‘enough?’
Examples of [Ci.V] are given in (66). 66 a. [ i.a] ‘rod’ . [mĩ. ɔ] ‘now’ c. [wi.a.la] ‘in great a undance’ Thus, the sequences in (57) will be represented as in (67). 67)a. /fua/ [fua] ‘flower’ b. /kue/ [kue] ‘saliva’ c. /dokų / [do.kũɛ] ‘tree species’ d. /mualepó/ [mu.a.ne.pɔ] ‘was laid’ e. /hiarape/ [hia.a.pe] ‘relatives’ f. /duané/ [du.a.nɛ] ‘accomplished efore’ g. /due/ [du.e] ‘galip nut’ h. /dua/ [du.a] ‘later’ 13
The following sequences of labialisation and palatalisation will be represented as in (68).
68 a. /hwa/ [hua] ‘tree species’ b. /hua/5 [hu.a] ‘pile up’ c. /siyae/ [si.ae] ‘pull’ d. /sya/ [sia] ‘follow’
5. Morphophonemics 5.1 Introduction Morphophonemic changes in Folopa occur at morpheme boundaries; in compounds derived from combining verb roots or nouns, suffixing of verbs, and with a small class of diectics or location words. The feature of the language which governs these changes is not phonetic, as would normally be expected, but is semantic. The meaning that is conveyed has to do with a contrast in intensity, strength, and foregrounding. 5.2. The problem In section 1 under the description of consonants it was noted that there are normal phonemic 4 changes that occur in predictable phonetic environments. Those changes are as follows: Initial fricative [f] becomes voiceless bilabial stop /p/ when it is moved to intervocalic position. Initial, voiced bilabial stop /b/ becomes voiceless bilabial stop /p/ when it is moved to intervocalic position.
69) a. /derepelepó/ [dee] + [felep] ‘go down’
b. /derépisikè/ [dee] + [bisik] ‘scatter’ Thus the contrast between fricative /p/ and /b/ is neutralized intervocalically.
In a similar manner, initial voiceless dental aspirated stop /t/ becomes voiceless dental stop /t/ at the intervocalic position. Initial, voiced stop /d/ becomes voiceless dental stop /t/ when it is moved to the intervocalic position.
70) a. /bukutiri/ [buku] + [dii] ‘knee cap’ b. /wutiki/ [wu] + [tiki] ‘worm’ Thus the contrast between aspirated /t/ and /d/ is neutralized intervocalically.
4 The only other significant allophones occur as a result of nasalization. The phoneme /r/ becomes /n/, and the phoneme /l/ becomes a nasalized /l/ which sounds very much like /n/, in the environment of nasal consonants or vowels. 14
In other words, the voiced, initial stops use the same pattern when they become intervocalic.
Complicating this last statement is the fact that initial /d/ can also become the flap /r/ or the flap /l/ when it moves to the intervocalic position in exactly the same phonetic environments. 71) a. /kapolu/ [kapo] + [du] 'coin` b. /kaporu/ [kapo] + [du] 'coin' We are left to ask the question, why does the phoneme /d/ become a different phoneme (/r/, /l/, or /t/ ) in the same manner that it would if they were allophones of /d/, particularly when there is no contrasting phonetic environment?
5.3 The Verb `do/say' The /d t r l/ phenomenon is best illustrated in the verb for 'do/say'. This verb is the most unique in the Folopa language in that it (1) combines with other verb roots to make a verb stem, and (2) it has a number of different forms with the underlying form being obscure. It could be said that this verb root is THE verb root of the language. The forms are shown in the following examples: ------
Present PresentAffixed Process Stative Non-Pres. Hist. Past Negative (Transistive) (Intransitive) (Tr. & Intr.) d-apó -t-apó -l-apó -r-apó y-alepó -pó ᴓ-ini-pó ------All of the forms for `do' have a dental place of articulation with the exception of the nasal vowel /i/. All morphophonemic change in Folopa occurs with this set of dental sounds.
From the forms shown above we conclude that stops somehow have a connection to present action. When the present is not in focus and the action is not transitive the flaps are used. When the time frame is other than present, transitivity does not influence the selection of the semi-vowel /y/.
When the time is even further in the past, the form is almost lost. In fact, the vowel form [i] is sometimes elipted. The negative form, or the way to express a lack of action, shows an absence of a form. Present, transitive action receives the most powerful sound (in the mind of a Folopa speaker) of the dental phoneme set, /d/. The flaps represent a less strong sound and the semi-vowel and vowel the 15 least intense sounds. From this we theorize that there is a correlation between intensity of sound quality and intensity of meaning, with the present representing the most intense moment to the Folopa perception of reality, and the historical past the least. The lack of action shows a corresponding lack of sound. 5.4 Noun Compounds Examples of noun compounds using /d r l t/ do not abound, but in the ones that have been found there is definitely a strong preference for either the /t/ or the /r l/ on the part of native speakers. In example (70) the reason for the preference for /d/ changing to a /t/ in /bukutiri/ was that this refers to a bone /diri/, and bone is very hard. ‘Coin’ /kapolu/ is the compound for ‘stone’ plus ‘seed’. The stone /kapo/ is hard. A seed /du/, while being harder than many substances is not thought to be harder than bone. So the preference for /l/ or /r/ reflects the concept of ‘not quite so hard’. Also, it is thought that the allophone /r / was most likely the original intervocalic representation of /d/. In the following example, the /r/ is chosen to represent /d/. Since there is nothing very intense or important about the concept of plural originally derived from ‘communal house’ /r/ is used.
72 /so/ ‘woman’ /whi / ‘man’ + /dape/ PLURAL = /so whi rape/ ‘people’ In example (73) the compound is derived from the ver for ‘do’, a transitive action that implies `doing over and over'. The vowels are supplied to harmonize with the word /be/. 73 [de] ‘do’ + [de] ‘do’ + / e/ ‘house’ = /detepe/ ‘spider’ 5.5 Diectics and location There are two sets of deictic or location words in Folopa. The first set uses only a vowel. The second set adds the consonant /t/ as in the following: [i] ‘right here’ ‘now’ [ti] ‘right here (visible)’ ‘real, genuine’ ‘right here with emphasis ’
[u] ‘over there’ ‘distant, not visi le’ [tu] ‘way over there’ ‘distant ut still visi le’ [a] ‘down’ ‘over there not far ’ [ta] (topic marker sentence level) [ao] ‘underneath’ 16
[tao] ‘on top of’
From these examples we conclude that the stop /t/ is used to add intensity, focus, and specificity to the locations. Using the set of location words with /t/ strengthens the meaning. 5.6. Verb root initial position While there is no hard and fast rule that says that intense words must begin with the letter /d/, it has been observed from the lexicon that most all verbs beginning with /d/ are very transitive and action oriented. Those beginning with /t/ are just a bit less so. There are no transitive verbs beginning with /y/ (other than the form of ‘do’). Other initial consonants do not begin many transitive verbs. One interesting example that suggests that the sound intensity theory is correct is the following: 74) a. /dopo/ `the crotch of a tree (where the branches branch out from the trunk)' b. /hopo/ `where a river branches out to become two' In these examples, the wood of a tree is stronger in substance than water. Culturally speaking two powerful words in the language are for male strength /da/ ‘penis’, and killing /dae/ ‘kill’ In another example, two words for chopping down a tree mean the same thing. 75) a. /di-tapó/ ‘fell (a tree ’ or ‘hit’ a tree
b. /tiki-tap / ‘fell a tree ’ When asked what the difference between these two words and why one begins with a /d/ and one a /t/, native speakers said that the first focuses on the hitting of the stone ax. The second focuses on the cutting of the wood in the tree. The wood is softer than the stone of the ax. (This comment was made before any of the speakers were aware that the intensity aspect of the consonants was being studied). 5.7. Conclusion Over time, Folopa has developed a system of changing the forms of existing words using the dental consonants of the language. These changes occur when words become compounded (as in nouns) or are suffixed (as in verbs). The changes are unique in that they are not responding to phonemic environment. They represent changes in meaning that correspond sound intensity (in the Folopa perception) with focus, importance, strength, hardness and transitivity.
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