OOWEKYALA SEGMENTAL PHONOLOGY by DARIN MATHEW HOWE B.A. (Hons.), University of Ottawa, 1994 M.A., University of Ottawa, 1995 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Linguistics) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard Supervisory Committee: Patricia A. Shaw (Linguistics, UBC) Douglas Pulleyblank (Linguistics, UBC) Emmon Bach (Linguistics, UMass, Amherst) Examination Committee Chair: Edwin G. Pulleyblank (Asian Studies, UBC) University Examiners: Ross King (Asian Studies, UBC) Henry Davis (Linguistics, UBC) External Examiner: Stuart Davis (Linguistics, Indiana U), not physically present THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA December 2000 © Darin Mathew Howe, 2000 i ii Abstract This dissertation treats the sound pattern of Oowekyala, a nearly extinct Wakashan language of British Columbia. Proposed analyses are set in Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993). Following an introduction to the language (its speakers, their location, adjacent languages, etc.) and to the adopted theory, the discussion focuses on three dimensions of Oowekyala phonology: intrasegmental, intersegmental, and correspondence-related. The segment-internal (paradigmatic) phonology results from the interaction between lexical faithfulness and context-free markedness constraints. This interaction is discussed with respect to the various features that cross-classify the segment inventory of Oowekyala. For instance, it is argued that laryngeals are [+sonorant], that affricates are [-continuant], that [+voice] and [+constricted glottis] occur as floating elements and that these floaters may cause lenition (insertion of [+sonorant]), and that gutturals (uvulars and laryngeals) are [-ATR]. Intersegmental (syntagmatic) patterns result from the interaction between lexical faithfulness and context-sensitive markedness constraints. Patterns discussed include: rounding of obstruents, degemination, spirantisation/deocclusivisation, continuancy dissimilation, voicing neutralisation, allophonic vowel lowering and resonant debuccalisation. Exceptional phonological patterns that cannot be explained through the interaction between input-output faithfulness constraints and markedness constraints are addressed last. It is proposed that these exceptional patterns reflect various correspondence relations (cf. McCarthy & Prince 1995, 1999 on Correspondence Theory): base-reduplicant correspondence, output-to-output correspondence, and candidate-to-candidate correspondence. iii iv Table of contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................. iii Table of contents ......................................................................................................................v Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................vii Key to sources cited ...............................................................................................................viii 1. Introduction...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Language background............................................................................................... 1 1.1.1. Speakers and location........................................................................................ 1 1.1.2. Adjacent languages ........................................................................................... 3 1.1.3. Previous documentation .................................................................................... 7 1.1.4. On “degenerate” syllables .................................................................................. 9 1.2. Theoretical background........................................................................................... 18 1.2.1. Optimality Theory............................................................................................ 18 1.2.2. Correspondence Theory................................................................................... 19 2. Intrasegmental phonology .............................................................................................. 21 2.1. Introduction: the segment inventory of Oowekyala .................................................. 21 2.2. Stricture features..................................................................................................... 22 2.2.1. Major class features......................................................................................... 22 2.2.2. Continuancy .................................................................................................... 25 2.3. Laryngeal features................................................................................................... 30 2.3.1. Laryngeal features in stops and affricates ........................................................ 30 2.3.2. Laryngeal features and fricatives...................................................................... 41 2.3.3. Laryngeal contrasts in sonorants ..................................................................... 50 2.3.4. Laryngeal contrasts in vowels .......................................................................... 53 2.4. Articulatory features................................................................................................ 56 2.4.1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 56 2.4.2. Lips ................................................................................................................. 56 2.4.3. Tongue Blade................................................................................................... 60 2.4.4. Tongue Body ................................................................................................... 64 2.4.5. Soft Palate ....................................................................................................... 70 2.4.6. Tongue Root.................................................................................................... 71 2.5. Intrasegmental phonology: conclusion .................................................................... 77 3. Intersegmental phonology .............................................................................................. 80 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 80 3.2. Rounding in consonants.......................................................................................... 80 3.2.1. Neutralisation after /u/.................................................................................... 81 3.2.2. Rounding assimilation between obstruents ...................................................... 89 3.3. Degemination ......................................................................................................... 95 3.3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 95 3.3.2. OT analysis...................................................................................................... 99 v 3.3.3. Rounding stability in degemination................................................................ 100 3.4. Spirantisation/deocclusivisation ............................................................................ 104 3.4.1. Introduction .................................................................................................. 104 3.4.2. OT analysis.................................................................................................... 108 3.4.3. Special cases of spirantisation ....................................................................... 111 3.4.4. Exceptions to spirantisation/deocclusivisation ............................................... 117 3.5. Coronal fricative dissimilation ............................................................................... 119 3.5.1. Description.................................................................................................... 119 3.5.2. OT analysis.................................................................................................... 124 3.5.3. Interaction with spirantisation........................................................................ 125 3.6. Voicing neutralisation ........................................................................................... 129 3.6.1. Description.................................................................................................... 129 3.6.2. Two OT analyses of voicing neutralisation...................................................... 135 3.6.3. Voicing in loan word phonology..................................................................... 138 3.6.4. Evidence for [-voice]...................................................................................... 145 3.7. Allophonic variation .............................................................................................. 153 3.7.1. Vowel lowering .............................................................................................. 153 3.7.2. Derived laryngeals ......................................................................................... 154 4. Segmental correspondence ..........................................................................................