City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2020 The Synchronic and Diachronic Phonology of Nauruan: Towards a Definitive Classification of an Understudied Micronesian Language Kevin Hughes The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3599 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] THE SYNCHRONIC AND DIACHRONIC PHONOLOGY OF NAURUAN: TOWARDS A DEFINITIVE CLASSIFICAITON OF AN UNDERSTUDIED MICRONESIAN LANGUAGE by KEVIN HUGHES A dissertation submitted to the Graduate faculty in Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2020 © 2020 KEVIN HUGHES All Rights Reserved ii The Synchronic and Diachronic Phonology of Nauruan: Towards a Definitive Classification of an Understudied Micronesian Language by Kevin Hughes This manuscript has been read and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in Linguistics in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Date Juliette Blevins Chair of Examining Committee Date Juliette Blevins Acting Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Juliette Blevins Jason Bishop Daniel Kaufman THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT The Synchronic and Diachronic Phonology of Nauruan: Towards a Definitive Classification of an Understudied Micronesian Language by Kevin Hughes Advisor: Prof. Juliette Blevins Nauruan is a Micronesian language spoken in the Republic of Nauru, a small island nation in the central Pacific. Lack of data and difficulty in analysis has hindered progress in better understanding Nauruan for decades, particularly regarding its phonology and its classification within the Micronesian family. Because of these challenges, earlier researchers have presented their work on Nauruan as highly tentative. This dissertation establishes more confident analyses of Nauruan phonology, sound change and classification, which have been made possible through original fieldwork. Approximately one hundred hours of digital recordings have been collected as part of this research, including wordlists, phrases, narratives, and spontaneous speech and conversation. Seventeen individual Nauruan speakers contributed to this work. This diverse body of data has allowed for much needed insight into the Nauruan language and its relation to the other Micronesian languages. A revised Nauruan phoneme inventory is proposed and a range of associated phonological processes are identified and discussed. Particular attention is paid to the phonetics iv of Nauruan speech sounds, including articulatory and acoustic properties of consonants and vowels. Also included is an analysis of Nauruan stress and prosody. Nauruan is shown to have a weight-sensitive stress system, as is typical of Micronesian languages. The prevailing view on Nauruan classification has been that it is a Micronesian language that should be classified apart from all other members of the family. This classification is based on little Nauruan data and should be reevaluated. To this end, this dissertation compiles nearly 300 lexical comparisons and shows regular sound correspondences between Nauruan, Proto-Micronesian and individual Micronesian languages. Additionally, a range of Nauruan morphological paradigms are shown to have parallels across the Micronesian family. The analysis supports classifying Nauruan as a Micronesian language but has produced no compelling evidence for classifying Nauruan apart from the nuclear Micronesian group. As such, the nuclear/non-nuclear distinction within the family appears to be unnecessary. The evidence suggests that all Micronesian languages, including Nauruan, have descended from Proto- Micronesian. Possible classifications for Nauruan within the Micronesian family are discussed and evaluated. Several stages of pre-Nauruan are also reconstructed, which suggests that Nauruan has undergone a significant degree of internal sound change. This may have contributed to earlier perceptions of Nauruan as a non-nuclear Micronesian language. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the support, guidance, and knowledge of many people. I share this achievement with all those who helped me along the way. Firstly, I would like to thank my Nauruan friends for all they have contributed to this work. It has been an honor to work with each of them and I am deeply grateful for their knowledge, wisdom, kindness, and generosity. Thank you to the Language Ladies from the Language Division of the Home Affairs Department, Nauru. I am forever grateful for your friendship and for your dedication to the Nauruan language. I look forward to continuing our work together in the future. Thanks especially to Anita Koroa and Pansy Starr, whose friendship my family and I deeply value. Tubwa kõr, and I hope that Emo Eredu, Becca and I can all visit someday soon. Thanks to Tyrone Deiye, Andrew Kaierua, and Claudia Edward for your knowledge and your friendship. You made some of my most memorable experiences on Nauru possible. Thanks to Arrora Deiye and Trixi Thoma, whose patience and kindness made me feel at home and helped to make this work possible. Thank you, Arrora, for giving my daughter the name Eauwã. She is truly loved. Thanks to Lois Deduna, whose patience and understanding of the Nauruan language helped this work immensely. Thank you, Lois, for giving my daughter the name Eadu. She truly is a gift. Thanks to Joan Moses and Mavis Fritz, for your kindness, your expertise, and your knowledge of the Nauruan language. It is an honor to have worked with you, and I look forward to meeting again in the future. Thanks especially to Joan for my copy of the Bibel n Naoero, which I cherish. Thanks to Pyon Deiye and Junella Clodumar, for the time we spent together and for your patience in helping me understand Nauruan pronunciation. Thanks also to my other consultants, who wish to remain anonymous. Your contributions have been vi invaluable to this work and I am forever grateful. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Alamanda Lauti, for her assistance in planning my visits to Nauru and for making my time on Nauru so memorable and valuable. Thank you, Alamanda, for your friendship and your kindness. I look forward to seeing you again on my next visit. I express my deepest gratitude to Juliette Blevins. Her expertise was an indispensable source of guidance and inspiration throughout my time at the Graduate Center, and especially in the writing of this dissertation. I thank her for her confidence in my potential as a scholar and documentary linguist. Thanks also to my other committee members, Daniel Kaufman and Jason Bishop, whose guidance was invaluable for the completion of this work. Thanks to Douglas H. Whalen for the opportunities I enjoyed as a volunteer for the Endangered Language Fund, and for his support which helped to pave the way for this achievement. Thanks also to Kevin Roon for his assistance in creating the ultrasound images included in this dissertation. I express my sincere thanks to Lev Blumenfeld for helping me with the logistics of fieldwork on Nauru, which made my first visit to Nauru possible, and for sharing my appreciation for the Nauruan language and the desire to better understand it. I greatly appreciate the cooperative spirit of our work on Nauru, the discussions we have had on Nauruan phonology, and our shared belief that our work should benefit the Nauruan community. I look forward to many more discussions we are sure to have in the future, on Nauruan phonology and beyond. I would also like to thank Stephanie Kakadelis and Vilena Livinsky, whose support helped immensely during the most difficult times in writing this dissertation. Thank you for looking over my work, and thank you for lending an ear. Thanks to my wife Becca for her love and support during all the years I have known her, vii and especially during my time in graduate school. Her confidence in me has carried me through every step leading to this achievement. I thank her for standing by me through the many days I spent away from home and all the long hours that went into this work. Thanks also to my daughter Juniper, who is loved and cherished, and who inspires me to be the best I can be every day. viii Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 The Nauruan Language .................................................................................................... 2 1.1.1 Language Vitality and Historical Context ................................................................. 2 1.1.2 Orthography .............................................................................................................. 7 Nauruan Phonology in the Literature ............................................................................... 8 Data and Fieldwork ........................................................................................................ 11 2 The Nauruan Speech Sounds ................................................................................................ 12 Phonemes and Phonological Distribution .....................................................................