Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics Thesis Approval Sheet This thesis, entitled Revising the Ipulo Orthography: Linguistie analysis with an emphasis on tone marking written by Anna Grace Tuinstra and submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Arts with major in Applied Linguistics has been read and approved by the undersigned members of the faculty of the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics. malealCh0 Michael Cahill(Supervising Professor) Stephen Parker Paul Kroege Jan. 26, 20l8 date signed Revising the Ipulo Orthography: Linguistic analysis with an emphasis on tone marking by Anna Grace Tuinstra Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with major in Applied Linguistics Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics December 2017 © 2017 Anna Grace Tuinstra All rights reserved CERTIFICATE I acknowledge that use of copyrighted material in my thesis may place me under an obligation to the copyright owner, especially when use of such material exceeds usual fair use provisions. I hereby certify that I have obtained the written permission of the copyright owner for any and all such occurrences and that no portion of my thesis has been copyrighted previously unless properly referenced. I hereby agree to identify and hold harmless the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics from any and all claims that may be asserted or that may arise from any copyright violation. Signature Novembe 5,2017 Date THESIS DUPLICATION RELEASE Thereby authorize the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics Library to duplicate this thesis when needed for research and/or scholarship. Agreed:nm Yunat (student signature) Refused: (student signature) ABSTRACT Revising the Ipulo Orthography: Linguistic analysis with an emphasis on tone marking Anna Grace Tuinstra Master of Arts With major in Applied Linguistics Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, December 2017 Supervising Professor: Dr. Michael Cahill This thesis describes tone orthography testing and subsequent revisions for Ipulo (ISO code [ass]), a Niger Congo language of southwestern Cameroon. Chapter Two addresses non-linguistic influences: psychological, sociological, and the practical issues of materials and personnel. Chapters Three through Five describe the relevant linguistic analysis related to phonology and morphology. The revised Ipulo orthography has 22 consonants, six vowels, and six marked tonal contrasts. Underlyingly, there are 27 consonantal contrasts, six vowel contrasts, and two tones; vowel length is contrastive. Testing results indicate that marking phonetic tonal contrasts is more effective than marking underlying tones; teaching tone marking in meaningful ways significantly influences this efficacy. Testing and revision procedures, results, and intended consequences are described in Chapters Six through Eight. Appendices include phonemic contrasts, test materials, a comparison of the old and new tone orthographies, lists of language data and orthography vocabulary, and texts of varying genres. DEDICATION For my dear Lucien, of whom I was unaware when I began this endeavor and for whose love I remain deeply grateful. Thank you for your patient and sincere commitment to our companionship. And for the Wopulo people, whose willingness to let trust grow between us enabled this work. May literacy among you flourish. viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe a debt of gratitude to many…. …to patient professors for repeated explanations of concepts I am slow to grasp. …especially to my thesis committee members: Mike Cahill, Paul Kroeger, and Steve Parker, for the encouragement to finish a degree that I never intended to start. Special thanks to Mike Cahill for thorough instruction throughout the process. …to Helen Cutler, for a faithful friendship that supported me in prayer and cups of tea during seasons of study. Her example of faithfulness to Christ spurred me on, toward living such an undivided life. Her friendship softened the sting of loneliness and the humility of facing a task much too high for me. …to the myriad of supporters whose prayers and financial gifts sent me on my way to GIAL and then to Cameroon in 2008, and kept me through the various storms and seasons. …to my teammates in Cameroon, Bruce Cox and Kathy Cummins, whose camaraderie enabled my perseverance. My memory would fail me in recounting all the ways they have come to my rescue since our collaboration began in 2010, and how their insight into the work among the Tivoid languages has improved the quality of my contributions. …to the Wopulo community, who allowed me to live among them and learn their language. …especially to those who went beyond tolerance to help patiently and sacrificially with the work of language development. …above all to the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth, an ever-present help in trouble, our shield and portion, faithful forever and perfect in all His ways. November 14, 2017 ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. ix LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xvi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................... xvii Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research aims and organization ................................................................... 1 1.2 Ipulo language classification ........................................................................ 2 1.3 The Wopulo people ....................................................................................... 3 1.4 Orthography development theory ................................................................. 6 1.5 Research participants .................................................................................... 9 1.6 Thesis organization ....................................................................................... 9 1.7 Summary of results ..................................................................................... 10 Chapter Two: Non-linguistic influences on Ipulo orthography development .................. 15 2.1 Psycholinguistic factors .............................................................................. 15 2.1.1 Initial understanding ............................................................................ 16 2.1.2 New insights......................................................................................... 16 2.2 Sociolinguistic factors ................................................................................. 17 2.2.1 Initial understanding ............................................................................ 18 2.2.2 New insights......................................................................................... 19 2.3 Implementation factors ............................................................................... 20 2.3.1 Initial understanding ............................................................................ 20 2.3.2 New insights......................................................................................... 21 Chapter Three: Phonology of segments and syllables ...................................................... 23 3.1 Consonants .................................................................................................. 23 3.1.1 Phonology of consonants ..................................................................... 23 3.1.2 Initial consonant orthography decisions .............................................. 30 3.2 Vowels ........................................................................................................ 33 3.2.1 Phonology of vowels............................................................................ 33 3.2.1 Initial vowel orthography decisions ..................................................... 36 x 3.3 Syllables ...................................................................................................... 36 3.3.1 Syllable structure and profiles ............................................................. 36 3.3.2 Initial syllable orthography decisions .................................................. 39 Chapter Four: The phonology of tones ............................................................................. 41 4.1 Representation of tones ............................................................................... 41 4.2 Tone processes ............................................................................................ 48 4.2.1 Tone spread .......................................................................................... 49 4.2.2 Downstep ............................................................................................. 59 4.2.3 Upstep .................................................................................................. 65 4.2.4 Contour tones ....................................................................................... 69 4.3 Tone orthography .......................................................................................