| 2.5.0. Interpretation Problem |
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Syllabic and Non-syllabic Vowels :
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The following are the sequences of syllabic and non-syllabic vowels found in our data:
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| 1. |
/i / |
[mia: ] |
‘daughter’ |
| 2. |
/i:/ |
[e:r mi:a:na.] |
‘to bathe’ |
| 3. |
/e/ |
[kemul] |
‘pungent’ |
| 4. |
/e:/ |
[ke:a:na.] |
‘to call’ |
| 5. |
/u/ |
[kue:r] |
‘river’ |
| 6. |
/o/ |
[hode:l] |
‘oven, fireplace’ |
| 7. |
/o:/ |
[no:] |
‘pain, disease’ |
| 8. |
/a/ |
[na] |
‘dog’ |
| 9. |
/a:/ |
[la:i.]] |
‘red ant’ |
| 10. |
/i / |
[ira:´] |
‘yoke’ |
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[i] |
‘these’ |
| 11. |
/i:/ |
[ni:a.] |
‘your’ (sg.) |
| 12. |
/e/ |
[ke] |
‘ear’ |
| 13. |
/e:/ |
[ e:a:na.] |
‘to dive’ |
| 14. |
/u/ |
[ua:l] |
‘tiger’ |
| 15. |
/o:/ |
[ko:e.] |
‘monkey’ |
| 16. |
/a/ |
[daha.] |
‘path’ |
| 17. |
/a:/ |
[ma:a.] |
‘our’ |
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[ma:] |
‘sambhar’ |
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In the sequences
given above, the first vowel is more sonorous and therefore
acts as the peak of the syllable while the second vowel is non-syllabic.
A combination of syllabic and non-syllabic vowel is called a
diphthong. In the above sequences the non-syllabic vowel is
denoted with a curve below as a diacritic. When we examine these
diphthongs we find that non-syllabic vowel has a higher tongue
position than the syllabic vowel. Since they are non-syllabic
and have in every case a higher tongue position than the syllabic
vowel. Since they are non-syllabic and have in ervery case a
higher tongue position than the contiguous vowel they are described
here as semi-vowels. The tongue position of the semi-vowel is
not only higher than that of a contiguous vowel but nearly always
more advanced or more retracted as well. The position of the
lips also vary according to the pronunciation of the preceding
vowel. Considering all these possibilities semi-vowel []
is rewritten as /y/ in the articulation of which the height
of the tongue is higher and more advanced than the contiguous
vowel and the lip in unrounded position. The semi-vowel []
is likewise rewritten as /w/ in the articulation of which the
height of the tongue is lower and more retracted than the contiguous
vowel and the lip in rounded position.
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In the preceding
paragraph, the non-syllabic vocoid []
and []
are treated as consonants /y/ and /w/ respectively on the strength
of their phonetic properties. The segments []
and []
function either as consonants or vowels according to the place
in which they occur in basic phonological and grammatical units
and according to the structural pressure exerted upon them in
these positions by structural analogies (Pike, 1942 : 129).
The characteristic types of consonant and vowel sequences in
the non-suspicious sequences of segments provide us sufficient
ground for treating []
and []
as consonants /y/ and /w/ respectively. If we look into the
syllabic structures of the words in the data, they are either
monosyllabic nor poly-syllabics. The non-suspecious pattern
of monosyllabic words have the syllable types VC or CV or CVC
etc., as in the words [ad] ‘that’, [hi.] ‘give’, [k l]
‘stone’, etc., and similarly, the polysyllabic words have the
syllabic types CVCV, CVCVC, VCCVC or CVCCV etc., as in the words
[ka:i.]
‘threshing floor’, [ka:ka:]
‘crow’, [epan]
‘useless’ and [ko:na.]
‘eye’, etc. Syllabic patterns VV or CVV, or CVVV, CVVC or VVCVC,
etc., do not occur in this language. Therefore, it is clear
that in the syllabic pattern of the langauge both []
and []
occupy the place of consonants. Thus, the non-syllabic vocoid
[]
in the word [mia:]
‘daughter’ and []
in the word [ua:l]
‘tiger’ are treated as consonants.
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