2. Phonology of data points 327
Final consonants
o, s, j, l, m, M
Vowels Front
Central Back
unrd unrd
rd
Close h
[ X], [O] t
Near-close [
H] [
T]
Close-mid
[ d]
n, [n:]
Mid
=
Open-mid D
B
Near-open Open
`, `:
Tones Category
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8
Pitch value 24 42 52 31 35
33 35 34
2.17.2. Notes
•
[t] and [ sb] are contrastive. See
minimal pairs .
•
[f] and [v] seem to be separate phonemes, though they could arguably be considered in complementary distribution with a few exceptions. Only [f] occurs before rounded vowels
four instances. [v] occurs mainly with odd numbered tones with four exceptions: two of these being in the
environment CV__V, which could cause an [f]
→ [v] change. [f] only occurs with an odd tone once—all other instances are with even tones. When
comparing the [f] items with their proto-forms, it is found that [f] corresponds mainly to mw and v, with one correspondence each to hm and b. Historical forms were not found for a
few of the items, and some of the words were a completely different lexical item. [v] corresponds to v,
Fw, w, hw, f, and xw historically. [f] and [v] are tentatively considered separate phonemes. See near
minimal pairs .
•
[s], [ r[], and [S] can be considered allophones, with the degree of dental fronting varying at
random. Most items are distinctly interdental, or have a large degree of dental fronting. [s], with no or little dental fronting, only occurs four times, and will not be considered a
separate phoneme. The phoneme is taken to be S.
•
[ b] occurs numerous times, and there is no question that it is a phoneme separate from S.
Both occur on even and odd tones, though the near minimal pairs do not show this. See minimal pairs
.
•
[ y[] only occurs twice and is considered an allophone of [p].
[ p] occurs numerous times.
•
[ p] and [S] are distinct phonemes. See
minimal pairs .
328 2.17.2. Notes
•
[ Y] and [P] each occur only one time and [Y] occurs before [B], as does [p]. There are no good
minimal pairs between [ Y][P] and [s][r[][S].
[ Y] and [P] are not considered phonemic, but there are exceptions.
•
[ ¯] is a phoneme separate from [n]. It occurs before high vowels a number of times, but before
other vowels as well. Also, [n] occurs before [i] once and [u] twice. See minimal pairs
. [
M] is also a separate phoneme, although it only occurs on three lexical items. Two of these items have proto-forms with
M—one with proto-form fM. Each of these three lexical items occur on tone 2. However, [n] also occurs on tone 2. See
minimal pairs .
•
[h] only occurs once and is considered a random variant of [x], while [x] occurs numerous times.
[ G] only occurs twice: once in the environment V__V. This too is considered a variant of [x].
•
[ fi] is phonemic and [f] occurs in the environment __iV twice. Also, the degree of palatali-
zation is generally quite strong—easily distinguishable from a [ fh] – sequence. The situation
of [ fv] is different, however.
[ fv] occurs only once and [ft] + V sequences occur four times. The degree of labialization is
not significant, so [ fv] is not considered phonemic, but a variation of [ft].
•
There are nine items with [ oi] and [oi] is considered phonemic.
[p] does not occur in the environment [pi] + V. The degree of palatalization is strong, and some of the items have a pj proto-form.
•
[kw] occurs a number of times and is considered phonemic. [ku] + V occurs twice. The degree of labialization is quite strong, and the degree of vocality of
the [u] in the two [ku] + V items is also quite clear.
•
[ pv] only occurs once and [pt] + V occurs five times.
[ pv] should be considered to have an UR of pt and is not phonemic.
•
[ wv] occurs once, and [wT] + V occurs twice. The degree of labialization on the [xw] item is
not sufficiently strong to warrant labeling it as phonemic, therefore, it is not seen as separate from [
wt] + V.
•
Each of the phones [a], [ ], and [a:] occur a large number of times and are all phonemes. See
minimal pairs .
•
[e] only occurs once and is considered a variation of [ D].
•
[ H] only occurs on five lexical items: all in the environment C__C+stop. However, [i] also
occurs in this same environment seven times. [
H] is an allophone of [i], though the change i → [H] in that environment is not consistent. See allophonic rule
.
•
[o:] occurs on nine lexical items and is distinctly longer than [o]. [
B] occurs on eight items. These two phones are both phonemic. See minimal pairs
.
•
[ T] occurs on 14 lexical items—all in the environment C__=C, except for one. However, [u]
also occurs in that environment nine times. This situation between [u] and [ T] is similar to [H]
and [i]. See rule
.
2. Phonology of data points 329
•
[ X] occurs a number of times, as does [=]. They are in complementary distribution and so are
considered allophones. See rule
.
•
The vowel [ O] occurs once: on 325 ‘matchmaker’ [ot3 r[O4]. This occurrence is unexplained,
and may be a variant of [ X]. It is not considered phonemic.
2.17.3. Minimal pairs