Clause structure, phonology and grammar of the Watut vernaculars

2.5 Clause structure, phonology and grammar of the Watut vernaculars

Detailed linguistic description and analysis of the Watut vernaculars has been carried out by previous researchers. As it was not possible for us to undertake comparable research on this survey, any impressions we could give about clause structure, phonology and grammar based on our data would be less authoritative than previous work. We therefore do not analyse our data in these areas but refer the reader to other published works. According to Fischer 1963:224, the basic clause structure of the three Watut vernaculars is SVO. In this work, Fischer analyses more complex clause structures and discusses differences between the Watut varieties. Holzknecht 1989 examines clause structure in greater detail and also compares clause structures of the Watut vernaculars with those of neighbouring languages. Holzknecht provides phoneme charts for the Watut vernaculars using a combination of IPA and other symbols ibid., 53–55. Her data are presented here using all IPA symbols. Her symbol [r] represents both the trill and the lateral approximate [l], which she finds are used in free variation in all three Watut languages. 11 North Watut and Middle Watut have five vowels: [i] [u] [e] [o] and [a]. South Watut has four, lacking [o]. Consonants are presented in tables 6, 7, and 8. Holzknecht notes that “prenasalisation is phonemically significant in all the Markham languages,” and lists prenasalised stops separately, as seen in tables 6, 7, and 8 ibid., 2. Table 6. Holzknecht’s South Watut consonant phonemes 1989:54 Bilabial Labiodental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Plosive [p] [b] [ ᵐb] [t] [d] [ⁿd] [k] [g] [ ŋ g] [ ʔ] Nasal [m] [n] [ŋ] Trill [r] Flap Fricative [f] [s] Affricate [t͡s] [d͡z] [ⁿd͡z] Glide [w] [j] 11 Our own finding through recording wordlists is that this free variation also includes [ ɾ]. Table 7. Holzknecht’s Middle Watut consonant phonemes 1989:54 Bilabial Labiodental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Plosive [p][ ᵐp][b][ᵐb] [t] [ⁿt] [d] [ⁿd] [k] [ŋk] [g] [ ŋ g] Nasal [m] [n] [ŋ] Trill [r] Flap Fricative [f] [s] Affricate [t͡s][ⁿt͡s][d͡z][ⁿd͡z] Glide [w] [j] Table 8. Holzknecht’s North Watut consonant phonemes 1989:55 Bilabial Labiodental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Plosive [p] [ ᵐp][b] [t] [ⁿt] [d] [k] [ ŋ k] [g] [ ʔ] Nasal [m] [n] [ŋ] Trill [r] Flap Fricative [s] [h] Affricate [t͡s] [ⁿt͡s] [d͡z] Glide [w] [j] This is a rough sketch of the phonology. Holzknecht gives more detail in her work, such as a discussion of free variation noticed during her study. 3 Purpose and goals The primary purpose of this survey is to recommend whether a vernacular language development program would be indicated for the Watut area. If a program is indicated, then the secondary purpose is to suggest which ethnolinguistic communities would be involved in the program and whether they might work together. In regard to the primary purpose, two major factors guide our recommendation. First, vitality of one or more Watut vernaculars has to be high to indicate that the community would benefit long-term from vernacular scripture. Second, success of a program requires community support, so the community must be interested in developing their vernacular. These considerations lead us to the first two of our goals: 1. Determine whether the Watut vernaculars have high vitality. 2. Determine whether the Watut communities have interest in vernacular language development. For Watut communities that are found to have strong vernacular vitality and interest in vernacular development, we recommend that a project be initiated. Our secondary purpose is to specify which ethnolinguistic groups could be involved, and whether or not they could work together. Because some village communities may share a common ethnolinguistic identity, our third goal is: 3. Determine how many ethnolinguistic groups could be involved in the program and assess their willingness to work together. This enables us to specify whether one joint program could meet all the language development needs in the area, or whether groups need to work separately. 4 Methodology Methodology will be discussed in terms of the three goals listed in the previous section. For each goal, research questions and corresponding indicators will be identified. We will mention the tools used to evaluate the indicators, followed by further discussion of tools in sections 4.4 and 4.5. Names of fieldworkers and a discussion of villages visited are also presented in section 4.4.

4.1 Goal 1: Determine whether the Watut vernaculars have strong vitality