The Innovation of /h, hw/ in Kiliwa

Based on synchronic & comparative analysis & phonological simplicity, /h/ & /hw/ are postulated as glottal continuant phonemes in Kiliwa. It is necessary to postulate /h/ to account for the underlying form of the third person indefinite prefix, /h= /. These phonemes also allow a simpler...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of American linguistics 1977-07, Vol.43 (3), p.167-175
Main Author: Mixco, Mauricio J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affixes
Consonants
Glottal consonants
Phonemics
Phonetics
Phonology
Velar consonants
Verbs
Vowels
Words
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Summary:Based on synchronic & comparative analysis & phonological simplicity, /h/ & /hw/ are postulated as glottal continuant phonemes in Kiliwa. It is necessary to postulate /h/ to account for the underlying form of the third person indefinite prefix, /h= /. These phonemes also allow a simpler treatment of the phonetic aspiration of obstruents in root-initial position. Historical data show the source of these obstruents to be a cluster upon which this analysis could be most logically based. Rather than springing forth from the class of spirants, /h/ & /hw/ derive from the class of glottals patterning with /(glottal stop)/ in root-initial clusters. A fossilization process, whereby a rightmost prefix becomes part of a root, is explained via a schwa-deletion rule allowing the prefix to blend with the root & lose morphemic status. This rule operated in pre-Kiliwa to prevent subsequent rules from applying to /kw/ & /c/ as fossilized morphemes, thus creating apparent morphemic alternations. T. Lamb
ISSN:0020-7071
1545-7001
DOI:10.1086/465478