Re: Stress and vowel reduction in Lindiga

Benct Philip Jonsson wrote:
> On 2008-05-23 Herman Miller wrote:
>  > i̯-ˈa-kʉ̯-i -> [ˈjaɡɥi]
>  >
>  > According to the current phonology description
>  > (which hasn't been updated on the web page for
>  > quite a while, so the web page is inaccurate),
>  > the "k" in "iak‰i" should be voiceless. But if
>  > the "ʉ̯-" is acting as a voiced consonant,
>  > like "l" or "r", that would explain the voicing.
>
> I wouldn't expect semivowels to qualify as
> consonants for purposes of consonant voicing
> assimilation, but intervocalic voicing of stops
> seems as likely if the lang has no phonemic
> voiced stops.
Stops in general aren't voiced between vowels, e.g. nako "forest"
[ˈnakɔ], not *[ˈnaɡɔ]. The modern language has no phonemic voicing
contrast, although I'm considering the possibility that former voiced
consonants have merged with the fricatives.

Actually there's one anomalous word "ritu" (bat, or a small bat-like
flying dragon), pronounced [ˈriːðu] -- which led to the rule that stops
remain voiceless after short stressed syllables, but are voiced after
long syllables.

> Also I'd expect [j] or [H] to palatalize preceding
> velars and coronals, so [jaJ\Hi]. I always digged
> the fact that the name of the language Twi is
> pronounced [tSHi]!
That seems likely -- I'm sure that in some versions of Lindiga the /k/
was palatalized.