Phonemic analyses of Yongning Na in comparative perspective

1
Phonemic analyses of Yongning Nain comparative
perspective
Journées de Linguistique dAsie Orientale 28-29
juin 2007 Alexis Michaud
2
Plan

• Work in progress. Illustrates the method used in
  fieldwork.
• Tone key issue, but synchronically independent
  of segments. Not addressed here. (In preparation
  talk given at the Société de Linguistique de
  Paris on June 16th, 2007)

1. Brief presentation of the language 2.
Palatalisation and some of its consequences
(time allowing) 3. and 4. Two cases of
neutralisation /k?/ vs. /k?/, retroflexes vs.
coronals 5. A glimpse of the pool of phonetic
variation
3

• Sino-Tibetan Burmic subgroup
• Simple syllabic structure (C)(G)V
• Tones not described here
• For a phonemic account of Western Na
  Michailovsky, B. Michaud, A. Syllabic
  inventory of a Western Naxi dialect, and
  correspondence with Joseph F. Rock's
  transcriptions. Cahiers de linguistique - Asie
  Orientale 35(1) 3-21 (2006).

1. The Na (Naxi) language
4
Fieldwork on Western Na (top) and Eastern Na
(bottom)
5
AS (Western dialect of Na)
LD (Eastern dialect of Na)
6
Vowels, not including glides
i y ? u v? e ? o
?? a ?
AS (Western dialect of Na)
LD (Eastern dialect of Na)
i ? u v? ? ? æ
?
after /h/ nasals / i /, / u /, / v? /, /
w? /
7
First glance at correspondences

• AS (Western Na) LD (Eastern Na)
• pi pv
• pv pv
• mi mi
• mi mv
• mv mv
• ly l?
• ly li
• li l?
• l? lv, ?v, ??
• lv lv
• Preliminary work taking a closer look at
  individual correspondences, to understand the
  changes.
• Perspective dynamic synchrony (Martinet 1955,
  1975).

Comparable phonemic inventory correspondences
point to earlier contrasts, but do not provide
answers on the phonetic nature of these
oppositions.
8
2. Palatalisation

• LD palatalisation process completed, empty slots
  filled.
•  Water  in Western dialects (e.g. AS) /gi?/
  somewhat palatalised phonetically ?i?. In LD
  (an Eastern dialect) d?i?. Regular
  correspondence AS /gi/, LD /d?i/
• and the empty slot gi is now occupied
  regular correspondence AS /g?/, LD /gi/. (Ex.
   brother , /g?? z??/ vs. /gi? z??/)

Hypothesis on the historical development in LD
Initial consonant
gi
?i
d?i
gi
Vowel
g?
9
Consequences on affricates

• Alveolar-palatal affricate /u/ what is its
  history? d?u, t?u, t??u
• LD d?u? AS /gy?/ (phonetically ?y?) verb of
  existence
• LD lo? d?u? AS /l??gy?/  bracelet 

Not all correspondences are straightforward LD
mv?? t?u? AS m?? t?a?  under, down(wards) 
(AS)
(FK)
/gy/ ?y ?ju (d?ju) /d?u/
further palatalisation becomes alveolar
reinterpretation of rhyme?
palatalisation diphthongisation
Pressure of Chinese? Also ongoing in Western
Na(xi) (AS dialect) d?? m??? t??i? t??u? be?
lu? Unlikely to be /k?i? k?ju?/.
10
Further consequences on affricates?
Alveolo-palatals /i/, dentals /?/ continuity
from consonant to vowel. Both sets of syllables
become acoustically close.(Mandarin Chinese
zi, ci zhi, chi alveolo-palatals xi, ji,
qi)Notations, e.g. for Pinyin  zhi  / ??? /,
for  zi  / ts? /. IPA equivalent /????/,
/tsz?/. In Na(xi), for the voiced counterparts
/dz?/ realised as /dz?/ i.e. /dzz?/ simplest
notation /dz?/?Issue how strong is the tie
with the original rhyme? Allophone of /i/ in
Mandarin, of /?/ in Na(xi), but similar
realisation. In borrowings Na /ts?/ for Mandarin
/tsi/ ( zi ).Relates to a general phenomenon
in (phonologically) monosyllabic languages cf.
Henderson 1985, and Matisoff 1973 tightly
structured nature of the syllable in monosyllabic
languages (Matisoff 1973).
11
(data from speaker F5)
/t?i?/  set (down), put 
/njæ? ts??/  eyebrow 
formants 2800 1450 590
formants 3150 2080 410

• /t?i/ /ts?/
• spectral peak for friction about 7,000 about
  10,000
• F2 - F1 (frequency) 1670 860
• vowel /ts?/ more open and more posterior than
  /t?i/.
• Well distinguished acoustically.

12
In numerous cases distinction less obvious.

• /d?i/ and /dz?/ phonetically close

A correction by speaker F4 dont say d?i, say
dz?
/d?i?/  water 
/s?? dz??/ (speaker F5)  tree 
/dz??/  chisel 
Vowel as for /t?i?/ friction centre at 8,000
Vowel as for /t?i?/ friction centre at 8,000
/ts??? z??/  barley  speaker F4 said twice
13
(speaker F5)
/d?i?/  water 
/dz??/  chisel 
first three formants 3100 1800 360
first three formants 3100 1950 410

• F2 - F1 1540 1440
• /?/ neither more open nor more posterior.
• Acoustically tenuous distinction.

14
Conclusion on palatalisation

• Completed. Empty slots filled.
• Influence on neighbouring consonants or
  neighbouring syllables. Distinction threatened
  although both the initial and the rhyme differ.
  (Similar to issue in Vietnamese Michaud and
  Vu-Ngoc 2004, Michaud 2004.)

15
3. A marginal opposition /k/, /k?/, /k?/

• Almost complementary distribution. Phonetically,
  the syllables written as /k?/vowel also have a
  degree of aspiration k??.

Two-term opposition, except before /v?/.
Neutralisation, similar to observations on
Western Na Michaud 2006. /k?v/ corresponds to
AS /k?v/ (e.g.  year ) cognates of /k?v?/
 hole  /k?o?/ (AS), /k???/ (NL), /k????/ (FK)
16
4. Another marginal opposition dental and
retroflex initials
Opposition before /æ/, /i/ and /v/. Examples of
attested combinations

• Retroflexion not on same lexical items as in AS.
  In AS only before vowel /o/, which is not
  present in LD.

17
5. Phonetic variability(pool of variation)
Weakening of the friction of /v?/ /mv?/ tends to
be realised as m. Example /mv?? t?u? ?u?/
(brief demonstration of recordings)
/lv?/, /l?/ variation in the initial Realisation
of initial /l/ weakens to an approximant before
/?/, as opposed to its lateral realisation
before /v/. The friction of /v/ is very weak.
18
Devoicing of /?/ after unvoiced initial
fricative/ affricate /s?/ can be realised as
s. Example /nu? s?? kv?/ (2nd pers. pl.)
/hi/ realised as nasal, homorganic with
following stop /hi/ subordinating particle.
Example ?wæ? fv? hi? ??? v? ?i?  serious,
reliable  ?wæ? fv? ???? v? ?i?
19
As a conclusion
Progress of documentation and of analysis hand
in hand. Field experiments cf. forthcoming
article in Journal of the International Phonetic
Association, 3rd issue of 2007. (Western Na
data.) Providing a basis for the study of
phonetics/phonology verification of data
cross-language comparison typology. Typology
of language change panchronic phonology.