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Ternary vowel length in Shilluk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2019

Bert Remijsen ,
Otto Gwado Ayoker  and
Signe Jørgensen
Bert Remijsen*
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
Otto Gwado Ayoker*
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
Signe Jørgensen*
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
*
E-mail: b.remijsen@ed.ac.uk, ottoayoker@gmail.com, signe.jorgensen@ed-alumni.net.
E-mail: b.remijsen@ed.ac.uk, ottoayoker@gmail.com, signe.jorgensen@ed-alumni.net.
E-mail: b.remijsen@ed.ac.uk, ottoayoker@gmail.com, signe.jorgensen@ed-alumni.net.
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Abstract

Ternary or three-level vowel length is typologically rare, and supporting evidence is limited. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the hypothesised case of this configuration in Shilluk. We first describe the role of vowel length in Shilluk phonology and morphology, and then report on an acoustic study in which minimal sets for vowel length (short, long, overlong) are measured for vowel duration, coda duration, vowel quality and fundamental frequency. Short, long and overlong vowels differ significantly and substantially in terms of vowel duration: 96% of the items can be classified successfully for vowel length on the basis of this measurement alone. Of the other measurements, only vowel quality is significant, and this effect is considerably smaller. The mean values for vowel duration – 68, 111 and 150 ms for short, long and overlong vowels respectively – are similar to those reported for ternary vowel length in Dinka.

Type
Articles
Information
Phonology , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , February 2019 , pp. 91 - 125
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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Footnotes

We thank the people who took part in data collection: Augustino Changjwok Otin, Elisabeth Antipas Onak, Francis Boyoumo Opiti, James Olwak Laa, Josephina Romano Oywac, Maria Bocay Onak, Peter Mojwok Yor, Stephen Okwen Agwet, Teresa Akic Awanh and Yoana Nyathaji Kolang. We are also grateful to SIL South Sudan for sponsoring our research visits to South Sudan and for hospitality in Juba. We gratefully acknowledge the Leverhulme Trust, which supported this research financially through the research grant ‘A descriptive analysis of the Shilluk language’ (RPG-2015-055).

References

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