Pazeh language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pazeh | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Taiwan | |
| Total speakers: | 1[1] | |
| Language family: | Austronesian Formosan Pazeh |
|
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | None | |
| ISO 639-2: | map | |
| ISO 639-3: | uun | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Pazeh (Pazih) is the language of the Pazeh, a tribe of indigenous people on Taiwan (see Taiwanese aborigines). It is a Formosan language of the Austronesian languages language family. As there is only one speaker, the language is moribund.
Contents |
[edit] Phonology
| Labial | Coronal1 | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Stop | p b | t d | k g3 | (ʔ)2 | |
| Fricative | s z4 | x | h5 | ||
| Rhotic | ɾ | ||||
| Approximant | l | j | w |
- /t/ and /d/ do not actually share the same place of articulation; /d/ is alveolar or prealveolar and /t/ (as well as /n/) is interdental. Other coronal consonants tend to be prealveolar or post-dental.
- The distribution for the glottal stop is allophonic, appearing only between like vowels, before initial vowels, and after final vowels. It is also largely absent in normal speech
- /g/ is spirantized intervocalically
- /z/ is actually an alveolar/prealveolar affricate [dz] and only occurs as a syllable onset.[3]
- /h/ varies between glottal and pharyngeal realizations ([ħ]) and is sometimes difficult to distinguish from /x/
While Pazeh contrasts voiced and voiceless obstruents, this contrast is neutralized in final position for labial and velar plosives, where only /p/ and /k/ occur respectively (/d/ is also de-voiced but a contrast is maintained). /l/ and /n/ are also neutralized to the latter.[4] Voiceless plosives are unreleased in final position.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | (ɛ) | ə | (o) |
| Open | a |
Mid vowels ([ɛ] and [o]) are allophones of close vowels (/i/ and /u/ respectively).
- Both lower when adjacent to /h/.
- /u/ lowers before /ŋ/. [u] and [o] are in free variation before /ɾ/
- Reduplicated morphemes carry the phonetic vowel even when the reduplicated vowel is not in the phonological context for lowering.
- /mutapitapih/ → [mu.ta.pɛ.taˈpɛh] ('keep clapping').[6]
/a/ is somewhat advanced and raised when adjacent to /i/. Prevocally, high vowels are semivocalized. Most coronal consonants block this, although it still occurs after /s/. Semivowels also appear post-vocally.[7]
[edit] Phonotactics
The most common morpheme structure is CVCVC where C is any consonant and V is any vowel. Consonant clusters are rare and consist only of a nasal plus a homorganic obstruent or the glide element of a diphthong.[8]
intervocalic voiceless stops are voiced before a morpheme boundary (but not following one) .[9] Stress falls on the ultimate syllable.[10]
[edit] Morphology
Pazeh makes ready use of affixes, infixes, suffixes, and circumfixes, as well as reduplication.[11] Pazeh also has "focus-marking" in its verbal morphology. In addition, verbs can be either stative or dynamic.
[edit] References
- ^ ethnologue
- ^ Blust (1999:325-329)
- ^ Blust (1999:328)
- ^ Blust (1999:324)
- ^ Blust (1999:329-332)
- ^ Blust (1999:330)
- ^ Blust (1999:329)
- ^ Blust (1999:324)
- ^ Blust (1999:326)
- ^ Blust (1999:324)
- ^ Blust (1999:340)
[edit] Bibliography
- Blust, Robert (1999), "Notes on Pazeh Phonology and Morphology", Oceanic Linguistics 38(2): 321-365
[edit] Further reading
- Li, R., & Tsuchida, S. (2002). Pazih texts and songs. Taipei: Institute of Linguistics (Preparatory Office), Academia Sinica. ISBN 9576718880
 |
This Austronesian languages-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
