Status of "u" in Omaha-Ponca

[Rankin, Robert L]

Hi Ted,
 
Yes, proto-Siouan *u merged with "i" just as you say.  But THEN, afterward, "o" began being pronounced as "u".  So nowadays there are still only 4 oral vowels, i, e, a, u.  (As recently as the 1970's I was still hearing many of the modern "u" sounds still pronounced as "o".
 
Bob

________________________________

From: owner-siouan at lists.colorado.edu on behalf of Ogalala2 at aol.com
Sent: Sat 8/13/2005 12:18 PM
To: siouan at lists.colorado.edu
Subject: Status of "u" in Omaha-Ponca


    I need the Dheghan scholars to clarify the status of "u" in Omaha-Ponca.  I was surprised to hear that Om-Po "u" was lost leaving only four oral vowels in this language. This loss occurred when u>ue>i.  The oral "u" (not fronted) occurs in the works of Fletcher & 
La Flesche, Dorsey, Boaz, and all others that I am familiar with. How is this to be explained?  Is the loss of "u" a recent occurrence?  Is there another explanation?  Please clarify this issue for me.
 
Thanks, Ted Grimm