[Lexicog] power of nasal consonant

['Jim Roberts' jim_roberts@sil.org [lexicographylist]]

Yes, I'm sure that the phenomenon is not as rare as you might think. I have examples from Mawa [mcw], a Chadic language of Chad, wherein a stop (plosive), voiced or voiceless, becomes a nasal when in contact with a nasal:


 


/ɟoop-no/ 'cover-me' -> [ɟoomno]


/at-no/ 'stomach-my' -> [anno]



/pooc-ne/ 'take.care.of-us' -> [pooɲne]


/kog-no/ 'scratch-me' -> [koŋno]


/kuɟ-ne/ 'extinguish-us' -> [kuɲne]


 


cf. /bəra-no/ 'throat-my' -> [bərano]


 


However, this is perceived by native speakers as a 'superficial' effect (they are produced by a postlexical rule from the perspective of theory), and is not reflected in the practical orthography: the speakers prefer to write these consonants as stops orthographically, not as nasals, even though that is the way they are pronounced in this context.


 


Jim Roberts


 


From: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com [mailto:lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2015 5:59 AM
To: yahoogroups
Subject: [Lexicog] power of nasal consonant


 


  


Dear All,


 


I invite your suggestions to the point at which I am curious is -- can a nasal consonant affect a oral consonant as the later becomes a nasal?










thanks


surmangol


 


--------------------------------- Hanjabam Surmangol Sharma Department of Linguistics Manipur University, Canchipur Imphal 795 003 MANIPUR






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