7.454, Sum: Moraic Languages

[The Linguist List]

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-7-454. Mon Mar 25 1996. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines:  127
 
Subject: 7.454, Sum: Moraic Languages
 
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Editor for this issue: dseely at emunix.emich.edu (T. Daniel Seely)
 
---------------------------------Directory-----------------------------------
1)
Date:  Mon, 25 Mar 1996 10:11:28 +0200
From:  s945025 at ipe.tsukuba.ac.jp (Kawagashira Nobuyuki)
Subject:  Summary: moraic languages
 
---------------------------------Messages------------------------------------
1)
Date:  Mon, 25 Mar 1996 10:11:28 +0200
From:  s945025 at ipe.tsukuba.ac.jp (Kawagashira Nobuyuki)
Subject:  Summary: moraic languages
 
Dear subsribers
 
     I posted a query for mora-time languages several months ago.
I am sorry to summarize it late.
I summarized the list of mora-timed languages by contributors.
 
CONTRIBUTORS
Thank you very much to the following contributors.
 
     Margaret Hall Dunn      dunn at haskins.yale.edu
     Tapani Salminen         tasalmin at cc.helsinki.fi
     Hartmut Haberland       hartmut at ruc.dk
     Steven Schaufele        fcosws at prairienet.org
     Kumiko Makihara         kumiko at u.washington.edu
     Pier Marco Bertinetto   bertinet at sns.it
 
SANSKRIT
 
Steven Schaufele wrote:
Sanskrit is a mora-counting language in the same way that Latin and
Classical Greek are.
Short vowels count as 1 mora, long vowels as 2, and any consonant in
the coda (not only nasals) counts as 1 mora.
 
  ra.t.na.m        "jewel"
  ya.jna.m         "sacrifice" (acc.)
  pr.thi.vi.i      "earth"
  sva.pa.tya.sya   "handsome"
  vi.kra.a.n.ti.m  "victorious stride"
 
The critical distinction is between 1-mora syllables and syllables of
more than one mora; all traditional Sanskrit poetic prosody depends upon
this distinction between `light' and `heavy' syllables.  Little attention
is paid to the distinction between 2-mora and 3-mora syllables.
 
LATIN
 
Moraic features are similar to Sanskrit above.
 
CLASSICAL GREEK
 
Moraic features are similar to Sanskrit above.
 
LITHUANIAN
 
  gerai      ge.ra.i            HLL        "well"
  lova       lo.o.va            HLL        "bed"
  diena      di.e.na            LLH        "afternoon"
  rytas      ri.i.ta.s          HLLL       "morning"
  ac^iu      a.a.Cu.u           HLLL       "thank you"
  labas      la.a.ba.s          LHLL       "good"
  lovys      lo.o.vi.i.s        LLLHL      "tub"
  vakaras    va.a.ka.ra.s       LHLLLLL    "evening"
 
JAPANESE
 
  SEN-EN     se.N.e.N     [see~ee~]  HLLL   one thousand yen
  SENNEN     se.N.ne.N    [see~nee~] HLLL   one thousand years
  SEIEN      se.e.e.N     [se::e~]   LHHH   cheering
  SEINEN     se.e.ne.N    [se:nee~]  LHHH   adolescent
  SEQKEN     se.Q.ke.N    [se_kee~]  LHHH   soap ([_] shows silence)
  TEQSEN     te.Q.se.N    [tes:ee~]  LHHH   iron wire
  UMA        u.ma         [u-ma]     LH     horse (ordinary)
  UMA        N.ma         [mma]      LH     horse (colloq., fast speech)
  POKEQTO    po.ke.Q.to   [poke_to]  LHLL   pocket
 
KILIVILA (KIRIWINA)
 
  ba.la                   "I will go"
  e.la                    "he/she goes"
  a.m.be.sa               "where"
  ba.ki.u.m               "I will do secretly"
  bi.ka.tu.po.i.a.i.m.si  "they will ask you"
  m.se.'u                 "smoke"
  ka.bi.ta.m              "wisdom"
  m.m.mo.ta               "this (bundle)"
  la.o.di.la              "bush, jungle"
  i.si.si.a.si            "they stay (in a place)"
  i.ka.tu.po.i.a.i.da.si  "he asks us"
  to.m.mo.ta              "people"
 
UNKNOWN FOR MORANESS
 
FINNISH
  I and M. Hall Dunn agree Finnish is mora-timed. But T. Salminen, P. M.
  Bertinetto disagree.
 
 
This list is not perfect. I will welcome any information about moraness.
Please send email to me. Sincerely.
 
KAWAGASHIRA Nobuyuki
s945025 at ipe.tsukuba.ac.jp
kawagasr at koryu3.statci.go.jp
http://koryu3.statc.go.jp/~kawagasr/
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