LL-L "Phonology" 2005.12.04 (03) [E]
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L O W L A N D S - L * 04 December 2005 * Volume 03
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From: Ingmar Roerdinkholder <ingmar.roerdinkholder at WORLDONLINE.NL>
Subject: LL-L "Phonology" 2005.12.03 (03) [E]
Reinhard, combining the knowledge and experience from both of your
professions: may this shift from t and s to k have to do anything with
ceertain dental problems amongst the old Hawaiians?
Ingmar
Ron wrote:
>Comparative Polynesian, too, reveals very interesting developments,
>especially when it comes to stop consonants in Hawaiian where /k/ has
become
>a glottal stop ([?]) and /t/ and /s/ have become [k] (!); e.g. (M=Maori,
>R=Rapa Nui [Easter Islands language], S=Samoan, Ta=Tahitian, To=Tongan --
>*=my Proto-Polynesian reconstructions),
>
>(*taw?a >) koa (M, S _toa_, R taû'a) 'warrior'
>(*matu?a>) makua (M,S matua, R matu'a, Ta=metua) 'parent'
>(*tane >) kane 'man' (M tane 'bridegroom', S,Ta tane 'man')
>(*Hawaiki >) Hawai'i [ha"va?i] (M Hawaiki) 'Hawaii'
>(*Tahiti >) Kahiki (Ta Tahiti) 'Tahiti'
>(*kāinka >) 'āina (Ta 'āi'a, R kaiga, M kāinga) '(home)land', 'island'
>(*matanki >) makani (Ta mata'i, R matagi, M matangi) 'wind'
>(*kakara >) 'a'ala 'fragrant' (M kakara 'fragrance', R kakara 'fragrant')
>(*katakata >) 'aka'aka (S 'ata'ata, M,R katakata) 'to laugh'
>
>[English > Hawaiian]:
>
>August > 'Aukake (M Ākuhata, S Aokuso, To 'Akosi)
>September > Kepakemapa (M Hepetema, S Setema, To Sepitema)
>December > Kēkēmapa (M Tīhema, S Tesema, To Tisema)
>Christmas > Kalikimaka (M Kirihimete, S Kerisimasi)
>dollar > kālā (M tāra, S tala)
----------
From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Phonology
Aloha, Inmar, makamaka*!
Thanks for your interesting question, if for no other reason than that it
gives me permission to spout off my personal hypotheses. However, I promise
to try hard to keep it as brief as I possibly can. I know that I don't need
to apologize to you and to a few others on the List, but I apologize to the
rest of our illustrious gathering for seemingly getting lost far away from
the Lowlands, out among the far-flung islands of the enormous Pacific Ocean.
I do so with a purpose (aside from the psychological benefits on a frigid
winter Sunday).
Even when visited as an extraneous playgound, I consider the Polynesian
language group (and the Malayo-Polynesian language family as a whole) an
excellent example of linguistic diversification. The Polynesian peoples'
seafaring ancestors' incredible achievement of navigating enormous distances
and making new homes within a large triangle with Aotearoa (New Zealand),
Hawaii and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) at its corners has led to the creation
of more or less isolated language variety enclaves over centuries
(varieties that are insular in the true sense of the word). Separation is
centuries old in most cases, and geographic proximity tends to coincide with
linguistic proximity. This gives us an opportunity to examine linguistic
shifts, including phonological shifts, in an almost "pristine" environment.
So far, I have not found among the Polynesian phonological shifts any unique
ones, none that have not happened in other language groups as well. For
this reason, the Polynesian example is relevant to processes in most other
language families and groups also, including the Lowlands group.
> may this shift from t and s to k have to do anything with
> ceertain dental problems amongst the old Hawaiians?
The short answer is "No."
I regard the development of any voiceless stop consonant to end up as a
glottal stop a "natural" one, one that has no genetics-specific
physiological reasons. For instance, you find the shift /t/ > [?] all over
the world, as an areal feature throughout Eastern Asia, the Americas and
several British English dialects, and the shift /k/ > [?] is even more
widely spread. To put it crassly then, I think it's a process of "laziness"
or "sloppiness" (and I'm half joking here).
It's easy to understand how /k/ (and more so /q/) can develop into a glottal
stop, because it's a relatively short way from a velar (and a uvular) stop
to a glottal stop -- hence the fact that it is a common occurrence. What
this is is a backward shift, a shift away from closure within the oral
cavity, which takes more effort than closure in the back of the mouth or in
the glottis. As far as I can tell, the farther forward in the mouth stop
closure occurs the more effort it takes. Hence, on a scale from (1) "most
likely" to (4) "least likely" we have this:
(1) /q/ > [?] (uvular to glottal)
(2) /k/ > [?] (velar to glottal)
(3) /t/ > [?] (dento-alveolar to glottal)
(4) /p/ > [?] (labio-dental to glottal)
(1) represents the shortest distance and (4) the longest distance between
places of closure.
The only remaining question in this specific context is if a given shift
must take all these steps or if it can skip any (i.e., if a shift can go
directly from /k/, /t/ or /p/ to [?] or if it must go step by step). In
Chinese, as I had demonstrated, /k/, /t/ and /p/ all became [?] and in many
dialects disappeared altogether. In Estuary English of Southeastern
England, and in many other English and Scots dialects of Britain, /t/ is
realized as a glottal stop, not so /k/. We could see that as evidence of
direct shift, perhaps a shift of "convenience": easier pronunciation and
clearer distinction between /T/ and /t/ -- a backward shift in any case.
Within the Polynesian example there remains the question as to why /s/ ended
up becoming [k] in Hawaiian. The shift /s/ > /h/ (and then often to zero)
is very common among the world's languages, for instance among the Uralic
languages (e.g., Finnish Suomi > Häämä), Indo-Aryan (e.g., Sind(h)(i) >
Sinte, Hind(i), India) and Gallo-Romance (e.g., Latin _castellum_ > French
_castel_ > *_cahstel_ > _château_, Latin _masculus_ > French _mascle_ >
_masle_ > *_mahle_ > _mâle_ > English "male", Latin _castellum_ > Castilian
_castillo_ > dialectical _cahstišo_, Latin _masculinus_ > Castilian
_masculino_ > dialectical _mahculino_). I have a hunch that in Hawaiian the
continuant /s/ shifted backward along with its stop equivalent /t/. If it
had remained a continuant, it would thus have to become [h]. This is
precisely what happened in Maori (e.g., September > Hepetema). However, in
Hawaiian, as in Tahitian, Rarotongan (Cook Island "Maori"), Tongan and
Maori, today's /h/ already represents a combination of two former phonemes:
/h/ and /f/ (e.g., *_arofa_ > _aloha_ 'love', cf. Maori, Tahitian _aroha_,
Samoan _alofa_). For some reason, Hawaiian, unlike e.g. Maori, did not
permit the shift /s/ > [h] but went to the nearest stop: [k].
Overall, you can see the general trend toward backward shifts everywhere but
among the labial range. As a result, Hawaiian and closely related Tahitian
and Rarotongan represents an "extreme" in the development.
There is the old myth, especially in Europe, that these languages are very
"melodious" due to a supposed prevalence of vowels and a supposed scarcity
of consonants. This seems to be based mostly on written prepresentations
where apostrophes, representing glottal stops, tend to be ignored. While
there are many diphthongs, Polynesian default syllable structure is still of
the CV type (e.g., Papeete's airport (*Whakaka >) Fa'a'a usually written
<Faaa> by non-Tahitians ...). The frequent occurrence of the glottal stop
can even make these languages sound "choppy" to outsiders. This is
highlighted especially in the singing. E.g.:
http://www.huapala.org/ah/Ahulili.mp3
(http://www.huapala.org/ah/Ahulili.html)
http://www.huapala.org/Ka/Ka%20Lei%20Hoohihi.mp3
(http://www.huapala.org/Ka/Ka_Lei_Hoohie.html)
http://www.huapala.org/AM/Anapau.mp3
(http://www.huapala.org/AM/Anapau.html)
A hui hou aku a mahalo!
Lainahaku**
(Reinhard/Ron)
___
Hawaiian:
* makamaka (friend, mate; cf. LS makker!)
** Lainahaku < laina (verse), haku (master, lord)
(he declares modestly ...)
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