cross-linguistic metaphors (fwd)

[Rory M Larson]

Bryan wrote:
How distinctive is nasality on unstressed final low vowels anyway? Think 
about gthéboⁿ "ten", which only a few people pronounce that way anymore: 
it has become gthéba for many others.

I agree, at least for the modern epoch.  I believe Dorsey used shinudaN 
for 'dog', but I have been corrected by more than one modern speaker when 
I tried to pronounce it that way.  When I was working with recordings in 
Audacity, I noticed that nasality in longish, stressed syllables at least 
was actually segmented toward the end, rather than being a part of the 
whole vowel.  So the first part of a "nasal" vowel is often actually oral, 
and followed by a generic nasal sound almost as a separate mora.  When I 
realized that, I happily accepted the orthographic raised n instead of 
using the underhook.  I think the reason we lose nasality so easily on 
those unstressed final vowels is that that last nasal segment is simply 
truncated.


One thing that makes me skeptical of the clarity-metaphor's necessity is 
that many languages, including Umoⁿhoⁿ and Baxoje, have a word for "clear" 
that is not ska, but rather the other common Siouan word for white, sóⁿ 
[są] (U) / tháⁿ [θą] (B).


That's interesting.  Can you offer some examples?


In the dictionary Jimm gives Lakȟota bléza "sane", Dakhota mdéza "clear", 
Hocąk péres "clear, sane, intelligent" as cognates of brédhe. I suspect a 
connection also with grédhe "many-coloured". Interestingly, rédhe is 
"tongue". Umoⁿhoⁿ gthéze is "spotted/rippled", maybe they don't say bthéze 
because they say wazhíⁿska instead, maybe one of the speakers has heard a 
word like bthéze before?

Good idea!  I'm working with one this semester to brush up the 
Stabler-Swetland dictionary.  I'll try to remember to ask her.

Rory

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