Title: Voiceless sonorants—phonemes or underlying clusters?*
Abstract: This paper examines the phenomenon of voiceless sonorants in Kokota (Oceanic, Solomon Islands). The phonemic status of these phones is examined in terms of the question—are they underlyingly phonemes, or the result of the synchronic surface coalescence of underlying /h/ plus sonorant clusters? The relevant data from Kokota are presented, then two alternative models are briefly described—underlying voiceless sonorant phonemes in Iaai, and the surface coalescence of CC sequences in Lenakel.1 Evidence from within Kokota is then examined in an attempt to determine which model Kokota best fits. The paper concludes that these Kokota phones represent underlying voiceless sonorant phonemes, giving the language a consonant phoneme inventory in which every voiced phoneme has a voiceless counterpart.
Publication Year: 1999
Publication Date: 1999-04-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 5
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