Rapa Nui: A Case for Correspondence in Reduplication

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Yifan Yang
Keyword(s):  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Vowel Length

Abstract This squib argues for the role of correspondence in reduplication by examining the vowel length alternations in Rapa Nui reduplication. The analysis shows that vowel shortening in the base after reduplication is due to the enforcement of vowel length identity through Base Reduplicant Correspondence, while the motivation of vowel shortening is problematic for theories without surface-to-surface correspondence. The findings suggest that reduplication-phonology interactions cannot be handled solely by serialism or cyclicity, and a parallel Optimality-Theoretic evaluation with BR-correspondence is supported.

scholarly journals Ternary vowel length in Shilluk

Phonology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-125
Author(s):  
Bert Remijsen ◽  
Otto Gwado Ayoker ◽  
Signe Jørgensen
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
The Other ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
Vowel Length ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Acoustic Study ◽  
The Mean

Ternary or three-level vowel length is typologically rare, and supporting evidence is limited. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the hypothesised case of this configuration in Shilluk. We first describe the role of vowel length in Shilluk phonology and morphology, and then report on an acoustic study in which minimal sets for vowel length (short, long, overlong) are measured for vowel duration, coda duration, vowel quality and fundamental frequency. Short, long and overlong vowels differ significantly and substantially in terms of vowel duration: 96% of the items can be classified successfully for vowel length on the basis of this measurement alone. Of the other measurements, only vowel quality is significant, and this effect is considerably smaller. The mean values for vowel duration – 68, 111 and 150 ms for short, long and overlong vowels respectively – are similar to those reported for ternary vowel length in Dinka.

scholarly journals Moraic preservation and equivalence in Gújjolaay Eegimaa perfective reduplication

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-56
Author(s):  
Abbie Hantgan ◽  
Serge Sagna ◽  
Stuart Davis
Keyword(s):  
Weight Bearing ◽  
Surface Representation ◽  
Vowel Length ◽  
Syllable Weight ◽  
Repair Strategy ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Vowel Lengthening ◽  
Compensatory Lengthening ◽  
Atlantic Language

AbstractThe role of syllable weight in Gújjolaay Eegimaa, an Atlantic language spoken in south-western Senegal, is evidenced by reduplicative patterns in the perfective stem, where we witness a difference in the surface representation of verb roots with underlying voiced obstruents from those with underlying voiceless obstruents. We argue that voiced plosives are weight bearing and therefore considered as moraic when in coda position in this language. We attribute the triggering of the gemination in the reduplicative perfective with roots having final voiced plosives to compensatory lengthening in order to make up for the loss of a mora as motivated by Hayes (1989). Gemination, rather than vowel lengthening, occurs because, as stated by de Chene and Anderson (1979) compensatory lengthening of vowels only occurs in a language where vowel length is contrastive. In this paper, we show evidence to support the proposition that there are no long vowels in this variety of Eegimaa, and therefore gemination (which is a contrastive feature in the language) is the repair strategy employed to compensate for the loss of a mora. Through a description of the weight-related processes observed in perfective reduplication in Eegimaa, we will detail the moraic analysis of the various patterns and discuss general phonological implications.

The role of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) statuary as territorial boundary markers

Antiquity ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (303) ◽  
pp. 169-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Britton L. Shepardson
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Rapa Nui

A new survey and spatial analysis enables the author to argue that inland examples of Easter Island’s famous stone statues were not in transport to the coast but mark out ancient territories proposed by ethnologist Katherine Routledge in 1919.

scholarly journals Cultural role of sea turtles on Rapa Nui (Easter Island): Spatial and temporal contrast in the Pacific island region

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-270
Author(s):  
Rocío Álvarez-Varas ◽  
Héctor Barrios-Garrido ◽  
Iohandy Skamiotis-Gómez ◽  
Robert Petitpas
Keyword(s):  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Easter Island ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Temporal Contrast ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Island Region ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Cultural Role

Carved komari (vulva) stones from Rapa Nui: museum objects, legacy data and contemporary local history

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-406
Author(s):  
Adrienne L. Kaeppler ◽  
Jo Anne Van Tilburg
Keyword(s):  
Local History ◽  
Museum Collection ◽  
Bishop Museum ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Multiple Data ◽  
Museum Objects ◽  
Legacy Data ◽  
New Interpretation

The authors examine selected stone objects in the J.L. Young Collection, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu. Two were named by Young “Maea Momoa” (ma‘ea momoa; lit. ‘stone for chickens’). One of the ma‘ea momoa is a “pillow stone” (ŋarua) or basaltic beach cobble incised with komari (vulva motifs). The other is a “Bar of stone” lavishly embellished with similar motifs. Six other objects are said to be “fetish stones”. A possible ‘Orongo provenance for the incised “Bar of stone” is raised and tested, and toponymic and linguistic data are offered in support of a new interpretation of the origin of the hakatoro repe ‘elongation of the clitoris’ ritual and the function of one incised “fetish stone” in that process. This research calls attention to the traditional role of women in ‘Orongo ceremonies and employs relatively obscure museum collection objects and their previously overlooked documentation, thus uniting multiple data strands to reveal new details of Rapanui ritual life.

Chilean Culture

2019 ◽  
pp. 72-106
Author(s):  
Dan Bendrups
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Music Culture ◽  
Rapa Nui ◽  
Performance Style ◽  
Musical Practices ◽  
Pan American ◽  
The Impact

This chapter provides a discussion of Chile’s interactions with Rapa Nui before, during, and after the island’s annexation, and the impact of these interactions in Rapanui music culture. It considers both the effect of Chilean cultural imports on Rapanui musical practices and the ways in which Chile has acted as a conduit to influences from a broader pan-American cultural context. The chapter explains the role of Chilean folklore in inspiring a local ensemble (or conjunto) performance style that centers on the guitar. It also describes the emergence of Tapati Rapa Nui, the island’s annual cultural festival, which was originally inspired by Chilean “spring queen” festivals.

scholarly journals OBSERVING AND PRODUCING DURATIONAL HAND GESTURES FACILITATES THE PRONUNCIATION OF NOVEL VOWEL-LENGTH CONTRASTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1015-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Li ◽  
Florence Baills ◽  
Pilar Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Vowel Length ◽  
Hand Gestures ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
Disyllabic Words ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Phonological Contrasts

AbstractWhile empirical studies have shown the beneficial role of observing and producing hand gestures mimicking pitch features in the learning of L2 tonal or intonational contrasts, mixed results have been obtained for the use of gestures encoding durational contrasts at the perceptual level. This study investigates the potential benefits of horizontal hand-sweep gestures encoding durational features for boosting the perception and production of nonnative vowel-length contrasts. In a between-subjects experiment with a pretest–posttest design, 50 Catalan participants without any knowledge of Japanese practiced perceiving and producing minimal pairs of Japanese disyllabic words featuring vowel-length contrasts in one of two conditions, namely with gestures or without them. Pretest and posttest consisted of the completion of identical vowel-length identification and imitation tasks. The results showed that while participants improved equally at posttest across the two conditions in the identification task, the Gesture group obtained a larger improvement than the No Gesture group in the imitation task. These results corroborate the claim that producing hand gestures encoding prosodic properties of speech may help naïve learners to learn novel phonological contrasts in a foreign language.

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