Ill Bantoanon Phonology Heather Kilgour and Gail Hendrickson Summer Institute ofLinguistics Abbreviations and symbols 0. Introduction 1. Higher level phonology 1.1 Phonological paragraph 1.2 Breath group 1.3 Pause group 1.4 Stress group 2. Syllable patterns 2.1 Interpretation of suspect phones and sequences The phoneme 3. 3.1 Vowels 3.2 Consonants 3.3 Stress 4. Residue References Abbreviations and symbols c any consonant v any vowel s.t. something syllable break/reduplicated syllable primary stress secondary stress length marker 9 glottal stop # end ofword fluctuates with •v. phonemic stress unreleased stop u phonetic script // phonemic script movement ofvowel variants alternate related meaning 112 Bantoanon Phonology 0. Introduction The Bantoanon language has borrowed from Spanish and English, as well as from Hiligaynon and Tagalog. All oftheselanguageshaveexertedsociopolitical influencewithintheBantoanon speakingarea. Many of the borrowed words have been assimilated into the Bantoanon phonemic patterns. Many of these retain the phonemic structures of the donor language, and some show evidence of a mixing of different phonemic patterns. The existence of at least tmo phonemic subsystems2 has made the analysis of Bantoanon rather complex, and like the approach of Robert A. French (1981) in 'The Phonology of Romblomanon*, it was decided to focus first on the phonology of native Bantoanon3 words and then to consider the added phonemic; patterns and phonemes resulting from borrowing. 1. Higher level phonology Higher level phonological units have been analyzed only briefly but some comments will be included here regarding them. In general, distinctive features which differentiate higher phonological units from lower ones also dominate the lower level features. 1.1. Phonological paragraph The highest phonological unit noted is the phonological paragraph. Its distinctive features, which differentiate it from the lower level breath group, include a downward trend in pitch and intensity fading into silence over the last pause segment. These features are found at the end of a thought pattern, and they signal the end of a story or a change of topic. 1.2 Breath group The breath group is the next lower phonological unit and is distributed in the phonological paragraph. It is also the unit in which one or more pause groups are distributed. The boundaries ofthe breath group are marked by silence and breath intake, as well as pitch variation and intensity. It begins with a mid pitch or high pitch falling to a down glide on the final syllable for a statement For interrogatives marked by a question word, there is a slight up glide to a mid pitch level on the final syllable. Unmarked interrogatives have a more noticeable up glide to high pitch level on the final syllable. Other variations at this level include high pitch, intensity and speed at the onset of the breath group, and mid to high pitch, rising intensity and length on the final syllable of the unit. 1.3 Pause group The pause group servos as the matrix for the stress group. The nucleus of a pause group is a stress groupwhich carriesmore intensity than the other stressgroups. Slightlyhigher pitch usually accompanies intensity. In present data, the nucleus occurs on the first stress group of the pause group unless the first stress group is a noun or adverb marker, then it occurs on the final stress group. Bantoanon is spoken in the province ofRomblon, in Southern Tagalog Region IV, in the central Philippines. It is one of the three languages spoken in the province, but not the lingua franca of the province. There are some es- timated 50,000 speakers of the language, which is sometimes called Bantoanon and other times Odionganon or Asi. The speakers live on a number ofsmall islands, but have one growing port ofaccess, Odiongan. Bantoanon is classified in the same group oflanguages as Romblomanon and Hiligaynon (Zorc 1977). 2The "two phonemic subsystems" refer to one based on Philippine languages (i.e. Bantoanon, Tagalog and Hiligaynon) in combination with an Indo-European one (i.e. Spanish and English). 3"Native Bantoanon" words are assumed to be without any recognizable Spanish or English influence. Any in- fluence from other Philippine languages like Tagalog or Hiligaynon was considered part ofthe Bantoanon vocabulary, ifthey were either cognates or if the local Bantoanons considered the words to be so commonly used by them as to have become additional vocabulary as part of the Bantoanon language. Bantoanon Phonology 113 1*4 Stress group Stress is contrastive in Bantoanon words. A stress group is the phonological unit within which syllables are distributed. The nucleus of each stress group is the primary stressed syllable [*v] which may be optionally followed by one unstressed syllable. There is a slight pause at thejunctures ofthe stress groups and a slight rise of pitch and intensity at the stress group nucleus. If the stress group nucleus is an open syllable, the vowel is slightly lengthened. Stress groups consisting of from one to four syllables have been observed in the language. Primary stress ['] favours the penultimate or ultimate syllable of the stress group. Secondary stress ["] may optionally occur on the second syllable preceding the syllable with primary stress. Secondary stress has the same features as primary stress, including vowel length on open syllables, but these features are weaker in all respects, especially pitch. In stressed closed syllables the vowel appears louder, rather than lengthened, though sometimes there may be a slight lengthening on stressed, word final closed syllables. Note: Glottal stop in the following phonetic transcriptions is signified by the symbol *7'. fsu:.ka] 'vinegar* [su.'ka:] 'bone' [ma.'gu:.yang] 'parent* [ma.gu/yang] 'elder sibling' [bi.'tu:.ka] 'stomach* [ha.ri.^in] 'where* ["sa.lum/par.ti] 'dove* If a word is formed by reduplication of the whole word base, secondary stress will usually occur on the same syllable as stress does in the base, but primary stress will shift to the penultimate syllable of the reduplicated base. [ba/nl] 114 Bantoanon Phonology Syllables of the cv type are illustrated in the following words: [ra] /ra/ 'also' [si] /si/ 4naming particle' j'su:.so] /susu/ 'breast* [sa.'gah] /saga/ 'branch' [*si:.pA9 /sipaq/ 'kick' ] ['gul.pi] /gulpi/ 'suddenly' [ka.'ba:.di] /kabadi/ 'woman' Syllables of the cvc type are illustrated in the following words: [nAkj /nak/ 'linking particle* [kAg] /kag/ *ang pafricle' [kurj] /kurj/ 'if ['rig.no] /riijrirj/ 'wall' [ha/tor] /hatur/ 'deliver' [*bu:.lig] /bulig/ 'help' ['tAg.mi] /tagmi/ 'taste' Syllables of the ccv type are illustrated in the following words: [*pri:.to] /pritu/ 'fry' [•ka:.tri] /katri/ 'bed' [*tra:.to] /tratu/ 'order' Syllables of the ccvc type*are illustrated in the following words: [pUrj/gaMia] /plaggana/ large basin' [trAr).'ka:.so] /tragkasu/ 'fever' Syllables of the cvcc types are illustrated in the following words: [*pir;daym] /pirdaym/ 'amount' ['beyn.te] /biynti/ 'twenty' In the data collected so far, the first consonant of an onset cluster can be any consonant except /q/, /g/, /w/> and lyL The second consonant of an onset cluster is limited to /l/, /r/, /s/, /w/, and /y/. In a coda cluster the initial consonant is always /y/. The final consonant of a coda-cluster is always a nasal. 2.1 Interpretation of suspect phones and sequences In accordance with the nonsuspect syllable patterns, the high vocoids [i] and [u] are considered to be: a) vowels HI and /u/ when they occur in syllable peaks, b) consonants /w/ ai?d /y/ when they occur in the margins. Examples: [tui'ar] /tuyar/ 'like that' [uai'a?] /wayaq/ *none' Bantoanon Phonology 115 w w There are no unambiguous sequences in the data. Any that appear to be a sequence are separated by a glottal stop when observed in careful speech. All word initial vocoids are preceded by glottal stop phonetically. Examples: ?i.'star] /qistar/ live/dwell' [ 7u.'yan] /quyan/ 'rain' [ Consonantal length has not been observed. In keeping with nonsuspect syllable patterns, single consonants between syllable peaks are interpreted as filling the onset of the second syllable. Examples: [ma.'tah] /mata/ 'eye' [bu.'boij] /buburj/ 'roof ridgecap' Similarly, aU consonant sequences between syllable peaks for native Bantoanon words are interpreted as the first consonant filling the coda of the first syllable, and the second consonant filling the onset of the second syllable. Examples: W Pin.'di?] /qindiq/ [sug.roq] /sugrurj/ 'join' Someborrowed words have consonant sequencesthat must be interpreted as having a consonant clyster filling the onset ofthe first syllable, in keeping with the additional syllable patterns available for borrowed words. Example: [tra.'ba:.ho] /trabahu/ 'work' Palatalized and labialized sequences occur mostly in loan words, and only in the onset margin of syllables. Sequences that are written like ciy/cuw (where c is any consonant) as is the case in Pilipino, tend to be pronounced as two syllables, especially word medial. The Pilipino orthographical pattern using the intervening vowel does not cause much difficulty word initial, though here too the writers would normally exclude the intervening vowel ifit were not for Pilipino education. Word medial the intervening vowel causes difficulty and should not be used. Example: 116 Bantoanon Phonology 3.1 Vowels Vowels are distinguished from consonants by their syllabicity. The three vowels in native Bantoanon are produced, one each in the front, central and back areas of the mouth. Length or lengthening [with devoicing] word final, is a feature of vowels in stressed open syllables. The word final [devoicing] is like [h], replacing the vowel length found nonword final. This [h] is interpreted as a feature of stressed final syllables rather than as the coda of a cvc syllable. Sincp this is only a three vowel system each vowel has a wide range of phonetic variations, and it is often hard to distinguish the phonetic quality ofvariants. There are two features in the phonological word that determine which vowel allophone occurs. These are stress and syllable shape. Lower front and back vowel allophones occur poststress, and in all word final syllables. The central vowel remains low. Higher allophones of front and back vowels generally occur in the stressed nonword final syllabic. Lower allophones occur in prestress or poststress positions. The lowest allophones occur poststress or word final. There is movement ofvowel variants in closed syllables towards the position of the mid central vocoid [a], which is slightly less in prestress and stressed positions. The front and back vowel allophones centralize and lower, and the central vowel rises. — — Example: [i] [i], [u]—* [o], [a] > [a]. (Note: The [u] typed throughout this paper is the phone [u] but since there is no distinct phone [v] in this phonology, the paper is typed using the symbol [u]), In words consisting of two closed syllables with nonword final stress and having the same vowel the voswcl quality, which occurs in the stressed nucleus, also occurs in the unstressed nucleus. Example: ['bug.turjj-^bog.tor)] /bugturj/ 'only child' Sometimes the stressed syllable allophone will appear higher than the poststress one, in accordance with the general movement of vowels to the mid central vocoid position. Examples: ['bug.tor)] /bugtui)/ 'only child' ['ki:.wit] /kiwit/ 'go crooked' In words of more than two syllables, the prestress and stressed syllables will manifest the higher allophone of front and back vowels, Examples: [bi.li.'bid] /bilibid/ 'type of palm' [sug.'bu:.hAn] /sugbuhan/ 'sunset' but the Ipwer allophone of the central vowel. Example: [ka.iam.pAg] /kalampag/ 'noise when something falls' The higher allophones of front and back vowels occur in stressed syllables. Allophones tend to be higher in closed syllables also. The lower allophones occur in wprd initial and word final positions in unstressed syllables, with the lowest allophone word final. The allophone [e] only occurs in open syllables in word initial and word final positions. Bantoanon Phonology 117 Thehigher allophoneofthecentral voweloccurs in closed syllables.The lowallophone occursprestress or in stressed open syllables. Allophones tend to lower word final. Allophone occurrence in closed syllables: allophones CV1C.C1VC.1CVC# (# symbolizes end ofword) of/i/ /u/ u~o u~o o /a/ a—a a—a a Allophone occurrence in open syllables: allophones CV/C.V.CV# of/i/ i~i—e i i~i~e /u/ u-o u o /a/ a~A a a—A Examples. Nonword final stress on open syllables: /i/ PkAi*] /qihiq/ 'urinate' [•pir-si?] /pisiq/ 'rope* I'hi:.pirl /hipir/ 'store/pack' Nonword final stress on closed syllables: ~ [•gab.?i] ['gab.^e] /gabqi/ 'night' [•rirj.ni)] /rigrig/ 'wall' Word final stress on closed syllables: Pi/wih] /iwi/ 'scorpion' [ri.">in]~[n.">in] /riqin/ 'where?' ~ [?i/tom] pi/tom] /qit6m/ 'black' Examples. Nonword final stress on open syllables: /u/ Pu:.yo] /quyu/ 'head' ['su:.so) /susu/ 'breast' ~ Pu.'yu:.nAn] [?o.'yu:.nAn] /quyunan/ 'pillow' Nonword final stress on closed syllables: ~ ['bug.to?] ['bog.tq?] /bugtuq/ 'break/snap' Word final stress on closed syllables: ?u.'nor]~[^o/nor] /qunur/ 'contents' [ Examples. Nonword final stress on open syllables: /a/ ,?a:.ga] /qaga/ x 'morning' [ [*sa:.bAk] /sabak/ 'pregnant' 9a.'sa:.wa] /qasawa/ 'spouse* [ ['9ag.SAm]~['?Ag.SAm] /qagsam/ 'graze' 118 Bantoanon Phonology Nonword final stress on closed syllables: ['bak.tuil~rbAk.tui] /bSktin/ 'pig' ['pak.pAk]~[*pAk.pAk] /pakpak/ *wing* Word final stress on closed syllables: Pu/pah] /qupS/ 'chaff ~ [sa.'bat] [sa.'bAt] /sabat/ Answer' [sak/yan]—[sAk.'yan] /saky&n/ 'ride* The lowering of front and back vowel variants in relation to stress and syllable shape has been presented with a view to clarifying orthographical preferences that are made when Bantoanons use five vowels as in Spanish and English, rather than only three which are phonemically sufficient for native Bantoanon words. 3.1.1 Vowel contrasts Bantoanon vowels: front central back i a u The vowel phonemes contrast in the following words: Examples. Bantoanon Phonology 119 Examples. Closed syllables: 120 Bantoanon Phonology Examples. Closed syllables with word final stress: pu]