Английская Википедия:Inuit phonology
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:More footnotes Шаблон:IPA notice This article discusses the phonology of the Inuit languages. Unless otherwise noted, statements refer to Inuktitut dialects of Canada.
Most Inuit varieties have fifteen consonants and three vowel qualities (with phonemic length distinctions for each). Although Inupiatun and Qawiaraq have retroflex consonants, retroflexes have otherwise disappeared in all the Canadian and Greenlandic dialects.
Vowels
Almost all dialects of Inuktitut have three vowel qualities and make a phonemic distinction between short and long vowels. In Inuujingajut (the standard alphabet of Nunavut) long vowels are written as a double vowel.
IPA | Inuujingajut |
---|---|
Шаблон:IPA | a |
Шаблон:IPA | aa |
Шаблон:IPA | i |
Шаблон:IPA | ii |
Шаблон:IPA | u |
Шаблон:IPA | uu |
In western Alaska, Qawiaraq and to some degree the Malimiutun variant of Inupiatun retains an additional vowel Шаблон:IPA which was present in proto-Inuit and is still present in Yupik, but which has become Шаблон:IPA or sometimes Шаблон:IPA in all other dialects. Thus, the common Inuktitut word for water – imiq – is emeq Шаблон:IPA in Qawiaraq.Шаблон:Sfnp
Furthermore, many diphthongs in the Alaskan dialects have merged, suggesting the beginnings of a new more complex vowel scheme with more than three distinct vowels. This phenomenon is particularly noticeable in the Kobuk area, where the diphthongs Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA are now both pronounced Шаблон:IPA. Other diphthongs are also affected.Шаблон:Citation needed
In contrast to the larger number of vowel contrasts in Alaskan dialects, in the dialect of northwest Greenland (particularly Upernavik), the phoneme Шаблон:IPA has been replaced by Шаблон:IPA in many contexts.
Otherwise, the three-vowel scheme described above holds for all of the Inuktitut dialects.
West Greenlandic vowels have a very wide range of allophones:
- Шаблон:IPA varies between Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink and Шаблон:IPAblink. The last allophone appears before and especially between uvulars.Шаблон:Sfnp
- Шаблон:IPA varies between Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink and Шаблон:IPAblink. The last allophone appears before and especially between uvulars.Шаблон:Sfnp
- Шаблон:IPA varies between Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink and Шаблон:IPAblink. The last allophone appears before and especially between uvulars.Шаблон:Sfnp
Consonants
The Nunavut dialects of Inuktitut have fifteen distinct consonants, though some have more.
Stress
Primary stress is said to fall on the last syllable of each word.Шаблон:Sfnp
Intonation
In Inuktitut, intonation is important in distinguishing some words – particularly interrogatives – but it is not generally marked in writing. There are some minimal pairs in Inuktitut where only pitch distinguishes between two different words, but they are rare enough that context usually disambiguates them in writing. One common case, however, is suva. A high pitch on the first syllable followed by a falling pitch on the second syllable means "What did you say?" A middle pitch on the first syllable followed by a rising pitch on the second means "What did he do?"
In general, Inuktitut uses intonation to mark questions in much the way English does. When an interrogative pronoun is used, pitch falls at the end of a question. When there is no interrogative pronoun, pitch rises on the last syllable.
Inuktitut speakers tend to lengthen vowels with a rising intonation. So, a rising tone is sometimes indicated indirectly by writing a double vowel:
She can speak Inuktitut. | Inuktitut uqaqtuq. | |
Does she speak Inuktitut? | Inuktitut uqaqtuuq? |
Phonotactics and sandhi
An Inuktitut syllable cannot contain more than one segment in the onset or coda. Thus consonant clusters like Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA that might arise from morphemes being joined together are deleted. There are also some restrictions on final consonants, where only voiceless stops (Шаблон:IPA) can occur unless consonant sandhi has occurred.
Although two-segment consonant clusters occur when morphemes are joined together, three-segment clusters are consistently simplified. Additional constraints on two-segment clusters divide consonants into three manner of articulation groups:
Voiceless: | Шаблон:IPA | |
---|---|---|
Voiced: | Шаблон:IPA | |
Nasal: | Шаблон:IPA |
Clusters must be of the same manner of articulation so that, e.g. Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA, and Шаблон:IPA are permitted, but Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA, and Шаблон:IPA are not. Where the morphology of Inuktitut places such incompatible consonants together, they are either replaced by a geminated consonant – in effect, total assimilation – or as a single consonant that takes its manner of articulation from one segment, and its place of articulation from the other. The process of eliminating three-segment clusters is similar with one of them disappearing. As a general rule, assimilation in Inuktitut is regressive – the first consonant takes its manner of articulation from the second consonant. But this varies amongst different dialects; the West Greenland dialect in particular tends to use progressive assimilation – the second consonant takes the manner of articulation from the first.
This limitation on consonant clusters is not quite universal across Inuit areas. One of the distinguishing features of western Alaskan dialects like Qawiaraq and Malimiutun is that nasal consonants can appear after consonants with other manners of articulation (this was a feature of Proto-Inuit as well as modern Yupik languages). Some examples include the Malimiut word qipmiq ('dog'; qimmiq in Inupiatun) and the Qawiaraq word iqniq ('fire'; inniq in other Inuktitut dialects).
Otherwise, different dialects have more phonotactic restrictions. In all forms of Inuktitut, Шаблон:IPA is impossible. In Inupiatun, Siglitun, and Inuinnaqtun (the far western dialects), all other consonant pairs are possible. Moving further east, the general rule is that more and more double consonants become geminated consonants. Determining which double consonants are assimilated depends on the place of articulation of the first consonant in the pair:
Labial: | Шаблон:IPA | |
---|---|---|
Alveolar: | Шаблон:IPA | |
Velar: | Шаблон:IPA | |
Uvular: | Шаблон:IPA |
In the Aivilik dialect, North and South Baffin, and all dialects spoken further south and east, all double consonants starting with an alveolar consonant are geminated:
Dialect | word |
---|---|
Sew Inupiatunivlin | ivlin |
Inupiatun | ilvich |
Siglitun | ilvit |
Inuinnaqtun | ilvit |
Natsilingmiutut | ilvit |
Kivallirmiutut | igvit |
Aivilingmiutut | igvit |
North Baffin | ivvit |
South Baffin/Nunavik | ivvit |
Labrador | iffit |
Kalaallihut Inuktun | iglit |
Kalaallisut | illit |
East Kalaattisit | ittit |
In the North and South Baffin dialects, as well as the dialects to the south and east of Baffin Island, double consonants starting with a labial consonant are also geminated. E.g. North Baffin takagakku ('because I see her') vs. Aivilingmiutut takugapku
In South Baffin, Nunavik, Greenland and Labrador, double consonants starting with a velar consonant are also geminated:
English | Inupiatun | Inuinnaqtun | Aivilingmiutut | North Baffin | South Baffin | Nunatsiavummiutut | Kalaallisut | East Kalaattisit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
house | iglu | iglu | iglu | iglu | illu | illuK1 [illuq] | illu Шаблон:IPA | ittiq |
In addition, some dialects of Inuktitut pronounce Шаблон:IPA (Шаблон:IPA in Inupiatun) in place of the geminated lateral approximant Шаблон:IPA. The phonological status of this distinction is uncertain – some dialects have both Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA. This feature is generally characteristic of western and central dialects as opposed to eastern ones.
English | Inupiatun | Inuinnaqtun | Aivilingmiutut | North Baffin | South Baffin | Nunatsiavummiutut | Kalaallisut | East Kalaattisit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
thumb | kuvlu | kublu | kublu | kullu | kullu | kulluK1 [kulluq] | kulloq1 Шаблон:IPA | tikkit |
Note 1 qitilliK, kulluK, kulloq: In the Nunatsiavummiutut alphabet, a capital K indicates the same uvular stop as q in the Inupiatun, Inuinnaqtun, Kalaallisut and Nunavut alphabets. Furthermore, o in the Kalaallisut alphabet represents the same phoneme as u in the alphabets used for other varieties of Inuktitut. Contrasts between alphabets are described below.Шаблон:Specify
Double consonants where the second consonant is Шаблон:IPA undergo more complex changes across dialects. In some cases assimilation is progressive (from the first consonant to the second), in others regressive, and in still others double consonants are neutralised into a single form.
Seward Inupiaq | North Inupiaq | Siglitun | Western dialects | Inuinnaqtun | Ahiarmiut | Natsilik/Kivalliq | North Baffin | South Baffin & Nunavik | Kalaallisut | Kalaallihut | Kalaattisit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ks/gz | ks/ksr | ks | ks | kh | kk | kh | ks | ts | ss | gh | ts |
vs/pz | ps | ps | ps | ff | pp | ph | ss | ts | ss | hh | ts |
qs/qz | qs/qsr | qs | qs | qh | qh | qs | ts | rs | rh | rs/rt | |
ss/zz | tch | tch | ts | tt | tt | ts | tt | ts | ts | ts | ts |
Other systematic dialectical variations
Consonant weakening in Qawiaraq
Many phonemes in the Qawiaraq dialect have undergone a process of consonant weakening, although to what degree varies somewhat between villages. This process is motivated in part by prosody and parallels the consonant weakening processes at work in Yupik. As a result, many stops have become fricatives and many fricatives have become glides or completely disappeared. For example, the word meat – niqi in most dialects – is rendered as nigi in Qawiaraq – the stop Шаблон:IPA has become the fricative Шаблон:IPA.
Consonant weakening is most noticeable in the area adjacent to the Bering Strait in the westernmost part of Alaska.
Palatalization in Inupiatun
The historical fourth vowel of Inuktitut – the schwa Шаблон:IPA – affected the pronunciation of alveolar consonants following it. Where an Шаблон:IPA was present in proto-Inuktitut, the following consonant is palatalized in modern Inupiatun (except where it has been assibilated – see assibilation below). Thus, for example, Шаблон:IPA becomes Шаблон:IPA, spelled ch alone and tch when geminated, after some i but not others. For example, the second person singular pronoun ilvit – you – in more easterly dialects of Inuktitut becomes ilvich in Inupiatun. In contrast, iqit (fist, iqitii in Canadian Inuktitut), which was pronounced Шаблон:IPA in proto-Inuktitut, retains its stop Шаблон:IPA.
Similar processes affect other alveolar consonants:
Alveolar consonant | Palatal consonant | Inupiatun spelling | Example |
---|---|---|---|
Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:IPA | ch (tch when geminated) | ilvit → ilvich (you [sg.]) |
Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:IPA | ñ | inuk → iñuk (person) |
Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:IPA | ḷ | silami → siḷami (outside) |
In the Malimiut variant of Inupiatun, this process is extended to some velar consonants, like Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA.
Assibilation
In a number of dialects, Шаблон:IPA preceded by an Шаблон:IPA derived from an *Шаблон:IPA in Proto-Inuktitut rather than an *Шаблон:IPA may become an Шаблон:IPA (or an Шаблон:IPA in dialects that use "h" in place of "s") when followed by another vowel:
English | Inupiatun | Siglitun | Natsilingmiutut | Kivallirmiutut | North Baffin | Kalaallisut |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
he/she comes in | isiqtuq | itiqtuaq | ihiqtuq | itiqtuq | isiqtuq | iserpoq |
This feature varies from dialect to dialect and does not follow a consistent east/west pattern, as assibilation is present in some words in both Alaskan Inupiatun and Greenlandic Kalaallisut. The exact conditions in which Proto-Inuktitut consonants have been assibilated vary from dialect to dialect, often determined by the following vowel and other factors.
Many of the western and central dialects of Nunavut – including Inuinnaqtun, Kivallirmiutut and Natsilingmiutut – realize the phoneme Шаблон:IPA as Шаблон:IPA. Inuinnaqtun also pronounces Шаблон:IPA as Шаблон:IPA. This leads to an additional constraint on double consonants in Inuinnaqtun: a stop followed by the fricative Шаблон:IPA becomes a fricative at the same point of articulation. This feature does not extend west of Inuinnaqtun and is not present in Siglitun or Inupiatun.
English | Inuinnaqtun | Kivallirmiutut | North Baffin |
---|---|---|---|
egg | ikhi Шаблон:IPA | ikhi Шаблон:IPA | iksi |
blubber | uqhuq Шаблон:IPA | uqhuq Шаблон:IPA | uqsuq |
walking (3p. sg) | pihukhuni (Шаблон:IPA) | pihukhuni Шаблон:IPA | pisukɬuni |
Retroflex consonants in western dialects
Natsilingmiutut retains as a phoneme the stop, and often retroflex, palatal consonant Шаблон:IPA. This consonant has merged with Шаблон:IPA in all other Nunavut and eastern dialects of Inuktitut. In Inupiatun, the Шаблон:IPA of Natsilingmiutut and the Шаблон:IPA in some central Inuktitut words has become Шаблон:IPA (written Шаблон:Angbr).
English | Inupiatun | Natsilingmiutut | North Baffin | Itivimiutut | Kalaallisut |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
eye | iri Шаблон:IPA | iri Шаблон:IPA | iji | iri | isi |
kayak | qayaq Шаблон:IPA | qajaq Шаблон:IPA | qajaq | qaraq | qajaq |
big | angiruq Шаблон:IPA | angiruq Шаблон:IPA | angijuq Шаблон:IPA | angiruq | angivoq |
In addition to the voiced retroflex fricative Шаблон:IPA (represented orthographically as Шаблон:Angbr), Inupiatun also has a voiceless retroflex fricative Шаблон:IPA represented as Шаблон:Angbr. This additional manner of articulation is largely distinctive to Inupiatun – it is absent from the more easterly dialects, except for the Шаблон:IPA of Natsilingmiutut.
English | Qawiaraq | Inupiatun | Siglitun | Natsilingmiutut | North Baffin | Kalaallisut |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
spider | aachivak | aasrivak | aasivak | aahivak | aasivaq | aasiak |
penis | uchuk | usruk | usuk | uhuk | usuk | usuk |
The Qawiaraq dialect of Inupiatun, furthermore, has a third retroflex consonant in addition to the two present in other varieties of Inupiatun: the retroflex approximant Шаблон:IPA.
Nunavik Inuktitut, in contrast to other dialects, does not allow two double consonants to appear with only one syllable between them. Wherever this occurs, the first consonant in the second consonant pair is deleted.
English | North Baffin | Nunavimmiutut |
---|---|---|
calendar | ulluqsiut | ullusiut |
he is coughing | quiqtuqtuq | quiqtutuq |
Glottal stops
In a number of dialects, uvular consonants and ordinary stops are replaced with glottal stops in some contexts. Which uvular consonants and which contexts varies to some degree across dialects. Most frequently, a Шаблон:IPA or in some cases a Шаблон:IPA before another consonant is transformed into a glottal stop. Thus, the Inuktitut name of the hamlet of Baker Lake is pronounced Qamaniqtuaq or Qamanittuaq by most Inuktitut speakers, but is rendered Qamani'tuaq in Baker Lake itself. This phenomenon occurs in a number of dialects, but is particularly noticeable in Nunavimmiutut and in central Nunavut dialects like Kivallirmiutut.
In Natsilingmiutut, the velar nasal consonant Шаблон:IPA sometimes becomes a glottal stop when followed by another consonant, but not in all cases.
See also
References
Bibliography
External links
- Inuktitut Linguistics for Technocrats Шаблон:Webarchive, Mick Mallon.
- Nunavut Living Dictionary
- Interactive IñupiaQ Dictionary
- Oqaasileriffik Language database