Table Of ContentTHE PHONOLOGY AND PHONETICS
OF NASAL OBSTRUENT SEQUENCES
A Dissertation
Presented to the Faculty of the Graudate School
of Cornell University
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Anastasia Kay Riehl
January 2008
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©2008 Anastasia Kay Riehl
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THE PHONOLOGY AND PHONETICS OF
NASAL-OBSTRUENT SEQUENCES
Anastasia Kay Riehl, Ph.D.
Cornell University 2008
This dissertation explores the relationship between the phonological
patterning of nasal-obstruent sequences (NC sequences) and their phonetic
realizations. I argue that there are distinct NC patterns in the phonology,
specifically unary segments (such as prenasalized stops) vs. clusters, and that
these patterns are reflected in the phonetics. The data for these investigations
come primarily from phonological and phonetic studies (both acoustic and
aerodynamic) collected through fieldwork on four Austronesian
languages—Tamambo and Erromangan of Vanuatu, and Pamona and
Manado Malay of Indonesia.
Clear cases of prenasalized stops, in languages like Fijian, and clusters,
in languages like English, provide ample evidence for different phonological
NC entities, despite the fact that some languages are more difficult to classify.
I propose a methodology for determining the status of an NC, which separates
the often-conflated issues of tautosyllabicity and unary segmenthood.
Grouping NC-types along two principle divisions—unary vs. cluster, and
voiced vs. voiceless obstruent—I argue that only six of sixteen possible
patterns (combining 0-4 NC types) are attested. The unattested cases are
attributed to two factors: the lack of prenasalized voiceless stops, and the lack
of contrasting unary vs. cluster NCs of the same voicing specification. An
investigation of phonetic properties of NC sequences, including total NC
duration, duration of a preceding vowel, and degree of nasalization in a
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preceding vowel, reveals that total duration does correlate with phonological
NC structure while the other two factors do not. Data on the relative nasal-
oral timing of NC sequences reveals interesting similarities across the types:
voiced NC sequences, NC sequences with a voiceless stop, and NC affricates
each have distinct realizations, regardless of phonological status.
Not only are phonological NC patterns reflected in the phonetics, but
the phonetic realizations also have important consequences for the phonology.
The phonetic characteristics of unary vs. cluster NCs—both their differences
and similarities—are argued to explain gaps in the phonological patterns.
Phonological representations of NCs are proposed that crucially include both
prosodic and segmental structure, as well as being consistent with the
phonetic facts. These representations have implications for other reported
types of partially nasal segments.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Anastasia Riehl was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1971 to Kay and
Richard Riehl, and graduated from George Washington Senior High School in
Cedar Rapids in 1989. She received a bachelor’s degree in English, summa
cum laude, from the University of Iowa in 1993, and a master’s degree in
linguistics from the same institution in 1996. She entered the graduate
program in linguistics at Cornell University in 1999. In 2003, she was awarded
a fellowship from the Fulbright Hayes Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad
Program to undertake fieldwork in Indonesia and Vanuatu.
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This book is dedicated to my speakers.
Thank you for sharing your language and friendship.
Buku ini saya dedikasikan pada penutur-penutur
asli yang memberi masukan pada saya.
Terima kasih banyak sudah membagi pengetahuan bahasa
dan pertemanan yang tidak akan pernah saya lupakan.
Mi dediketem buk ia i go long olgeta we oli givhan long mi,
mo oli serem lanwis blong olgeta.
Tank yu tumas long gudfala hat blong yufala evriwan.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing this dissertation and pursuing this degree has been a great
privilege, and one that would not have been possible without excellent
mentors, generous institutions providing funding, interested speakers,
supportive friends and family, and countless others. I feel extremely lucky,
and forever grateful, to all of those who have played a role in making this
possible.
I would like to begin by thanking my special committee. My advisor,
Abby Cohn, has been a great mentor, from the first year of my graduate
program to my last. She has consistently offered excellent advice and
guidance that I truly came to rely on, steering me in interesting directions
when I was not sure where I was headed, and offering invaluable feedback on
drafts of this work. I feel very fortunate to have had her as my advisor.
Amanda Miller has been a great help to me in the phonetics lab, and has
always been generous with her time and positive feedback. John Wolff
sparked my interest in Indonesia–one that will be with me now for a lifetime,
assisted me in making fieldwork contacts, and offered his insights on
Austronesian. Draga Zec was a great font of knowledge on any phonological
topic I tossed her way, and always encouraged me to keep in mind the bigger
picture when tackling an issue.
Many others at Cornell have provided support of various kinds over
the years. I owe great thanks to Eric Evans in the phonetics lab, not only for
his technical support, but his incredible patience and cheerfulness during the
many hours he spent puzzling over issues with me. I would also like to thank
Sue Hertz for insightful conversations about NCs, and Sheila Haddad and
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Angie Tinti in the administrative office for good-naturedly helping me to
navigate various bureaucratic issues. I am grateful to have been in a
department with such a supportive, smart, and fun group of graduate
students, and I am thankful to so many of them, either for joining me in
contemplating linguistic issues or in amusing distractions, and in most cases
both. Thank you in particular to Edith Aldridge, Johanna Brugman, Rebecca
Daly, Tejaswini Deoskar, Rina Kreitman, Tanya Matthews, Marek
Przezdziecki and Rob Young. Special thanks to Marc Brunelle for many
helpful conversations and great travels, Andrew Joseph for generously
translating various texts and always having available crash space, and Dan
Kaufman for being a great resource for all things Austronesian and generally
an excellent person to know.
The fieldwork for this thesis was funded by a fellowship from the
Fulbright-Hayes Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program and the
Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University. I also received funding from a
number of other sources over the years—for graduate study, fieldwork,
language study, and conference travel—from the Graduate School, Einaudi
Center for International Studies, Southeast Asia Program, and Department of
Linguistics, all at Cornell University, as well as from the Foreign Language
and Area Studies Program through the U.S. Department of Education. I am
enormously grateful to these institutions for providing me with the
opportunity to pursue this degree and to have a number of incredible
experiences that I surely would not have had otherwise.
I was first introduced to linguistics as an undergraduate at the
University of Iowa, where I later returned to pursue a master’s degree in the
subject. I am thankful to many in that department for a positive experience
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and one that motivated me to continue on in the field. I am especially grateful
to Abigail Kaun, an inspirational teacher and good friend, for first getting me
excited about phonology. I am also grateful for the guidance of Alice Davison,
Jerzy Rubach, and Cheryl Zoll, and for the camaraderie of my fellow grad
students, especially Oduntan Bode, Holly Gray, Catharine Schaff-Stump, and
Karen Wood.
Many people contributed to the success of my fieldtrips to Indonesia.
Thank you to the Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (Indonesian Institute
of Sciences) for granting me research permission, Nelly Paliama of Fulbright
Indonesia for guiding me through the bureaucracy in Jakarta with good
humor, Weisje Lalamentik of Universitas Sam Ratulangi for initial
sponsorship, and Djeinnie Imbang for support and assistance with countless
matters during all of my trips to Manado. From the Pamona community, I am
grateful foremost to my speakers for their time and interest in the project, and
for sharing songs of Danau Poso. In addition, I thank Jefri Badjaj for his
thoughtful and exceedingly reliable assistance, and the Mangille-Palele
family—Ester, Amos, their children, and Ester’s parents Klaudius and Nika—
not only for going out of their way (far out of their way!) to help me, but for
many great conversations over kopi and lasting friendship. From the Manado
Malay community, I am grateful to Olga Mottoh for her time and assistance,
and especially to Tommy Panggere, not only for his help with the project, but
also for his incredible thoughtfulness and for sharing his poetry. I am
thankful to all of my Manado speakers for their patience and entertaining
stories while we weathered technical difficulties together! Finally, I am
greatly appreciative of the many friends who helped make Manado a second
home. In addition to the above, I am indebted to my pals on the Boulevard,
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Oma Anna for island hospitality, Rudy Ruus for stories of mermaids, the Klub
Bule research gang, Djeinnie Imbang and her family for relaxed afternoons,
and especially Birgit Berg for countless adventures in Manado and beyond
and for always having snacks.
My fieldwork in Vanuatu would not have been possible without the
generous assistance of many people. I would like to thank Ralph Regenvanu
at the Vanuatu Cultural Centre for granting me permission to undertake
research in the country and John Lynch at the University of the South Pacific
for help with administrative issues at the front end. From the Tamambo
community, in addition to my speakers, all of whom I had much fun getting to
know, I am thankful foremost to Esmie Roy, for immediately accepting me as
a sister, and for both assisting me with my project and for great kakae! I am
also grateful to Esmie’s family for their warmth and generosity during my
stay on Malo. I would also like to thank Dorothy Jauncey for sharing her
insights on Tamambo phonology. From the Erromangan community, I would
like to thank Anna Naupa and her family for putting me in contact with
speakers, Johnnah Nahwo Oma for his assistance throughout the course of the
project, and especially Nehule Atnelo for both her help and friendship, as well
as all of the speakers for their willingness to be part of the project. I was
fortunate to have had the opportunity to discuss Erromangan NCs with Terry
Crowley while we were both in Vila; he will be greatly missed by the
Erromangan community. My experience in Vanuatu was as wonderful as it
was thanks to many good friends. In addition to those already mentioned, I
would like to thank Linda and Edna and the entire Lovi family, for hot Milo
on cool market nights, my first Bislama phrases, and exceptional hospitality;
Lemara for an education in earthquakes and smiling on even the grayest days;
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Description:Anastasia Riehl was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1971 to Kay and. Richard Riehl, and graduated from George Washington Senior High School in.
