THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE NASAL SEGMENT IN NUTAJENSU SYLLABLE CODA

Back to Page Authors: Marília Gomes Teixeira Marques

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Keywords: nasal segment, syllable coda, nutajensu, allophony

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Abstract: This paper addresses the behaviour of the nasal segment in Nutajensu syllable coda. The language licenses three consonants at this position: coronal /n/, glottal stop /ʔ/ and glottal fricative /h/; being the first one worthy of our attention in this paper for having a great number of variations which are usually conditioned by the precedent vowel. It means that the place of articulation of the nasal consonant in syllable coda is underspecified and at this position, coronal /n/ can be performed as [n], [m], [ŋ], [bm], [dn] and [gŋ], each of them performing under specific phonological conditions. In this paper we present the evidence of subspecification, as well as a brief comparison between the behavior of these consonants in coda in the language under analysis and among sister languages from North Nambikwara Latundê, Mamaindê and Lakondê.

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