Abstract

KROHN, Haakon S.. Analysis of the Segmental Phonological System of Maleku Based on Previous Descriptions. Lexis [online]. 2023, vol.47, n.2, pp.565-597.  Epub Dec 18, 2023. ISSN 0254-9239.  http://dx.doi.org/10.18800/lexis.202302.003.

This paper is an analysis of the segmental phonological system of Maleku (Guatuso) on the basis of previously published phonological and phonetic descriptions. It has a particular focus on the distinctive features that contrast the phonemes, since no other publication has addressed this topic in detail before. In the patrimonial consonantal system, a total equivalence is established between the values of the features [sonorant] and [voice] if the phoneme classified as a voiced palatal fricative is considered a “sonorant fricative”. On the other hand, in the innovative system, which incorporates four phonemes borrowed from Spanish, the contrastivity of the feature [voice] is activated due to the introduction of voiced stop phonemes that contrast with the unvoiced stops.

Keywords : Maleku; phonology; phonemic inventory; distinctive features.

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