Acoustic Properties of Non-Modal Phonation in Boruca: Phonetic Evidence and Phonological Status

 

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Author: Elías-Ulloa, José
Format: artículo original
Status:Versión publicada
Publication Date:2019
Description:This study documents the oscillographic and spectrographic properties of non-modal phonation observed in Boruca, an already extinct Chibchan language that was spoken in Costa Rica. Traditionally, the creaky and breathy phonations of Boruca have been interpreted as phonetic cues for the laryngeal segments /Ɂ/ and /h/. However, this article reanalyzes these phenomena as phonological specification of the [constricted glottis] and [spread glottis] features associated with vowels. Thus, Boruca does not have laryngeal consonants but it does contrast between modal, creaky and breathy vowels. The study presents evidence that creaky voice concentrates in the middle of vowels while breathy voice concentrates in the final section of vowels. Moreover, Boruca can force creaky voice to surface as a glottal stop segment under certain conditions, and can also insert breathy voice in certain segmental environments.
Country:Portal de Revistas UCR
Institution:Universidad de Costa Rica
Repositorio:Portal de Revistas UCR
Language:Español
OAI Identifier:oai:portal.ucr.ac.cr:article/36735
Online Access:https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/filyling/article/view/36735
Keyword:Boruca
Chibchan
non-modal phonation
creaky vowels
breathy vowels
chibcha
fonación no-modal
vocales laringalizadas
vocales murmuradas