LINGUIST List 4.962

Sat 20 Nov 1993

Qs: Mora, Language/dialect, Neurolinguistics, Malagasy

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Directory

1. Robert Howren, mora conservation
2. David Silva, Language vs. Dialect
3. Kathryn Joy Nelson, neurolinguistics
4. , Malagasy

 In Yucatec Maya, certain categories of verb exhibit an alternation
between long and short vowels under the following circumstances: When the
sole suffix is one of the two consonantal ones, /-l/ and /-k/, a short
copy of the root vowel appears in the suffix--
 /wen+l/ --> wenel "sleep"
 /wen+k/ --> wenek "might sleep"
 /?ok+l/ --> ?okol "enter"
 /?ok+k/ --> ?okok "might enter"
 --but when the suffix is syllabic or
the suffixes are syllabifiable, the root vowel shows up as long and
low-toned, as in
 ween+s+ik "put to sleep"
 ?ook+en "Enter!"
High-toned roots do not alternate in this way:
 /(H)luub+l/ --> (H)luubul "fall"
 (H)luub+s+ik "fell (causative)".
 My current analysis of the Yucatec pattern is to posit an
underlying low-toned root with long vowel for verbs like [wenel, weensik]
and a redistribution of the root moras just in case the suffix consonant
is otherwise unsyllabifiable. (The other side of the coin from
compensatory lengthening.)
 I would appreciate any data suggesting similar patterns in other
languages. If this request produces a substantial number of comments or
other examples, I'll post a summary later. Thanks.

Bob Howren, Dept. of Linguistics, UNC, Chapel Hill
r_howrenunc.edu

Somewhere I've encountered the following expression:

 "A language is a dialect with an army."

Is this an accurate rendition of this saying?
And does anybody know to whom it can be attributed?


^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
 ___________
 David J Silva \ /\ /\ /
 Program in Linguistics \ . . /
 Univeristy of Texas at Arlington \ - /
 email: davidling.uta edu \ U /
 \ /

 "S/he who has not a dog goes hunting with a cat"
 (Portuguese Proverb)

I'm doing research on the brain and language and would appreciate any
information on recent research, mostly in regards to child language
acquisition. Is there any new info. on hemispheric specialization
corresponding to gender, bilinguals, or literacy?
 Thank you
 Kathy

Hello all!
 I am looking for a bibliography of Malagasy. Absolutely anything written
 onthe language, articles, books... Are there any areas of special interest
 which are unique to it?
 Having spoken it in childhood but now switched to English, I'm having a
 re-vival of interest in this language. More urgently, anything written on the
 semantics of Malagasy would be most useful.