Vowel elision and the morphophonology of dominance in Aymara

• Yuni Kim ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Manchester

     University of Manchester

     Reino Unido

     
• Localización: Onomázein: Revista de lingüística, filología y traducción de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, ISSN 0718-5758, ISSN-e 0717-1285, Nº. 33, 2016, págs. 367-384
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper examines morphologically conditioned vowel elision processes in Aymara, and proposes that they are due to a two-way division in Aymara suffixes between those which delete a mora from the preceding morpheme and those which do not. This “dominant/recessive” morpheme analysis builds on and simplifies previous accounts, which specified a preference for consonantal or vocalic environment on both sides of each suffix. I observe some phonological tendencies within suffix categories and propose a diachronic hypothesis as to how morphological vowel elision could have evolved from purely phonological vowel weakening processes that are still found in the language today.