Abstract
Lamkang is a Trans-Himalayan language spoken in the Chandel District of Manipur, India by under 10,000 ethnically Naga people. Due to a complex person indexation system in Lamkang clauses, multiple prefixes with the shape C- are attached to a verb stem creating lexemes with the shape CCCCVC. To make such forms pronounceable, speakers insert super-short vowel-like segments between the C- prefixes. Combining acoustic analysis with speakers’ intuitions about syllable structure, we examine the nature of these segments, arguing that an accurate phonetic description of Lamkang vowels must include these super-short vowels, as well as long and short vowels, which are phonemically distinct. We call these super-short vowels excrescent, following the terminology discussed in Hall (2011. Vowel epenthesis. In Marc van Oostendorp, Colin J. Ewen, Elizabeth V. Hume & Keren Rice (eds.), The blackwell companion to phonology, 1576–1596. Oxford: Blackwell. doi: 10.1002/9781444335262.wbctp0067: 1584). The excrescent vowel is a type of epenthetic vowel, sometimes also called “intrusive”, and is typified by its short duration and centralized quality distinct from lexical vowels. It is unstressed and has the phonetic effect of helping to transition between consonants. We show that the excrescent vowels in Lamkang have formant structures that barely resemble the characteristic formant profiles of the short and long vowels. While excrescent vowels are not contrastive, they are phonologically relevant because they have just enough sonority to form nuclei of CiVCii syllables where Cii is often ambisyllabic with the following syllable. The Lamkang data show that while any language-specific phonotactic constraints must reference the syllable, what constitutes a syllable must include the possibility of excrescent vowels as nuclei.
Appendix A: Sample words for Lamkang CC clusters [12]
| Cluster | Lamkang | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| pd | pdukni34 | the next day |
| pt | ptaa34 | (to be) lacking |
| pth | pthii33 | to lift and throw |
| ptɬ | ptlung43 | to welcome (someone) |
| pthɬ | pthla44 | feather |
| ptr | ptxao44 | April |
| pk | pkaang43 | shell |
| pkh | pkhao43 | reptile |
| ps | pser43 | citrus |
| pts | pchaan44 | (to be) able |
| ph | pham44 | to grab (all of something) |
| pm | pmen43 | to trap |
| pn | pnaang43 | bamboo rope |
| pŋ | pngal43 | wild boar |
| pj | pyiil43 | cucumber |
| tb | tbor43 | (to be) dirty |
| tp | tpee43 | to bend down |
| tph | tphuur43 | to chop down (tree, bamboo) |
| td | tden44 | when |
| tts | ttsang44 | storm |
| tk | tkar44 | shawl |
| tkh | tkhiiu43 | seven |
| th | thuu44 | winnowing fan |
| tm | tmin44 (khur) | landslide |
| tn | tnek43 | clay |
| tŋ | tngoong43 | nape (of neck) |
| tl | tlaa43 | pancreas, spleen |
| tr | trkhu44 | hole |
| tj | tyuk44 | reindeer |
| tsb | tsbuu43 | pile (of dried weeds to be burned) |
| kb | kbal43 | dirt |
| kp | kpaan43 | scabies |
| kd | kder43 | elder |
| kt | ktuk44 | cockscomb |
| kth | kthaai44 | sticky rice |
| ktɬ | ktlok43 | other |
| kthɬ | kthlum43 | sweet |
| kts | ktsei44 | spear |
| ktr | ktxiik43 | remnants, small fragments (of cloth, firewood) |
| ks | kseep43 | gills |
| kh | khiing43 | ginger |
| km | kmuur44 | to growl |
| kn | knaa43 | ear |
| kŋ | kngao43 | (to be) naughty |
| kl | kling44 | spindle |
| kr | kreng44 | river |
| kj | kyou43 | February |
| kw | kwuu43i44 | bunch |
| tsp | tspaan44 | mold |
| tsl | tslaa43 | gift |
| sk | skool43 | horse |
| skh | skhii44 | deer |
| sm | smuk43 | bovine |
| sn | snuu43 | lady, girl, woman |
| sŋ | sngaar43 | wild cat |
| sw | swang43 | python |
| mb | mboom43 | bunch |
| mp | mpuuk44 | destiny |
| mph | mpha44 | time |
| md | mdei43 | stalk (banana, sugar cane, bamboo) |
| mt | mtun44 | surface |
| mth | mthung43 | liver |
| mtɬ | mtlaak44 | entrance hole, escape hole |
| mts | mtsii44 | tree ring |
| mh | mhaa43 | tooth, sharp side of knife |
| mm | mmuu43 | seed |
| mn | mnuu43 | bug, worm |
| mr | mrot44 | to agree |
| nph | npher44 | small silver river fish |
| nl | nlaa43 | girl, lady |
Appendix B: Sample words for Lamkang CCC-CCCC clusters
| cluster | Lamkang | gloss |
|---|---|---|
| prd | prdii44 | egg |
| prt | prteel44 | to face trouble |
| prth | prthit44 | to kick |
| prtɬ | prtlaai43 | to squander, waste |
| prk | prkul43 | to roll |
| prkh | prkhaa43 | walnut |
| (k-)prm | kprmaa44 | to make a mistake, to sin |
| (k-)prs | kprsaa43 | to be difficult |
| (k-)prj | kpryaa43 | (to be) wide |
| prl | prlei44 | (to be) poor |
| pnd | pndang44 | to make clear |
| pnth | pnthot43 | to sift |
| pnthɬ | pnthlaa43 | bangle |
| pnr | [kdei] pnrii44 | knowledge |
| (k-)trb | ktrbiik44 | (to be) narrow |
| (k-)trkh | ktrkhip44 | (to be) freezing |
| (k-)trs | ktrsii44 | to point, to be pointed |
| (k-)trh | ktxhaa43 | (to be) good |
| trm | trmuu43 | wild berry |
| trn | trnaal44 | to make slippery |
| tɬr | tlrii44 | border (of field) |
| tkr | tkril44 | to gnash (teeth) |
| tptr | tptrao43 | to plant |
| tpl | tplin44 | to develop, grow |
| tpr | tprsim44 | to pack |
| tprl | tprluu44 | to roll (a mat, drum of grain) |
| tpj | tpyol44 | to swallow |
| krb | krbun44 | fighting |
| krph | krphuung44 | floating |
| krthɬ | krthleng44 | change |
| krth | krthuk43 | to become |
| krts | krtso43 | to exchange (vegetables, paddy) |
| krkh | krkhil44 | all around |
| krl | krloo44 | to match |
| krj | kryaa43 | to think, hear |
| kltrh | kltxhik44 | to shake |
| kltr | kltxu43 | to bathe |
| klr | klruu43 | chimpanzee |
| kntr | kntxim44 | equal |
| kntrh | kntxhel44 | to separate |
| kns | knsok44 | to vomit |
| (t-)kn | tknlor43 | glory |
| kptrh | kptxhun44 | to begin |
| kptr | kptxooi43 | following |
| kpr | kprol43 | (to be) big |
| kprs | kprsaa43 | (to be) difficult |
| mrs | mrson44 | other |
| mrl | mrlak44 | sometimes |
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