This paper relates diachronic to synchronic properties of the languages. The structural features in most of today’s languages are a result of the diachronic processes of language change. Most of the phonological changes especially the 7 to 5 vowel shift (in Bantu) left the remnants which still affect the languages today. This paper discusses this process in Runyambo which is among the languages which have shifted from 7 to 5 vowels. The evidence that Runyambo had 7 vowels is reflected from the phonological changes which are seen from Guthrie’s reconstructed terms to what we have today in Runyambo. Though the behavior seems diachronic, it is still seen synchronically today in the language. From the lexical data, it was realized that synchronic spirantization is similar to the diachronic spirantization. This suggests that we still have the remnants of the phonological environment which triggered the diachronic spirantization. Such remnants /į/ are found on the perfective –įre, the nominalizing -į, and causative –į/ -isį. However, the super close back vowel /ų/ was not found to cause the synchronic alterations in Runyambo. Its shifts are diachronic. The paper concludes that, though the two sounds got lost, their remnants still exist and are in complementary distribution with the remaining /i/ and /u/. Hence, though not found in the vowel inventories of Runyambo, their behavior especially that of /į/ are still found in some phonological contexts especially those on the said morphemes. Therefore, the shift from 7 to 5 vowels in Runyambo left out the same on the morphemes resulting into the synchronic phonological alterations we see today in Runyambo.
| Published in | International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 10, Issue 5) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijla.20221005.13 |
| Page(s) | 278-291 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Spirantization, Synchronic, Reconstruct, Vowels, Causative, Perfective
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APA Style
Lea Mpobela. (2022). 7 to 5 Vowel Shift: Scars of the Lost Vowels in Runyambo. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 10(5), 278-291. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221005.13
ACS Style
Lea Mpobela. 7 to 5 Vowel Shift: Scars of the Lost Vowels in Runyambo. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2022, 10(5), 278-291. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221005.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20221005.13,
author = {Lea Mpobela},
title = {7 to 5 Vowel Shift: Scars of the Lost Vowels in Runyambo},
journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
volume = {10},
number = {5},
pages = {278-291},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20221005.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221005.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20221005.13},
abstract = {This paper relates diachronic to synchronic properties of the languages. The structural features in most of today’s languages are a result of the diachronic processes of language change. Most of the phonological changes especially the 7 to 5 vowel shift (in Bantu) left the remnants which still affect the languages today. This paper discusses this process in Runyambo which is among the languages which have shifted from 7 to 5 vowels. The evidence that Runyambo had 7 vowels is reflected from the phonological changes which are seen from Guthrie’s reconstructed terms to what we have today in Runyambo. Though the behavior seems diachronic, it is still seen synchronically today in the language. From the lexical data, it was realized that synchronic spirantization is similar to the diachronic spirantization. This suggests that we still have the remnants of the phonological environment which triggered the diachronic spirantization. Such remnants /į/ are found on the perfective –įre, the nominalizing -į, and causative –į/ -isį. However, the super close back vowel /ų/ was not found to cause the synchronic alterations in Runyambo. Its shifts are diachronic. The paper concludes that, though the two sounds got lost, their remnants still exist and are in complementary distribution with the remaining /i/ and /u/. Hence, though not found in the vowel inventories of Runyambo, their behavior especially that of /į/ are still found in some phonological contexts especially those on the said morphemes. Therefore, the shift from 7 to 5 vowels in Runyambo left out the same on the morphemes resulting into the synchronic phonological alterations we see today in Runyambo.},
year = {2022}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - 7 to 5 Vowel Shift: Scars of the Lost Vowels in Runyambo AU - Lea Mpobela Y1 - 2022/10/11 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221005.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ijla.20221005.13 T2 - International Journal of Literature and Arts JF - International Journal of Literature and Arts JO - International Journal of Literature and Arts SP - 278 EP - 291 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2331-057X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221005.13 AB - This paper relates diachronic to synchronic properties of the languages. The structural features in most of today’s languages are a result of the diachronic processes of language change. Most of the phonological changes especially the 7 to 5 vowel shift (in Bantu) left the remnants which still affect the languages today. This paper discusses this process in Runyambo which is among the languages which have shifted from 7 to 5 vowels. The evidence that Runyambo had 7 vowels is reflected from the phonological changes which are seen from Guthrie’s reconstructed terms to what we have today in Runyambo. Though the behavior seems diachronic, it is still seen synchronically today in the language. From the lexical data, it was realized that synchronic spirantization is similar to the diachronic spirantization. This suggests that we still have the remnants of the phonological environment which triggered the diachronic spirantization. Such remnants /į/ are found on the perfective –įre, the nominalizing -į, and causative –į/ -isį. However, the super close back vowel /ų/ was not found to cause the synchronic alterations in Runyambo. Its shifts are diachronic. The paper concludes that, though the two sounds got lost, their remnants still exist and are in complementary distribution with the remaining /i/ and /u/. Hence, though not found in the vowel inventories of Runyambo, their behavior especially that of /į/ are still found in some phonological contexts especially those on the said morphemes. Therefore, the shift from 7 to 5 vowels in Runyambo left out the same on the morphemes resulting into the synchronic phonological alterations we see today in Runyambo. VL - 10 IS - 5 ER -
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