Reconsidering Cuzco-Quechua

Vowels

Carlos Molina-
Vital
 Basics of Cuzco-Quechua (CQ) phonology
• Trivocalic system:
– /i/ and /u/ are pronounced like [ɪ]
and [ʊ]
– /a/ is slightly centralized .
• High vowels in CCQ have
allophones in the context of
a uvular stop /q/:
– /ʧiqaq/  [ʧeqaq] (“true”)
– qiru/  [qero] (“wooden cup”).
• Long distance consonant
harmony:
– /sunqu/  /’sonqo/
(“heart”)
– /irqi/  [‘erqe] (“kid”)
– /q’iliti/  [q’e’lete]
(“node”).
– /suqta/  [‘soqta] (“six”)
• Morphophonological
restrictions
– A suffix with /q/ doesn’t
lower adjacent vowels; but
there are exceptions: [ya
ʧaʧeq] (“teacher”), [watoq]
(“fortune-teller”).
• There are no stems with /k/
and /q/ at the same time.
• The distinction between
velar and uvular stops is not
very common in world
languages (14.8% according
to Maddieson 1984: 32) and
can be problematic
(Campbell 1999: 32)
Consonant system of CQ
 The basic problem: 3 or 5 vowels?
“A number of studies have
shown how thoroughly the
phonemic system of several
Latin American Indian
languages have been
transformed via Spanish
Loans; for example, Quechua
probably had only a three-
vowel system /i a u/ before
the arrival of the Spaniards,
but now, by virtue of
completely assimilated loans
from Spanish, has a five vowel
system /i e a o u/” (Hockett,
Charles: A Course in Modern
Linguistics, p. 411, 1958.
• “As any linguist will have gathered
from the above, the [i] vs. [e] and
[u] vs. [o] oppositions in Quechua
are merely allophonic, within the
phonemes /i/ and /u/
respectively.  It is true that the
occasional linguist […] has claimed
the [i] vs. [e] and [u] vs. [o]
distinctions have become
phonemic in certain dialects of
Quechua. This is rejected by the
great majority of linguists,
however.” Heggarty , Paul
http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/~pah1
003/quechua/Eng/Main/i_ISSUES.
HTM#ThreeVowelsOrFive
 Reconsidering the problem
• The importance of • Evidence in support of a
transitions from functional, “substance-
formant to formant. based”, view of
– Basic CV syllable with phonology.
/q/, /k/, and other C in
onset position.
• Vowel plots with four
time-points for
extended uvular and
non-uvular contexts.
(Normalized values)
 About the study
• Four groups of male speakers: 2 Quechua
Monolingual (QML), 2 Quechua first language
(QL1), 2 Quechua-Spanish Bilingual (BL),
1Quechua second language (QL2).
• Age ranges from 25 to 60 years old.
• The data is based on 50 words elicited through
repetition of three lists of words (each word
repeated an average of two times).
Average values for F1 and F2
QML chi and ti
should read :
other contexts
with vowel as
nucleus. The
same applies to
all the other
transition
charts.
The numbers next to
the QML, and other
acronyms represent
the timepoint
measured. Lower case
vowels are non-uvular
contexts, uppercase
vowels are uvular
context (i.e. there’s a
uvular stop in the
word)
The numbers next to
the QML, and other
acronyms represent
the timepoint
measured. Lower case
vowels are non-uvular
contexts, uppercase
vowels are uvular
context (i.e. there’s a
uvular stop in the
word)
The numbers next to
the QML, and other
acronyms represent
the timepoint
measured. Lower case
vowels are non-uvular
contexts, uppercase
vowels are uvular
context (i.e. there’s a
uvular stop in the
word)
 Conclusions
• There’s no such thing as “mere allophony”. Allophony is a way of
regularizing certain basic articulatory patterns. This creates
important cues for the recognition of problematic distinctions at
word level. Redundancy is good! Underspecification through
features is unrealistic!
• The CQ vowel system seems to reinforce the distinction between
/q/ and /k/ through lowering two of the three possible regions used
by the speakers. (Of course, a does not lower significantly, but
there are other cues for the distinction of /q/ and /k/, for instance,
the fricativization of /q/)
• The influence of Spanish is evident in the reorganization of the
vowel-space of the bilinguals.
• However, the stability of the middle stages of the formant
transitions is noticeable even in the (near) monolingual group.
 Acknowledgements
• Field research conducted in July, 2009 thanks
to the Wagoner Scholarship at Rice University.
• A big yusulpaykichis to Katherine Crosswhite,
Vica Papp, and Katie Nelson for helping me
out with my incompetence in phonetic
matters!
Tupananchiskama! (Until we meet
again!)