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Vadi: Difference between revisions
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Iyyaħmi, inspired by Tashunka's earlier work, later discovered previously unknown mutations and other sandhi processes in the language. He developed a new romanization scheme show the complex sandhi processes that were represented by the litigants' unorthodox use of the indigenous Minhast ''Širkattarnaft'' script. | Iyyaħmi, inspired by Tashunka's earlier work, later discovered previously unknown mutations and other sandhi processes in the language. He developed a new romanization scheme show the complex sandhi processes that were represented by the litigants' unorthodox use of the indigenous Minhast ''Širkattarnaft'' script. | ||
Before turning to the actual phonemic inventory and phonotactics of Vadi, a knowledge of the three principal orthographies is essential, as these [[Vadi#Orthography | orthographies]] illustrate how the Vadi mutation system was eventually reconstructed by the | Before turning to the actual phonemic inventory and phonotactics of Vadi, a knowledge of the three principal orthographies is essential, as these [[Vadi#Orthography | orthographies]] illustrate how the Vadi mutation system was eventually reconstructed by the Šibbūru school. Their findings remain a hotly contested issue beyond Vadi's phonological system, as it poses major implications in other areas of the Vadi language, especially morphology and morphosyntax. | ||
===Consonants=== | ===Consonants=== | ||
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===Prosody=== | ===Prosody=== | ||
====Stress==== | ====Stress==== | ||
The issue of stress, as in most areas of Vadi phonology and grammar, is a continuous are of contentious dispute between the Traditionalist and | The issue of stress, as in most areas of Vadi phonology and grammar, is a continuous are of contentious dispute between the Traditionalist and Šibbūru school. The texts discovered at Aħħur showed various marks adjacent to the ''Širkattarnaft'' characters, which early Vadists interpreted as diacritics indicating stress. This conclusion was based on the observation that a vertical slash would appear either on the ultimate or penultimate syllables, with more than half appearing on the final syllable. On about five percent of words in the entire Aħħur corpora, both the ultimate and penultimate syllables bore the slash mark. | ||
The corpora of the Kalapái Scriptum, provided evidence that vowel length was also a significant feature of the Vadi phonological system and affected word stress. Although the writers of the material from the Scriptum used the ''Širkattarnaft'' very differently from those found in Aħħur, the Scriptum provided a richer dataset for researchers to demonstrate that word stress in Vadi was more complex than earlier thought. Rather than being simply a fixed lexical feature, word stress could shift from various factors, especially when morphophonatactic interactions triggered mutations and word-internal sandhi processes. | The corpora of the Kalapái Scriptum, provided evidence that vowel length was also a significant feature of the Vadi phonological system and affected word stress. Although the writers of the material from the Scriptum used the ''Širkattarnaft'' very differently from those found in Aħħur, the Scriptum provided a richer dataset for researchers to demonstrate that word stress in Vadi was more complex than earlier thought. Rather than being simply a fixed lexical feature, word stress could shift from various factors, especially when morphophonatactic interactions triggered mutations and word-internal sandhi processes. | ||
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===Phonotactics=== | ===Phonotactics=== | ||
Before the Kalapái Scriptum was discovered, little was known of Vadi phonotactics. The spelling in the Aħħur texts was consistently CV, with CVn allowed in final syllables. The spelling yielded no discernible evidence of sandhi processes, if anything it suggested that Vadi phonotactics were quite uncomplicated. Once the Kalapái Scriptum was discovered, this viewpoint shifted significantly, creating a rift in the Vadist community which led to its split into the Traditionalist and | Before the Kalapái Scriptum was discovered, little was known of Vadi phonotactics. The spelling in the Aħħur texts was consistently CV, with CVn allowed in final syllables. The spelling yielded no discernible evidence of sandhi processes, if anything it suggested that Vadi phonotactics were quite uncomplicated. Once the Kalapái Scriptum was discovered, this viewpoint shifted significantly, creating a rift in the Vadist community which led to its split into the Traditionalist and Šibbūru schools. | ||
For the | For the Šibbūru school, the excellent condition of the texts from the Scriptum were a veritable gold mine. It led to a revolutionary reevaluation of Vadi phonology and phonotactics and revealed that Vadi phonotactics were anything but simple. If anything, the Scriptum revealed that just like the knowledge of Vadi phonology was incomplete, its phonotactics were also greatly underestimated. | ||
Iyyaħmi's work led to the discovery of consonantal mutations reminiscent of the Celtic languages, which initially sparked much controversy in the Vadist community. To support his theory, he grouped several of the [[Vadi#Orthography |spelling anomalies]] shared by ''both'' litigants into different categories, and via various statistical analyses, he was able to establish frequencies of these anomaly classes which demonstrated that the litigants' spellings were anything but random, but followed discernible patterns that were statistically significant. These patterns led Iyyaħmi to conclude that only underlying sandhi processes could account for these spelling patterns. Indeed, his statistical evidence was so compelling (Iyyaħmi's analyses were significant with a ''p''-value of less than .05) that more Vadists have joined the | Iyyaħmi's work led to the discovery of consonantal mutations reminiscent of the Celtic languages, which initially sparked much controversy in the Vadist community. To support his theory, he grouped several of the [[Vadi#Orthography |spelling anomalies]] shared by ''both'' litigants into different categories, and via various statistical analyses, he was able to establish frequencies of these anomaly classes which demonstrated that the litigants' spellings were anything but random, but followed discernible patterns that were statistically significant. These patterns led Iyyaħmi to conclude that only underlying sandhi processes could account for these spelling patterns. Indeed, his statistical evidence was so compelling (Iyyaħmi's analyses were significant with a ''p''-value of less than .05) that more Vadists have joined the Šibbūru school, agreeing that mutations and other sandhi processes are indeed a significant feature of the language. | ||
Regardless, the Traditionalists have been vocal about their criticisms towards Iyyaħmi's statistical analyses.[[Vadi#Footnotes |<sup>2</sup>]] In particular, Schumann has argued, and continues to maintain, that the spelling anomalies in the texts simply indicate dialectal differences between the litigants.[[Vadi#Footnotes |<sup>3</sup>]] Iyyaħmi does agree that dialectal differences may account for some of the spelling anomalies. However, this argument alone is too simplistic and is insufficient to explain away the frequencies. | Regardless, the Traditionalists have been vocal about their criticisms towards Iyyaħmi's statistical analyses.[[Vadi#Footnotes |<sup>2</sup>]] In particular, Schumann has argued, and continues to maintain, that the spelling anomalies in the texts simply indicate dialectal differences between the litigants.[[Vadi#Footnotes |<sup>3</sup>]] Iyyaħmi does agree that dialectal differences may account for some of the spelling anomalies. However, this argument alone is too simplistic and is insufficient to explain away the frequencies. | ||
====Mutations==== | ====Mutations==== | ||
According to the | According to the Šibbūru school, Vadi mutations fall two broad mutation processes, namely fortition and lenition, which can be further divided into several subtypes: | ||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | ||