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'''Vertical vowel system''' refers to a system of [[vowel]]s in a language which requires just one [[vowel dimension]] to phonemically distinguish vowels. Theoretically, [[Roundedness|rounding]], [[Front vowel|frontness]] and [[Back vowel|backness]], and [[vowel height]] could be used in one-dimensional vowel systems; however, ''vertical'' refers specifically to the usage of vowel height as the sole distinguishing feature.
{{IPA notice}}
⚫
A '''vertical vowel system''' is the system of [[vowel]]s in a language that requires only [[vowel height]] to phonemically distinguish vowels. Theoretically, [[Roundedness|rounding]], [[Front vowel|frontness]] and [[Back vowel|backness]] could also be used in one-dimensional vowel systems; however, ''vertical'' refers specifically to the usage of vowel height as the sole distinguishing feature.

Vertical vowel systems have only been uncovered in the [[underlying representation]] of various languages' [[phonology]]. [[Phonetics|Phonetically]], all known natural languages employ both front and back vowels;<ref>{{cite book
|first=Paul|last=Kiparsky|year=2017|chapter=Formal and empirical issues in phonological typology|editor1-first=Larry M.|editor1-last=Hyman|editor2-first=Frans|editor2-last=Plank|title=Phonological Typology|publisher=De Gruyter}}</ref> however, in a vertical vowel system, the occurrence of front vs. back vowels is predictable, governed by one or more [[phonological process]]es.


Two different diachronic mechanisms may give rise to a vertical vowel system. In some cases, the front-back distinction may simply be lost when vowels are merged. This has occurred in [[Wichita language|Wichita]], in which an old vowel {{IPA|/u/}} (preserved in the related language [[Pawnee language|Pawnee]]) has merged with {{IPA|/i/}}. However, the Wichita vowel system is not ''phonetically'' vertical, as {{IPA|/a/}} is realised as [[Open vowel|open]] [[Back vowel|back]], {{IPA|/e/}} as [[Open-mid vowel|open-mid]] [[Front vowel|front]], and {{IPA|/i/}} as [[Close vowel|close]] to [[Close-mid vowel|close-mid]] front; hence, the feature [± back] is relevant to the ''phonetics'' of the language, even though it is not a salient phonological distinction. Similarly, the vowel {{IPA|[o]}} is heard in Wichita utterances, although this vowel is usually the phonetic result of a contraction of sequences of [short vowel + '''w''' + short vowel], a phenomenon also noted in other languages with vertical vowel systems.
Two different diachronic mechanisms may give rise to a vertical vowel system. In some cases, the front-back distinction may simply be lost when vowels are merged. This has occurred in [[Wichita language|Wichita]], in which an old vowel {{IPA|/u/}} (preserved in the related language [[Pawnee language|Pawnee]]) has merged with {{IPA|/i/}}. However, the Wichita vowel system is not ''phonetically'' vertical, as {{IPA|/a/}} is realised as [[Open vowel|open]] [[Back vowel|back]], {{IPA|/e/}} as [[Open-mid vowel|open-mid]] [[Front vowel|front]], and {{IPA|/i/}} as [[Close vowel|close]] to [[Close-mid vowel|close-mid]] front; hence, the feature [± back] is relevant to the ''phonetics'' of the language, even though it is not a salient phonological distinction. Similarly, the vowel {{IPA|[o]}} is heard in Wichita utterances, although this vowel is usually the phonetic result of a contraction of sequences of [short vowel + '''w''' + short vowel], a phenomenon also noted in other languages with vertical vowel systems.


More striking is a phenomenon whereby one or more phonological features of vowels are lost and reassigned to the consonants at the syllable periphery, leaving all vowels [[Underspecification|underspecified]] for frontness, rounding, or both. This has occurred in [[Arrernte language|Arrernte]], in which vowel rounding has been lost and consonantal [[labialisation]] gained as a result; famously, in all members of the [[Northwest Caucasian languages|Northwest Caucasian]] family, both rounding and frontness have been reassigned to the syllable periphery, the former surfacing as consonantal labialisation, and the latter as [[palatalisation]]. This has also occurred in [[Marshallese language|Marshallese]]. Some argue that the short vowels of [[Irish phonology#Vowels|Irish]] have similarly lost their frontness specification, forming a rudimentary vertical system. However, almost all Irish consonants appear in palatalised and non-palatalised forms, so the loss of frontness specification is viewed as a consequence, rather than a cause, of consonant palatalisation. Furthermore, the loss of frontness specification in Irish is limited to the [[vowel length|short vowel]]s of the language; the [[vowel length|long vowels]] of Irish retain a front-back distinction. Marshallese also has front-back distinction for its long vowels, but these are phonemically sequences of {{IPA|/CVGVC/}} where {{IPA|/G/}} is an [[approximant consonant|approximant]]; for example, ''{{lang|mh|rooj}}'' "rose" is broadly {{IPA|/rˠɜwɜtʲ/}}, but more narrowly {{IPA|[rˠʌ͡ɔː͡ɛtʲ]}}.
More striking is a phenomenon whereby one or more phonological features of vowels are lost and reassigned to the consonants at the syllable periphery, leaving all vowels [[Underspecification|underspecified]] for frontness, rounding, or both. This has occurred in [[Arrernte language|Arrernte]], in which vowel rounding has been lost and consonantal [[labialisation]] gained as a result. All members of the [[Northwest Caucasian languages|Northwest Caucasian]] family have reassigned both rounding and frontness to the syllable periphery, the former surfacing as consonantal labialisation, and the latter as [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalisation]]. This has also occurred in [[Marshallese language|Marshallese]]. Some argue that the short vowels of [[Irish phonology#Vowels|Irish]] have similarly lost their frontness specification, forming a rudimentary vertical system. However, almost all Irish consonants appear in palatalised and non-palatalised forms, so the loss of frontness specification is viewed as a consequence, rather than a cause, of consonant palatalisation. Furthermore, the loss of frontness specification in Irish is limited to the [[vowel length|short vowel]]s of the language; the [[vowel length|long vowels]] of Irish retain a front-back distinction. Marshallese also has front-back distinction for its long vowels, but these are phonemically sequences of {{IPA|/CVGVC/}} where {{IPA|/G/}} is a [[semiconsonant]];<ref>{{cite book|last=Bender|first=Byron W.|last2=Capelle|first2=Alfred|last3=Pagotto|first3=Louise|year=2016|title=Marshallese Reference Grammar|publisher=University of Hawai{{okina}}i Press|isbn=978-0-8248-5993-0|page=34|quote=In some languages, such sounds are called semivowels or glides, but in Marshallese they are called semiconsonants because they behave more like consonants than like vowels.}}</ref> for example, ''{{lang|mh|rooj}}'' "rose" is broadly {{IPA|/rˠɛwɛtʲ/}}, but more narrowly {{IPA|[rˠɔːtʲ]}}.


''Zero''-dimensional vowel systems (one phonemic vowel only) have been postulated for some [[Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]] dialects, [[Nuxálk language|Nuxálk]], and for Kabardian; however, {{cn-span|text=it is generally accepted that these analyses are flawed|date=August 2012}}.
''Zero''-dimensional vowel systems, with one phonemic vowel only, have been postulated for [[Nuxálk language|Nuxálk]],{{cn|date=February 2024}} [[Kabardian language|Kabardian]],{{cn|date=February 2024}} and some [[Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]] dialects,{{cn|date=February 2024}} as well as several Central Chadic languages such as [[Moloko language|Moloko]].{{cn|date=February 2024}} A phonological analysis with no phonemic vowels at all has been shown to be possible for [[Mofu-Gudur language|Mofu-Gudur]].{{cn|date=February 2024}}


Vertical vowel systems, invariably contrasting only in vowel height, have been noted for the following languages:
Vertical vowel systems been noted for the following languages:


* [[Northwest Caucasian languages|Northwest Caucasian family]]
* [[Northwest Caucasian languages|Northwest Caucasian]]
** [[Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]] (two degrees)
** [[Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]] (two degrees)
** [[Adyghe language|Adyghe]] (three degrees)
** [[Adyghe language|Adyghe]] (three degrees)
** [[Kabardian language|Kabardian]] (two, perhaps three degrees)
** [[Kabardian language|Kabardian]] (two, perhaps three degrees)
** [[Ubykh language|Ubykh]] (two, perhaps three degrees)
** [[Ubykh language|Ubykh]] (two, perhaps three degrees)
* [[Caddoan languages|Caddoan family]]
* [[Caddoan languages|Caddoan]]
** [[Wichita language|Wichita]] (three degrees)
** [[Wichita language|Wichita]] (three degrees)
* [[Chadic languages]]
*[[Pama–Nyungan languages|Pama-Nyungan]]
** [[Margi language|Margi]] (two degrees in native vocabulary)
**[[Arrernte language|Arrernte]] (two degrees)
* [[Australian Aboriginal languages]]
* [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]]
** [[Arrernte language|Arrernte]] (two degrees)
** [[Marshallese language|Marshallese]] (four degrees)
* [[Austronesian languages]]
** [[Marshallese language|Marshallese]] (four, now perhaps three degrees)
* [[Sepik–Ramu languages]]
* [[Sepik–Ramu languages]]
* [[Goidelic languages]]
* [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]]
** [[Irish language|Irish]] (three degrees for short vowels ''only'')
** [[Irish language|Irish]] (three degrees for short vowels ''only'')
* [[Sinitic languages]]
* [[Sinitic languages|Sinitic]]
** [[Standard Chinese phonology|Standard Chinese]], according to [[Standard Chinese phonology#Alternative analyses|some analyses]] (two degrees)
** [[Mandarin Chinese phonology|Mandarin Chinese]] (two degrees, according to [[Standard Chinese phonology#Two vowel analysis (bopomofo-based)|some analyses]])

[[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] and [[Tundra Nenets language|Tundra Nenets]]<ref>{{cite book
| first=Tapani|last=Salminen
| publisher = [[Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura]]
| location = Helsinki
| year = 1997
| isbn = 952-5150-02-X
| title = Tundra Nenets inflection
| series = Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne
| volume = 227
| pp = 36–37
⚫
}}</ref> have vowel systems resembling a vertical vowel system in that backness is not phonemic; however, they are not one-dimensional. Backness has in Kazakh and Mongolian been reinterpreted as [[advanced tongue root]], while in Tundra Nenets backness is determined according to the palatalization of adjacent consonants. Vowels are otherwise distinguished, in addition to height, by diphthongization and, in Kazakh and Tundra Nenets, rounding.

==Vowel prosody system==

Complex interaction between a vertical vowel system and [[vowel harmony]], known as a '''vowel prosody system''', appears in many of the [[Central Chadic languages]]. One of the best known cases is [[Margi language|Margi]], but the phenomenon has been documented in more than thirty languages of the group altogether, including all or most languages of five geographically adjacent subgroups:
* Daba group: [[Buwal language|Buwal]], [[Daba language|Daba]], [[Mbudum language|Mbudum]], [[Hina language|Mina]]
* Hurza group: [[Mbuko language|Mbuko]], [[Vame language|Vame]]
* Musgum group: [[Mbara language (Chad)|Mbara]], [[Muskum language|Muskum]]
* Mafa group: [[Cuvok language|Cuvok]], [[Mafa language|Mafa]]
* Mofu group: [[Dugwor language|Dugwor]], [[Gemzek language|Gemzek]], [[Mada language|Mada]], [[Merey language|Merey]], [[Mofu-Gudur language|Mofu-Gudur]], [[Moloko language|Moloko]], [[Muyang language|Muyang]], [[Wuzlam language|Ouldeme]], [[Zulgo language|Zulgo]]
Further examples of the system of the appear in e.g. [[Gidar language|Gidar]] and [[Podoko language|Podoko]].

A typical feature for these languages is that vowel frontness or roundedness cannot be considered a [[segment (linguistics)|segmental]] feature but is instead a [[suprasegmental]] feature, spanning an entire [[morpheme]] or phonological [[word]]. All Central Chadic languages allow frontness as a prosody and therefore contrast minimal pairs such as {{IPA|[dam]}} vs. {{IPA|[dem]}}; only some allow roundedness as a prosody, and in others, rounded vowels are found only next to labialized velar consonants.

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==Sources==
⚫
[[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] and [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] have vertical vowel systems in that backness is not phonemic; however, it is not one-dimensional. Backness has in both languages been reinterpreted as [[advanced tongue root]]; vowels are otherwise distinguished by height, diphthongization, and, in Kazakh, rounding.
* {{cite thesis|first=Richard|last=Gravina|year=2014|title=The Phonology of Proto-Central Chadic|type=PhD|publisher=[[Leiden University]]|url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/30139|access-date=2015-02-24|ISBN=978-94-6093-157-4}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Vertical Vowel System}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vertical Vowel System}}
[[Category:Vertical vowel systems| ]]
[[Category:Vowels]]
[[Category:Vowels]]
[[Category:Phonology]]
[[Category:Phonology]]

Latest revision as of 21:59, 20 February 2024

This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

A vertical vowel system is the system of vowels in a language that requires only vowel height to phonemically distinguish vowels. Theoretically, rounding, frontness and backness could also be used in one-dimensional vowel systems; however, vertical refers specifically to the usage of vowel height as the sole distinguishing feature.

Vertical vowel systems have only been uncovered in the underlying representation of various languages' phonology. Phonetically, all known natural languages employ both front and back vowels;[1] however, in a vertical vowel system, the occurrence of front vs. back vowels is predictable, governed by one or more phonological processes.

Two different diachronic mechanisms may give rise to a vertical vowel system. In some cases, the front-back distinction may simply be lost when vowels are merged. This has occurred in Wichita, in which an old vowel /u/ (preserved in the related language Pawnee) has merged with /i/. However, the Wichita vowel system is not phonetically vertical, as /a/ is realised as open back, /e/ as open-mid front, and /i/ as close to close-mid front; hence, the feature [± back] is relevant to the phonetics of the language, even though it is not a salient phonological distinction. Similarly, the vowel [o] is heard in Wichita utterances, although this vowel is usually the phonetic result of a contraction of sequences of [short vowel + w + short vowel], a phenomenon also noted in other languages with vertical vowel systems.

More striking is a phenomenon whereby one or more phonological features of vowels are lost and reassigned to the consonants at the syllable periphery, leaving all vowels underspecified for frontness, rounding, or both. This has occurred in Arrernte, in which vowel rounding has been lost and consonantal labialisation gained as a result. All members of the Northwest Caucasian family have reassigned both rounding and frontness to the syllable periphery, the former surfacing as consonantal labialisation, and the latter as palatalisation. This has also occurred in Marshallese. Some argue that the short vowels of Irish have similarly lost their frontness specification, forming a rudimentary vertical system. However, almost all Irish consonants appear in palatalised and non-palatalised forms, so the loss of frontness specification is viewed as a consequence, rather than a cause, of consonant palatalisation. Furthermore, the loss of frontness specification in Irish is limited to the short vowels of the language; the long vowels of Irish retain a front-back distinction. Marshallese also has front-back distinction for its long vowels, but these are phonemically sequences of /CVGVC/ where /G/ is a semiconsonant;[2] for example, rooj "rose" is broadly /rˠɛwɛtʲ/, but more narrowly [rˠɔːtʲ].

Zero-dimensional vowel systems, with one phonemic vowel only, have been postulated for Nuxálk,[citation needed] Kabardian,[citation needed] and some Abkhaz dialects,[citation needed] as well as several Central Chadic languages such as Moloko.[citation needed] A phonological analysis with no phonemic vowels at all has been shown to be possible for Mofu-Gudur.[citation needed]

Vertical vowel systems been noted for the following languages:

Kazakh, Mongolian and Tundra Nenets[3] have vowel systems resembling a vertical vowel system in that backness is not phonemic; however, they are not one-dimensional. Backness has in Kazakh and Mongolian been reinterpreted as advanced tongue root, while in Tundra Nenets backness is determined according to the palatalization of adjacent consonants. Vowels are otherwise distinguished, in addition to height, by diphthongization and, in Kazakh and Tundra Nenets, rounding.

Vowel prosody system

[edit]

Complex interaction between a vertical vowel system and vowel harmony, known as a vowel prosody system, appears in many of the Central Chadic languages. One of the best known cases is Margi, but the phenomenon has been documented in more than thirty languages of the group altogether, including all or most languages of five geographically adjacent subgroups:

Further examples of the system of the appear in e.g. Gidar and Podoko.

A typical feature for these languages is that vowel frontness or roundedness cannot be considered a segmental feature but is instead a suprasegmental feature, spanning an entire morpheme or phonological word. All Central Chadic languages allow frontness as a prosody and therefore contrast minimal pairs such as [dam] vs. [dem]; only some allow roundedness as a prosody, and in others, rounded vowels are found only next to labialized velar consonants.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kiparsky, Paul (2017). "Formal and empirical issues in phonological typology". In Hyman, Larry M.; Plank, Frans (eds.). Phonological Typology. De Gruyter.
  2. ^ Bender, Byron W.; Capelle, Alfred; Pagotto, Louise (2016). Marshallese Reference Grammar. University of Hawaiʻi Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8248-5993-0. In some languages, such sounds are called semivowels or glides, but in Marshallese they are called semiconsonants because they behave more like consonants than like vowels.
  3. ^ Salminen, Tapani (1997). Tundra Nenets inflection. Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne. Vol. 227. Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura. pp. 36–37. ISBN 952-5150-02-X.

Sources

[edit]
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