Performing Rhythm: Expressions of Meter in Two Yupik Languages ...

• Main Author: Alden, McKinley R.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: University of Alberta Library 2023
• Subjects: alutiiq; Yupik
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.7939/r3-38jx-sf09; https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/7ec77f0f-3c83-44a1-808a-87ab210703fd

This dissertation is a series of studies that explore the acoustic production of stress, length, non-stress metrical phonology, and other syllable structure altering phenomena in Central Alaskan Yup’ik and Chugach Alutiiq. The intricate systems of weight, length, and stress that conspire to produce the notable rhythmic pattern in these languages have been the subject of much theoretical discussion, but little laboratory attention. The studies presented here apply laboratory phonological techniques of acoustic analysis to archival recordings of Yup’ik and Alutiiq. The first of these, which focuses on Yup’ik, examines gemination as a syllable-closing fortition process and addresses the relationship between stress and length. It shows a trichotomy of length among unstressed short, stressed short, and long vowels. The second study focuses on Alutiiq. In addition to a ternary stress-length distinction, Alutiiq metrical phonology also governs onset fortition, tone, and both binary and ternary feet. Moreover, ...