Phonological sketch of Mushuau Innu (Davis Inlet Naskapi)

Scott, Mark (2000) Phonological sketch of Mushuau Innu (Davis Inlet Naskapi). Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The thesis, using data collected by José Mailhot in 1971, sketches the distribution of phones and their assignment to phonemes in the phonology of Mushuau Innu (Davis Inlet Naskapi), an Algonquian language spoken in north-eastern Labrador, which belongs to the Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi (CMN) language complex. Mushuau Innu phonology is described in linear and non-linear terms: processes are described in Sound Pattern of English-style phonology; feature-geometry and syllable structure are then used to elucidate these processes further. Metrical theory is used to describe stress assignment. The Obligatory Contour Principle is invoked to explain epenthesis. Sonority Sequencing is used to determine the status (segmental versus cluster) of complex phones. Syllable structure and underspecification are used to account for alternation between [n] and [y]; this alternation is then shown to cause optional insertion of [n] before initial /i/ (prothetic [n]). Some comparison between the phonologies of Mushuau Innu and related CMN dialects is given.

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