Block 6 · pages 32-48

Chapter 2: Sound Rules (continued) – Vowel Shortening, Contractions, Resyllabification, and Stress

2.4.1.8 Word-final V-shortening

In word-final position the contrast of vowel length is neutralized. Underlying long vowels surface when a plural morpheme opens the final syllable (e.g., haafi 'bone' pl. haafitan).

2.4.1.9 V- shortening in closed syllables

Vowel length is neutralized in closed syllables. Underlying length reappears when suffixation opens the syllable (e.g., ajim 'thousand' pl. jijiman).

2.4.1.10 Vowel contractions

General rule: V1# + V2 → V2 (short or long depending on V2).

2.4.1.10.1 Verb and pronoun enclitic

Songhay verbs drop final /i, u, a/ before vowel-initial pronouns (e.g., a-ddumb(i)-a 'he killed it'). Tamasheq cognates retain final /i, u/ as glides [j, w] (e.g., a-b-fugu 'he looks down on it').

2.4.1.10.1.1 Monosyllabic stems

Monosyllabic vowel-final verbs behave differently: ci 'say', na 'give/eat' drop vowel; wi 'kill', zi 'kick' keep vowel and insert glide; mo 'hear' keeps vowel except before 3p pronoun i.

2.4.1.10.2 Noun and demonstratives

Vowel-final nouns lose their final vowel before demonstratives beginning with a vowel (e.g., lizac(e) asenda 'that youth').

2.4.1.10.3 Vowel-initial words preceded by vowel-final words

Final vowel elision happens constantly at word boundaries (e.g., izwar cij(i) a-dda 'it is almost night').

2.4.1.10.4 Exceptions

The determiner ayo and the noun he 'thing' in subject position resist regular elision.

2.4.1.10.5 Suffixes on verbs

Suffixes -an (ADJZR/ALL) attach with glide insertion after /i/ (e.g., maffi-yan), coalescence after /a/ (ceena-n), and surface of underlying /w/ after /u/ for Tamasheq verbs (yuhu-wan).

2.4.1.10.6 Plural morphemes on nouns

Songhay plural -en deletes stem-final vowel (borá > borén) and often palatalizes velars (hinká > hincén).

2.4.1.11 /ay/ < /a/

Word-final /a/ becomes /ay/ in compounds (e.g., ifá + temerwin > iféy-tamérwin 'seventy').

2.4.2 Resyllabification

Occurs in plurals (e.g., baarar > barren), 2s combinations (ni- + sa- > an-sa-), compound numerals (kaarad + temerwin > kaarad-a-temerwin), and possessive pronouns (aya-n + vowel-initial noun > ay-n-...).

2.5 Stress

Stress is not fully predictable but tends to fall on the penultimate or antepenultimate syllable. Long vowels and closed syllables attract stress. In disyllabic words, stress is mostly on the first syllable unless the second contains a long vowel or is closed. In longer words, stress may fall on any of the first three syllables, with final stress being rare in words of four or more syllables.

Keywords : vowel shortening vowel contraction resyllabification stress accent verb enclitics plural formation palatalization