Abstract
Fungwa marks the diminutive by fronting non-high vowels of nominal roots and the augmentative by backing non-high vowels of nominal roots. The root-vowel mutation is considered to be an effect of diminutive and augmentative morphemes which have [―back] and [+back] features as their phonetic exponents. The form–meaning association of the morphemes is consistent with the pattern of sound-size symbolism in various languages. Thus Fungwa presents categorical and deterministic evidence for sound-size symbolism. To account for the realisation of the featural affixes, I assume featural correspondence constraints. Given that the featural affixes are not realised on high vowels, I argue that the realisation of the featural affixes involves a prominence-based licensing condition.
Highlights
This paper investigates a pattern of root-vowel mutation in Fungwa (Kainji), an endangered language spoken in Nigeria (Akinbo 2021)
Featural affixation and sound symbolism in Fungwa 549 and bigness: (i) the diminutive is marked by fronting nonhigh vowels of nominal roots; (ii) the augmentative is marked by backing non-high vowels; (iii) high vowels are invariant in evaluative formation; (iv) consonants are invariant in evaluative formation
In the root-vowel mutations, the diminutive is marked by fronting non-high vowels of nominal roots, whereas the augmentative is marked by backing non-high vowels
Summary
This paper investigates a pattern of root-vowel mutation in Fungwa (Kainji), an endangered language spoken in Nigeria (Akinbo 2021). The expression of smallness with fronting and bigness with backing in Fungwa is consistent with sound-size symbolic association in various languages (see Körtvélyessy & Stekauer 2011). Phonological patterns like those of diminutive and augmentative formation in Fungwa exhibit non-arbitrary relations between sound and meaning, challenging the persistent view that the relation between the form of a word and the meaning is arbitrary (Hockett 1960, de Saussure 1974). In line with findings of previous research, I argue that the asymmetry in the realisation of the featural affixes is motivated by the phonetic prominence of non-high vowels.
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