The Mid Vowels of Maga Rukai and Their Implications

Abstract

This study investigates the formation of mid vowels in the Maga dialect of Rukai, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. In contrast to the diachronic account presented in Li (1977), which assumes, based on cognate comparison among Rukai dialects, that Maga mid vowels derive historically from Proto Rukai, the current work draws evidence from alternations found in Maga and proposes that the mid vowels are not inherited nor underlyingly present but are surface variants of high vowels, generated by synchronic processes. Two other phenomena, echo vowel insertion and e∼r / o∼v alternation, are examined in connection with mid vowel formation. It is shown in the discussion that the proposed synchronic approach not only provides an answer to some unresolved issues related to Maga mid vowels, thus shedding light on our understanding of Maga's vocalic inventories, but also reveals the interactions among various processes and hence offers insight into the unified mechanisms that tie together the alternations in the language.