Palatal Reflex Research Articles

Notes on the Diachronic Phonology of Nauruan

1 Notes on the Diachronic Phonology 2 of Nauruan 3 Lev Blumenfeld 4 CARLETON UNIVERSITY 5 This paper investigates the Nauruan reflexes of Proto-Micronesian phonemes. 6 Nauruan participates in most reductive sound changes found elsewhere in 7 Micronesian. The attrition patterns of *t and *k in Nauruan resemble similar 8 developments in Eastern Chuukic. An unusual developments are shifts of 9 major place of articulation, from coronal to velar, and from velar to labial. 10 This paper contains a discussion of the reflexes of Proto-Oceanic palatals 11 in Micronesian. A list of Kiribati loans in Nauruan is supplied. 12 Keywords: Nauruan; Kiribati; Micronesian; Sound Change; Lenition 13 1. INTRODUCTION.1 14 1.1. OVERVIEW. This paper investigates the internal phonological develop15 ments in Nauruan (NAU), a Micronesian spoken by just under 10,000 people in 16 the Republic of Nauru and diaspora (Eberhard, Simons, and Fennig 2021). The 17 status of NAU as a Micronesian language was established by Hughes (2020a,b). 18 Building on that work, this paper investigates the reflexes of Proto-Micronesian 19 (PMC) phonemes in NAU. 20 The phonemic inventory of NAU is given in table 1, following the proposals 21 in the synchronic description in Blumenfeld (2022). Closely related proposals 22 are found in Hughes (2020b); see discussion in Blumenfeld (2022) on the dif23 ferences between the two proposals. The rhotic ř is distinguished from r by a 24 higher degree of constriction and frication (Hughes 2020b:92ff.). Distinct from 25 the glides /j,w/ are semivowels /i̯,u ̯ /, which in turn are in complementary dis26 tribution with corresponding vowels /i,u/; see Blumenfeld (2022) for details. 27 The vowel inventory is shown in table 2. In addition, the symbol [a] is used 28 as a disjunction of [ʌ] and [ɑ] where the identity of the vowel is uncertain (see 29 details in Blumenfeld 2022). 30 This paper sets up the correspondences for consonants in table 3 (vowels are 31 discussed separately in section 2.9). The symbol *z in this table refers to the 1. I am grateful to my Nauruan (NAU) consultants, two anonymous reviewers, and to Bob Blust, Kevin Hughes, Artemij Keidan, and Ken Rehg for helpful comments on an earlier draft, and to Alamanda Lauti for continuing kind help with all aspects of my work on NAU. The work was supported in part by an SSHRC Insight Development Grant #430-2013-000826. Oceanic Linguistics, Volume 61, no. 2 (December 2022)© by University of Hawai‘i Press. All rights reserved. 32 post Proto-Oceanic (POC) lenis counterpart of *s (Ross 1988:71ff.; Geraghty 33 1983, 1986). The updated picture of POC palatal reflexes in Micronesian is dis34 cussed in section 2.5. For the origins of NAU /p/ and /kʷ/, see below. 35 Conditioned changes are described in table 4. Note the commonality in the 36 environments of the major place shifts (velar outcomes of *n, *l, *s, *S, labial 37 outcome of *ŋ). The degree of regularity of each of these changes will be illus38 trated in relevant sections below. I will start with some highlights of the 39 findings. TABLE 1. NAU CONSONANT INVENTORY. pʷ p t k kʷ bʷ b d ɡ mʷ m n ŋ ř r j, i̯ w, u ̯ TABLE 2. NAU VOWEL INVENTORY. i ɨ u e ʌ o æ ɑ TABLE 3. NAU REFLEXES OF POC AND PMC CONSONANTS. POC *b *bʷ, *b *p *m *mʷ, *m *k *t *g,*y,*w PMC *p *pʷ *f *m *mʷ *k *t *x,*y,*w NAU b bʷ Ø m mʷ k,t,w,Ø t,j,Ø Ø POC *s, *c (*z), *j *j *d,*dr *r *R *l *ŋ *n *ñ PMC *s *S *Z *c *r *r,Ø *l *ŋ *n *ñ NAU d, ɡ ? ř r r,Ø j,ŋ,n,Ø ŋ,mʷ n,ŋ n TABLE 4. CONDITIONED CHANGES. Sound Change Environment Notes *k *k > w adjacent to u almost regular *k > t ＿i rare; t → ts before i *k > k, Ø irregular; see section 2.2 *t *t > t, j, Ø irregular; see section 2.2 *s, *S *s, *S > ɡ {#,a,o}＿{a,o} almost regular *l *l > j adjacent to *{i,u} *l > ŋ {#,a,o}＿{a,o} almost regular *l > n, Ø irregular; rare *ŋ *ŋ > mʷ {#,a,o}＿{a,o} almost regular *n *n > ŋ {#,a...

Oropharyngeal examination as a predictor of obstructive sleep apnea: pilot study of gag reflex and palatal reflex

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has high prevalence and may cause serious comorbidities. The aim of this trial was to show if simple noninvasive methods such as gag reflex and palatal reflex are prospective multivariate assessments of predictor variables for OSA. We evaluate gag reflex and palatal reflex, of fifty-five adult patients, and their subsequent overnight polysomnography. Forty-one participants presented obstructive sleep apnea. The most relevant findings in our study were: [1] absence of gag reflex on patients with severe obstructive apnea (p=0.001); [2] absence of palatal reflex on moderate obstructive apnea patients (p=0.02). Gag reflex and palatal reflex, a simple noninvasive test regularly performed in a systematic neurological examination can disclose the impact of the local neurogenic injury associated to snoring and/or obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Progressive anterior operculum syndrome due to FTLD-TDP: a clinico-pathological investigation

Pathological investigation of progressive anterior operculum syndrome has rarely been reported. We describe clinico-pathological findings in a patient with progressive anterior operculum syndrome. A 74-year-old right-handed man had noticed speech and swallowing difficulties 1 year previously. Neurological examinations showed no abnormality other than a slight limitation of upward gaze and slow tongue movement without fibrillation. We investigated the patient using neuroimaging and neuropsychological examinations and observed him for 2 years until his death, at which point we obtained pathological findings. The patient's facial and masseteric muscles seemed hypotonic with drooling, but he could laugh and yawn normally, showing automatic voluntary dissociation. Palatal and pharyngeal reflexes were normal. Magnetic resonance imaging showed cortical atrophy in the temporal lobes bilaterally. (123)IMP single photon emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography showed decreased blood flow and activity in the frontotemporal lobes, predominantly on the left side. Neuropsychological examinations showed no aphasia, dementia or other neuropsychological abnormality. Intubation fiberscopy, laryngoscopy and video fluorography showed no abnormality. After 6 months his anarthria and dysphagia became aggravated. He died of aspiration pneumonia 2 years after onset. Postmortem examination revealed neuronal degeneration with TDP-43-positive inclusions in the frontal, temporal and insular cortices, consistent with frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP inclusions (FTLD-TDP). However, neuronal loss with gliosis was more prominent in the inferior part of the motor cortices, bilaterally. Progressive anterior operculum syndrome could be classified as a variant of FTLD-TDP.

CENTRAL SLEEP APNEA AND ATAXIA CAUSED BY BRAINSTEM LESION DUE TO CHRONIC NEUROLEPTOSPIROSIS

A 37-year-old man developed high fever with expectoration of blood and dyspnea. On examination, he had mild conjunctival injection. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and treated with empiric IV antibiotics. One week later, he developed dysarthria and ataxia; brain CT showed normal results and he was discharged. In the next month, he developed apneas and mild snoring, with frequent awakenings, nonrestorative sleep, choking, and shortness of breath. He was diagnosed with central sleep apnea. At this point brain MRI was performed (figure) to reveal a heterogeneous process that was hyperintense on T2 and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequences with signs of perifocal edema located in medulla oblongata and caudal part of the pons, more pronounced on the left side and spreading to the middle cerebellar peduncle. After contrast application there was inhomogeneous postcontrast enhancement indicating disruption of the blood–brain barrier. Neurologic examination revealed dysarthria, dysphagia, absent palatal reflexes, left …

Liver Sarcoidosis That Presented with Dysphagia

We report a case of liver sarcoidosis with dysphagia. Although akinesia of the soft palate, disappearance of the palatal reflex, and pyramidal signs indicated brainstem lesions, brain magnetic resonance imaging showed no lesion and the focus was obscure. Iritis, parotiditis, and hilar lymphadenopathy supported the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. However, lung biopsy was normal. Finally, sarcoidosis was diagnosed by liver biopsy. We speculated that microgranulomas in the brainstem that did not exhibit imaging abnormalities causing the neurological symptoms and that liver biopsy can be an effective diagnostic tool even for cases that presented with neurological signs, but no gastrointestinal symptom.

Unilateral palatal palsy with viral hepatitis

Isolated unilateral palatal (velopalatopharyngeal) palsy is a clinical rarity. This usually presents in a child as acute onset rhinolalia, unilateral absent palatal reflex and pharyngeal asymmetry with a benign self-resolving course. Etiology remains controversial. We report association of this entity in a male child with viral hepatitis A.

Liquid Palatalization in Southern Vanuatu

While Proto-Oceanic *t undergoes palatalization in all Southern Vanuatu languages in a typical palatalizing environment (before *i and *e), and while *n and *ŋ also palatalize in Anejom, Proto-Oceanic *l, *r, and *R palatalize before *o as well in some of these languages. In addition, while Anejom shows a palatal reflex of *l in this environment, northern Tanna languages show a nonpalatal reflex, but have a palatal reflex before *i and *u. There is some evidence that the northern Tanna nonpalatal reflex may nevertheless be the result of palatalization, and that the palatal reflex is not. This evidence is presented here, along with some discussion of the phonetics of *o.

A method for endoscopic inspection and photography of the nasopharynx.

EXAMINATION of the postnasal space with a nasopharyngeal mirror has been described as one of the most difficult skills to acquire in clinical practice. Even experienced clinicians may find difficulty in deciding whether the postnasal space is normal, and examination under anesthesia may therefore be necessary. Some of the difficulties which may be encountered are an exaggerated palatal reflex, an elongated soft palate, and increased muscle tension making adequate depression of the tongue difficult. Various methods of examination have been developed to overcome some of these difficulties. The nasopharyngeal speculum permits a direct examination of the postnasal space, but insertion is unpleasant and anterosuperior structures are difficult to visualize. The nasopharyngoscope is introduced through the nostrils, has a limited field of vision, and interpretation of the view obtained requires a lot of experience. Standard mirror examination of the postnasal space has been greatly improved by the use of

Babinski and the Plantar Reflex

To the Editor: —I wish to call your attention to an error in the editorial, Babinski and the Plantar Reflex ( JAMA 183: 281 [Jan 26] 1963). As written, one is led to believe that the so-called Babinski-Nageotte syndrome has to do with locomotor ataxia. The latter term refers to ataxia dependent upon loss of sense of position and has historically been linked to tabes dorsalis. The so-called Babinski-Nageotte syndrome is based on a paper read at the Societe de Neurologie de Paris, April 17, 1902, and published under the title Hemiasynergie, lateropulsion et myosis bulbaires avec hemianesthesie et hemiplegie croisees ( Rev Neurol [Paris] 10: 358, 1902). Three patients had been seen but only one case was presented in detail. The patient, a 50-yr-old luetic, had headache, vertigo, dysphagia, nasal regurgitation, and a nasal voice. The palatal reflex was abolished. Sensations of touch and temperature were deficient on the right side

NEUROLOGICAL SOCIETY OF PARIS

NEUROLOGICAL SOCIETY OF PARIS