Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Sound System of Wariho-Makurawe [ISO 639-3 var]

Warihó和Makurawe是墨西哥北部奇瓦瓦州和索诺拉州使用的一种濒临灭绝的乌托阿兹特卡语的两种方言。其他研究人员之前的工作已经表明，这些方言在语音系统的结构上有所不同，但描述是相互矛盾的，也是不确定的。在这个博士论文项目中，新墨西哥大学的合作者皮安娜·A·梅迪纳·穆里洛将对音响系统进行实地调查研究，以便作为起点提供有关音响清单的基本文件。梅迪纳-穆里洛将前往使用这些方言的社区，记录每种方言12名说话者的词汇表、短语和简短叙述。这些录音将进行声学分析，最初的目的是记录每种方言的声音及其分布。Warihó-Makurawe的声音分布方式似乎非常不寻常。人们普遍认为，突出的音节(即它们会吸引重音)比弱音节支持更多的对比。相比之下，在这些语言中，声门音节和[h]似乎仅限于单词开头的音节；然而，这些音节从来不重读。如果情况确实如此，这将是对既定模式的明显矛盾。解释这种语言的重音模式是这项调查的必要部分，这些模式将部分参考其复杂的重叠形式阵列进行分析。重音模式很难分析，部分原因是，从两个说话者的录音或之前调查人员的报告来看，重音的声学相关性并不明显。确定说话者如何发出重读音节的信号是解释这种语言语音系统结构的关键步骤之一。尽管瓦里霍方言和马库拉韦方言以前都被专业语言学家研究过，但很少有人关注这种语言中的发音模式，而且从来没有记录过这些声音的声学特性。说这种语言的人需要关于他们语言发音的准确信息的主要原因之一是为仍然使用这种语言的社区开发一种高效的书写系统。同样，目前没有对发音模式进行令人满意的分析，这意味着将瓦里霍-马库拉韦语与雅基语、马约语和塔拉乌马拉语等相关语言进行比较的基础不足。对比语言研究使研究人员能够提炼关于语言变化的理论，并阐明我们对有关社区过去的互动和运动的理解。在文字历史记录稀少的地方，这一点尤其重要，就像这一领域的情况一样。与许多土著语言一样，瓦里霍-马库拉韦语言的生存受到使用民族语言的压力的威胁，在这种情况下，西班牙语。目前仍有可行的说话者社区，这使得记录社区中多个成员的口语使用情况是可行的。然而，这种语言的长期生存能力令人怀疑，因此只能记录下来的信息现在才能获得。

Warihó and Makurawe are two dialects of an endangered Uto-Aztecan language spoken in the northern Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora. Previous work by other researchers has made clear that the dialects differ in the structure of their sound systems, but, the descriptions are conflicting and inconclusive. In this doctoral dissertation project, co-PI Ana A. Medina Murillo of the University of New Mexico will undertake a fieldwork-based study of the sound system so that basic documentation of the sound inventories will be available as a starting point. Ms. Medina-Murillo will travel to the communities where these dialects are spoken, and record word lists, phrases and short narratives from 12 speakers of each dialect. The recordings will be analyzed acoustically with the initial aim of documenting the sounds in each dialect and their distribution. Warihó-Makurawe appears to be highly unusual in the way its sounds are distributed. It is thought to be a universal that syllables which are prominent (that is, they attract stress) support more contrasts than do weak syllables. In these languages, by contrast, glottal stop segment and [h] appear to be restricted to word-initial syllables; these syllables, however, are never stressed. If this is indeed the case, it would represent a clear contradiction to the well-established pattern. Accounting for the language's stress patterns is a necessary part of this investigation, and these will be analyzed in part by reference to its complex array of reduplicated forms. The stress patterns are difficult to analyze in part because the acoustic correlates of stress are not obvious from preliminary work with recordings of two speakers, or from reports by previous investigators. Identifying how speakers signal that a syllable is stressed is one of the key steps to accounting for the structure of the sound system of this language.Although both the Warihó and Makurawe dialects have been previously studied by professional linguists, little attention has been given to the patterns of sounds in the language, and the acoustic properties of the sounds have never been documented. One of the main reasons that speakers of the language need accurate information about their language's sounds is to develop an efficient writing system for the communities that still use the language. Similarly, the present absence of a satisfactory analysis of the sound patterns means that the basis for comparison between Warihó-Makurawe and related languages such as Yaqui, Mayo and Tarahumara is inadequate. Comparative language studies allow researchers to refine theories about language change and shed light on our understanding of the past interactions and movements of the communities concerned. This can be particularly important where written historical records are sparse, as is the case in this area. As with many indigenous languages, the survival of the Warihó-Makurawe language is threatened by pressure to use a national language, in this case, Spanish. At present there are still viable communities of speakers, making it feasible to document spoken usage by multiple members of the community. However, the long-term viability of the language is doubtful, so it will only be possible to record the information will only be available now.