Topics in the phonology andmorphology of Tuvan

Abstract

This thesis describes in detail the grammatical structures of the Tuvan language. Examples given herein are original data collected by the author during fieldwork in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. Chapter one provides a general overview of the phonology, morphology and syntax. Chapter two presents an acoustic study of the pitch accent system. We develop a hypothesis that the phonologically salient feature is pitch contour. Other acoustic qualities such as quantity are determined, we argue, by the dynamics of producing the right contour. Chapter three considers two complex phonological processes and their interaction. First, Tuvan is shown to have hiatus resolution (of a kind of thought to be rare among the world's languages) in which low vowels dominate regardless of their relative position. Second, a process of velar deletion is shown to ‘feed’ hiatus resolution. Velar deletion is a robust phonological process, yet one that is blocked in a non-uniform subset of environments. Blocking of velar deletion arises, we demonstrate, to enhance recoverability of an identifiable class of ‘small’ morphological elements (i.e. short stems and short suffixes). Chapter four discusses the basic patterns of vowel harmony in Tuvan and situates these in a theoretical model. In chapter five, we explore previously undocumented patterns of morphological reduplication. Further, we show the complex interaction of these with vowel harmony. The operation of harmony in reduplication yields strong evidence for the necessity of under specification in the grammar. We argue that under specification is a natural and expected outcome of harmony systems and is not dependent on the presence of predictable alternations. Rather, it is driven by the presence of pervasive patterns of vowel co-occurrence, which may or may not include surface alternations. In the Summary, we discuss some outstanding problems (e.g., optionality inharmony, clitics) and suggest areas of research that might benefit from our discoveries about Tuvan.