Erin: Created page with "Usually, the vowels of Mi'gmaq are pronounced as '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tense_vowel tense]''' - that is, they are pronounced with more muscle tension than ot..."

2012-08-06T18:51:18Z

Created page with "Usually, the vowels of Mi'gmaq are pronounced as '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tense_vowel tense]''' - that is, they are pronounced with more muscle tension than ot..."

New page

Usually, the [[Vowels|vowels]] of Mi'gmaq are pronounced as '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tense_vowel tense]''' - that is, they are pronounced with more muscle tension than other vowels (the notable exceptions being /ɛ/ and /ɛː/). These other vowels are known as '''lax''' vowels. In [[Pronunciation Differences|English]], this is a meaningful difference: when a vowel is ''laxed'', it becomes a different '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoneme phoneme]''', and thus leads to a difference in meaning. For example, the tense /i/† in ''beet'', pronounced [bit], when laxed becomes the /ɪ/ in ''bit'', pronounced [bɪt].

In Mi'gmaq this difference does ''not'' lead to any difference in meaning - language learners who know English must ''ignore'' this difference between tense and lax vowels in Mi'gmaq.

This article will describe the lax vowels that are found in Mi'gmaq, as well as where they are found.

† /Slash brackets/ indicate that the sound is a phoneme; [square brackets] indicate that it is a certain ''pronunciation'' of a phoneme, or an '''allophone'''.

=Lax Vowels=

Below is a table that details the pronunciations of the lax vowel allophones in the Mi'gmaq spoken in Listuguj. All pronunciation examples are taken from Peter Ladefoged's ''A Course in Phonetics'', and all Mi'gmaq examples are taken from the [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/ Mi'gmaq Talking Dictionary]. Transcription is done using the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipa International Phonetic Alphabet], or IPA - a basic understanding of this system can be obtained by reviewing the [[Spelling|spelling systems]] of Mi'gmaq.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Lax Vowels
! Phoneme||Allophone||Pronunciation||Example||Transcription||Translation
|-
! align="center" | i
| align="center" | ɪ
| align="center" | [http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/ipaSOUNDS/Vow-06a.AIFF [ɪː]]
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/a/alatija%27sit/recording1.mp3 alat'''i'''ja'sit]
| [ɐlɑd'''ɪ'''d͡ʒɑːsitʰ]
| 'he or she is scurrying about'
|-
! rowspan="2" align="center" | a
| align="center" | ɐ
| align="center" | [http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/ipaSOUNDS/Vow-23a.AIFF [ɐː]]
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/a/alawei/recording1.mp3 al'''a'''wei]
| [ɑl'''ɐ'''wej]
| 'pea'
|-
| align="center" | ʌ†
| align="center" | [http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/ipaSOUNDS/Vow-20a.AIFF [ʌː]]
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/a/alsutaqan/recording1.mp3 alsud'''a'''qan]
| [ɐlsud'''ʌ'''ʕan]
| 'possession'
|-
! align="center" | o
| align="center" | ɔ
| align="center" | [http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/ipaSOUNDS/Vow-21a.AIFF [ɔː]]
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/a/amjimoqwa%27sit/recording1.mp3 amjim'''o'''qwa'sit]
| [ɐmt͡ʃim'''ɔ'''hwɑːs̬itʰ]
| 'he or she is stuck'
|-
! align="center" | u
| align="center" | ʊ
| align="center" | [http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/ipaSOUNDS/Vow-08a.AIFF [ʊː]]
| [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/words-mp3/media/a/apt%27pugu%27et/recording1.mp3 apt'p'''u'''gu'et]
| [aptəb'''ʊ'''guːɛtʰ]
| 'he or she is unable to move while standing'
|}

† Note: This vowel, [ʌ], sounds much closer to the neutral unstressed vowel, or [[schwa]], in English. In Mi'gmaq, however, it is ''not'' a pronunciation of schwa, but instead is a pronunciation of /a/.

It may be noticed that there are some vowels missing from this table: namely the vowels /ɛ/ and /ə/ and the long vowels. The vowel /ɛ/ is already lax, and cannot undergo further laxing. Instead it is optionally '''[[Vowels#/ɛ/|tensed]]'''. Schwa, or /ə/, is always lax and cannot be tensed. The long vowels (again, with the exception of /ɛː/, which may also undergo tensing) never lax.

=Where Laxing Occurs=

Vowel laxing is not a consistent process in Mi'gmaq. In general, speakers tend to split into two groups: those that lax vowels in '''[[Stress|unstressed]] [[syllables]]''' and those that lax vowels in '''closed''' syllables, or syllables that end in a [[Consonants|consonant]]. For those speakers who lax vowels in ''unstressed'' syllables, laxing is an optional rule, and for the most part, it doesn't apply (the speaker in the table above uses laxing this way). The notable exception is /a/, which laxes the most, and may even lax in some stressed syllables. For those speakers who lax vowels in ''closed'' syllables, laxing is mandatory - it is very rare to see a closed syllable with a tense vowel for these speakers.

=References=
* Ladefoged, Peter. 2006. A Course in Phonetics. 5th ed. Boston: Thomson Higher Education.
* [http://www.mikmaqonline.org/ Mi'gmaq Talking Dictionary]

Laxed Vowels - Revision history

Erin: Created page with "Usually, the vowels of Mi'gmaq are pronounced as '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tense_vowel tense]''' - that is, they are pronounced with more muscle tension than ot..."