A study of Kanakanavu phonology: Selected topics

• Main Authors: Hsuan-ju Chen, 陳宣如
• Other Authors: Zeitoun, Elizabeth
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/71547411001767018494

碩士 === 國立暨南國際大學 === 外國語文學系 === 104 === Kanakanavu is a moribund Austronesian language spoken in the Manga and Takanua villages of Namasia District, Kaohsiung City. With a total population of about 260 people, there are fewer than ten fluent speakers left today. The thesis aims to explore three related phonological topics in Kanakanavu: minimal word, monophthongization and stress. Background information is given in the first chapter. Chapter 2 provides an overview of previous studies on Kanakanavu phonological system. Chapter 3 provides a reassessment of the Kanakanavu phonological system based on my fieldwork between 2014 and 2016. Moreover, I present another perspective on the phonemic inventory, which shows the changes of this language in the past eighty years. Chapter 4 deals with two issues, (i) minimal words and (ii) minimal word effect in Kanakanavu. In this chapter, types of minimal words in Kanakanavu as well as their theoretical implications are provided. Chapter 5 is about the monophthongization of the two mid vowels /e, o/. Chapter 6 presents an analysis of stress, based essentially on the theoretical framework of the autosegmental-metrical theory. The final chapter offers a conclusion.