Syllable structure and unaccented vowel deletion in Kullui

Abstract

This article examines the rules governing the deletion or retention of the unaccented vowel ə in Kullui (an Indo-Aryan language of the Himachali group). First, based on constraints on consonant combinations, a syllabification rule for sequences of two or more consonants is formulated: the syllable boundary falls before the last consonant of the cluster. Consonant‐cluster types are analyzed in terms of the cross‐typological sonority sequencing principle (or rising-falling sonority), which requires sonority to rise in the onset of a syllable and fall in its coda. A workable sonority hierarchy is:

stops < fricatives < nasals < liquids < glides < vowels

Regarding Kullui phonotactics, any consonant cluster is permitted across syllable boundaries (e.g., ling-ʈi ‘tail’), but within a syllable, clusters generally obey the sonority sequencing principle, with some notable exceptions such as onset sibilant + stop clusters (ʃke-ɳa ‘to dry’) and onset clusters of certain stops (labial or velar + dental or retroflex, both voiced or both voiceless).

Next, the rule for unaccented-vowel deletion is formulated: an unaccented vowel is typically dropped if its deletion:

1) does not create a consonant cluster (úɽəkɳa ‘to stumble’ → ɽəkáɳa ‘to trip someone up’);

2) any resulting cluster is split by syllabification (gí-dəɽ ‘fox’ → gíd-ɽi ‘she-fox’);

3) any resulting intrasyllabic cluster is permissible under the established combinatory constraints (ɖɔ́r-na ‘to fear’ → ɖrá-ɳa ‘to frighten’).

In some cases, deletion is accompanied by metathesis, yielding a permissible cluster in place of an illicit one (e.g. nəkóɽa ~ knóɽa ‘nostril’).