On Tue, Apr 19, 2016 at 2:55 AM, R A Brown <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

[snip]


> I would find it more interesting if Victor had taken
> specific prosodic model and outlined how he was going to use
> this in his conlang.


Me, too. In Miapimoquitch I use the concept of foot (as understood by
generative phonologists) to explain some (morpho)phonological alternations
in the language. Here are three examples:

1.  Lenition of voiceless stops occurs foot-medially, much like (some
analyses of) American English flapping.

[ˈtaβa] /tapa/ 'dance'
[ˈkaðɨ] /katɨ/ 'dwell'
[ˈtɨzɨ] /tɨtsɨ/ 'rattle'
[ˈpaza] /patsa/ 'happen'
[ˈluɣɨ] /lukɨ/ 'weave'
[ˈuβiða] ~ [ˈuβiˌta:] /upita/ 'mesquite'
[ˈtumuɣu] ~ [ˈtumuˌku:] /tumuku/ 'Jerusalem cricket (genus Stenopelmatus)'

The medial consonant lenites in the two syllable forms since the syllables
taken together constitute a single foot. In the three syllable forms the
consonant forming the onset of the third syllable optionally lenites. When
it does not lenite, it is immediately followed by a stress (and lengthening
of the vowel), demonstrating that it belongs to a different foot. This is
similar to American English variation in the pronunciation of the word
'editor', where the /t/ optionally lenites to a flap, yielding both
[ˈɛɾɪtəɹ] (no flapping of /t/) and [ˈɛɾɪɾəɹ] (flapping of /t/).


2.  Unbound phase (a conflation of imperfective aspect and indefiniteness)
is marked prosodically by an initial heavy syllable and a following
disyllabic moraic foot. If there is not enough phonological material for
the foot, the suffix /-ka/ is appended to the stem.

[ˈluβi] /lupi/ 'the muskrat'
~ [ˈlupˌpiɣa] /luppi-ka/ 'a muskrat' (unbound)
[ˈtiβu] /tipu/ 'marked' (bound)
~ [ˈtipˌpuɣa] /tippu-ka/ 'is/was marking' (unbound)
[ˈwinɨðɨ] /winɨtɨ/ 'twirled' (bound)
~ [ˈwinˌnɨðɨ] /winnɨtɨ/ 'is/was twirling' (unbound)

When the final vowel of the root is /a/, the /k/ is deleted and the suffix
coalesces with the stem-final vowel and is pronounced as long [a:].

[ˈnɨma] /nɨma/ 'the man' (bound)
~ [ˈnɨmˌma:] /nɨmma-ka/ 'a man' (unbound)
[ˈpɨja] /pɨja/ 'the coyote' (bound)
~ [ˈpɨ:ˌja:] /pɨ:ja-ka/ 'a coyote' (unbound)


3.  Distributive number is marked by suffixing reduplication which maps to
a bimoraic foot template.

[ˈnɨma] /nɨma/ 'the man'
~ [ˈnɨmaˌnɨma] /nɨma-RED/ 'the men all over the place'
[ˈtɨrɨɣɨ] /tɨrɨkɨ/ 'the killdeer'
~ [ˈtɨrɨɣɨˌrɨɣɨ] /tɨrɨka-RED/ 'the killdeer all over the place'
[ˈpɨ:siɣa] /pɨ:si-ka/ 'is/was cutting'
~ [ˈpɨ:ˌsiɣaˌsiɣa] /pɨ:si-ka-RED/ 'is/was cutting all over the place'

There are two other reduplication patterns, but neither use the foot as a
template.

Dirk


> --
> Ray
> ==================================
> http://www.carolandray.plus.com
> ==================================
> "Ein Kopf, der auf seine eigenen Kosten denkt,
> wird immer Eingriffe in die Sprache thun."
> [J.G. Hamann, 1760]
> "A mind that thinks at its own expense
> will always interfere with language".
>