Linguistics ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 7-10-2024

Abstract

This work examines various topics in the phonology and phonetics of the Wappo language (ʔonaʔcáṭis), an Indigenous American language spoken in Northern California. Utilizing both published written sources and the large audio corpus of spoken Wappo compiled by linguist Jesse Sawyer and housed at the California Language Archive at UC Berkeley, this work addresses several fundamental questions in Wappo phonology, including phoneme inventory structure, phonotactics, phoneme frequency, phonetics and allophony, word-level prosody, morphophonemics, and a detailed discussion of the context of Wappo phonology within the California Linguistic Area, including the question of a localized linguistic sub-area around the region of Clear Lake, north of the Wappo homeland. The work also includes a discussion of the sociolinguistic history of the Wappo speech community and the ongoing community-driven language revitalization program.

Keywords

Indigenous languages, Wappo, Phonology, Phonetics, Typology, Revitalization

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Linguistics

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Department of Linguistics

First Committee Member (Chair)

Caroline Smith

Second Committee Member

Ian Maddieson

Third Committee Member

Christine Sims

Fourth Committee Member

Marianne Mithun

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