Probing phonological structure in play language: Speaking backwards in Zenzontepec Chatino

Abstract

Play languages (also known as language games or ludlings) represent a special type of language use that is well known to shed useful light on linguistic structure. This paper explores a syllable transposition play language in Zenzontepec Chatino that provides evidence for the segmental inventory, syllable structure, the limits of the phonological word, the prosodic status of inflectional formatives, and the autonomy of tone, all of which aligns with independent phonological evidence in the language. While recent theoretical and cross-linguistic studies have questioned the nature, and even the validity, of constituents such as the phonological word, the syllable, and the onset, this study provides an example of a language with strongly manifested phonological constituents. The study also highlights the importance of in-depth analysis of less-studied languages for linguistic theory, typology, and language maintenance or reclamation for communities.

Articulatory coordination distinguishes complex segments from segment sequences

“…Fourth, language games have been a rich source of arguments for phonological structure (e.g. Sherzer 1970, Hombert 1986, Bagemihl 1989, Campbell 2020, including arguments for segmenthood. For example, Pig Latin is an English language game where the word-initial consonant or syllable onset is moved to the end of the word, as in (3a, b), and [eɪ] is then added to the end of the word (Davis & Hammond 1995, Barlow 2001, Idsardi & Raimy 2005.…”