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C₁V₁(C₁V₂)

2009/08/23 21:48


Every Child Ready …
Originally uploaded by Beaufort County Library (SC)

With very few exceptions (mainly /(w)uf/ ‘dog’ and /baˈdabade/ ‘TV’), Anna’s vocabulary consists of words that adhere to the syllable structure C₁V₁(C₁V₂).

In other words, she uses some monosyllabic words of the structure CV(V), e.g.:

/ka/ ‘cat, tiger, lion, car’
/na(i)/ ‘no’
/mi/ ‘my, drink’
/pi/ ‘bed, sleepy’
/ɬa/ ‘meat, sausage’
/mɛ/ ‘sheep’ [from Danish mæh 'bah']
/tɛa/ ‘toe’ [from Danish tæer 'toes']
/ɡai/ ‘sibling’ [from 'guys']

/te/ ‘more’ [from Danish til 'to']

Other words are of the structure C₁V₁C₁V₂, that is, a consonant, then a vowel, then the same consonant, and then a vowel (not necessarily the same one). Some examples:

/ˈdade/ ‘daddy’
/ˈmama/ ‘mum’
/ˈtɛte/ (earlier /ˈtɛde/) ‘teddy’
/ˈnana/ ‘Anna’
/ˈlalɔ/ ‘Charlotte, Léon, Marcel’
/ˈmimi/ ‘mum’
/ˈpipi/ ‘bird’ [from Danish pip-pip 'tweet-tweet']
/ˈtatːa/ ‘tractor, plane, ship, space ship’
/ˈβaβa/ ‘bird, flying insect’
/ˈbabu/ ‘buggy, fire engine’ [partly from Danish ba-bu 'nee-naw']
/ˈkaki/ ‘cardie’
/ˈnani/ ‘Granny’
/ˈpʌm̥pa/ (also /ˈpʌba/) ‘Pumpa (her maternal grandfather)’
/ˈdede/ ‘Peter (her paternal grandfater), Brita (her paternal grandmother)’
/ˈnana/ ‘banana’
/ˈbɛibi/ ‘baby’ [from Danish 'baby' /ˈb̥ɛjb̥i/, not Scottish /ˈbebe/]
/ˈdɔde/ ‘Gordon’

Filed under lang • en • kids • linguistics

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