Lexical Tone and Metric Structure of the Amahuaca Word: Towards an Understanding of the Prosodic Patterns of a Headwaters Pano Language

• Autores: Zariquiey, Roberto, Valenzuela, Pilar, Angulo, Candy
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2024
• Institución: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Repositorio: Revistas - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistaspuc:article/29314
• Enlace del recurso: http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/lexis/article/view/29314
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Tono léxico; Familia pano; Amahuaca; Fonología suprasegmental; Lexical tone; Panoan family; Suprasegmental phonology

In the prosody of the Amahuaca language (Pano, Peru), we identify a lexical tone that contrasts with the absence of tone (H vs. Ø) and a metric structure based on the formation of trochaic feet from left to right. These features interact in such a way that the tonal structure of the roots changes in morphologically complex words, preventing high tones from falling on even, non-prominent syllables. Although the lexical tone of Amahuaca roots can be classified as a tonal system, the metric structure of the word would not satisfy the principle of culminativity, which assumes the presence of a syllable with maximum prosodic prominence (primary stress) in words with two or more well-formed metric feet.