Kirtis, priegaidė ir jų poveikis vokalizmui Biržų tarmėje

LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS KLAUSIMAI LIETUVOS TSR MOKSLŲ AKADEMIJA STRESS, TONE AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE VOWEL SYSTEM OF THE BIRŽAI DIALECT I. JASINSKAITĖ Here, the Biržai dialect refers to the dialect spoken by local residents in the town of Biržai and within a radius of 5–10 km around it. This dialect belongs to the Eastern Aukštaitians, the puntininkai subdialect group. The specific features of the Biržai dialect’s vowel system are determined by certain processes closely related to stress and tone. Before reviewing these processes and their outcomes, we must briefly touch on stress retraction and tone in the dialect. According to the traditional view, Biržai is considered to belong to the zone of general stress retraction. In reality, however, this is not so. In the Biržai dialect, stress is retracted conditionally, but not in the same way as in other dialects within the zone of conditional stress retraction. Generally, conditional stress retraction is the phenomenon whereby stress is retracted from a circumflex or short ending to a long stem (or pre-ending syllable). In the Biržai dialect, however, it is the quantity of the ending, not of the stem, that determines everything. The dialect’s stress-retraction rule is as follows: stress is retracted from a short ending¹, but not from a long ending (acute or circumflex), e.g.: šak < šaka, neš² < nešu, bał̃t̃ < balti, rū̃nks < rankas, vaĩks < vaikus, but šakõs < šakõs, vaĩkẽ < vaikai, sakõ < sakau, vaĩkām < vaikām, katrāi < katrāi. The dialect has five tones: 1. Acute (´)—heard on the first component of the dialectal reflexes of the diphthongs ai, au, ei and mixed diphthongs, e.g.: káims < káimas, káuls < káulas, véids < véidas, máł̃t̃ < málti, pírm̃s < pìrmas, stúm̃t̃ < stùmti, ším̃t̃ < šèmtì, lúŋgs < láŋgas. 2. Circumflex (˜)—heard on the second component of the dialectal reflexes of the diphthongs ai, au, ei, ui and mixed diphthongs, e.g.: vaĩks < vaĩkas, láũks < láũkas, kreĩp̃t̃ < kreĩpti, pùĩks < puĩkus, bał̃ns < bałnas, kìr̃vìs < kìr̃vys (knife) rū̃nk < rankà, gùł̃t̃ < gùlti; on an acute stem, when stress is newly retracted to it 1 Exceptions are the pronouns katrās, anàs, viskàs, kaškàs, which are stressed like the monosyllabic pronouns kàs, tàs. 2 Consonant palatalization before front vowels is not marked, since in that position consonants in the dialect are always palatalized (except l). 189 accent; e.g.: kałñ < kalnė, bałt < baltà, lūng < langè, laĩb < laibà (this confirms that all long syllables preceding the stressed syllable have circumflex intonation). 3. Short (˘) — heard on short vowels in monosyllabic words, e.g.: màt, bèt, tìk, sù; on short vowels newly stressed after the accent has been retracted, e.g.: višt < viš t a, gèr < gerà, vĩs < visi, sùk < sukù; in some third-person future-tense verbs, where the dialect has shortened vowels derived from acute vowels, while the standard language has forms with metatony, e.g.: sakìs < sakýs (sakýs), kùs < káns (kãs), or where the dialect has short vowels instead of old circumflex ones, e.g.: tìs (tẽs), skìs (skẽs) (these short vowels may have arisen by analogy with the first case or may simply have shortened from circumflex vowels); on the pronouns anàs, katràs, viskàs, kaškàs, whose final-syllable stress is not retracted in the dialect, by analogy with the monosyllabic pronouns tàs, kàs. 4. Intermediate (˘) — heard on lengthened i, u after stress, e.g.: ši.ts < šitas, ri.s < riša, rū.ds < rūdas, tū.r < turi; on long vowels and diphthongs ie, uo newly stressed after accent retraction, e.g.: šùns < sūnùs, žmòn < žmonà, dien < dienà, juod < juodà; on stressed long vowels and diphthongs ie, uo, e.g.: vìrs < vyras, pìkt < pýkti, šòns < šónas, Jõns < Jõnas, piẽns < pienas, šiẽns < šienas, duòn < dúona, juòks < juõkas. 5. Clipped (˟) — heard on circumflex ė, o, ai, au, ei and ie, uo shortened at the ends of words, e.g.: katẽs < katės, šakõs < šakõs, gerẽ < gerai, sakõ < sakau, sakẽ < sakei, anẽ < anie, katrõ < katruõ (ę—e with an e coloring, o—o with an a coloring, ę—ę with an a coloring). It can be observed that the vowels and diphthongs of the standard language correspond to one set of dialect sounds at the ends of words and to another at the beginnings and in the middles of words. Thus, the dialect’s word-final patterns differ from those of non-final syllables. Word endings in the dialect are subject to strong shortening, affecting both stressed and unstressed syllables. Here this process intertwines with another equally characteristic feature of the dialect—the shortening of unstressed syllables. Unstressed endings are especially shortened in the dialect, since both processes occur in them. Diphthongal endings are also affected by a third factor—the assimilation of diphthong components, which accelerates their shortening. Closely interrelated, these three processes have produced the present-day word endings of the dialect. We shall survey the vocalism of word endings in the dialect in order to clarify the course and results of these processes. 1. Short vowels a, e, i, u in word endings were historically unstressed in the dialect or became so through accent retraction. In this position they were dropped or elided, e.g.: šåk < šakà, vaĩks < vaikas, (su) kàt < katė, kàtẽs < katės, kìt < kiti, ùnt’s < antìs, dìrb < dirbu, vaĩks < vaikus. The loss of these vowels is entirely understandable—they are already shortened and can therefore shorten no further, so they are lost under the influence of the shortening of endings and of unstressed syllables. In a stressed position they would probably not have been lost, as shown by the pronouns anàs, katràs, viskàs, kaškàs. 190 2. The long vowels ą, ę, į, y, ų, ū retain their quantity (not all retain their quality) in stressed endings, e.g.: nešùs < nešąns (nešąs), anù < anañ (aną), manì < manẽn (mane), gaidìs < gaidỹs, vaikù < vaikų. As can be seen, shortening of endings does not affect them in this position. In unstressed endings these vowels shorten to half-long vowels, e.g.: dirbùs < dirbans (dirbąs), vaikù. < vaikan (vaika), rašì:s < rašens (rašęs), kátì. < káten (katę), ãvì:s < ávys, ãki. < ãkį, sūnùs < sūnūs, sōdu. < sōdų. 3. Reflexes of the long vowels ė, o in the dialect do not depend on whether stress is present, e.g.: katė < katē (katė), bùlbė < bùlbė (bulvė), šakõs < šakós, gẽldos < gėldos. The reflexes of absolute and non-absolute endings differ; no difference has been observed in the other long vowels. In an absolute ending, Standard Lithuanian ė, o correspond to e, a in the dialect, e.g.: ù:pe (upė), gẽsmẽ (giesmė), varlà (varlė), rašà (rašo), šāvā (savo). Apparently, in this case the absolute ending shortened back when ē, ā still occurred in place of Standard Lithuanian ė, o. These ē, ā shortened in the dialect to e, a and, by the time the change ē, ā > e, o took place, could no longer change. In a non-absolute ending, Standard Lithuanian ė, o yield e (after l, ę), o in the dialect, e.g.: gẽsmẽs < giesmės, giẽsmẽs < giésmės, varlẽs < varlės, varlės < varlės, šakõs < šakós, šākos < šakos. The non-absolute ending shortened later in the dialect, after ē, ā had already changed to ė, o. As the ending shortened, these ė, o also shortened and therefore became more open, yielding short e, ę, o. 4. The ending diphthongs ai, au, ei become monophthongs if they are historically circumflex (unstressed or stressed), e.g.: vaikẽ < vaikai, lãukẽs < laukais, sodē < sõdai, matõ < mataũ, sunõs < sūnaũs, válgo < válgau, matē < matẽi, válge < válgei, kátē < káte i. When stressed with acute intonation, these diphthongs remain unchanged, e.g.: anáí < anái, tinái < tenái, táu < táu, sáu < sáu (no examples of the diphthong ei were found in this case). Being historically acute but unstressed, these diphthongs appear to undergo reduction, as shown by the sole example ši.tai < šitai (singular imperative). Thus, the ending diphthongs ai, au, ei have various reflexes in the dialect: sometimes they remain unchanged, sometimes they are reduced, and sometimes they become monophthongs. As can be seen, circumflex ai, au, ei are most susceptible to shortening—they even become monophthongs. This is determined by their phonetic-articulatory structure. The diphthongs ai, au, ei—combinations of an open and a close sound—become especially awkward when stressed with circumflex intonation. In this case, the first component, which is pronounced more weakly, is reduced and assimilated to the second to make pronunciation easier. Shortening of endings further accelerates this process. Perhaps the second component is also assimilated to some extent. Once the two components have become identical and merged (or perhaps the second was truncated), one sound arose from the two; it must initially have been long and later shortened. In this way, circumflex ai, au, ei could become monophthongs. Acute ai, au, ei have an entirely different nature: their first component is pronounced distinctly and is therefore not prone to weakening, while the second shows no tendency toward reduction or assimilation because, being close, it naturally prepares for the articulation of the following consonant or closure of the mouth. For these reasons, stressed acute ending ai, au, ei remain entirely unchanged, as the examples given above show; when unstressed, they no longer have stress prominence on the first component, lose their resistance, and undergo some reduction. 191 Thus, the reflexes of the ending diphthongs ai, au, ei in the dialect result from the assimilation of diphthong components and the shortening of endings. 5. The diphthongs ie, uo become single short vowels, ė, o, in both stressed and unstressed endings, e.g.: anė < aniė, naktės < nakties, šitie < šitie, ano < anuo, dainos < dainuos, šito < šituo. This, too, is a consequence of diphthong-component assimilation and the shortening of endings. 6. The diphthong ui is rare at the end of a word; it was not found at all in the original dialect. When stressed with a circumflex accent, it is reduced to ū, in which component assimilation can be seen, e.g.: apsukbūi < apsukūi (around). In an unstressed ending, ui appears to be dropped, unlike any other diphthong, e.g.: šūn < šūnui, stāl < stālui. Judging solely from the singular dative ending, one might think that -u has been dropped here; this ending is often found in this case in dialects. However, the loss of secondary ui in the dialect, e.g.: tūrg³ < tūrgui < tūrg uje, Vil̃n < Vilniuj < Vilniuje, suggests that ui was also dropped in the singular dative. 7. Mixed diphthongs in endings are generally secondary, so they are no longer shortened further in the dialect. From old times, the diphthong ar sometimes occurs in an ending—in that case it loses its second component, e.g.: dā < dār, dabā < dabar. As can be seen, word-final rules affect short vowels most strongly—they are even deleted. Long vowels at the end of a word are shortened, but not uniformly: some are more affected by the shortening of unstressed syllables (a, e, i, y, u, ū), while others are affected by the shortening of endings (ė, o). Diphthongs, too, are shortened unevenly: the diphthongs ai, au, ei are affected by accent, whereas ie, uo become monophthongs in every ending. However much word-final changes vary in the dialect, they are always regular. In non-final syllables, the vowels, diphthongs, and mixed diphthongs of the standard language correspond to somewhat different sounds in the dialect. Examining them reveals that there are phonetic rules of their own here as well. As at the end of a word, the rule of shortening unstressed syllables operates here, affecting some vowels even more strongly than the corresponding vowels in endings. In addition, the rule of lengthening stressed short syllables operates, whereby short stressed vowels are lengthened. This rule cannot operate at the end of a word, because short vowels in endings have survived only in monosyllabic words and in syllables newly arising in endings, and the rule does not affect these. In non-final syllables, the components of diphthongs (and mixed diphthongs) also undergo assimilation, as is familiar from word-final position. The coordinated operation of all these rules produced the present-day system of vowels, diphthongs, and mixed diphthongs in non-final syllables of the Biržai dialect. We will review it here: 1. In non-final position, short vowels a, e lengthen under stress, apparently becoming long; o, i, u become half-long, e.g.: tāks < takas, kāšti < kašti, rēts < rėtas, mẽstī < mesti, lā̃k < lėkia, šĩts < šitas, ti.kras < tikras, mū.št < mušti, dū.jė < dūjai (two). In unstressed position, these vowels are short, e.g.: sakīk < sakyk, pāmėte < pametė (pamėtė), sudėt < sudėti, tikrę < tikrai. 3 The fact that this form does not have an -a- stem, as one might suppose, is indicated by its hard final g. 192 2. Non-final long vowels ė, o, a, e, i, y, u, ū retain their length in stressed position, e.g.: rėkɪ < rėkti, lėkɪ < lėkti, ųžols < ąžuolas (oak), skɪsɪ < skęsti (to sink), lɪsɪ < lįsti (to crawl in), vīrs < vyras (man), skūstɪ < skųsti (to complain), būti < būti (to be). When unstressed, these vowels shorten to short vowels: ė, o in this case becomes somewhat more open and acquires an e, a coloring. In this context, ė after l yields ę (an opened ė). E.g.: rekɪms < rėkimas (shouting), lėki.ms < lėkimas (flying), žmōnū < žmonių (of people), kušnīs < kasnys (a bite), tisi.ms < tesimas (continuation), inėšɪ < įnešti (to bring in), ritė < rytai (mornings), skuz-dām < skusdama (while shaving), rukīt < rūkyti (to smoke), rāšims < rašymas (writing), vālgīt < valgyti (to eat). 3. Non-final diphthongs ai, au, ei, when acute, retain their quantity and quality (except ei after l), e.g.: kāims < kaimas (village), dāiktɪs < daiktas (thing), sāuj < sauja (handful), lāuktɪ < laukti (to wait), vēids < veidas (face), lāistɪ < leisti (to let). In circumflex-stressed instances, the first component of these diphthongs is somewhat reduced and assimilated to the second, e.g.: žāistɪ < žaisti (to play), lāiks < laikas (time), drāugs < draugas (friend), dāug < daug (much), kreīpɪ < kreipti (to turn), āitɪ < eiti (to go). This is the same assimilation of components observed at the end of a word. This once again proves that the phonetic properties of circumflex diphthongs create more favorable conditions for assimilation between their components than do acute diphthongs. In non-final circumflex syllables, assimilation between the components of diphthongs proceeds independently, without support from final-vowel shortening as at the end of a word; consequently, its results are weaker—monophthongization has not occurred here. In unstressed position, diphthongs ai, au, ei shorten to the same extent as circumflex ones, except that the second component is not emphasized here, e.g.: vaikē < vaikai (children), laimētɪ < laimėti (to win), lāuki.ms < laukimas (waiting), drāugē < draugai (friends), veīdeli.s < veidelys (small face), laidɪ.ms < leidimas (permission). 4. Non-final diphthongs ie, uo, when stressed, retain their quantity and quality, e.g.: vīens < vienas (one), šiēns < šienas (hay), pūods < puodas (pot), juōks < juokas (laughter). In an unstressed syllable they shorten to short e, o, e.g.: šenāutɪ < šienauti (to make hay), vęnū < vienų (of one), odē < uodai (mosquitoes), kolē < kuolai (stakes), joduoj < juoduoja (turns black), obolīs < obuolys (apple). This monophthongization is also a result of assimilation between components. As can be seen, the assimilation has progressed further here, even to the point of monophthongization, whereas diphthongs ai, au, ei merely undergo reduction in an unstressed syllable. This is most likely because the components of diphthongs ie, uo are more closely related in nature and form a tighter combination, so they assimilate more readily and therefore monophthongize more quickly. 5. No acute diphthong ui was found in a non-final syllable. When circumflex, it is reduced to bi, e.g.: pŏbīks < puikūs (proud), mbīls < mulas (mule). In an unstressed syllable, ui likewise yields bi, e.g.: mbilē < muilai (soap). 6. In the Biržai dialect, as in other puntininkai dialects, mixed diphthongs am, em, an, en changed to um, im, un, in, e.g.: sūmtɪs < sąntys, sīmtɪ < semti (to scoop), lūnks < lankas (bow), dīnktɪ < dengti (to cover). Assimilation between components may have caused this change. It was difficult to pronounce open vowels followed immediately by nasal consonants in circumflex mixed diphthongs, where stress falls on the second component and the first is weakly articulated. Thus, a, e may first have narrowed to u, i in these diphthongs, to become closer to nasals m, n; later, by analogy, this phenomenon may have spread to other mixed diphthongs—namely, acute ones 193 and unstressed am, em, an, en. This assimilation is also known in other languages, where in one way or another it leads to some kind of change in these diphthongs (e.g., Latvian and Russian). In circumflex and unstressed mixed diphthongs ar, er, al, el, reduction and assimilation of the first component are also observed, e.g.: var̃ds < vardas (name), var̃dė < vardai (names), vė̃rkti < verkti (to cry), gerklà < gerklė (throat), kal̃b < kalba (language), vald̃yti < valdyti (to govern), pẽlns < pelnas (profit), kelmė̃ < kelmai (stumps). Here the first component narrows somewhat and loses its distinctive quality. Vowels i, u can no longer narrow, so they remain intact in mixed diphthongs, even when unstressed. E.g.: šim̃ts < šimtas (one hundred), šimtė̃ < šimtai (hundreds), gũlt < gulti (to lie down), sunkùms < sunkumas (difficulty). 7. The accentual contour’s stress lengthens the component of a diphthong or mixed diphthong on which it falls. It is difficult to determine how much it lengthens without appropriate instruments, but it appears that the vocalic component is lengthened to half-long, or that the consonant is lengthened slightly. Since this lengthening has not been fully investigated, it is not indicated in writing. Thus, one writes, for example: káims < káimas, laĩks < laĩkas, píl̇ns < píl̇nas, šílts < šíl̇tas. As can be seen, the main processes that determined the nature of vocalism in the Biržai dialect are: a) shortening of endings, b) shortening of unstressed syllables, c) lengthening of short stressed syllables, d) assimilation between the components of diphthongs and mixed diphthongs. All these processes are closely interrelated and intertwined, so that sometimes it is difficult to determine where one ends and another begins. These processes occur differently at the end of a word and in non-final syllables. Since the various sounds of the dialect have different phonetic-articulatory properties and occupy different positions in the word, one process is more pronounced in some sounds, and another in others. The vocalism system of the Biržai dialect is fundamentally the result of these processes. STRESS, INTONATION, AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE VOWEL SYSTEM OF THE BIRŽAI DIALECT И. П. ЯШИНСКАЙТЕ Abstract The Biržai dialect belongs to that part of the Eastern Aukštaitian dialect in which the diphthongs am, an, em, en have changed to um, un, im, in. This dialect is spoken by the local residents of the town of Biržai and the surrounding area within a radius of 5–10 km. In the dialect, stress shifts from a short ending to the preceding syllable. Stress does not shift from a long ending, regardless of intonation. The dialect has five intonations: falling (ˈ), rising (~), short (˘), medium (ˑ), and medium-interrupted (˟). 194 The main processes associated with stress and intonation that determined the character of the Biržai dialect’s vowel system are: 1) shortening of endings, 2) shortening of unstressed syllables, 3) lengthening of short stressed syllables, and 4) assimilation of diphthongal sandhi. All these processes are interrelated, so that it is sometimes difficult to determine where one process ends and another begins. They operate differently at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of a word. Different sounds have different phonetic-articulatory properties and occupy different positions in the word; consequently, one process operates more strongly on some sounds, and another on others. The vowel system of the Biržai dialect is the result of all these changes.