Nyelvtudományi Közlemények 103. kötet (2006)
Tanulmányok - Tamás Ildikó: The Lule Saami vocalism 7
(SgGen), sähkär 'sugar' (SgNom) - sähkkära (SgGen) (root alternants)21 and jähtä-ba (VxDu3), dälä-jda (CxPl.Ill). 5.3. Quantitative vowel alternations The central diphthong-monophthong alternation evoked by the gradation of central consonants will be called quantitative vowel alternation.22 The three quantity degrees of the consonants have already been mentioned. Such threeway quantitative opposition can be observed in many Saami dialects, even in the case of vowels: the strongest degree (III, also known as prolonged or super-long degree) is represented by the diphthongs, the strong degree (II) by the long monophthongs, and the weak degree (I) by the short monophthongs (T. Itkonen 1971: 34). Type II—I alternation in consonants always goes together with type III alternation in vowels, and type III—II alternation in consonants always cooccurs with type III—II alternation in vowels. I have provided examples of the first case in the section on marginal vowel alternations. In the following examples vowel alternations triggered by type III—II gradation can be observed:23 III gcehttjat (Inf.) Hcejjka (SgNom) oahppat (Inf.) poassta (SgNom) boanndi (SgNom) II gertnaj (SgNom) lävda (SgNom) II gehtjav (VxSgl) Hejka (SgGen) ähpav (VxSgl) pästav (SgGen) bändi (SgGen) III gcermmaha (SgGen) loavddaga (SgGen) 'looks' (male name) 'learn, read' 'post' 'husband' 'snake' 'tent-canvas' The diphthongs (for reasons mentioned in the introduction, I include ce here; see footnote 23 as well) always go together with consonant clusters in grade III, 21 In Lule Saami the case suffixes go partially with the strong or the weak or gradated stem. The genitive suffix has been dropped, so only the weak plain root indicates the grammatical relation. 22 Sammallahti writes the following about this phenomenon: "In Lule Saami, stressed vowel alternations are dependent on the quantity of the following consonant center and the following vowel, and only the low diphthongs participate" (Sammallahti 1998:20). 23 In Lule Saami, quantity-related vowel alternation is not only quantitative, but may also be qualitive in cases of type III—11 gradation. Mere length alternation, however, can also bee seen in the neighbouring Northern Saami dialect, and it shows some similarity with type II—I alternation in Lule (see: Lakó 1986, 50).
