Nyelvtudományi Közlemények 103. kötet (2006)

Tanulmányok - Tamás Ildikó: The Lule Saami vocalism 7

seemingly short vowel in the first syllable. Alternation nevertheless does not take place, because the e is long [me:rra]. Conversely, the lengthening of the á, which happens under the same conditions, cannot be seen in a written form, for example dallá [tolla], dälä [tob:] 'fire'. To summmarize, we could say that the compensatory lengthening of the low marginal vowels always happens under the above mentioned conditions. (The third low vowel, ce, only occurs in a central position, so it falls out of the scope of the rule.) The lengthening (or insertion) rule can be given as follows: 0 —> x / Vs C[ x

_ ] xxxxx Г III V d á 1 á A 5. Types of central vowel alternations 5.1. Regressive height harmony The close connection between first- and second-syllable vocalism in Lule Saami mainly involves changes applying from right to left. Second syllable (marginal) vowel alternation results in first syllable (central) vowel alternation. The appearance of the central allophone is bound to that of the marginal allophone: e.g., bessat —> bcessá 'escape' e.g., cello —* elluj

'wild deer' e.g., biehket —* bcegáv 'slide' Diachronically, the fact that first- and second-syllable vocalism is closely connected in Saami is well known. The above examples, however, show the synchronic aspect of this phenomenon. The alternations of first-syllable (central) vowels can obviously be explained by height adjustment.18 In the first type of alternation, the marginal a's lowering to á makes the central e turn into a more open ce. 18 Nysto and

Johnsen refer to such vowel alternations as 'umlaut' (Nysto - Johnsen 2001/2: 165-166). In the Scandinavian terminology the term 'umlaut' is used when a change in the vowel of the second syllable induces a vowel alternation in the first syllable. Vc

V

M 1. e —• ae / a —> á 2. эе —• e / о —• u 3. ie —* ae / e —*• á