Una primera aproximación a la variación vocálica inter-dialectal en wichí

LORENA CAYRÉ BAITO

Liames. Línguas Indígenas Americanas

UNICAMP

Lugar: Campinas; Año: 2015 vol. 15 p. 355 - 374

2177-7160

Scholars agree that Wichí language (Mataco-mataguayan family) has a five vowel system /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/ and /u/. However one of the most salient differences among Wichí dialects is the following vowel variation: haló vs. halá 'tree'; wenú vs. wenó 'to give -something to someone-'; hep vs. hup 'house'; lhichú vs. lheché 'egg'; pejak-hi vs. pejek-hi 'mirror, photo'; lhip vs. lhup 'nest'. In the literature this variation has been partially analyzed by Terraza (2003) and Messineo & Braunstein (1990). The aim of this paper is to study this vowel variation between two Wichí dialects, one of them spoken in Ingeniero Juárez (Formosa, Argentina) and the other one, in Tartagal (Salta, Argentina). We consider a diachronic explanation for this phenomenon; our hypothesis is that current vowel variation is the result of a chain shift that combines both raising and fronting of vowels (back vowels move to the front).