A Reconsideration of Yokuts Vowels

Abstract

One aspect of the Yokuts vowel system which has played a prominent role in the development of phonological theory is the claimed disparity between underlying and surface vowels. A widely held view is that the quality contrast between two long vowels, o: and u:, is neutralized on the surface, due to a context‐free rule of long vowel lowering. In this study, I return to primary data from Yokuts showing that paradigmatic relationships between verbs show maintenance of the o: vs. u: contrast and that there are instances of surface long high vowels in native and nonnative words. Some implications of these findings for phonological models are discussed. In a number of cases, these reiterate points made by Hockett (1967; 1973) which were largely ignored by early proponents of generative approaches.