NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 1

Variable Syllable Weight and Quantity-Insensitive Allomorphy in Shipibo

*


Jos Elas-Ulloa
Rutgers University

(A) Shipibo, a Panoan language spoken in Eastern Peru, displays two superficially
contradicting facts:

Quantity-insensitive footing:
1. Disyllabic feet run throughout the Prosodic Word (PrWd).
2. Rhythmic allomorphy:
The second vowel of the suffix again alternates: -ribi ~ -riba. It
surfaces as [a] when it is in an odd syllable but as [i] when is in an even
syllable (Lauriault 1948, Faust 1973, Loriot 1993).
The ergative suffix also alternates. It surfaces as -n when added to a noun
with an even number of syllables but as -nin when added to a noun with
an odd number of syllables.
Quantity-sensitive stress:
1. Closed syllables attract stress. Main stress occurs on the second syllable, if
closed; otherwise, on the first syllable (Loriot 1993, Elias-Ulloa 2000).

(B) Rosenthall & van der Hulsts (1999) and Morns (1999, 2000) works within
Optimality Theory (P&S 1993) have shown that the weight of closed-syllables
can be contextually variable within a single language. The present research
extends their work by integrating the role that Grouping Harmony (Prince 1991)
plays in accounting for languages like Shipibo.


Closed syllables show contextually variable weight in order to satisfy
Grouping Harmony (*(HL)), Weight-to-Stress Principle (WSP), and
disyllabicity in feet (FtBin).


Variable Weight of Closed-Syllables in Shipibo
(1) a. CVC.CV ('L.L)
b. CV.CVC (L.'H)
c. CVC.CVC (L.'H)

*
I would like to thank Akinbiyi Akinlabi, Birgit Alber, Markus Hiller, Paul de Lacy, Steve Parker, Alan
Prince and Bruce Tesar for their comments on key aspects of this analysis. I have also beneficiated from the
questions and comments of the Michigan Linguistic Society 2003 and the Workshop of American Indigenous
Languages 2004 audiences. The funds for the Shipibo fieldwork (2002-2003) were provided by Rutgers
University (Jos Camacho and Liliana Sanchez). Any errors are my own.
NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 2
1 About Shipibo
a ) Stress
Stress is realized as high pitch.
Secondary stresses are not reported to occur.

b) Phonotactics
Shipibo has the following segmental inventory:

(2) Consonants: / p, l, L, b, s, j, , ls, lj, i, m, n, v, y, h /
Vowels: / I, I, o, a /

Long vowels only occur in monosyllabic nouns and in some monosyllabic
verbs.
Onsets and codas are optional. Complex onsets and codas are disallowed.
Coda Condition: only [s, j, , n| surface in coda position.
Although stops cannot surface in coda, stress behaves as if they were present
creating metrical opacity. In this talk, I put this issue aside.

2 Quantity-Insensitive Footing
Panoan languages are characterized by a number of segmental rhythmic-
phenomena.
- Capanahua (Loos 1969, Safir 1979, Gonzalez 2003, Elias-Ulloa
2003b): underlying glottal-stop deletion in the coda of even syllables.
- Huariapano (Parker 1998, Elias-Ulloa 2003b): [h]-insertion in the
coda of odd syllables.
- Amahuaca (Loos 1999): nasals in the onset of even syllables take on a
plosive release.
Shipibo (Lauriault (1948), Faust (1973), Loriot (1993) and my fieldwork
(Peru, Summer 2002-2004): rhythmic-alternation of the suffix again.
In Shipibo, the suffix again alternates between -ribi ~ -riba depending on
the metrical structure of the PrWd. It surfaces as -riba when the suffix is
parsed between two feet but surfaces as -ribi when parsed within a single
foot. See (3) to (5).

(3) (pI -iI)(ba -LI)
eat -again -past_tense
Ate again (Lauriault 1948)


NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 3
(4) (yo.no)(-iI.bI) -LI
command -again -past_tense
Commanded again (Lauriault 1948)

(5) (yo.mI)(lso -iI)(ba -LI)
steal -again -past_tense
Stole again (Lauriault 1948)

The same alternation is obtained by adding suffixes between a root and the
suffix again. See (6) and (8).

(6) (La -iI)(ba -LI)
Go -again -past_tense
Went again (Lauriault 1948)

(7) (La -ma) (-iI.bI) -LI
Go -causative -again -past_tense
Made him/her to go again (Elas-Ulloa 2003)

(8) (La -ya)(ma -iI)(ba -LI)
Go -negation -again -past_tense
Do not go again (Elas-Ulloa 2003)

The ergative suffix is sensitive to foot structure, too. It surfaces as -n when
added to a noun with an even number of syllables and as -nin when added to
a noun with an odd number of syllables. See data in (9) and (10).

(9) (ba.LI) Child
(ba.LI-n) Child (ergative) (Loriot 1993)

(10) (a.la)pa Hen
(a.la)(pa.-nIn) Hen (ergative) (Loriot 1993)

NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 4
Crucially in (11) and (12), closed-syllables do not form their own foot; that
is, footing is Quantity-Insensitive.

(11) (a) (mI.lI)(-iI.bI) -LI
(b) * (mI)(lI. -iI)(ba. -LI)
Cut_his_hand -again -past_tense
Cut his hand again (Lauriault 1948)

(12) (a) (mIs.Lo -n)
(b) * (mIs)(Lo.-nIn)
Cramp (ergative) (Loriot 1993)

3 Quantity-Sensitive Stress

Closed syllables attract stress. Stress occurs on the second syllable, if closed;
otherwise, on the first syllable.

(13)
Stress on the First Syllable Stress on the Second Syllable

a.
( ba.LI) Child
d.
(wi.la) Leg
b. ( mIs.Lo) Cramp e.
(lon.LI) (Sp. of) Bird
c. (sa.pI)lon (Sp. of) Fish f. (mIs.pan)mIs tamale-seller
(Source: Loriot 1993)


Further evidence for the CVC-heaviness:

(14) a. / baLI -n / (ba.LIn) Child (ergative)
b. / mIsLo -n / (mIs.Lon) Cramp (ergative)
(Source: Loriot 1993)

NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 5
4 An Additional Puzzle
Closed-syllables pattern with light syllables in odd positions. They do not
form their own foot. However, syllables with long vowels do form their own
foot.
Although most of verbal roots are disyllabic, there are few monosyllabic verbs with the
shapes: CV, CVC or CV:. When the suffix again is added immediately after those
monosyllables, CV:-roots (bimoraic roots) form their own foot while both CVC-roots
and CV-roots pattern together in grouping with the following syllable. This indicates
that the initial closed syllable in (15) (second column) is not heavy and do not form its
own foot.

(15) (i) CV:-root: / lI: / (ii) CVC-root: / hIs / (iii) CV-root: / pI /
(t )(-iI.bI)-LI (his.-iI)(ba.-LI) (pI.-iI)(ba.-LI)
* (t.-iI)(ba.-LI) * (his)(-iI.bI)-LI * (pI)(-iI.bI)-LI
Work-again-past See-again-past Eat-again-past
(Source: Lauriault 1948, Loriot 1993)

Furthermore, while two closed syllables group together into a foot (see first
column), a CV-syllable cannot group together with a closed syllable (see
second column).

(16)
( mis.'pan)(-iI.bI)-kI ('t)(-on.-iI)(ba.-kI)

* ( 'mis)(pan)(-iI.bI)-LI * ( t.-'on)(-iI.bI)-LI
Cook_tamale-again-past Work-beneficial-again-past
(Source: Elas-Ulloa 2004)

Closed-syllables in odd positions beyond the initial foot are not heavy,
either. They do not form their own foot.

(17)
(his.ma)(-on.-iI)(ba.-LI) (po.la)(-on.-iI)(ba.-LI)

* (his.)ma.(-on)(-iI.bI)-LI * (po.la)(-on)(-iI.bI)-LI
Show-beneficial-again-past Throw-beneficial-again-past
(Source: Elas-Ulloa 2004)

NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 6
5 Solution to the Conundrum
The conundrum posed by Shipibo comes in two parts: its peculiar quantity-
sensitive stress and the relation with the quantity-insensitive phenomenon of
rhythmic alternation.


Both puzzles are solved by regarding the weight of closed syllables as
positionally variable while respecting the disyllabic size of feet.


The constraints FtBin, WSP and Grouping Harmony *(HL), when ranked
over WBP in a language that allows closed syllables to be heavy (WBP >>
DEP-), render the weight of closed syllables contextually variable while
respecting the quantity-insensitive footing.

Shipibo Ranking:

(18) *(HL), FTBIN, WSP

WBP

DEP-, TROCHEE

IAMB

Constraint Definitions

(19) GROUPING HARMONY (*(HL)): Do not have a foot in which the size of the
first syllable is greater than the size of the second. The syllable size is
measured in moras (Prince 1991, Prince and Smolensky 1993).

(20) FOOT-BINARITY (FTBIN): Feet are disyllabic (based on P&S 1993).

(21) WSP: If heavy, then stressed. (Prince 1991:2-4, P&S 1993)

(22) WBP: Coda consonants are moraic (Hayes 1989, 1994).

(23) DEP-: Output moras have input correspondents (McCarthy & Prince 1999).

(24) TROCHEE: Foot heads are left-aligned (P&S 1993).

(25) IAMB: Foot heads are right-aligned (P&S 1993).
NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 7

5.1 / CV.CV / ( L.L )
Trochaic by default

/ baLI / (ba.LI) child
(26) TROCHEE IAMB
a. L ( 'L.L ) *
b. ( L.'L) *!

5.2 / CV.CVC / ( L.H )

/ wila / (wi.la) leg
(27) WBP TROCHEE DEP- IAMB
a.
L (L.'H

)
* *
b.
( 'L.L

)
*! *

5.3 / CVC.CV / ( L.L )

/ mIsLo / (mIs.Lo) cramp
(28) *(HL) FTBIN WBP TROCHEE DEP- IAMB
a. L ('L.L) * *
b. ('H)L *! *
c. ('H.L) *! * *

5.4 / CVC.CVC / ( L.H )

/ lonLI / (lon.LI) (Sp.) bird
(29) WSP *(HL) FTBIN WBP TROCHEE DEP- IAMB
a. L (L.'H) * * *
b.
( 'L.L

)
**! *
c. ('H)L *! * *
d.
( 'H.L

)
*! * * *
e.
( 'H.H

)
*! ** *


NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 8
As a result of the ranking in (18), Shipibo shows both Non-Uniformity of
Foot-type; that is, it has both trochaic and iambic feet, and Non-Uniformity
of Closed-Syllable Weight; that is, closed syllables can vary their weight
according to the position where they occur.


Thus, the quantity of closed syllables is adjusted within disyllabic feet.
Closed syllables surface heavy if they are stressed and if they do not form
part of an (HL) foot; otherwise, they surface light.



As a consequence of the quantity adjustments, closed syllables are forced to
be light in odd positions. This gives a straightforward explanation to the
puzzle posed by the data in (15) to (17).
A faithfulness constraint, WEIGHT-IDENT-MONOSYLLABLE
1
, requiring that
the vowel length in monosyllabic verb-roots be preserved in the output,
outranks FTBIN. Thus, CV-syllables do not undergo quantity adjustments.
Furthermore, WSP and *(HL) must also outrank FTBIN since CV-roots do
form their own foot. See tableau (30).

(30) /CV -CVC/ WEIGHT-IDENT-
MONOSYL
WSP *(HL) FTBIN WBP DEP-
a. L ('H)(L * *
b.
( 'H.L

)
*! *
c.
( 'H.H

)
*! *
d.
( 'L.L

)
*! *


1
Weight-Ident-Monosyllable is an expositional device adopted here while further research is carried out to
obtain a better understanding of the underlying factors motivating the behavior of long-vowels in
monosyllabic roots.
NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 9
6 Conclusion
The account presented connects quite naturally the unusual stress pattern and
the segmental foot-based phenomena observed in Shipibo, providing us with
a straightforward explanation: both crucially depend on disyllabic feet.

What have we learned from Shipibo?

Shipibo adjusts the quantity of closed syllables instead of shrinking the size
of disyllabic feet.
In accounting for these adjustments is not only important to consider the role
of Weight-to Stress Principle (Rosenthall, Sam and Harry van der Hulst (1999)
and Morn (1999)) but also the role of Grouping Harmony (Prince 1991).

Shipibo: Quantity is adjusted to accommodate Foot Size
(31) CVC.CV ('L.L), but not *('H)L, it violates FTBIN
*('H.L), it violates GROUPING HARMONY
*('HH), it violates WSP
CV.CVC (L.'H)
CVC.CVC (L.'H), but not *('H)L, it violates FTBIN
*('H.L), it violates GROUPING HARMONY
*('H.H), it violates WSP
*('L.L), it violates WBP twice

Typological Consequences: Quantity-(In)sensitive Footing.
Key to this analysis is the definition of FTBIN: Feet are disyllabic (see (20)).
The idea behind the definition of FTBIN is that feet aspire to have two syllables.
Any divergence from that ideal is penalized. Thus, the (H)-foot, a foot formed
by a single heavy syllable, emerges as the optimal solution only when both
HEAVY WEIGHT constraints (constraints that require or allow heavy syllables,
e.g. WBP, WEIGHT-IDENT) and METRICAL CONSTRAINTS (e.g. WSP,
GROUPING-HARMONY) outrank FTBIN.
NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 10
Simplified typology for languages which have heavy syllables:

(32) Type I: Disyllabic Footing without Quantity Adjustments
FTBIN, HEAVY WEIGHT >> METRICAL CONSTRAINTS

Estonian (Kenstowicz 1994, Hayes 1995)
a. 'Io.pc.lcl.lI:n (L.L)(H.H)
b. 'so:.yc.mal.lcI (H.L)(HH)
c. 'pI.mcs.la.vas.sc (L.H)(LH)L

(33) Type II: Disyllabic Footing with Quantity Adjustments
FTBIN, METRICAL CONSTRAINTS >> HEAVY WEIGHT

Shipibo (Loriot 1993)
a. ba.LI (L.L) c. wi.la (L.H)
b. mIs.Lo (L.L) d. lon.LI (L.H)

Yidin
y
(Dixon 1977, Hayes 1997)
a. ('vui.gu)('Iup.gu) (L.L)(L.L)
b. (gu.'da)(ga.'nI:p) (L.H)(L.H)

(34) Type III: Quantity-Sensitive Footing: (H)-foot allowed.

HEAVY WEIGHT, METRICAL CONSTRAINTS >> FTBIN

Cairene Classical Arabic (Prince 1991, Hayes 1995)
a. ja.ja.'ia.lu (L.L)(L.L)
b. ?ad.'vI.ya.lu (H)(L.L)L
c. ha:.'a:.nI (H)(H)L

NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 11
7 Appendix: An Account for the Rhythmic Allomorphy in Shipibo
7.1 The -riba ~ -ribi Allomorphy
I assume the suffix again has two underlying representations: /-riba/ and /-ribi/.
See Mascar (1996).
The grammar selects the right allomorph according to the ranking of constraints.
Constraints:

(35) IDENT-V: Correspondent vowels are identical in features (McCarthy and Prince
1999)

Constraints on Foot Headiness and Sonority (Based on Kenstowicz 1996, De Lacy 2002)
(36) *i/Head >>>> *a/Head
(37) *a/NonHead >>>> *i/NonHead

Ranking (In the tableaux below, the relevant heads are underlined):

(38) IDENT-V

*a/NONHD *i/HD

*i/NONHD *a/HD


/ lIla/ mother (Loriot 1993)
(39) / lIla/ IDENT-V *a/NONHD *i/NONHD
a. L ('lI.la) *
b. ('lI.lI) *! *

(40) / lIla/ IDENT-V *i/HD *a/HD
a. L ('lI.la) *
b. ('la.lI) *! *

The alternation -ribi ~ -riba

(yo.no)(-ri.bi) -LI (he) commanded it again (Lauriault 1948)
(41) (i) / yono -ribi -LI/ IDENT-V *a/NONHD *i/NONHD
a. L ('yo.no)(-iI.bI)-LI *
b. ('yo.no)(-iI.ba)-LI *! *

(ii) / yono -riba -LI/

IDENT-V

*a/NONHD

*i/NONHD
c. ('yo.no)(-iI.ba)-LI *!
d. ('yo.no)(-iI.bI)-LI *! *

NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 12
(yo.mI)(lso.-ri)(ba -LI) (he) stole it again (Lauriault 1948)
(42) (i) /yomIlso -ribi -LI/ IDENT-V *i/HD *a/HD
a. (lso.-iI)(bI.-LI) *!
b. (lso.-iI)(ba.-LI) *! *



(ii) /yomIlso -riba -LI/

IDENT-V

*i/HD

*a/HD
c. L (lso.-iI)(ba.-LI) *
d. (lso.-iI)(bI.-LI) *! *

7.2 The Ergative Suffix Allomorphy
For the ergative suffix, I also assume it has two underlying representations: / -n /
and / -nin /. The grammar chooses the correct allomorph.
Ranking:
(43) FTBIN, MAX-SEG, DEP-SEG >> PARSE-, *CODA

(Sp.) Fish (Loriot 1993)
(44) / sapIlon/ FTBIN MAX-SEG DEP-SEG PARSE- *CODA
a. (sapI)lon * *
b. (sa.pI)(lo.nI) *!
c. (sa.pI)lo *! *
d. (sa.pI) *!** *
e. (sapI)(lon) *! *

The alternation -n ~ -nin

(ba.LIn) Child-ergative (Loriot 1993)
(45) (i) / baLI -n/ MAX-SEG DEP-SEG PARSE- *CODA
a. L (ba.LI-n) *
b. (ba.LI)-nI *! * *

(ii) / baLI -nin/

MAX-SEG

DEP-SEG

PARSE-

*CODA
c. (ba.LI)-nIn *! *
d. (ba.LI)(-nI.nI) *!
e. (ba.LI-n) *!* *
f. (ba.LI)-nI *! *

NELS 35 - October 22-24, 2004 13
('a.la)(pa.nIn) Hen-ergative (Loriot 1993)
(46) /alapa -n/ FTBIN MAX-SEG DEP-SEG PARSE- *CODA
a. (a.ta)pan *! *
b. (a.la)(pa.nIn) *!* *
c. (a.la)(pa.nI) *!
d. (a.ta)(pan) *! *



/alapa -nin/

FTBIN

MAX-SEG

DEP-SEG

PARSE-

*CODA
e. L (a.la)(pa.nIn) *
f. (a.la)(pa.nI)ni *! *
g. (a.ta)pan *!* * *
h. (a.la)(pa.nI) *!

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Jos Elas-Ulloa
Rutgers University
18 Seminary Place
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
joselias@eden.rutgers.edu