Maithili (Some Aspects of Its Phonetics and Phonology)

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Maithili: Some Aspects of Its Phonetics and Phonology presents an account of some phonetic and phonological aspects of a variety of the 'standard' dialect of Maithili, a modern Indo-Aryan language spoken by more than 21 million people in the northern and eastern regions of the state of Bihar in India and in the Tarai districts of Nepal.

The contents of this book are divided into eight chapters. The first chapter is introductory, and it concentrates its discussion on such topics as: the number of Maithili speakers and its linguistic boundaries, its genetic classification and its place among the modern Indo-Aryan languages, linguistic and phonetic studies on Maithili, the emergence of a 'standard' in Maithili, the emergence of a 'standard' in Maithili and its present day situation. The second and third chapters attempt to classify and describe all the vowels (chapter 2) and consonants (chapter 3) that are phonologically distinctive in Maithili. Chapter 4 describes the Maithili oral and nasal vowels as well as its oral dipthongs in terms of their main acoustic properties. Chapter 5 discusses the results of an electroglottographic study on the duration of the Maithili vowels in various phonetic environments. Chapter 6 outlines a set of sixteen distinctive features and presents a distinctive feature analysis of the Maithili phonemes using that set. Chapter 7 studies the processes of consonant gemination as well as some major assimilatory and non-assimilatory processes occuring in Maithili phonology. The last 8th Chapter investigates the morpho-phonology of the Maithili verbs and verb forms, and discusses the processes of consonant weakening and elision in Maithili.

About the Author:

Born in the village Gotham, near the town of Rajbiraj, which is the head-quarters of the Sagarmatha Zone of Nepal, Dr. Sunil Kumar Jha is a native speaker of a variety of the standard dialect of Maithili. It is that standard form of the language which he has investigated and described in this book.

Dr. Jha took his B.A., M.A., degrees in English Literature from Tribhuvan University. He received his Post-Graduate Diploma in Teaching English Overseas from the University of Leeds, and M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Essex. Receiving a British Council scholarship, Dr. Jha continued and completed his doctorate on some phonetic and phonological aspects of Maithili from the University of Essex. For the last 34 years Dr. Jha has been teaching English at Tribhuvan University.

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction
1.1 Maithili: Its Speakers and Linguistic Boundaries
1.2 Maithili: Its Genetic Classification and Its Place Among Modern Indo-Aryan Languages
1.3 Linguistic and Phonetic Studies on Maithili: A Brief Sketch

1.3.1 Studies on Maithili done in India
1.3.2 Studies on Maithili done in Nepal

Chapter 2: THE MAITHILI VOWELS

2.0 Introduction
2.1 Description, Classification and Phonemic Analysis of the Maithili Vowels

2.1.1 The Oral Vowels in Maithili
2.1.1.1 The Front Vowels in Maithili
2.1.1.2 The Central Vowels in Maithili
2.1.1.3 The Back Vowels in Maithili
2.1.1.4 The High, Mid and Low Vowels in Maithili
2.1.2 The Nasal Vowels in Maithili
2.1.2.1 Initial Position
2.1.2.2 Medial Position
2.1.2.3 Final Position
2.1.3 The Diphthongs in Maithili

Chapter 3: THE MAITHILI CONSONANTS

3.0 Introduction
3.1 Description, Classification and Phonemic Analysis of the Maithili Consonants

3.1.1 The Stops in Maithili
3.1.1.1 The Bilabial Stops
3.1.1.2 The Dental Stops
3.1.1.3 The Retroflex Stops
3.1.1.4 The Velar Stops
3.1.2 The Affricates in Maithili
3.1.3 The Fricatives in Maithili
3.1.4 The Nasals in Maithili
3.1.5 The Approximants in Maithili

Chapter 4: ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF THE MAITHILI VOWELS

4.0 Introductiohn
4.1 Experimental Method

4.1.1 Text Utterances
4.1.2 Apparatus Used
4.1.3 Formant Frequency and Duration Measurements

4.2.1 The Oral Vowels in Maithili
4.2.1.1 Formant Frequency Measurement Results and Discussions
4.2.1.2 Duration Measurement Results and Discussions
4.2.2 The Nasal Vowels in Maithili
4.2.2.1 Formant Frequency Measurement Results and Discussions
4.2.2.2 Duration Measurement Results and Discussions
4.2.3 The Oral Diphthongs in Maithili
4.2.3.1 Format Frequency Measurement Results and Discussions
4.2.3.2 Duration Measurement Results and Discussions

Chapter 5: ELECTROGLOTTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF VOWEL DURATION IN MAITHILI

5.0 Introduction
5.1 Experimental Method

5.1.1 Test Utterances
5.1.2 Equipment
5.1.3 Duration Measurements

5.2.1 Duration of the Oral Vowels
5.2.2 Duration of the Nasal Vowels

Chapter 6: DISTINCTIVE FEATURES AND REDUNDANCY CONDITIONS OF THE MAITHILI PHONEMES

6.0 Introduction
6.1 Distinctive Feature Theory in Brief
6.2 Distinctive Features of the Maithili Phonemes

6.2.1 Some Basic Concepts
6.2.2 Major Class Features
6.2.3 Place of Articulation Features
6.2.4 Body of Tongue Features
6.2.5 Lip Shape Feature
6.2.6 Manner of Articulation Features
6.2.7 Source Features

Chapter 7: SOME NATURAL PROCESSES IN MAITHILI PHONOLOGY

7.0 Introduction
7.1 Gemination of Consonants in Maithili

7.1.1 Consonant Gemination and Previous Studies on It
7.1.2 General Remarks on Consonant Gemination in Maithili
7.1.3 Gemination of Consonants in Maithili and Its Rules
7.1.4 Conclusion

7.2.1 Regressive Assimilatory Processes in Maithili
7.2.2 Coalescent Assimilatory Processes in Maithili

7.3.1 Breaking of Vowels in Maithili
7.3.2 Vowel Reduction in Maithili
7.3.3 Elision and Deletion of Vowel Segments in Maithili

Chapter 8: THE MORPHOPHONOLOGY OF THE MAITHILI VERBS: A STUDY ON THE WEAKENING AND ELISON OF CONSONANT SEGMENTS IN MAITHILI

8.0 Introduction
8.1 The Auxiliary Verb Forms in Maithili

8.1.1 The Forms According to the Subject
8.1.1.1 The Forms in the Present Tense
8.1.1.2 The Forms in the Past Tense
8.1.1.3 The Forms in the Future Tense
8.1.1.4 Summary and Discussion
8.1.2 The Forms According to Both the Subject and the Object
8.1.2.1 The Forms in the Present, Past and Future Tenses
8.1.2.2 Summary and Discussion

8.2.1 The System of Aspects and the Elison of the Dental /t/ in Maithili
8.2.2 The Elison of the Label /b/ in Maithili
8.2.3 Summary and Discussion