Isolating CV languages?
Isolating CV languages?
From my understanding most languages with CVC syllables tend to be isolating or fusional; and those languages with CV syllables tend to be agglutinating or polysynthetic. Does anyone here know of a language that is CV and isolating or CVC and agglutinating?
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Re: Isolating CV languages?
The Polynesian languages, like Hawai'ian and Māori, are mostly isolating and have pretty much nothing but CV. Plenty of agglutinating languages are CVC, probably most of them really. Look at Turkish and Quechua for some obvious examples.
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Re: Isolating CV languages?
what what?finlay wrote:what
Re: Isolating CV languages?
What are some representative example languages?Cael wrote:From my understanding most languages with CVC syllables tend to be isolating or fusional; and those languages with CV syllables tend to be agglutinating or polysynthetic.
Yoruba (Kwa, Niger-Congo; Nigeria) has syllables of V, CV, or SN (syllabic nasal), and is more isolating than English. I don't believe that even /n/ is possible as a coda.Does anyone here know of a language that is CV and isolating or CVC and agglutinating?
Re: Isolating CV languages?
Japanese and Korean are CVC and agglutinating. Technically Japanese is CCVC where C2 can only be /j/ and C3 only /ɴ/ or /Q/ or whatever you call it.
Last edited by clawgrip on Sun Aug 18, 2013 11:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Isolating CV languages?
That's correct, Yoruba disallows any coda consonants whatsoever (orthographic syllable final <n> simply marks nasalization). Technically /n/ isn't even a phoneme in Yoruba but that is another conversation.Trebor wrote:Yoruba (Kwa, Niger-Congo; Nigeria) has syllables of V, CV, or SN (syllabic nasal), and is more isolating than English. I don't believe that even /n/ is possible as a coda.Does anyone here know of a language that is CV and isolating or CVC and agglutinating?
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Re: Isolating CV languages?
Well Polynesian is actually (C)V rather than CV - although consonant loss could have produced the present state from an hypothetical pre-pre-Polynesian CVC.Aurora Rossa wrote:The Polynesian languages, like Hawai'ian and Māori, are mostly isolating and have pretty much nothing but CV.
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Re: Isolating CV languages?
I assumed that CV and CVC mentioned in the OP included things like (C)V and (C)V(C). Is there any language that is always CVC in every syllable?
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Re: Isolating CV languages?
All languages permit open syllables, with the only exception I've ever heard claimed being for Arrernte which supposedly has VC(C) as its only syllable pattern. Which is so completely whack that it's hard to credit. On the other hand, languages that permit only CV probably exist, though I can't think offhand of any completely perfect examples.clawgrip wrote:I assumed that CV and CVC mentioned in the OP included things like (C)V and (C)V(C). Is there any language that is always CVC in every syllable?
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Re: Isolating CV languages?
No, Arrernte really is VC(C), it's just that it drops word-inital schwa and tacks a schwa onto the end of every phrase, or maybe word, I forget.
Anyway, to answer OP's question: Africa, Polynesia, most of western North America, and I am honestly surprised that there's anyone here who still hasn't heard of Saanich or Nuxalk.
edit: Why is Saanich spelled with <aa>? Are there any other words that have <aa> at all where the spelling isn't taken completely from a language where <aa> is a thing? 'Saanich' comes from W̱SÁNEĆ /x_wsen@tS/, so unless there was an earlier orthography with <aa>...
Anyway, to answer OP's question: Africa, Polynesia, most of western North America, and I am honestly surprised that there's anyone here who still hasn't heard of Saanich or Nuxalk.
edit: Why is Saanich spelled with <aa>? Are there any other words that have <aa> at all where the spelling isn't taken completely from a language where <aa> is a thing? 'Saanich' comes from W̱SÁNEĆ /x_wsen@tS/, so unless there was an earlier orthography with <aa>...
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Re: Isolating CV languages?
http://wals.info/feature/combined/12A/22A doesn't suggest any particular correlation between syllable structure type and morphological type.
Re: Isolating CV languages?
If one looks even at Bantu alone, one will see that this agglutinative subgroup of Niger-Congo generally has phonotactics limiting syllables to the shapes vowel, vowel+nasal, stop/fricative/affricate/etc.+vowel, prenasalized stop/etc.+vowel, stop/fricative/affricate/etc.+vowel+nasal, and prenasalized stop/etc.+vowel+nasal.Seven Fifty wrote:http://wals.info/feature/combined/12A/22A doesn't suggest any particular correlation between syllable structure type and morphological type.
Re: Isolating CV languages?
I was thinking of langauges like English, Chinese for CVC/isolating and the Native American languages for agglutinanting/CV languagesTrebor wrote:What are some representative example languages?Cael wrote:From my understanding most languages with CVC syllables tend to be isolating or fusional; and those languages with CV syllables tend to be agglutinating or polysynthetic.
P.S. Thanks to everyone for your replies. I have gained some good insight.
Re: Isolating CV languages?
Ahh, OK. But there are counterexamples not to be overlooked--in the latter category, Georgian and the Inuit languages come to mind.Cael wrote:I was thinking of langauges like English, Chinese for CVC/isolating and the Native American languages for agglutinanting/CV languages
Re: Isolating CV languages?
Huh? Don't most Native American languages tend to not be CV?Cael wrote:I was thinking of langauges like English, Chinese for CVC/isolating and the Native American languages for agglutinanting/CV languages.Trebor wrote:What are some representative example languages?Cael wrote:From my understanding most languages with CVC syllables tend to be isolating or fusional; and those languages with CV syllables tend to be agglutinating or polysynthetic.
EDIT: See this map: http://wals.info/feature/12A?s=20&z1=30 ... 6f&v3=cd00
Re: Isolating CV languages?
man in the pacific northwest you're lucky to get V at all
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Re: Isolating CV languages?
I guess they are. That was a big misconception on my part8Deer wrote:Huh? Don't most Native American languages tend to not be CV?Cael wrote:I was thinking of langauges like English, Chinese for CVC/isolating and the Native American languages for agglutinanting/CV languages.Trebor wrote:What are some representative example languages?Cael wrote:From my understanding most languages with CVC syllables tend to be isolating or fusional; and those languages with CV syllables tend to be agglutinating or polysynthetic.
EDIT: See this map: http://wals.info/feature/12A?s=20&z1=30 ... 6f&v3=cd00
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Re: Isolating CV languages?
Uh, Hmong?
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Re: Isolating CV languages?
Hmong could be analyzed as sort of having coda /N/ if you cross your eyes and squint. Nuosu, on the other hand, has no coda consonants at all under even the most ridiculous somewhat-plausible analysis.
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