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Third, syllables containing phonetically long vowels (CV) are attested in Mono,
e.g. @K(K @K(K @K(K @K(K ‘five’. These syllables always occur in conjunction with contour tones,
which are analyzed as sequences of non-identical level tones. 4 In Chapter 3, I give
evidence for considering length to be non-contrastive in Mono. As a result, I interpret
CV syllables as variants of CV syllables and thus an additional syllable pattern does not
need to be posited for Mono to account for them.
Finally, the syllable type CLV (L = liquid) is an optional variant of the two-
syllable combination CV1LV1, in which the two vowels are identical in quality and in
tone. In careful speech, CV1LV1 is produced, but in casual speech the first vowel is
shortened or it is completely elided. For example, the word =(>=(=( =(>=(=( =(>=(=( =(>=(=( ‘bait’ is also
pronounced =(>=('=( =(>=('=( =(>=('=( =(>=('=( or =(>=( =(>=(. =(>=( =(>=( Words exhibiting this phenomenon include nouns (e.g.
C=BKHK C=BKHK ‘mortar’), verbs (e.g. (>H (>H (>H (>H ‘to cut’) and adjectives (e.g. =(=(H=( =(=(H=( =(=(H=( =(=(H=( ‘small (pl.)’).
Obstruents and semi-vowels are attested in the first position of the pattern, but liquids and
nasals are not. (The word =KK =KK =KK =KK ‘cold weather’ is attested, but it is not clear that the first
K can be elided in this case.) Example (1) shows the consonants which can occur in this
pattern. Note that if the first vowel is e or i, the second vowel is or , respectively.
(1) Sample words with CV1LV1 pattern
a. Labial
> ⎯
F FA(A(K FA(A(K FA(A(K FA(A(K
‘bat’
FH FH FH FH
‘egg’
> =(>=(=( =(>=(=( =(>=(=( =(>=(=(
‘hello’
=>KHK =>KHK =>KHK =>KHK
‘goat’
> =(>=(=( =(>=(=( =(>=(=( =(>=(=(
‘bait’
> > > > H HH H K K K K
‘pale color’
B BKHKJ5= BKHKJ5= BKHKJ5=
‘soap’
L =LKHK =LKHK =LKHK =LKHK
‘rain’
⎯
M =(C>( =(C>( =(C>( =(C>( >KM >KM
‘type of banana’
=(M=(H=( =(M=(H=(
‘fierceness’
4 See Section 3.1 for a discussion of optional exceptions to this.
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