Dropping of the Class-Prefix Consonant, Vowel Elision and Automatic Phonological Mining in Embosi (Bantu C 25)

Annie Rialland (1) , Georges Martial Embanga Aborobongui Embanga Aborobongui (1) , Martine Adda-Decker (1) , Lori Lamel (2)

1 LPP - LPP - Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie - UMR 7018
2 LIMSI - Laboratoire d'Informatique pour la Mécanique et les Sciences de l'Ingénieur

The aim of this paper is two-fold : 1) to provide a new analysis of a set of phonological processes in Embosi (Bantu C 25), particularly of the dropping of the class prefix consonant, proposing that it involves dissimilatory processes and compensatory lengthenings due to an empty C position, and vowel elision at phonological word boundaries; 2) to introduce an automatic speech-to-text alignment system in Embosi (with a word dictionary) and investigate how it can be used for phonetic/phonological data mining, focusing on vowel elision and on compensatory phenomena at phonological word junctions. Embosi is a Bantu language (C 25) spoken in Congo (Brazzaville) by an estimated number of 140000 speakers in the Cuvette Region (INS, Congo). The number of speakers in Brazzaville itself and in the diaspora is unknown. This paper is mainly based on the variety of Embosi spoken in Boundji and its vicinity.

Mots clés: consonantal dropping; vowel lengthening; Bantu C25; Embosi; automatic phonological mining

Domaines: Linguistique

Annie Rialland, Georges Martial Embanga Aborobongui Embanga Aborobongui, Martine Adda-Decker, Lori Lamel. Dropping of the Class-Prefix Consonant, Vowel Elision and Automatic Phonological Mining in Embosi (Bantu C 25). Selected Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, 2015, pp. 221-230. ⟨halshs-01251202⟩