A Preliminary Intonation Model of Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the intonational patterns and phrasal domains in simple declaratives in Torres-Martinez Desert (TMD) Cahuilla, a critically endangered Uto-Aztecan language spoken in Southern California. While the word-prosodic system of Cahuilla has been addressed in previous literature [1], [2], [3], no intonational analysis has been proposed for any Cahuilla variety. Using novel data, I motivate a preliminary intonational model for declarative sentences in TMD Cahuilla within the AM (autosegmental-metrical) framework. Specifically, I analyze TMD Cahuilla as having two distinct levels of prosodic constituency: the Intonational Phrase (IP), which is composed of at least one Accentual Phrase (AP), and the AP, which consists of at least one prosodic word, has an obligatory H* pitch accent on the lexically stressed syllable and an La edge tone aligned to the right edge of the phrase. The IP ends in a L% boundary tone, which overwrites the La when they co-occur. Phrase-final lengthening and optional pauses delineate the IP. Given the paucity of intonational research on American Indian languages, this paper contributes to a growing body of cross-linguistic research that tests the ability of an AM-based system of annotation such as ToBI, to model a wide range of intonation systems.