Variable Word-Final Vowel Deletion And Reduction In Gurmancema: A Maximum Entropy Model

Abstract

Gurmancema (Gur, Burkina Faso) displays an overall dispreference for word-final tense vowels phrase-medially. On the surface, there is vowel reduction and vowel deletion, which vary both across and within phonological contexts. This work will provide an overview of the complex data patterns and describe a weighted constraint approach to the data patterns using a Maximum Entropy Harmonic Grammar. Weighted constraints are preferred to ranked constraints due to variability in the data and to account for cases of constraint ganging, including superadditivity.