Description of the phonetical and phonological system of the language Idaté spoken in East Timor

Author(s)

Maressa Xavier Alcantara

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2014-10-30

Examining board members

Paulo Chagas de Souza; Wilmar da Rocha D'Angelis; Willem Leo Marie Wetzels

• Advisor: Paulo Chagas de Souza

Abstract

The main goal of this dissertation is to give a first description of the phonetical and phonological system of the language Idaté, spoken in the city of Manatuto in East Timor. This analysis was made with data elicited from native speakers of Idaté living in Brasil and with the research in field work in East Timor. First a transcription of speech sounds of the language was given, using the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) and an inventory of the phonetic system of Idaté was made. After this phonetic analysis, a phonological analysis was made to describe how the system of sounds is organized, being aimed to check which are the distinct sounds, as well the features, the allophones, the phonological processes, a description of the syllabic structure and the prosodic characteristics in the language. Idaté does not have an official orthographic system yet and there are not many linguistic studies about this language. It is known that a deep study about a language allows the development of linguistic research and also helps to strengthen the cultural identity of the people. This factor is more important related to languages that have few studies about and that have not written records, since such languages may die without being previously analyzed. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/08816-7 - Phonetical and phonological description of Idate language from East Timor.
• Grantee: Maressa Xavier Alcantara
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master