Karao (also spelled Karaw) is a language of northern Luzon, Philippines.[2] It is spoken in the Karao, Ekip, and Bokod areas of western Benguet Province, and in the southwestern corner of Ifugao Province. The language is named after the barangay of Karaw in Bokod municipality, Benguet. The Karao ethnic group in Benguet still exists to this day, but the Karao traditions are gradually fading away into their memories.[3]
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Inter-dental | Alveolar | Alveo-palatal | Velar | Back velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | Voiceless | p | t | k | k̠ | ʔ | ||
| Voiced | b | d | g | |||||
| Labialized | gʷ | |||||||
| Affricate | Voiceless | t͡ʃ | ||||||
| Voiced | d͡ʒ | |||||||
| Fricative | ɸ | θ | s | x̠ | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||||
| Lateral | l | |||||||
| Tap | ɾ | |||||||
| Approximant | j | w | ||||||
- /p, b, t, d, g, k̠/ have three allophones each: an unaspirated, an unreleased, and a slightly aspirated allophone. For example, /p/ has [p˭] in a syllable onset, [p̚] in a syllable coda and word-finally after /ɨ/, and [pʰ] word-finally in free variation with [p˭].
- The stop /k/ only has an unaspirated and an unreleased allophone. [k˭] is only in a syllable onset, and [k̚] is only in a syllable coda when it geminates following /ɨ/.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-open | i | ɨ | o |
| Open | a |
- /i/ has three allophones: [i], [e], and [ɛ]. [e] is found in open syllables next to /k̠/ and /x̠/, e.g., /six̠o/ [sex̠o] 'elbow'. [ɛ] is found in closed syllables next to /k̠/ and /x̠/, e.g., /sax̠it/ [sax̠ɛt] 'sickness'.
- /ɨ/ has two allophones: [ɨ] and [ʌ], which are in free variation. [ʌ] is more common in fast speech, while [ɨ] is more common in slow speech.
- /o/ has two allophones: [u] and [o]. [u] generally occurs in word-initial syllables, while [o] occurs in word-final syllables, e.g., /bolow/ [bulow] 'to bark'. The vowel is normally [u] after /k/ and /g/, but is in free variation with [o] in word-final closed syllables, e.g., /t͡ʃakos/ [t͡ʃakus ~ t͡ʃakos] 'immediately'. It is normally [o] after [k̠] or [x̠], but is in free variation with [u] in closed word-final syllables, e.g., /ʔox̠ow/ [ʔox̠ow ~ ʔux̠uw] 'to cease to rain'.
- /a/ has two allophones: [a] and [ʌ]. [ʌ] is found in two limited sets of words, e.g., /ʔapʔap/ [ʔʌpʔʌpʰ] 'to distribute' and /nijana/ [nijanʌ] 'why'.
Notes
- ↑ Karao at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.). "Karao". Glottolog . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ↑ "The Karao and The Fight Against Extinction". Ethnic Groups of the Philippines. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ↑ Brainard 1994, pp. 3–4.
- ↑ Brainard 1994, pp. 3–5.
References
- Brainard, Sherri (1994). The phonology of Karao, the Philippines. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. doi:10.15144/PL-B110. ISBN 0858834200. OCLC 31304708.