Durational differences between homophonous va affixes and non-morphemic va in Bora (Northwest Amazon).

Abstract

Acoustic differences between homophonous morphemes raise concerns for mainstream models of language production. But evidence for such differences so far comes almost exclusively from word final s in English. The current study analyzes homophonous va affixes and corresponding non-morphemic syllables in a corpus of Bora, an under-resourced and morphologically complex Amazonian language. Results from a statistical model that controls for final lengthening and other factors known to influence syllable duration indicate that non-morphemic vas are on average 8.2 ms longer than va affixes. This adds urgency to reconsidering the role of morphology in language production.