Accent and Intonation Contours in Neo-Assyrian
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13136/1120-4699/30/1/075Keywords:
Intonation contours, Prosodic phonology, High/rising pitch, Anaptyxis, Paragogue, Neo-Assyrian grammar, Reconstruction of prosodic systems of extinct languages, Assyria, 8th-7th Century BCEAbstract
The article offers a systematic examination of the phonological contexts of the Neo-Assyrian intrusive vowels, and shows that, in contrast to a widespread belief, such vowels cannot be ignored in linguistic analysis as if they were orthographic anomalies. The article shows that they are true, albeit non-phonemic vowels, which in the Neo-Assyrian cuneiform writing system are marked in clearly definable contexts, under the influence of primary stress or high/rising pitch. This observation, along with other evidence of stress- and pitch-related phonetic changes, offers the opportunity to better understand the Neo-Assyrian intonation system, which is tentatively reconstructed and interpreted in the light of the parallel evidence provided by present-day Semitic languages and by linguistic universals. The results of the study suggest a necessary reconsideration of the phonetic relevance of the Neo-Assyrian orthography, and open important new perspectives for the study of the prosodic phonology of the Akkadian language and in general of other extinct forms of Semitic.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Simo Kaarlo Antero Parpola (Autore)
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