Variation in the Voiced Coronals of Two Fataluku-speaking Villages

Abstract

Several studies comment on regional variation in Fataluku, but no detailed study of phonetic variation has yet been published. This paper reports on the distribution of [z], [j], and other voiced coronals in phonetically-controlled speech from fourteen Fataluku speakers—seven from the village of Tutuala and seven from the village of Lospalos. In Tutuala, I find complementary distribution between voiced coronal obstruents and glides, while in Lospalos, the relationship between obstruents and glides is chaotic and speaker-dependent. This difference in homogeneity parallels the make-up of these villages, as Lospalos draws a diverse array of workers from across the Fataluku-speaking area, while Tutuala is relatively remote and has a much smaller draw.

Keywords

• Phonetic variation
• language documentation
• sociophonetics
• East Timor
• Timor Leste