Fortis/lenis, glides and vowels in Quiaviní Zapotec

Abstract

Glides in San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec (Otomanguean) are underlyingly moraic and behave as other fortis consonants. Further, this Zapotec variety presents a clear case of [–consonantal] high vowels and [+consonantal] glides, exhibiting different patterns of behavior. This requires us to consider vowels and glides as separate entities in the underlying representation, rather than establishing a distinction between them based on differences in moraicity.

Keywords

• Zapotec
• phonology
• fortis and lenis
• vowels
• glides
• phonological weight