Fonologia da Língua Karo (Arara de Rondônia)

Abstract

The present dissertation is a contribution to the phonology of the Karo language of Rondônia, belonging to the Ramarama linguistic family of the Tupí trunk. The phonetic segments of the karo are presented first, as well as their respective environments of occurrence. Following the classical criteria of phonemics (free variation, complementary distribution and opposition), the characterization of the phonological framework of the language is presented below (Chapter 2). (In Chapter 3 the syllabic patterns are shown, following to this chapter 4) the description of the processes of nasality propagation conditioned by phonological context. In Chapter 5, two types of internal Sandin processes are found in koro. In chapter 6 it is shown that the accent is predictable, being Conditioned by three distinct phonological factors: by tone, by nasality and by the quality of the phoneme that initiates the last syllable of words. Chapter 7, finally, is dedicated to tone. The karo operates with a tone system (three phonetic tones, of which only two are phonologically distinctive), which serves to distinguish the meaning of words. There is still a process of tonal assimilation that is conditioned by the consonant language of the language.