Aspects of Sgaw Karen Phonology and Phonetics

Abstract

The Sgaw Karen language remains underdocumented and underdescribed; this dissertation attempts to contribute to the understanding of Sgaw Karen phonetics and phonology by examining a variety spoken within a refugee community n Buffalo, New York. It includes an anlysis of the segmental and tonal inventories and relates these findings to previously published analyses of other Sgaw Karen varieties. Special attention is paid to the acoustic phonetics of the tone system, with particular regard to the role played by voice quality.