A Grammar of Madurese

Vowel inventory and distribution 35

the height of the vowel in the preceding syllable. This is illustrated in the data in
(30).^20

(30) ɔlɛs + -ɛ  ɔlɛsɛ ‘write’ (durative)

pukɔs + -an  [pukɔsan] ‘package’ (wrapped thing)

gibɤs + -  [gibɤsi] ‘wag’ (durative)

bɤlis + -an  [bɤlisɤn] ‘returned thing’

In the durative form of ‘write’ [ɔlɛsɛ], the durative morpheme occurs as the

non-high [ɛ] and the vowel of the root-final syllable is non-high. However, in
the durative form of ‘wag’ , [gibɤsi], the durative morpheme occurs as the high
vowel [i], and in this instance the vowel of the root-final syllable is high [ɤ].
Similarly, the nominal suffix -an alternates between [an] and [ɤn] when suffixed
to a root ending in [s], again depending on the vowel of the final syllable of the
root. In (28), when the root-final syllable contains the non-high vowel [ɔ], the
suffix takes the non-high form [an], [pukɔsan] ‘package’. Conversely, in

[bɤlisɤn] ‘returned thing’, the vowel of the final syllable of the root is high [i]
and the suffix takes the high vowel form [ɤn].

Returning to the question of the phonemic inventory, there are a number
of lexical items that contain what Stevens (1968) refers to as non-alternating
vowels. These vowels do not follow the general pattern, including cases of high
vowels that follow segments other than voiced and voiceless aspirated stops (or
[l], [r], [], and [s] under the prescribed conditions). Most of these lexical items

are borrowings, predominantly from Arabic, Dutch, English, and Indonesian.
Nonetheless these forms have been fully absorbed into the language. Examples
include:

(^20) In the discussion that follows, phonological processes are applied to intermediate
forms, forms which have already undergone the process of Vowel Raising (VR). There-
fore neither phonemic nor phonetic bracketing is used. This is a matter of both clarity
and brevity. For example, the derivation from underlying representation (UR) to surface
representation (SR) is as follows:
(i) UR VRaising Affixation VRaising/
Phonetic Realization
/ɔlɛs/  --- ɔlɛs + -  ɔlɛsɛ ‘write’
/gɛbas/  gibɤs gibɤs + -  [gibɤsi] ‘wave’
Dispensing with the step in which Vowel Raising takes place reduces unnecessary clut-
ter, thus making the phonological process of interest more perspicuous.