44 Chapter 2 Phonology
[snn] ‘happy’ includes geminate n. The cognate in Indonesian is [səna],
with a single [n]. Indonesian does not contain the same type of syllable-
structure constraint on [ə]. So, it is conceivable that the underlying form in Ma-
durese is /sn/, and the gemination process takes place to create the appropri-
ate syllable structure for [ɤ]. This is, in fact, Stevens’ (1968:57) approach,
where, for example, an intermediate form for the actor form for ‘buy’ is ml
and gemination occurs in the derivation of the surface form [məllɛ].^27
Stevens (1968) cites two additional gemination processes, both of which
are obligatory. In the first, which is considerably more productive than the
second, a stop is geminated when it is adjacent to a liquid root internally. The
process derives a form such as [pɔrɛ] ‘princess, daughter’ from the underlying
form /pɔrɛ/. The underlying form proposed by Stevens is the same as the un-
derlying form and phonetic realization of the Indonesian cognate putri. In the
spirit of this analysis, this gemination process operates in the derivation of the
following:
(52) C 1 C 1 C 1 / __{l/r}
[STOP]
(53) juklɤng [jukklɤng] ‘large hole, ravine’
karɔl [karɔl] ‘pulley’
ɔbrɤl [ɔbbrɤl] ‘waste’
sadrika [saddrika] ‘flat-iron’
sɛplak [sɛpplak] ‘slap’
sɔkla [sɔkkla] ‘brown’
The second of the two minor gemination processes is quite restricted, affecting
only s when adjacent to r word internally. Stevens cites the forms in (54) as ex-
amples.
(54) asrɛ [assrɛ ‘frequent’
pasra [passra] ‘hand over’
5.3. Deletion
There is an optional deletion process which affects the vowel of the first sylla-
ble of a word. When the first syllable is the third syllable from the end of the
(^27) As is the case with vowel quality, I include geminated consonants in all forms rather
than listing any underlying forms with single consonants that are subsequently gemi-
nated in order to focus discussion and make forms maximally transparent.