Initial dropping is a

sound change A sound change, in historical linguistics, is a change in the pronunciation of a language. A sound change can involve the replacement of one speech sound (or, more generally, one phonetic feature value) by a different one (called phonetic chang ...

whereby the first consonants of words are dropped. Additionally, stress may shift from the first to the second syllable, and the first vowel may be shortened, reduced, or dropped, which can mean the loss of the entire first

syllable A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "bu ...

of a word. These changes have occurred independently in several Australian Aboriginal language groups. Initial dropping may affect all initial consonants, or only some or one of them. It may affect all words that start with those consonants, or sporadically affect some words and not others. In some languages, it seems to have only affected interjections, and words commonly used as vocatives such as pronouns and kin terms. Like all sound changes, it may affect an entire language or just some dialects, and may affect multiple adjacent languages or dialects.

Motivation

Initial dropping is caused by the nature of stress in Australian languages: although stress is usually on the first syllable, the pitch peak of stress occurs late in the syllable, so that stress applies to the vowel and the following consonant, but not the preceding consonant.

Secondary effects

Cluster simplification

The loss of the initial vowel can result in a difficult consonant cluster. Some languages avoid this by disallowing initial dropping if the result is a difficult cluster. In Mbabaram for example, initial dropping doesn't occur if it results in a cluster other than nasal + stop. Other languages allow initial dropping, dropping additional consonants if needed to simplify the cluster. For example, in Ngkoth:

Phonemicization

It's not unusual for the second consonant or vowel of a word to have an allophone conditioned by what the first consonant or vowel is. When this conditioning element is lost in initial dropping, these allophones become phonemes.

New vowels

In Mbabaram, an in the second syllable had as an allophone if the first syllable started with or . When initial dropping occurred and the were lost, the occurrence of was no longer predictable: it had become a phoneme , distinct from .

Prestopped nasals

Unlike many other languages, where nasalization tends to begin early so that vowels preceding a

nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery ** ...

are nasalized, in Australian languages nasalization tends to begin late, so that nasals may be preceded by a short stop. In Olgolo, nasals in the second

had a prestopped allophone if the first syllable started with a stop or a , and the vowel in the first syllable was short. When initial consonants were dropped and initial vowels shortened, the occurrence of the prestopped nasals was no longer predictable: Olgolo had innovated a series of prestopped nasal phonemes.

List of initial-dropping languages

For details about the extent of initial dropping in a particular language, see that language's article. * Adjnjamathanha * Arabana * Arrernte * Baagandji * Bidjara ( Gunggari and Yanjdjibara dialects) * Dharambal (

Wapabara The Wapabara, also known as Woppaburra, are an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are on Great Keppel Island, Greater and South Keppel islands. They are known in their speech as ''Ganumi Bara.'' They are o ...

dialect) * Kalkatungu * Kaytetj * Maljangapa * Mbabaram * Muruwarri * Nganjaywana * Nhanta * Ogh-Undjan * Oykangand/ Olgolo *Many Paman languages * Umbindhamu * Uradhi *

Yaygirr The Yaygir, Yuraygir, or Yaegl, are an Australian Aboriginal tribe who traditionally live and lived in and around Yamba and Maclean, New South Wales. Language Yaygir was one of the two Gumbaynggiric languages, closely related to Gumbaynggir, ...

* Yugambal * Western Desert Language (some dialects)

References

*{{cite book , last=Dixon , first=R. M. W. , authorlink=R. M. W. Dixon , year=2002 , title=Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development , location=Cambridge , publisher=Cambridge University Press , pages=589–601 , url=http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521473780 Australian Aboriginal languages Sound changes