Language Structure Problems

Oroha

Oroha is an Austronesian language spoken on the island of Maramasike (Small Malaita) in the central Solomon Islands. Examine the data and answer the questions that follow. ' represents a glottal stop.

1. ['o'o] drum
2. ['a'ate] dry
3. [eta] one
4. [kui] dog
5. [ma'ahuu] totally empty
6. [sato] sun
7. [etau] over
8. [seeni] good
9. ['a'e] leg
10. [aatoi] to meet
11. [ato] rusty
12. [ku'i] tail
13. [hato] seashell
14. [to'o] to own
15. [poo] pig

a. Examine the status of [h] and [s]in the Oroha data above. Are they allophones of the same phoneme or do they represent different phonemes? Show your evidence.

b. Examine the status of [t] and [']. Are they allophones of the same phoneme or do they represent different phonemes? Show your evidence.

c. What is the relationship between[t] and ['] in english? explain and show your evidence.