Le statut phonologique des voyelles longues en kirundi (bantou, JD62)
The phonological status of long vowels in Kirundi (Bantu, JD62)

Summary/Abstract: The current state of the description of Kirundi shows that there are different ways of considering long vowels in this Bandu language. On the one hand, long vowels are predictable in specific combinations; on the other hand, they are long by nature and play an opposite function. This article aims to determine the phonological nature of long vowels in Kirundi. According to an interpretation of the vowel length based on the mora concept, different switching tests show that the long vowels of Kirundi with an oppositive function are full-fledged phonemes. The combination of tone with vowel's length proves that the long vowels function exactly like their short ones. Thus, instead of having short vowels (/i/, /u/, /e/, /o/, /a/) only, the Kirundi language adds to these their long counterparts (/ii/, /uu/, /ee/, /oo/, /aa/).

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