Page:An introduction to Indonesian linguistics, being four essays.djvu/269

 SECTION III : QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF THE VOWELS, DOUBLING OF THE CONSONANTS. Quantity in General. 67. In most of the IN languages there are two gradations of quantity: long and short. In Bontok "lengthened syllables are but little longer than short syllables" (Seidenadel). "In figures the quantity of the German long a might be estimated to be 2, the Malay long ā 1½" (Fokker). Sangirese has three gradations, the long vowels resulting from contraction being longer than the rest. Madurese has no gradations of quantity.

Quantity of the Accentuated Syllable in Words of More than One Syllable. 68. In a considerable number of IN languages there prevails a law of quantity which we may call "the IN law of quantity" and which in its two branches is as follows:

I. The law of length: The vowel is long when followed by only one consonant, e.g. in wālu, "eight".

II. The law of brevity: The vowel is short when followed by more than one consonant, e.g. in gǎntuṅ, "to hang".

69. In several languages the IN law of quantity is modified by the interference of special laws, e.g.:

I. In Dayak the IN law of length is restricted by the tact that before unvoiced sounds the vowels are mostly short, e.g. the a in ǎso, "dog"; and even before the voiced palatal the vowels are short, always (see § 61). Rh