BOAS] HANDBOOK OF INDIAN LANGUAGES TAKELMA 29 



it will suffice to say that there are three distinct sorts of inorganic or 

 secondary a- vowels : the regular inorganic a first illustrated above, 

 inserted between two consonants that would theoretically form a 

 cluster; the post-consonantal constant a of certain stems (such as 

 wism- above) that would otherwise end in more or less impracticable 

 consonant clusters (this -a appears as -i under circiimstances to be 

 discussed below); and a connecting a employed to join consonantal 

 suffixes to preceding consonants (such suffixes are generally directly 

 added to preceding vowels or diphthongs). The varying treatment 

 accorded these different secondary a vowels will become clearer in 

 the morphology. 



§ 11. SIMPLIFICATION OF DOUBLE DIPHTHONGS 



By a double diphthong is meant a syllable consisting of an ordinary 

 diphthong (long or short) follow^ed by a semivowel (y, w) or by I, m, 

 or n. Such double diphthongs are, for instance, aiw, aiw, auy, duy, 

 ain, din, alio, dHiv; those with initial short vowel, Uke ain, have, 

 lilvc the long diphthongs (e. g. d"'n), a quantitative value of 3 morae, 

 wliile those with initial long vowel, like din, have a quantitative value 

 of 4 morae and may be termed over-long diphthongs. Double diph- 

 thongs may theoretically arise when, for some reason or other, a con- 

 necting or inorganic a fails to lighten the heavy syllable by reducing 

 it to two (see particularly § 65 for a w^ell-defined class of such cases). 

 Double diphthongs, however, are nearly always avoided in Takelma; 

 there is evidently a rhythmic feehng here brought into play, a dishke 

 of heavy syllables containing three quahtatively distinct sonantic 

 elements. 



In consequence of this, double diphthongs are regularly simpUfied 

 by the loss of either the second or third element of the diphthong; 

 in other words, they are quantitatively reduced b}^ one mora (the 

 simple double diphthongs now have a value of 2 morae, the over- 

 long diphthongs 3 morae hke ordinary long diphthongs), while 

 quaHtivetatly the}' now involve only two sonantic elements. An 

 exception seems to be afforded by double diphthongs in -uy (e. g. 

 -auy), which become dissyllabic by vocahzing the y to i, in other 

 words, -auy becomes -awi: 



ts IsbwW he ran fast; cf. ts!a,-uja'^s fast runner, tsIsiWSijaY 



(aorist) you ran fast 

 ysiwi'fe^ I shall talk; cf. yawajaY (aorist) you talked 



§ 11 



