ABSTRACT:
Vowel devoicing is a common process in the Japono-Ryukyuan languages. The environments in which it is licensed vary by language. I look at vowel devoicing in Shiraho, one variety of Yaeyaman (Southern Ryukyuan) and describe the environments in which it is licensed and the variation that occurs in surface forms. Vowel devoicing plays an intricate role in medial voicing and also in pitch accent in this language. These interactions also feed into the description of Shiraho as a language with vowel length distinction, but I show evidence to the contrary. I also explore comparative data with closely related languages and show that Shiraho may be in a transition stage with respect to the phonological status of devoiced vowels