Pushing the boundaries: Marginal phonemes and dialogic interaction

Phonemes with restricted distribution represent an interesting analytic challenge. Well-known sources include the adoption of certain phonemes from other languages in borrowed words, emerging phonemic splits, and special phonological subsystems (e.g. ideophones). This paper aims to widen our conception such marginal phonemes, by incorporating another source: specific vocal gestures called into play interactional settings. Our initial puzzle involves a phoneme set Papuan language Nen: two classes sounds are interactive contexts, namely interjections deictics. These nasal vowels ã , ? glottal fricative h . Several questions arise here. Should these be considered part system? How did they evolve? does their presence interact seemingly equivalent neighbouring languages, contexts possible loanwords? We then pass where that unquestionably have, at least some phonotactic positions, clear correlations uses: /ð/ English, essentially words person (thou), space (that), time (then), or discourse deixis (the, though), stops morphemic function Bininj Kunwok, immediate aspect[43], addressee-engaged demonstratives, kinship vocatives. It is already known non-phonemic speech what written mhm English) used interaction. proposes phonetics interaction can integrate further sound system and, cases as those presented here, either expand absolute terms adding new possibilities occurring positions.