Maira Matsushita’s scientific contributions

In the advent of the nationwide implementation of the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE), this paper presents an acoustic analysis of the sound systems of two Cordilleran languages, namely Inivadoy and Ilokano to assist in developing a working orthography for these languages. At least four dialects of Inivadoy and two dialects of Ilokano were identified. An acoustic characterization of vowels and consonants was made using the PRAAT and JPlot Formants Program. Comparative analysis on the frequency value of the back vowel in Inivadoy, Ilokano, Tagalog and English was examined in the study to resolve the apt orthographic representation of the vowel. Distinctive consonants of each language were also acoustically characterized. The glottal stop [Ɂ] in both languages was analyzed to determine its phonemic significance and to resolve its orthographic representation. A Frequency Count Program was used to present a statistical figure of the frequency and sequence of the vowels and consonants to aid in the development of a working primer for both languages. The syllabe structure and phonotactic constraints in Inivadoy and Ilokano were also discussed. Finally gemination and stress in Inivadoy and Ilokano were analyzed and compared.