Proceedings

Walikan: Segmental Reversal and Phonotactic Repair

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Abstract

Language games provide external evidence for phonological representations and rules (Vaux, 2011). Walikan is a reversed form of Malang Javanese, which is generated through total phonemic reversal at the lexical level, e.g., bakso [baʔ.so] 'meatball' is converted to oskab [o.skap]. To comply with Javanese phonotactics and the (C)(C)(C)V(C) syllable structure, certain consonant clusters and segments must be repaired after reversal to avoid complex codas and illicit clusters. Word-medial CC and NC sequences retain their internal order, whereas word-medial heterosyllabic C.C sequences are typically reversed, often triggering resyllabification. Word-initial CC clusters are usually split and reordered when the second consonant is a liquid, while word-initial NC sequences do not undergo reordering; instead, the nasal component is deleted. This study provides an Optimality Theory (OT) analysis to account for these patterns and their underlying representations. Notably, unlike consonant clusters, prenasalized stops constitute a unitary segment and therefore cannot be separated or reordered. 

Keywords: Reversed language, Walikan, Javanese phonotactics, Complex segment

How to Cite:

Chen, X., (2026) “Walikan: Segmental Reversal and Phonotactic Repair”, Proceedings of the Annual Meetings on Phonology 2(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/amphonology.3709