Rotuman morphonology

Morphonology
Rotuman has no phonemic vowel length and is underlyingly a language of open syllables. Thus, only consonant + vowel syllables exist in the underlying syllable structure, although phonological processes provide for more variation. A minimal word constraint that disallows words of less than two moras also alters this underlying representation so that, other than words from non-lexical categories, a word like ('tomorrow') is realized as. This constraint applies before word compounding (including reduplication as well): ('coral reef') +  ('deep sea') →  ('deep sea pool'). Vowels are also lengthened when both final and stressed.

Non-high vowels are raised when followed by a syllable with a high vowel.

Generally speaking, when is followed by  within a metrical foot) it is fronted to.

An important aspect of Rotuman morphonology is what will be hereafter called the "incomplete" and "complete" phases although they have also been referred to as "long" and "short" forms, "primary" and "secondary" forms, "absolute" and "construct" cases, and "proper & original" and "altered or construct" forms. The complete phase applies to semantically definite or specific terms. Otherwise, in normal conversation (that is, excluding song, poetry, and chant), the incomplete phase applies to all but the last morpheme of a word and all but the last word of a phrase. This can lead to syllable-final consonants in a language that has an underlying all-open syllable system.
 * || ('eyes') + || ('take off') → →  ('minutely')

The above table (C indicates any consonant) shows that metathesis and deletion are important parts of incomplete phase formation. The final vowel and immediately preceding consonant metathesize going from V1CV2#, to V1V2C# where V1 is any underlying penultimate vowel, V2 is any underlying ultimate vowel, C is any consonant, and # is the word, phrase, or morpheme boundary.

After metathesis, "V2 is deleted if V1 is not further back than V2 and if V2 is not lower than 1" or if the two vowels are identical. Further processes of elision result in coalescence or spreading of features. That is, back vowels are fronted before front vowels of equal or greater height ( and/or affect  and just  affects ) before the latter are deleted.

In addition, the →  rule takes effect again, this time outside of the moraic foot, and can occur with a following ; and both. and become  after a syllable with a high vowel ( or ). When V1 is higher than V2, it is devocalized to the corresponding semivowel; for front vowels and  for back vowels.

Word stress is associated with left-dominant bimoraic feet. The penultimate mora of nonderived words carries the stress. Other than the nominalizing suffix || and the causative suffix ||, stress is assigned before additional morphemes are affixed and before incomplete phase morphonology.