Vowel system in the UstYansky Even local accent

The article aims to present the first description of the UstYansky local accent vowel system of the Even language that has not been the focus of any previous comprehensive studies. In the examination of UstYansky vowel paradigmatic, distributional and articulatory patterns, the data obtained in field expeditions and the author’s archival materials were used. As a result, 6 pairs of short and long monophthongal phonemes and 2 diphthongoid phonemes were identified and described from the viewpoint of their basic allophones. In addition, phoneticenvironmentdependent allophones were classified as a result of pharyngealization. Besides the presence of pharyngealized allophones of short and long vowel pairs, the UstYansky local accent was found to exhibit vast reduction of /a/, /e/ and the syncope and apocope of short vowels in noninitial syllables. A more detailed study of the phonemes of the UstYansky local accent revealed the features typical for other Western Even dialects being one of the grounds to classify the UstYansky local accent as belonging to Western Even dialect group.