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ROA:225
Title:Positional Prominence and the "Prosodic Trough" in Yaka
Authors:Larry M. Hyman
Comment:
Length:28
Abstract:In this paper I have three goals. First, I present a comprehensive

treatment of the unusual vowel harmony system in (ki-)Yaka, a Western

Bantu language spoken in ex-Zaire, designated as H.31 by Guthrie

(1967-1971). Second, I introduce the notion of the prosodic trough, a

domain within which important segmental and sequential constraints

hold in Yaka as well as in Bantu in general. Finally, I show the

relevance of the Yaka facts for the study of positional prominence in

phonology. A (partial) analysis is offered within optimality-theoretic

terms, particularly as developed by McCarthy & Prince (1995). Although

superficially resembling the vowel height harmony found in most Bantu

languages, the Yaka system will be shown to differ from these latter

in significant ways.
Type:Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords:
Article:Version 1