| 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 |