An Aspect of Sinhala Assimilation

Abstract

This paper deals with the assimilations in Sinhala. Syllable contact, which prohibits a rising sonority across the syllable boundary, plays a critical role in assimilation. If a medial cluster shows a falling sonority, assimilation does not apply. When a medial cluster has either a rising or an equal sonority, leftward assimilation arises, resulting in geminates. If, however, a sequence consists of a consonant and a glide, perseverative assimilation occurs instead. It implies the prominence of the onset position can disappear if the onset segment is a weak glide. Another progressive assimilation occurs in the data in which several phonological processes apply before progressive assimilation. The application of phonological processes creates a segment sequence that calls for progressive assimilation. Assimilation types in Sinhala reveal that a simple input-to-output mapping of the classic OT cannot provide a proper analysis. To explain them, we use a theoretical framework, Harmonic Serialism (HS), which can incorporate both rule-based and constraint-based components. We propose one constraint ranking, which can account for non-assimilating and assimilating data in Sinhala.