Abstract
One of the key elements of constraint-based formalisms is their ability to derive a variety of effects from the interaction of general constraints. As for vowel harmony, one persistent question within Optimality Theory is how to encode directionality – directly through directional harmony-driving constraints, or indirectly through asymmetric prominence patterns. This paper presents a typologically unusual case of progressive harmony triggered by prefixes in Tutrugbu. We compare analyzing harmony as purely progressive in a direct sense with an indirect analysis that motivates harmony from initial-syllable prominence. Based on both language-internal and typological evidence, we argue that the prominence-based analysis is superior. We generalize to suggest that progressive harmony should always be reducible to independent factors, and as a result, formalized indirectly through prominence.
Highlights
One of the key elements of constraint-based formalisms, most notably Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 2004; OT), is their ability to derive a variety of effects from the interaction of general constraints
We lay out two possible analyses of the Tutrugbu data – either that progressive harmony falls out from asymmetrical prominence relations, or that labial harmony in the language is the best evidence for purely progressive harmony that operates completely independent of prominence
In addition to data from harmony, we have marshalled evidence from contrast licensing, hiatus resolution, and ATR harmony to argue that initial syllables are phonologically privileged in the language, and that prominence plays a key role in the harmony pattern
Summary
One of the key elements of constraint-based formalisms, most notably Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 2004; OT), is their ability to derive a variety of effects from the interaction of general constraints. A significant body of work has sought to derive directionality in vowel harmony from prominence. We demonstrate that labial harmony in Tutrugbu is prefix-initiated and progressive, counter to Hyman’s claim. We lay out two possible analyses of the Tutrugbu data – either that progressive harmony falls out from asymmetrical prominence relations, or that labial harmony in the language is the best evidence for purely progressive harmony that operates completely independent of prominence. We compare the two analyses, arguing in favor of the prominence-based analysis as a better account of language-internal facts, as well as the larger typology of prefix-initiated harmony patterns. We expand Hyman’s analysis such that the directionality of harmony is either derivable from some source of prominence, including edge prominence, or it is purely regressive.
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