Long‐distance Assimilation of Consonants

Abstract

There are numerous patterns in languages in which consonants assimilate at a distance for some acoustic or articulatory property. When vowels and consonants intervening between the assimilating consonants show no observable effect of the assimilating property, such patterns are labeled “consonant harmony.” Other terms such as “consonant agreement” have been used (Rose and Walker 2004) in order to distinguish them from cases of harmony involving both vowels and consonants, such as emphasis harmony (Shahin 2002;chapter25:pharyngeals) or nasal harmony (Walker 2000a;chapter78:nasal harmony). Consonant harmony has played a central role in debates concerning harmony patterns in general (Rose and Walker, forthcoming) with respect to several issues: locality of interaction, transparency or blocking in long‐distance assimilation, and directionality. In this chapter, the main typological patterns of consonant harmony are outlined, highlighting the challenges that the typology presents, including a discussion of harmony domains and directionality. Two main theoretical approaches to consonant harmony are then explored: analyses involvingspreadingan assimilating feature or extending a gesture across all segments within a string, and analyses advocating distinctcorrespondencerelationships between consonants independently of intervening segments. The role of contrast in determining harmony interaction is examined within both of these frameworks. Finally, experimental approaches to consonant harmony are discussed, showing how they shed light on the analysis of consonant harmony.