Non-structure-preserving rules in lexical phonology: Southeastern Bantu harmony

Abstract

One of the principles which supposedly governs the application of phonological rules in the lexicon is that of Structure Preservation, according to which conditions on the marking of feature values in underlying representation remain in force during lexical derivation. Evidence examined in this article indicates that the principle not only is too restrictive as a constraint on synchronic grammars but also makes wrong predictions about the direction of phonological change. The data involve an assimilatory process which affects mid vowels in southeastern Bantu languages.