Positional Neutralization - Linguistics - University of California ...

eanalysis of an earlier prominence on stem-initial syllables (an attested process in the
histories of some stress languages, e.g. West Slavic), as is suggested by the transfer of
consonantal strengthening from the initial to the penult, we could hypothesize that the
new vocalic prominence on the penult may have had a correlate on initial-syllable vowels
as well.
Hyman (1999) proposes an analysis of the origins of Vowel Height Harmony in
Bantu which adds some credence to this hypothesis. It has traditionally been thought that,
for example, in the verbal system, harmonizing suffixes originally contained high vowels,
but that when those suffixes were added to mid vowel roots, they eventually came to
assimilate to the root in height, themselves becoming mid, and producing root-to-suffix
height harmony. The issues are complex and cannot receive justice in the context of this
study, but the essence of Hyman’s proposal is this: There are compelling reasons to
believe that the suffixes in question may actually have originated with mid vowels. What
followed then was a process of raising of mid vowels in non-initial syllables. Such a
process, of course, bears a striking resemblance some systems of UVR discussed in
chapter 2. Even more striking is what would then give rise to the roots of the harmonies
to develop later: mid vowels would fail to raise (reduce) only in case the root vowel was
also mid. This support provided by the stem-initial syllable mid vowels for their non-
initial counterparts is clearly reminiscent of those similar processes discussed above in
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