Palatalization and Other Non-Local Effects in Southern Bantu Languages
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Palatalization and other non-local effects in Southern Bantu Languages Gloria Baby Malambe Department of Phonetics and Linguistics University College London UCL Thesis submitted to the University of London in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2006 UMI Number: U592274 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U592274 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Abstract Palatalization in Southern Bantu languages presents a number of challenges to phonological theory. Unlike ‘canonical’ palatalization, the process generally affects labial consonants rather than coronals or dorsals. It applies in the absence of an obvious palatalizing trigger; and it can apply non-locally, affecting labials that are some distance from the palatalizing suffix. The process has been variously treated as morphologically triggered (e.g. Herbert 1977, 1990) or phonologically triggered (e.g. Cole 1992). I take a phonological approach and analyze the data using the constraint- based framework of Optimality Theory. I propose that the palatalizing trigger takes the form of a lexically floating palatal feature [cor] (Mester and ltd 1989; Yip 1992; Zoll 1996). The study locates siSwati palatalization within its broader Southern Bantu context. In my analysis I show that the behaviour of the other selected Bantu languages’ palatalization follows from an analysis parallel to siSwati. Palatalization in all the languages involves an attempt to link the V-Place [cor] to a labial in the passive, diminutive, and locative and in addition, to an alveolar in the diminutive. The [cor] either palatalizes the root-final labial, as in [khipha] > [khijv'a] ‘remove’, or may surface as /i/ in the passive, as in [pha] > [phiwa] ‘give’. Realization of the [cor] feature is dependent on language-specific differences. The languages investigated are compared within an Optimality Theory framework, showing that their differences follow from universal constraint re-rankings. I also include in this study other processes that are related to long distance palatalization: vowel harmony/co-articulation and tonal phonology. These processes show us that long distance effects are not peculiar to palatalization, since vowel harmony/co-articulation may also involve non-adjacent segments. Tone shift and tone spread may result in tone being realized syllables away from its underlying source. The vowel facts and some of the tonal facts of siSwati have been investigated phonetically. It is argued that while Sesotho shows true vowel harmony, siSwati is still at the co-articulation stage. This difference is also modelled as re-ranking in an Optimality Theory grammar. Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people who have provided me with some form of support in the period that has led to the completion of this dissertation. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere and deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Moira Yip, for her constant and efficient guidance throughout the preparation of this thesis. It is difficult to imagine how this work could have been completed without her invaluable comments, insightful remarks and suggestions. I also had the benefit of her unfailing support, encouragement, kindness, and everlasting patience. I needed these in ample proportions for my stay in the United Kingdom as it was the most difficult time in my life. I am also grateful to John Harris for reading parts of my work and for his suggestions to improve it. I would also like to thank Yi Xu for providing useful suggestions and references on Chapter 6 . Many thanks also go to Steve Nevard for making the acoustic recordings and for providing information on these recordings. Also for the related computer help he gave me when I needed it; also to Molly Bennett and Stefanie Anyadi, for lending an ear when I needed it. My four years in the UK would not have been the same without the company of friends, and the other students in the PhD room. They made life bearable: Nick Allot, Eric Carlson, Dorota Glowacka, Alison Hall, Vikki Janke, Segomotso Keakopa, Nancy Kula, Eirini Sanoudaki, Mary Pearce, Peter Sebina, Hitoshi Shiraki, Marco Tamburelli, Nina Topintzi, Rob Truswell, Hiroyuki Uchida, and Reiko Vermeulen. Eric many thanks for making the Praat programme at least manageable. Nina and Mary thank you for always being there for me. As for Mary, I don’t know where to start... I think she was God sent. Thank you very much for everything. I am grateful for financial support from the Association of Commonwealth Universities that enabled me to carry out my research. I am also grateful to the Graduate School (UCL) for the financial support in my final year. I would like to thank Laura Downing and Francis Katamba for taking time to read my work and share their ideas with me. Finally, I thank members of my family for their support and belief in me. To everyone, ngiyabonga kakhulu ‘Thank you very much’ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ..........................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements i v Table of Contents...........................................................................................................v List of figures................................................................................................................xii List of tables.................................................................................................................xiii Chapter 1 Introduction..................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction to the chapter ............................................................................................ 4 1.2 Palatalization in siSwati .................................................................................................4 1.2.1 Basic F acts............................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Previous accounts .................................................................................................... 5 1.2.3 Analysis .....................................................................................................................6 1.2.3.1 The Passive...................................................................................................... 6 1.2.3.2 Nominal palatalization ................................................................................... 8 1.2.3.3 Passivised reduplicated forms .......................................................................8 1.3 A typology of palatalization in Southern Bantu ....................................................... 9 1.3.1 Basic facts................................................................................................................ 9 1.3.2 Previous accounts .................................................................................................. 10 1.3.3 Analysis ...................................................................................................................11 1.3.3.1 Setswana .......................................................................................................... 11 1.3.3.1.1 Minimality in siSwati vs. Setswana .................................................. 11 1.3.3.1.2 Palatalization .......................................................................................... 12 1.3.3.1.3 Root-medial labials ...............................................................................12 1.3.3.2 Tshivenda ........................................................................................................13 1.3.3.3 Xitsonga ..........................................................................................................13 1.3.3.4 Sesotho ............................................................................................................ 14 1. 4 Other non-local processes ........................................................................................14 1.4.1 Vowel harmony ....................................................................................................14 1.4.1.1 Basic facts.......................................................................................................14 1.4.1.2 Previous accounts .......................................................................................... 15 1.4.1.3 Typology and analysis .................................................................................. 16 1.4.2 Tonal phonology .................................................................................................18 1.4.2.1 Basic facts.......................................................................................................18 1.4.2.2 Previous analysis ........................................................................................... 18 1.4.2.3 Analysis..........................................................................................................