2.inventories:2.2.counterparts:2.2.6.blocked_alternations
2.2.6. Blocked alternations
The following table shows the number of potentially alternating counterparts which do not alternate because both of them are/one of them is prohibited (or at least strongly discouraged) in non-initial syllables. The number in the paranthesis shows the number of the potentially alternating but practically non-alternating pairs if short and long vowels are counted separately.
Finn. | Seto | Er. | HMr | MMr | Ud. | Hun. | SMn | SKh | VKh | Nga. | Ka. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F/B | 0 | 1 (5) | complicated | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ? | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
R|T | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 2 (3) | ? | — | — | 1 | — |
F/B: front/back harmony
R|T: rounding, total harmony
—: not applicable
- Seto
- /i/ : /ɨ/ is a potential alternating pair but /ɨ/ is prohibited in non-intitial syllables; all long vowels are prohibited in non-initial syllables
- Erzya
- First of all, it can be questioned whether /u/ : / i/ is a potential alternation (see §2.2.2). If we consider that it is, the restriction on /u/ and that on /i/ are different. The vowel /u/ is practically prohibited in non-initial syllables and it never occurs in suffixes. Although the vowel /i/ is similarly rare in non-initial syllables, it occurs in suffixes, especially in verbal ones.
- Hill Mari
- Rounded vowels are prohibited in non-inital syllables.
- Meadow Mari
- Rounded vowels are practically prohibited in non-initial syllables, [ø] and [o] occur in word-final position due to rounding (and F/B) harmony as allophonic alternants of /ə̆/. The alternation [e] : [ø] occurs in the same position. However, phonemic /e/ does not alternate due to VH.
- Udmurt
- All rounded vowels but /o/ are prohibited in non-initial syllables (/o/ is quite frequent even in suffixes).
- Hungarian
- Rounding harmony: Only short mid rounded vowel /ø/ alternates with high unrounded vowel /ɛ/, although they do not form a potential alternating pair due to the difference in height (cf. §2.2.4.). High and long vowels do not undergo rounding harmony (there are no alternations /i/ : /y/, /iː/ : /yː/, /eː/ : /øː/), although any of these vowels can occur in non-initial syllables (at least in Standard Hungarian as it is reflected by orthography).
- Southern Khanty
- Rounded vowels are prohibited in non-initial syllables.
- Vakh/Vasyugan Khanty
- Although practically all rounded vowels are prohibited in non-initial syllables, alternations /o/ : /ø/ and /ø̆/ : /ŏ/ occur in one suffix, respectively. However, because in both suffixes the alternating vowels are followed by /ɣ/, it is questionable whether these are the rounded vowel phonemes or just rounded allophones of non-rounded ones. The latter assumption is especially problematic in the case of the /o/ : /ø/ alternation, since full /e/ has no back counterpart. Moreover, non-alternating /u/ occurs in one suffix, but non-alternatin /y/ never occurs. (Cf. §2.2.2.)
- Nganasan
- There could be an /e/ : /o/ alternation due to quasi-rounding harmony and /e/ : /ɘ/ alternation due to F/B harmony, but /e/ and /o/ are practically prohibited in non-initial syllables and they never occur in suffixes.
- Kamas
- Rounded vowel phonemes are practically prohibited in non-initial syllables (or at least in suffixes), although rounded allophones of the reduced vowel /ə̆/ (= /ĭ/ and/or /ɑ̆/) occur due to full harmony.
2.inventories/2.2.counterparts/2.2.6.blocked_alternations.txt · Last modified: 2021-08-17 by László Fejes