CHAPTER

5 Interacting
processes

PREVIEW
In this chapter, you will broaden your understanding of how
KEY TERMS phonological systems work by
interaction u looking at more complex patterns of phonological
ordering alternation
u seeing how complex surface patterns of alternations
result from the interaction of different but related
phonological rules
u understanding the effect of different rule orderings
on how an underlying form is changed into a
surface form
116 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

Phonological systems are not made up of isolated and unrelated phono-

logical rules: there are usually significant interactions between phonological
processes. This chapter concentrates on two related topics. First, a seemingly
complex set of alternations can be given a simple explanation if you separate
the effect of different rules which may happen to apply in the same form.
Second, applying rules in different orders can have a significant effect on the
way that a given underlying form is mapped onto a surface form.

5.1 Separating the effects of different rules

Very often, when you analyze phonological alternations, insights into the
nature of these alternations are revealed once you realize that a word may
be subject to more than one rule, each of which can affect the same
segment. You should not think of a phonology as being just a collection
of direct statements of the relation between underlying segments and
their surface realization. Such a description is likely to be confusing and
complex, and will miss a number of important generalizations. Look for
ways to decompose a problem into separate, smaller, and independent
parts, stated in terms of simple and general rules. The different effects
which these rules can have on a segment may accumulate, to give a
seemingly complex pattern of phonetic change.

5.1.1 Votic: palatalization and raising/fronting

The following example from Votic (Russia) illustrates one way in which
the account of phonological alternations can be made tractable by analyz-
ing the alternations in terms of the interaction between independent
phonological processes. In these examples, [ɫ] represents a velarized l.

(1) a. Nominative Partitive

vərkko vərkkoa ‘net’
tʃako tʃakoa ‘cuckoo’
lintu lintua ‘bird’
saatu saatua ‘garden’
jaɫka jaɫkaa ‘foot’
botʃka botʃkaa ‘barrel’
einæ einææ ‘hay’
vævy vævyæ ‘son-in-law’
b. siili siiliæ ‘hedgehog’
ɫusti ɫustia ‘pretty’

c. jarvi jarvəa ‘lake’

mætʃi mætʃeæ ‘hill’
tʃivi tʃiveæ ‘stone’

d. kurtʃi kurkəa ‘stork’

əɫtʃi əɫkəa ‘straw’
kahtʃi kahkəa ‘birch’
 Interacting processes 117

The first group of examples (1a) shows that the nominative has no suffix,
and the partitive has the suffix [-a] or [-æ] (the choice depends on the
preceding vowels, determined by a vowel harmony rule according to
which a suffix vowel is front if the preceding vowel is front – the
rule skips over the vowel [i], but if there are no vowels other than [i]
preceding, the harmony rule turns the suffix vowel into a front vowel).
The second group of examples (1b) illustrates roots which have /i/ as the
underlying final vowel of the root. The nouns in the third group (1c)
illustrate a phenomenon of final vowel raising and fronting (which
we have previously seen in closely related Finnish), whereby e and ǝ
become [i] word-finally.

(2) Final Fronting/Raising

⎡+syl⎤
⎢ ⎥ ⎡+high⎤
⎢-rd ⎥ → ⎢-back⎥ / __ #
⎢ ⎥ ⎣ ⎦
⎣-lo ⎦

The essential difference between the examples of (1b) and (1c) is that the
forms in (1b) underlyingly end in the vowel /i/, and those in (1c) end in /e/
or /ǝ/. In the last set of examples (1d), the noun root underlyingly ends in
the sequence /kǝ/, which can be seen directly in kurkǝ-a. However, the final
CV of the root appears as [t ʃi] in the nominative kurt ʃi.
It would be unrevealing to posit a rule changing word-final /kǝ#/ into
[tʃi#] in one step. A problem with such a rule is that the change of a velar to
a palatal conditioned by following word-final schwa is not a process found
in other languages, and depends on a very specific conjunction of facts,
that is, not just schwa, but word-final schwa. You may not know at this
point that such a rule is not found in other languages – part of learning
about phonology is learning what processes do exist in languages, some-
thing you will have a better basis for judging by the end of this book.
What you can see right now is that such a rule treats it as a coincidence
that the underlying final schwa actually becomes [i] on the surface by an
independently necessary rule, so that much of the supposed rule applying
to /kǝ#/ is not actually specific to /kǝ#/.
This alternation makes more sense once it is decomposed into the two
constituent rules which govern it, namely final raising (independently
motivated by the data in (c)). Applying this rule alone to final /kǝ/ would
result in the sequence [ki]. However, [ki] is not an allowed CV sequence in
this language, and a process of palatalization takes place, in accordance
with the following rule:

(3) Palatalization
⎡+cons⎤ ⎡+syl ⎤
⎢ ⎥ → [ +cor ] / __ ⎢ ⎥
⎣+back⎦ ⎣-back⎦
We can thus account for the change of underlying /kurkǝ/ and /ǝɫkǝ/ to
[kurt ʃi] and [ǝɫt ʃi] by applying these two rules in a specific order, where the
118 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

rule of vowel raising applies before palatalization, so that vowel raising is

allowed to create occurrences of the vowel [i], and those derived cases of [i]
condition the application of palatalization.

(4) /kurkǝ/ underlying

kurki vowel raising
kurtʃi palatalization

You should take note of two points regarding how the palatalization rule
is formalized. First, by strictly making a velar consonant become [+cor],
the result would be a velarized retroflex stop [ʈγ]: such sounds simply do
not exist in the language, in fact the [-ant] coronal sounds of the language
are all alveopalatal, and the alveopalatal stops in Votic are all affricates.
Observed [t ʃ] is the closest segment of the language to [ʈγ].
Second, we do not have direct evidence that all front vowels trigger the
change of velars, in fact we only have direct evidence that word-final [i]
triggers the change. At the same time, we do not have any direct evidence
that it matters whether the triggering vowel is word-final or not, nor do
we have any evidence that the other front vowels [y ø e æ] fail to trigger
the change. Because there is no evidence for adding restrictions to the
rule, we follow the general scientific principle of stating the rule as simply
as possible, consistent with the data.

5.1.2 Kamba: palatalization and glide formation

There is a phonological process in Kamba (Kenya) whereby the combin-
ation of a velar consonant plus the glide j fuses into an alveopalatal
affricate. This can be seen in (5), which involves the plain and causative
forms of verbs. In the examples on the left, the verb is composed of the
infinitive prefix /ko-/ (which undergoes a process of glide formation before
another vowel, becoming [w]) followed by the verb root (e.g. -kam- ‘milk’),
plus an inflectional suffix -a. In the righthand column we can see the
causative of the same verb, which is formed by suffixing -j- after the verb
root before the inflectional marker -a.

(5) to V to cause to V
a. koka̋ ma̋ koka̋ mja̋ ‘milk’
kokonà kokonjà ‘hit’
kolaa̋ àmbà kola̋ àmbjà ‘lap’
kota̋ la̋ kota̋ lja̋ ‘count’
kwaambatà kwaambatjà ‘go up’
kwaàðà kwaàðjà ‘govern’
kwe̋ e̋ ta̋ kwe̋ e̋ tja̋ ‘answer’
kwı̋ ı̋ mba̋ kwı̋ ı̋ mbja̋ ‘swell’
b. koβikà koβitʃà ‘arrive’
koβálokà koβálotʃà ‘fall’
kolikà kolitʃà ‘enter’
kolε̋ ὲŋgà kolε̋ ὲɲdʒà ‘aim’
 Interacting processes 119

kwε̋ ε̋ ŋga̋ kwε̋ ε̋ ɲdʒa̋ ‘clear a field’

kwaanekà kwaanetʃà ‘dry’
kwɔ̋ ɔ̋ ka̋ kwɔ̋ ɔ̋ tʃa̋ ‘gather coals’

The examples in (a) illustrate the causative affix following various non-
velar consonants of the language. In (b), we see the causative of various
roots which end in k or g, where by analogy to the data in (a) we predict
the causatives /koβikjà/, /koβálokjà/, /kolε̋ ὲŋgjà/, and so on. Instead of
the expected consonant sequences kj, gj, we find instead that the velar
consonant has been replaced by an alveopalatal affricate, due to the
following rule:
Sometimes rules
(6) Palatalization affect two segments
⎡ +syl ⎤ simultaneously: this
⎡+cons⎤ ⎢ ⎥ is an example of
⎢+back⎥ ⎢ -cons ⎥ → [ +cor ] Ø
⎣ ⎦ ⎢ -back⎥ how such rules are
⎣ ⎦ formalized, stating
that the first
Examples of glide formation are also seen in (5), where the vowel /o/ in the segment becomes
infinitive prefix becomes [w] before another vowel. This process of glide [+cor] and the
formation is further illustrated in (7) and (8). In (7), you can see across all second is deleted.
of the columns that the prefix for the infinitive is /ko/, and appears
phonetically as such when it stands before another consonant. The last
three data columns show that the prefixes marking different classes of
objects are /mó/ for class 3, /mé/ for class 4, and /ké/ for class 7 (Kamba
nouns have a dozen grammatical agreement classes, analogous to gender
in some European languages).

(7) to V to V it (cl 3) to V them (cl 4) to V it (cl 7)

koðukà komóðukà koméðukà kokéðukà ‘churn’
kokaàðà komókaàðà komékaàðà kokékaàðà ‘praise’
koliìndà komóliìndà koméliìndà kokéliìndà ‘cover’
komε̋ na̋ komómε̋ na̋ komémε̋ na̋ kokémε̋ na̋ ‘hate’
koɲuβà komóɲuβà koméɲuβà kokéɲuβà ‘choose’

When the verb root begins with a vowel, we would predict a sequence of
vowels such as *koasja for ‘to lose,’ in lieu of a rule modifying vowel The stem-initial
sequences. Vowel sequences are avoided in Kamba by the application of vowel in these
the rule of glide formation, according to which any nonlow vowel examples becomes
becomes a glide before another vowel. long, as a side effect
of the preceding
(8) to V to V it (cl 3) to V them (cl 4) to V it (cl 7) vowel becoming a
kwa̋ a̋ sja̋ komwa̋ a̋ sja̋ komja̋ a̋ sja̋ kotʃa̋ a̋ sja̋ ‘lose’ glide: this is known
kwa̋ a̋ ka̋ komwa̋ a̋ ka̋ komja̋ a̋ ka̋ kotʃa̋ a̋ ka̋ ‘build’ as compensatory
kwaàsà komwa̋ àsà komja̋ àsà kotʃa̋ àsà ‘carve’ lengthening
kő ő mba̋ komő ő mba̋ komjő ő mba̋ kotʃő ő mba̋ ‘mold’
kookeljà komóokeljà komjóokeljà kotʃóokeljà ‘lift’
kűűna̋ koműűna̋ komjűűna̋ kotʃűűna̋ ‘fetch’
120 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

kuumbekà komúumbekà komjúumbekà kotʃúumbekà ‘bury’

kwε̋ ε̋ nza̋ komwε̋ ε̋ nza̋ komjε̋ ε̋ nza̋ kotʃε̋ ε̋ nza̋ ‘shave’
kwεὲndà komwε̋ ὲndà komjε̋ ὲndà kotʃε̋ ὲndà ‘like’
kwɔ̋ ɔ̋ na̋ komwɔ̋ ɔ̋ na̋ komjɔ̋ ɔ̋ na̋ kotʃɔ̋ ɔ̋ na̋ ‘see’
kwɔ̋ ɔ̋ sa̋ komwɔ̋ ɔ̋ sa̋ komjɔ̋ ɔ̋ sa̋ kotʃɔ̋ ɔ̋ sa̋ ‘take’
kwɔ̋ ɔ̋ βa̋ komwɔ̋ ɔ̋ βa̋ komjɔ̋ ɔ̋ βa̋ kotʃɔ̋ ɔ̋ βa̋ ‘tie’

The Glide Formation rule can be formalized as (9).

(9) Glide Formation

[+syl] → [ -syl ] /__ V

While this rule does not explicitly state that the resulting glide is [+high],
that value is predictable via structure preservation, given the fact that the
language does not have glides that are [-high].
This rule would be expected to apply to underlying forms such as
/kouna/ ‘to fetch’ and /ko-omba/ ‘to mold,’ since those forms have an
underlying sequence of a vowel /o/ followed by another vowel. Applying
that rule would result in *[kwűűna̋ ] and *[kwő ő mba̋ ], but these are not the
correct forms. We can resolve this problem once we observe that the glide
[w] never appears before the tense round vowels [u, o] (but it can appear
before the vowel [ɔ], as seen in [kwɔ̋ ɔ̋ na̋ ] ‘to see’ from /ko-ɔna/).
It does not help to restrict rule (9) so that it does not apply before /o, u/,
since the vowel /e/ does actually undergo glide formation before these
vowels (/ko-me-okelya/ becomes [komjóokeljà] ‘to lift them’ and /ko-méűna̋ /
becomes [komjűűna̋ ] ‘to fetch them’). What seems to be a restriction on
glide formation is highly specific: the tense round vowel fails to surface as
a glide only if the following vowel is o or u. Furthermore, the round vowel
does not merely fail to become a glide, it actually deletes, therefore we
can’t just rewrite (9) so that it doesn’t apply before [u, o], since that would
give *[koűna̋ ] and *[koő mba̋ ]). Two rules are required to account for these
vowel-plus-vowel combinations. A very simple solution to this problem is
to allow the most general form of the Glide Formation rule to apply,
imposing no restrictions on which vowels trigger the rule, and derive
the intermediate forms kwűűna̋ and kwő ő mba̋ . Since we have observed that
the surface sequences [wo] and [wu] are lacking in the language, we may
posit the following rule of glide deletion, which explains both why such
sequences are lacking and what happened to the expected glide in the
intermediate forms.

(10) Glide Deletion

⎡-syl ⎤ ⎡+round⎤
⎢+round⎥ → Ø/ __ ⎢+tense ⎥
⎣ ⎦ ⎣ ⎦

Glide Formation first creates a glide, and some of the glides so created are
then deleted by (10).
 Interacting processes 121

Another crucial rule interaction which we observe in (8) is between

Glide Formation and Palatalization. As we have seen, Palatalization spe-
cifically applies to kj and gj, and Glide Formation creates glides from
vowels, which can trigger application of Palatalization. This is shown in
the derivation of [kotʃa̋ a̋ sja̋ ] from /ko-ké-a̋ a̋ sja̋ /

(11) /ko-ké-a̋ a̋ sja̋ / underlying

kokja̋ a̋ sja̋ Glide Formation
kotʃa̋ a̋ sja̋ Palatalization

Thus Glide Formation creates phonological structures which are crucially

referenced by other phonological rules.

5.1.3 Bukusu: nasal+ consonant combinations

The theme which we have been developing in this chapter is that phono-
logical grammars are composed of simple rule elements that interact in ways
that make the data patterns appear complicated, and factoring out of the
fundamental processes is an essential part of phonological analysis. In the
examples which we have considered above, such as vowel raising/fronting
and velar palatalization in Votic, or glide formation and palatalization in
Kamba, the phonological processes have been sufficiently different that no
one would have problems seeing that these are different rules. A language
may have phonological changes which seem similar in nature, or which
apply in similar environments, and the question arises whether the alterna-
tions in question reflect a single phonological rule. Or, do the alternations
reflect the operation of more than one independent rule, with only acciden-
tal partial similarity? Such a situation arises in Bukusu (Kenya), where a
number of changes affect sequences of nasal plus consonant.

Nasal Place Assimilation and Post-Nasal Voicing. In the first set of

examples in (12), a voicing rule makes all underlyingly voiceless consonants
voiced when preceded by a nasal, in this case after the prefix for the first-
singular present-tense subject which is /n/. The underlying consonant at the
beginning of the root is revealed directly when the root is preceded by the
third-plural prefix βa-, or when there is no prefix as in the imperative.

(12) Imperative 3pl pres 1sg pres

tʃa βatʃa ɲdʒa ‘go’
tʃexa βatʃexa ɲdʒexa ‘laugh’
tʃutʃuuŋga βatʃutʃuuŋga ɲdʒutʃuuŋga ‘sieve’
talaanda βatalaanda ndalaanda ‘go around’
teexa βateexa ndeexa ‘cook’
tiira βatiira ndiira ‘get ahold of’
piima βapiima mbiima ‘weigh’
pakala βapakala mbakala ‘writhe in pain’
ketulula βaketulula ŋgetulula ‘pour out’
kona βakona ŋgona ‘pass the night’
kula βakula ŋgula ‘buy’
kwa βakwa ŋgwa ‘fall’
We can state this voicing rule as follows.
122 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

(13) Post-Nasal Voicing

[ -voice ] → [ +voice ] / [ +nasal ]

You will also note that a nasal consonant always agrees in place of
articulation with the following consonant, due to the following rule.

(14) Nasal Place Assimilation

⎡+syl ⎤
⎡αant⎤ ⎢αant⎥
[+nas] → ⎢βcor ⎥ / ⎢ ⎥
⎣ ⎦
⎣βcor ⎦
⎢ ⎥

The data considered so far have not given clear evidence as to what the
underlying place of articulation of the first-singular subject prefix is, since
that nasal always assimilates to the following consonant. To determine that
the prefix is indeed /n/, we turn to the form of stems which underlyingly
begin with a vowel, where there is no assimilation. In the imperative,
where no prefix precedes the stem, the glide [ j] is inserted before the initial
vowel. (The data in (17) include examples of underlying initial /j/, which is
generally retained, showing that there cannot be a rule of j-deletion.) When
the third-plural prefix /βa/ precedes the stem, the resulting vowel sequence
is simplified to a single nonhigh vowel. No rules apply to the first-singular
prefix, which we can see surfaces as [n] before all vowels.

(15) Imperative 3pl pres 1sg pres

jiixala βeexala niixala ‘sit’
jaasama βaasama naasama ‘gape’
joola βoola noola ‘arrive’
jeekesja βeekesja neekesja ‘show’

One question that we ought to consider is the ordering of the rules of

voicing and place assimilation. In this case, the ordering of the rules does
not matter: whether you apply voicing first and assimilation second, or
assimilation first and voicing second, the result is the same.

(16) /n-kwa/ /n-kwa/

voicing ngwa assimilation ŋkwa
assimilation ŋgwa voicing ŋgwa

The reason why ordering does not matter is that the voicing rule does
not refer to the place of articulation of the nasal, and the assimilation
rule does not refer to the voicing of the following consonant. Thus infor-
mation provided by one rule cannot change whether the other rule applies.

Post-Nasal Hardening. Another process of consonant hardening turns

voiced continuants into stops after a nasal: l and r become d, β becomes b,
and j becomes dʒ.
 Interacting processes 123

(17) Imperative 3pl pres 1sg pres

lola βalola ndola ‘look’
lasa βalasa ndasa ‘shoot at’
leβa βaleβa ndeβa ‘push’
lwaala βalwaala ndwaala ‘be sick’
ra βara nda ‘put’
rara βarara ndara ‘be stung’
roβa βaroβa ndoβa ‘ripen’
rusja βarusja ndusja ‘vomit’
rja βarja ndja ‘fear’
βakala βaβakala mbakala ‘spread’
βala βaβala mbala ‘count’
βasa βaβasa mbasa ‘forge’
βoola βaβoola mboola ‘tell’
jama βajama ɲdʒama ‘scout’
jaaja βajaaja ɲdʒaaja ‘scramble with’
joola βajoola ɲdʒoola ‘scoop’
juula βajuula ɲdʒuula ‘snatch’

These data can be accounted for by the following rule:

(18) Post-Nasal Hardening

[ +voice ] → [-cont ] / [+nasal ]

This formalization exploits the concept of structure preservation to

account for the changes to /r, l, j/. By becoming [-cont], a change to [-son]
is necessitated since there are no oral sonorant stops in Bukusu. Likewise
the lack of lateral stops in the language means that /l/ becomes [-lat] when
it becomes [-cont]. Since there is no segment [ ɟ] in Bukusu, making /j/
become a stop entails a change in place of articulation from palatal to
alveopalatal, and from plain stop to affricate.
The generalizations expressed in rules (13) and (18) can be unified into
one even simpler rule, which states that consonants after nasals become
voiced stops.

(19) Post-Nasal Voicing-Hardening

⎡+voice⎤
C→ ⎢ ⎥ / [+nas] __
⎣-cont ⎦

l-deletion. A third process affecting sequences of nasal plus consonant

can be seen in the following data.

(20) Imperative 3pl pres 1sg pres

a. tima βatima ndima ‘run’
taaɲa βataaɲa ndaaɲa ‘hack’
tiiŋa βatiiŋa ndiiŋa ‘filter’
124 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

rema βarema ndema ‘chop’

riina βariina ndiina ‘run away’
ruma βaruma nduma ‘send’
b. laanda βalaanda naanda ‘go around’
laaŋgwa βalaaŋgwa naaŋgwa ‘be named’
liinda βaliinda niinda ‘wait’
loma βaloma noma ‘say’
loondelela βaloondelela noondelela ‘follow’
luma βaluma numa ‘bite’

The examples in (a) show the effect of rules of voicing and consonant
hardening, applying as expected to /t/ and /r/. However, the examples in
(b) show the deletion of underlying /l/ after a nasal. These examples contrast
with the first set of examples in (17), where the root also begins with
underlying /l/: the difference between the two sets of verbs is that in the
second set, where /l/ deletes, the following consonant is a nasal, whereas in
the first set where /l/ does not delete, the next consonant is not a nasal.
The significance of the examples in (20a) is that although underlying /t/,
/l/, and /r/ all become [d] after a nasal, the deletion of an underlying
consonant in the environment N_VN only affects underlying /l/. Since
the voicing-hardening rule (19) neutralizes the distinction between
the three consonants after a nasal but in fact /l/ acts differently from /t/
and /r/ in the context N_VN, we can conclude that there is a prior rule
deleting /l/ – but not /t/ or /r/ – in this context.

(21) l-deletion
[+lat] ! Ø / [+nasal] _ V0 [+nasal]

This rule clearly must apply before the hardening rule changes /l/ into [d]
after a nasal, since otherwise there would be no way to restrict this rule to
applying only to underlying /l/. When (19) applies, underlying /n-liinda/
would become n-diinda, but /n-riina/ would also become n-diina. Once that
has happened, there would be no way to predict the actual pronunciations
[niinda] versus [ndiina].
On the other hand, if you were to apply the l-deletion rule first, the rule
could apply in the case of /n-liinda/ to give [niinda], but would not apply to
/n-riina/ because that form does not have an l: thus by ordering the rules so
that l-deletion comes first, the distinction between /l/, which deletes, and
/r/, which does not delete, is preserved.

Nasal Cluster Simplification. Another phonological process applies to con-

sonants after nasal consonants. When the root begins with a nasal consonant,
the expected sequence of nasal consonants simplifies to a single consonant.

(22) Imperative 3pl pres 1sg pres

mala βamala mala ‘finish’
maɲa βamaɲa maɲa ‘know’
meela βameela meela ‘get drunk’
ŋoola βaŋoola ŋoola ‘see into the spirit world’
 Interacting processes 125

ɲa βaɲa ɲa ‘defecate’
ɲaaɲa βaɲaaɲa ɲaaɲa ‘chew’
ɲwa βaɲwa ɲwa ‘drink’

In the case of mala ‘I finish,’ the underlying form would be /n-mala/ which
would undergo the place assimilation rule (14), resulting in *mmala.
According to the data available to us, there are no sequences of nasals in
the language, so it is reasonable to posit the following rule.

(23) Nasal Cluster Simplification

[+nas] ! Ø / __ [+nas]

Nasal Deletion. The final process which applies to sequences of nasal

plus consonant is one deleting a nasal before a voiceless fricative.

(24) Imperative 3pl pres 1sg pres

fuma βafuma fuma ‘spread’
fuundixa βafuundixa fuundixa ‘knot’
fwa βafwa fwa ‘die’
xala βaxala xala ‘cut’
xalaaŋga βaxalaaŋga xalaaŋga ‘fry’
xweesa βaxweesa xweesa ‘pull’
seesa βaseesa seesa ‘winnow’
siimbwa βasiimbwa siimbwa ‘have indigestion’
somja βasomja somja ‘teach’
sukuwa βasukuwa sukuwa ‘rub legs’
sja βasja sja ‘grind’

The underlying form of fuma ‘I spread’ is /n-fuma/ since the prefix for 1sg
is /n-/ and the root is /fuma/, and this contains a sequence nasal plus
voiceless fricative. Our data indicate that this sequence does not appear
anywhere in the language, so we may presume that such sequences are
eliminated by a rule of nasal deletion. The formulation in (25) accounts for
the deletion facts of (24).

(25) Nasal Deletion

⎡+cont ⎤
[+nasal ] → Ø /__ ⎢-voice⎥
⎣ ⎦
There can be an important connection between how rules are formulated
and how they are ordered. In the analysis presented here, we posited the
rules Nasal Deletion (25) and Post-Nasal Voicing-Hardening (19), repeated
here, where Nasal Deletion applies first.

(19) Post-Nasal Voicing-Hardening

⎡+voice⎤
C→ ⎢ ⎥ / [+nas]
⎣-cont ⎦
126 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

Since, according to (25), only voiceless continuants trigger deletion of a

following nasal, we do not expect /n-βala/ ‘I count’ to lose its nasal. How-
ever, there is the possibility that (19) could apply to /n-fwa/ ‘I die,’ since
(19) does not put any conditions on the kind of consonant that becomes a
voiced stop – but clearly, /f/ does not become a voiced stop in the surface
form [fwa]. This is because Nasal Deletion first eliminates the nasal in /n-
fwa/, before (19) has a chance to apply, and once the nasal is deleted, (19)
can no longer apply.
You might consider eliminating the specification [-voice] from the
formalization of (25) on the grounds that voiced continuants become stops
by (19), so perhaps by applying (19) first, we could simplify (25). Such a
reordering would fail, though, since (19) would not only correctly change
/n-βala/ to [mbala], but would incorrectly change /n-fwa/ to *[mbwa]. The
only way to eliminate the specification [-voice] in (25) would be to split
(19) into two rules specifically applying to voiced continuants and voice-
less stops – a considerable complication that negates the advantage of
simplifying (25) by one feature specification.
Summary. We have found in Bukusu that there are a number of phono-
logical processes which affect N+C clusters, by voicing, hardening, or
deleting the second consonant, or deleting the nasal before a nasal or a
voiceless fricative.

(25) Nasal Deletion

⎡+ cont⎤
[ +nasal ] → Ø/__ ⎢- voice⎥
⎣ ⎦

(14) Nasal Place Assimilation

⎡ +syl ⎤
⎡αant ⎤ ⎢ ⎥
[+nas] → ⎢βcor ⎥ / ⎢ αant⎥
⎣ ⎦
⎣ βcor ⎦
⎢ ⎥

(21) l-Deletion

[ + lat ] → Ø / [ +nasal] v0 [+nasal]

(19) Post-Nasal Voicing-Hardening

⎡+voice⎤
C→ ⎢ ⎥ / [+nas]
⎣-cont ⎦

(23) Nasal Cluster Simplification

[ +nas] → Ø/ [ +nas ]
Despite some similarity in these processes, which involve a common
environment of nasal-plus-consonant, there is no reasonable way to state
these processes as one rule.
 Interacting processes 127

In addition to showing how a complex system of phonological alterna-

tions decomposes into simpler, independent, and partially intersecting
rules, the preceding analyses reveal an important component of phono-
logical analysis, which is observing regularities in data, such as the fact
that Bukusu lacks any consonant sequences composed of a nasal plus a
fricative on the surface.

5.1.4 Matuumbi
The following data from Matuumbi illustrate the different surface real-
izations of the noun-class prefixes (nouns are assigned lexically or syntac-
tically to different classes, conventionally numbered between 1 and 21).
You should be able to discern and formalize the rule that applies in
these data, and order those rules correctly. What rule applies in the
following data?

(26) Class C-initial noun V-initial noun

4 mi-kaáte ‘loaves’ mj-oótó ‘fires’
5 li-kuŋuúnda ‘filtered beer’ lj-oowá ‘beehive’
7 ki-kálaaŋgo ‘frying pan’ kj-uúlá ‘frog’
8 i-kálaaŋgo ‘frying pans’ j-uúlá ‘frogs’
14 u-tópe ‘mud’ ́ bɪ
w-ɪɪm ‘beer’
11 lu-toóndwa ‘star’ lw-aaté ‘banana hand’
13 tu-tóopé ‘little handles’ tw-aána ‘little children’
15 ku-suúle ‘to school’ kw-iisíwá ‘to the islands’
16 mu-kikú ‘in the navel’ mw-iikú ‘in the navels’

The examples in (27) illustrate three rules. First, there is an optional rule When a rule is
applying in both subsets of (27) which deletes u after m, hence in these optional, that fact
words, the prefix /mu/ can be pronounced in two ways, one with u and one is indicated by
without u. You should formalize the optional vowel deletion rule illus- writing “(optional)”
trated by these data. to the right of the
An independent rule assimilates a nasal to the place of articulation of rule – see chapter 2.
the following consonant (we saw this rule in previous Matuumbi data in
chapters 2 and 4). This rule applies in both subsets of examples, and is the
only other rule besides deletion of u involved in the first subset. The third
rule applies in the second subset of examples, and explains the change in
the initial consonant of the stem. This rule only applies to a glide preceded
by a nasal which is separated by a morpheme boundary, notated in
rules as “+.”

(27) Unreduced form Reduced form

a. mu-tola. . . n-tola . . . ‘you (pl) take’
mu-kálaaŋgite ŋ-kálaaŋgite ‘you (pl) fried’
mu-pɪmé m-pɪmé ‘you (pl) should measure’

b. mu-wesa . . . ŋ-ŋwesa . . . ‘you (pl) can’

́ ɪtiile
mu-jɪk ɲ-ɲɪk
́ ɪtiile ‘you (pl) agreed’
mu-wuúngo ŋ-ŋwuúngo ‘in the civet’
mu-jɪɪǵ a ɲ-ɲɪɪǵ a ‘in the body’
128 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

(An alternative transcription of these second set of forms would be ŋŋwesa

and so on: the point of writing this as [ŋŋwesa] is to make clear that there is
a change in the nature of the initial segment, and not the addition of
another segment.)
The examples in (28) illustrate the point that nouns in class 7 in the
singular (marked with the prefix ki-) have their plural in class 8 (with the
prefix i-). The plural locative form gives further illustration of a phono-
logical rule of the language which we already know.

(28) Singular (cl 7) Plural (cl 8) Plural locative

ki-báo i-báo mwii-báo ‘stool’
ki-bɪgá i-bɪgá mwii-bɪgá ‘pot’
ki-bíliítu i-bíliítu mwii-bíliítu ‘box of matches’
ki-bógojó i-bógojó mwii-bógojó ‘toothless person’

How do you explain the following examples of nouns, which also have
singulars in class 7 and plurals in class 8, given that the class prefixes in
these examples are underlyingly /ki-/ and /i-/?

(29) Singular (cl 7) Plural (cl 8) Plural locative

kjáaí jáaí mujáaí ~ ɲɲáaí ‘soup pot’
kjaáka jaáka mujaáka ~ ɲɲaáka ‘bush’
kjɪɪkɪ ́ jɪɪkɪ ́ mujɪɪkɪ ́ ~ ɲɲɪɪkɪ ́ ‘stump’
kjuúbá juúbá mujuúbá ~ ɲɲuúbá ‘chest’

The data in (29) demonstrate a specific conclusion about the ordering of

two of the rules motivated here: what is that conclusion?

5.2 Different effects of rule ordering

Besides showing how greater generality can often be achieved by splitting
a process into smaller pieces, the preceding examples have illustrated that
the application of one rule can bring into existence new environments
where the second rule can apply, an environment which did not exist in
the underlying form. What we observed happening in these cases was that
both of the rules applied. Not all interactions between phonological pro-
cesses have this characteristic – sometimes applying one rule prevents a
second rule from applying – and in this section we consider some of the
effects of different rule orderings.

5.2.1 Lamba: harmony and palatalization

The following data illustrate the interaction between a rule of vowel
harmony and a palatalization rule in the language Lamba (Zambia):

(30) Plain Passive Neuter Applied Reciprocal

tʃita tʃitwa tʃitika tʃitila tʃitana ‘do’
tula tulwa tulika tulila tulana ‘dig’
 Interacting processes 129

tʃeta tʃetwa tʃeteka tʃetela tʃetana ‘spy’

soŋka soŋkwa soŋkeka soŋkela soŋkana ‘pay tax’
pata patwa patika patila patana ‘scold’
fisa fiswa fiʃika fiʃila fisana ‘hide’
tʃesa tʃeswa tʃeseka tʃesela tʃesana ‘cut’
kosa koswa koseka kosela kosana ‘be strong’
lasa laswa laʃika laʃila lasana ‘wound’
masa maswa maʃika maʃila masana ‘plaster’
ʃika ʃikwa ʃitʃika ʃitʃila ʃikana ‘bury’
seka sekwa sekeka sekela sekana ‘laugh at’
poka pokwa pokeka pokela pokana ‘receive’
kaka kakwa katʃika katʃila kakana ‘tie’
fuka fukwa futʃika futʃila fukana ‘creep’

In order to see what these data show, we must first understand the mor-
phological structure of these words, a step which leads us to realize that the
pronunciation of certain morphemes changes, depending on their phonetic
context. Verbs in Lamba are composed of a root of the form CV(C)C, an
optional derivational affix marking passive, neuter, applied or reciprocal,
and a word-final suffix -a which marks the form as being a verb. The
underlying forms of the passive and reciprocal suffixes are clearly -w- and
-an-, since they exhibit no phonetic variations. The neuter and applied suf-
fixes appear phonetically as -ik- and -ek-, -il- and -el-. The choice of vowel in the
suffix is determined by the vowel which precedes the suffix: if the verb root
contains the vowel i, u, or a the suffix has the vowel i, and if the root contains
the vowel e or o the suffix has the vowel e. The group of vowels i, u, a is not
a natural phonetic class, so it is implausible that the suffixes are underlyingly
-el- and -ek- with -il- and -ik- being derived by a rule. The class of vowels e, o is
the phonetic class of mid vowels; it is thus evident that this language has a
vowel harmony rule which assimilates underlying high vowels (in the
suffixes /il/ and /ik/) to mid vowels when they are preceded by mid vowels.

(31) Height harmony

⎡+syl ⎤
⎢ ⎥
[ +syl ] →[ -high ] / ⎢-high⎥ C0
⎢ ⎥
⎣-low ⎦

There is an alternation in the realization of certain root-final consonants.

As shown in examples such as kaka ~ kat ʃika and lasa ~ laʃika, the velar
consonants and the alveolar continuant s become alveopalatals when they
are followed by the vowel i, by processes of palatalization. It is difficult to
express a change of /k/ and /s/ to alveopalatal by one rule without including
/t/ – which does not change, see [patika] – so two separate rules are needed.

(32) a. Stop Palatalization

⎡+syl ⎤
⎡ +high⎤ ⎢ ⎥
⎢ - syl ⎥ → [ +cor ] / ⎢+high⎥
⎣ ⎦ ⎢
⎣-back⎥
⎦
130 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

b. Fricative Palatalization
⎡+syl ⎤
⎡+cont⎤ ⎢ ⎥
⎢+cor ⎥ → [- ant] / ⎢+high⎥
⎣ ⎦ ⎢
⎣-back⎥
⎦

The interaction between these processes is seen in words which could in

principle undergo both of these processes: roots with the vowel e or o, and
the final consonant k or s. The example sekeka ‘laugh at’ from /sek-ik-a/
shows how these processes interact. Suppose, first, that palatalization
were to apply before vowel harmony. Since the underlying representation
has the sequence /ki/ which is required by palatalization, that rule would
apply. Subsequently, vowel harmony would assimilate /i/ to [e] after /e/,
giving the wrong surface result. This is illustrated below in a derivation
which spells out the results of applying first palatalization, then height
harmony.

(33) /sek-ik-a/ underlying

setʃika palatalization
*setʃeka height harmony

Thus, applying the rules in this order gives the wrong results: this order
cannot be correct.
On the other hand, if we apply the processes in the other order, with
height harmony applying before palatalization, then the correct form is
generated.

(34) /sek-ik-a/ underlying

sekeka height harmony
(not applicable) palatalization

5.2.2 Voicing and epenthesis

Lithuanian. Another example which illustrates how an earlier rule can
change a form in such a way that a later rule can no longer apply is found
in Lithuanian. There is a process of voicing assimilation in Lithuanian
whereby obstruents agree in voicing with an immediately following
obstruent. This rule applies in the following examples to the verbal
prefixes /at/ and /ap/.

(35) a. /at/ at-eiti ‘to arrive’

at-imti ‘to take away’
at-neʃti ‘to bring’
at-leisti ‘to forgive’
at-likti ‘to complete’
at-ko:pti ‘to rise’
at-praʃi:ti ‘to ask’
at-kurti ‘to reestablish’
/ap/ ap-eiti ‘to circumvent’
 Interacting processes 131

ap-ieʃko:ti ‘to search everywhere’

ap-akti ‘to become blind’
ap-mo:ki:ti ‘to train’
ap-temdi:ti ‘to obscure’
ap-ʃaukti ‘to proclaim’

b. /at/ ad-bekti ‘to run up’

ad-gauti ‘to get back’
ad-bukti ‘to become blunt’
ad-gimti ‘to be born again’
/ap/ ab-gauti ‘to deceive’
ab-ʒjureti ‘to have a look at’
ab-ʒelti ‘to become overgrown’
ab-dauʒi:ti ‘to damage’
ab-draski:ti ‘to tear’

We would assume that the underlying forms of the prefixes are /at/ and
/ap/, and that there is a rule which voices obstruents before voiced
obstruents.

(36) Voicing assimilation

⎡-son ⎤
[ -son] → [ +voice ] / ⎢+voice ⎥
⎦
⎣

The alternative hypothesis would be that the prefixes are underlyingly /ad/
and /ab/. However, there is no natural context for describing the process of
devoicing. Although devoicing of voiced obstruents before voiceless
obstruents is quite natural, assuming that the prefixes have underlying
voiced obstruents would also require the consonant to be devoiced before
vowels and sonorant consonants, in order to account for the supposed
derivations /ad-eiti/ ! [ateiti], /ab-eiti/ ! [apeiti], /ad-neʃti/ ! [atneʃti], and
/ab-mo:ki:ti/ ! [apmo:ki:ti]. But there is clearly no rule prohibiting voiced
obstruents before vowels and sonorants in this language (in fact, no
language has ever been attested with a rule of consonant devoicing where
the conditioning environment is a following vowel). On the basis of this
reasoning, we conclude that the prefixes have underlying voiceless
consonants.
When the initial consonant of the root is an alveolar stop, the vowel [i]
appears after the prefix /at/, and similarly when the initial consonant is a
bilabial stop, [i] is inserted after the consonant of /ap/.

(37) ati-duoti ‘to give back’

ati-dari:ti ‘to open’
ati-deti ‘to delay’
ati-teisti ‘to adjudicate’
api-berti ‘to strew all over’
api-begti ‘to run around’
api-puti ‘to grow rotten’
132 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

Given just the voicing assimilation rule, you would expect forms such as
*[adduoti], *[abberti] by analogy to [adbekti] and [abdauʒi:ti]. Lithuanian
does not allow sequences of identical consonants, so to prevent such a
result, an epenthetic vowel is inserted between homorganic obstruent
stops (ones having the same values for the place of articulation features).

(38) Epenthesis

⎡ +syl ⎤
⎢ ⎥
⎡-cont
-son
⎤ ⎡--cont
son
⎤
Ø → ⎢ +high⎥ /
⎢αant ⎥ ⎢αant ⎥
⎣ -back⎥
⎢ ⎦ ⎣βcor ⎦ ⎣βcor ⎦
The ordering of these rules is important: epenthesis (38) must apply before
voicing assimilation, since otherwise the prefix consonant would assimi-
late the voicing of the root-initial consonant and would then be separated
from that consonant by the epenthetic vowel. The result of applying the
voicing assimilation rule first would be to create [adduoti], [abberti], and
then this would undergo vowel epenthesis to give incorrect *[adiduoti],
*[abiberti]. If, on the other hand, epenthesis is the first rule applied, then
underlying /at-duoti/ becomes [atiduoti] and /ap-berti/ becomes [apiberti].
Epenthesis eliminates the underlying cluster of obstruents, preventing
the voicing rule from applying.

Armenian. Interestingly, a similar pair of rules exists in the New Julfa

(Iran) dialect of Armenian, but they apply in the opposite order. If rules
apply in a particular order, you would expect to find languages with
essentially the same rules A and B where A precedes B in one language
and B precedes A in another: this is what we find in comparing Armenian
and Lithuanian.
The first-singular future prefix is underlyingly k-, as shown in (39a),
where the prefix is added to a vowel-initial stem. That /k/ assimilates
voicing and aspiration from an obstruent which immediately follows it
underlyingly (but not across a vowel). In addition, initial consonant clus-
ters are broken up by an epenthetic schwa. As the data in (39b) show, the
prefix consonant first assimilates to the initial consonant of the root, and
then is separated from that consonant by schwa.

(39) a. k-ertham ‘I will go’

k-asiem ‘I will say’
k-aniem ‘I will do’
k-akaniem ‘I will watch’
k-oxniem ‘I will bless’
k-uriem ‘I will swell’

b. kə-tam ‘I will give’

kə-kienam ‘I will exist’
gə-bəzzam ‘I will buzz’
gə-lam ‘I will cry’
 Interacting processes 133

gə-zəram ‘I will bray’

khə-thuojniem ‘I will allow’
khə-tʃhaphiem ‘I will measure’
ghə-bhieɹiem ‘I will carry’
ghə-ghuom ‘I will come’
ghə-dzhieviem ‘I will form’

The difference between this dialect of Armenian and Lithuanian is that

vowel epenthesis applies before consonant assimilation in Lithuanian
but after that rule in Armenian, so that in Armenian both epenthesis
and assimilation can apply to a given word, whereas in Lithuanian
applying epenthesis to a word means that assimilation can no
longer apply.

5.2.3 Mongo: B-deletion and resolution of vowel hiatus

Sometimes, what needs to be remarked about the interaction between
processes is the failure of one rule to apply to the output of another rule.
This is illustrated in (40), (41), and (46) with examples from Mongo
(Congo). The first four examples demonstrate the shape of the various
subject prefixes when they stand before a consonant

(40) Imp 1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl

saŋga nsaŋga osaŋga asaŋga tosaŋga losaŋga basaŋga ‘say’
kamba ŋkamba okamba akamba tokamba lokamba bakamba ‘work’
kɔta ŋkɔta ɔkɔta akɔta tɔkɔta lɔkɔta bakɔta ‘cut’
tɛŋga ntɛŋga ɔtɛŋga atɛŋga tɔtɛŋga lɔtɛŋga batɛŋga ‘straighten’
mεla mmεla ɔmεla amεla tɔmεla lɔmεla bamεla ‘drink’
dʒila ndʒila odʒila adʒila todʒila lodʒila badʒila ‘wait’

The underlying forms of the subject prefixes are /N/ (which stands for a
nasal consonant, whose exact place of articulation cannot be determined),
/o/, /a/, /to/, /lo/, and /ba/. There is a vowel harmony process assimilating the
closed vowel /o/ to the open vowel [ɔ] when the following syllable contains
either of the open vowels [ε] or [ɔ], and the prefix for first-singular subject
assimilates in place of articulation to the following consonant.
The examples in (41) show how the subject prefixes are realized if the
verb root begins with a vowel.

(41) Imp 1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl

εna ndʒεna wεna εna tswεna dʒwεna bεna ‘see’
isa ndʒisa wisa isa tswisa dʒwisa bisa ‘hide’
imedʒa ndʒimedʒa wimedʒa imedʒa tswimedʒa dʒwimedʒa bimedʒa ‘consent’
usa ndʒusa wusa usa tswusa dʒwusa busa ‘throw’
ina ndʒina wina ina tswina dʒwina bina ‘hate’

When the first-singular subject prefix stands before the root, it has the
shape [ndʒ], which we will treat as being the result of insertion of [dʒ]
between the prefix and a vowel-initial root. (We might also assume the
134 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

prefix /ndʒ/, which simplifies before a consonant, since such three-

consonant sequences, viz. /ndʒ-saŋga/, do not exist in the language.)

(42) Consonant epenthesis

⎡-syl ⎤
⎢ ⎥
Ø → ⎢-cons⎥ / [+nas] + V
⎢
⎣-back⎥
⎦

The vowel /a/ deletes before another vowel, as shown by the third-singular
and third-plural forms /a-εna/ ! [εna] and /ba-εna/ ! [bεna].

(43) Vowel truncation

[+low] ! Ø / _ V

The prefixes /o/, /to/, and /lo/ undergo a process of glide formation where /o/
becomes [w] before a vowel.
Turning /l/ into an
affricate seems (44) Glide formation
strange from a [+round] ! [–syl] / _ V
functional
perspective, but is In the case of /to/ and /lo/ a further process affricates these consonants
explained by the before a glide.
fact that l was
originally /d/, so (45) Affrication
this rule comes ⎡-syl ⎤
historically from the [+cor] → [+del.rel] / ⎢+high⎥
⎣ ⎦
more natural
change /t, d/! This affrication process must apply after glide formation, since it applies
[ts, dz]/ _ i. to a sequence of consonant plus glide that is created by the application of
glide formation from an underlying consonant-plus-vowel sequence.
The final set of examples illustrates verb roots which underlyingly
begin with the consonant /b/. As these data show, when underlying /b/ is
preceded by a vowel, it is deleted.

(46) Imp 1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl

bina mbina oina aina toina loina baina ‘dance’
bota mbota oota aota toota loota baota ‘beget’

Thus, surface [oina] derives from /obina/ and [baina] derives from /babina/,
via the following rule.

(47) Labial elision

⎡+voice⎤
⎢ ⎥
⎢+ant ⎥ → Ø/ V__V
⎣-cor ⎥
⎢ ⎦
In this case, even though deletion of /b/ creates new sequences of o+V
and a+V which could in principle undergo the rules of a-deletion and
 Interacting processes 135

glide formation, those rules do not in fact apply. In other words, in this
case the grammar must contain some kind of explicit statement
regarding the interaction of these processes, such as an explicit
ordering of the rules, which guarantees that the output of b-deletion
does not undergo glide formation or a-deletion. By ordering the
b-deletion rule so that it applies after the glide formation and vowel
truncation rules, we explain why those two rules fail to apply, just
in case the consonant b is deleted intervocalically. The ordering where
b-deletion precedes vowel truncation and glide formation, illustrated in
(48b), results in ungrammatical forms, which shows that that ordering
of the rules is incorrect. (“NA” means that the rule cannot apply,
because the conditions called for in the rule are not satisfied in
the string.)

(48) a. /o-bina/ /a-bina/ underlying

NA NA glide formation
NA NA vowel truncation
oina aina b-deletion

b. /o-bina/ /a-bina/ underlying

oina aina b-deletion
wina NA glide formation
NA ina vowel truncation
*[wina] *[ina]

Mongo thus provides an example of the failure of rules – especially

vowel truncation and glide formation – to apply to the output of a specific
rule – b-deletion – which we explain by ordering b-deletion after the vowel
rules.

5.2.4 Examples for discussion

Karok. These data from Karok (California) illustrate three interacting
phonological processes. Comment on the underlying forms of the
following words, state what phonological rules are motivated, and discuss
the order in which these processes apply.

(49) Imperative 1sg 3sg

pasip nipasip ʔupasip ‘shoot’
si:tva niʃi:tva ʔusi:tva ‘steal’
kifnuk nikifnuk ʔukifnuk ‘stoop’
suprih niʃuprih ʔusuprih ‘measure’
ʔifik niʔifik ʔuʔifik ‘pick up’
ʔi:ftih niʔi:ftih ʔuʔi:ftih ‘growing’
ʔaktuv niʔaktuv ʔuʔaktuv ‘pluck at’
ʔakrap niʔakrap ʔuʔakrap ‘slap’
ʔarip niʔarip ʔuʔarip ‘cut a strip’
ʔaxjar nixjar ʔuxjar ‘fill’
ʔiʃkak niʃkak ʔuskak ‘jump’
136 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

ʔimniʃ nimniʃ ʔumniʃ ‘cook’

ʔikʃah nikʃah ʔuksah ‘laugh’
ʔiʃriv niʃriv ʔusriv ‘shoot at a target’

Shona. Often, a seemingly complex problem can be significantly simpli-

fied by breaking the problem up into a few interacting processes. If you
look at the phonetic realizations of the passive suffix in Shona (Zim-
babwe), you see that there are seven different manifestations of this
suffix. However, this considerable range of variation can be explained in
terms of a much smaller set of very general phonological rules, whose
interaction results in many surface realizations of the suffix.

(50) Active Passive Active Passive

ɓika ɓikwa ‘cook’ diba dibγa ‘dip’
pfugama pfugamŋa ‘kneel’ pepa pepxa ‘nurse’
ɓuɗa ɓuɗγwa ‘go out’ ruma rumŋa ‘bite’
rova rovγa ‘stay away’ m̤ aɲa m̤ aɲŋwa ‘run’
suŋga suŋgwa ‘tie’ kwaʃa kwaʃxwa ‘hunt’
teŋga teŋgwa ‘buy’ fuŋga fuŋgwa ‘think’
tamba tambγa ‘play’ bvunza bvunzγwa ‘ask’
imba imbγa ‘sing’ gara garγwa ‘stay’
setsa setsxwa ‘amuse’ reɖʐa reɖʐγwa ‘lengthen’
tapa tapxa ‘capture’ βeza βezγwa ‘carve’
rega regwa ‘leave’ ibva ibvγa ‘ripen’
ʃuʒa ʃuʒγwa ‘store taʂa taʂxwa ‘ride’
grain’
peta petxwa ‘fold’ dana danŋwa ‘call’
ona onŋwa ‘see’ ita itxwa ‘do’
doka dokwa ‘set’ seka sekwa ‘laugh’
fesa fesxwa ‘prick’ rasa rasxwa ‘throw
away’
ran̤ a ran̤ ŋwa ‘kick’ pem̤ a pem̤ ŋa ‘beg food’
gotʃa gotʃxwa ‘roast’ ʂika ʂikwa ‘arrive’
dzidza dzidzγwa ‘learn’ fuka fukwa ‘cover’
famba fambγa ‘walk’ nandza nandzγwa ‘lick’
gada gadγwa ‘mount’ ɓata ɓatxwa ‘hold’
tuma tumŋa ‘send’ tora torγwa ‘take’
oŋa oŋwa ‘growl’ rima rimŋa ‘plow’
sefa sefxa ‘sieve’ kweʐa kweʐγwa ‘attract’
dʒudʒa dʒudʒγwa ‘leak’ guruva guruvγa ‘deceive’
maŋga maŋgwa ‘arrest’ miɲa miɲŋwa ‘swallow’

The precise rules which you postulate will depend on what you assume to
be the underlying form of the passive suffix, since there are two plausible
underlying forms for the suffix, based on the data above. The phonological
alternations seen in the following examples are relevant to deciding what
the underlying form of the passive suffix is (and therefore exactly how
 Interacting processes 137

these phonological alternations are to be analyzed). These inflected forms

involve a prefix marking the subject, followed by one of various tense
markers such as -t ʃa-, -no-, and -a-, or no marker, finally followed by the
verb stem.

(51) Subjunctive Future

urime ‘that you (sg) plow’ utʃarima ‘you (sg) will plow’
murime ‘that you (pl) plow’ mutʃarima ‘you (pl) will plow’
turime ‘that they (tiny) tutʃarima ‘they (tiny) will
plow’ plow’
kunatse ‘that there kutʃanatsa ‘there will be nice’
be nice’
Habitual Recent past
unorima ‘you (sg) plow’ warima ‘you (sg) plowed’
munorima ‘you (pl) plow’ mŋarima ‘you (pl) plowed’
tunorima ‘they (tiny) plow’ txwarima ‘they (tiny) plowed’
kunonatsa ‘there is nice’ kwanatsa ‘there was nice’

A further fact which is relevant to deciding on the correct analysis is that

[γ], [x] do not appear after vowels or at the beginning of a word.

Klamath. The data in (52)–(56) from Klamath (Oregon) illustrate two

processes. The first deaspirates and deglottalizes consonants before
obstruents, before glottalized and voiceless resonants, as well as in
word-final positions. The examples in (52) illustrate plain voiceless obstru-
ents, which do not undergo any phonetic alternations. The data below
involve a range of inflectionally and derivationally related word forms:
the common root is underlined (the last form in this set also illustrates an
alternation between i and j’, which is not crucial).

(52) la:p-a ‘two (obj.)’ la:p ‘two’

skhot-a ‘puts on a skhot-pli ‘puts on a blanket
blanket’ again’
q’la:tʃ-aksi ‘Blueberry Place’ q’la:tʃ ‘blueberry (sp)’
poq-a ‘bakes camas’ poq-s ‘camas root’
laqi ‘is rich’ laqj’-a:ka ‘little chief’

The data in (53) provide examples of underlyingly glottalized obstruents,

which become plain voiceless consonants unless they are followed by a
vowel or plain sonorant

(53) p’ak’-a ‘smashes’ p’ak-ska ‘chips off (intr)’

ʔe:t’-a ‘distributes’ se-ʔe:t-s ‘Saturday’
poq-poq’-a ‘becomes dusty’ po:q-tki ‘becomes dusty’
tʃha:k’-a ‘melts (intr)’ tʃha:k-tki ‘melts (as butter)’
ʔi-tʃhi:tʃ’-a ‘makes shavings’ k-tʃhitʃ-ta ‘scrapes one’s foot on’
tʃhlo:q’-a ‘is smooth’ tʃhlo:q-tki ‘becomes slick’
138 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

qit’-lqa ‘pours down’ qit-qha ‘pours out’

-lo:p’-a ‘eats soup’ -lo:p-s ‘soup’

Data in (53) show that aspirated consonants deaspirate in this same

context.

(54) litʃh-litʃ-l’i ‘strong’ li:tʃ-tki ‘becomes

strong’
ponw-o:th-a ‘while drinking’ ponw-o:t-s ‘something to
drink with’
so:tʃh-a ‘kindles a fire’ so:tʃ-ti:la ‘lights a fire
under’
si:jo:th-a ‘trades (pl obj) with si:jo:t-pli ‘trade back
each other’ (pl obj)’
n’iqh-o:wa ‘keeps putting a n’iq-tpa ‘reaches and
hand in water’ touches’

The second process, syncope, deletes a short vowel from the first syllable
of a stem when preceded by a CV prefix and followed by CV.

(55) laqi:ta ‘suspects s.o.’ sa-lqita ‘suspects e.o.’

matʃha:t-ka ‘listens’ sna-mtʃha:t-i:la ‘causes to hear’
metʃa ‘moves camp’ me-mtʃ’a ‘moves
(distributive)’
saqo:tka ‘ask for s.t.’ sa-sqo:tqa ‘ask for s.t.
(distributive)’
sitʃaqhwa ‘wash hands’ hi-stʃaq-tha ‘are angry with e.o’
som ‘mouth’ so-sm’-a:k ‘little mouths
(distributive)’

What do these examples show about the interaction of these two

processes?

(56) q’otʃ’a ‘bends’ jo-qtʃ’a ‘bends with the feet’

qhew’a ‘breaks’ tʃhe-qw’a ‘sit on and break’
thew’a ‘surface cracks’ je-tw’a ‘steps on and cracks
surface’
s-tʃ’iq’a ‘squash with a ji-tʃq’a ‘squash by pressure
pointed with the feet’
instrument’
w-k’al’a ‘cuts with a long kin-kl’a ‘makes a mark with
instrument’ pointer’
w-p’eq’a ‘hits in the face hom-pq’a ‘flies in the face’
with a long
instrument’
 Interacting processes 139

Summary Systems of phonological alternations in most languages involve a

number of rules. This interaction means that you must discern the
effects of individual rules, rather than subsume all alternations under
one complex do-everything rule. A rule changes a given set of segments
in a uniform manner, in a specified environment. So even when a
language like Bukusu has a number of rules pertaining to sequences of
nasal plus consonant – rules which have in common a single context
NC – there may be quite a number of specific rules that apply in that
context. Besides identifying what rules exist in a language, you must
also determine what the proper ordering of those rules is. The correct
order of a pair of rules can be determined by applying the rules very
literal-mindedly in both of the logically possible orders.

Exercises
1 Kerewe
What two tone rules are motivated by the following data? Explain what order the
rules apply in. Vowels have no accent with L tone: treat H tones as [+H] and
L tones as [−H].

to V to V e.o to V for to V for e.o.

kubala kubalana kubalila kubalilana ‘count’
kugaja kugajana kugajila kugajilana ‘despise’
kugula kugulana kugulila kugulilana ‘buy’
kubála kubálána kubálı́la kubálı́lana ‘kick’
kulúma kulúmána kulúmı́la kulúmı́lana ‘bite’
kusúna kusúnána kusúnı́la kusúnı́lana ‘pinch’
kulába kulábána kulábı́la kulábı́lana ‘pass’
to V us to V it to V for us to V it for us
kutúbála kukı́bála kutúbálila kukı́túbalila ‘count’
kutúgája kukı́gája kutúgájila kukı́túgajila ‘despise’
kutúgúla kukı́gúla kutúgúlila kukı́túgulila ‘buy’
kutúbála kukı́bála kutúbálila kukı́túbalila ‘kick’
kutúlúma kukı́lúma kutúlúmila kukı́túlumila ‘bite’
kutúsúna kukı́súna kutúsúnila kukı́túsunila ‘pinch’
kutúlába kukı́lába kutúlábila kukı́túlabila ‘pass’

2 Mbunga
Account for the phonological alternations in the following data. Note that there
are two roots for ‘beat,’ ‘cut,’ ‘rub,’ also there are derivational relations indicated
with suffixes (-el-, -il-, -is-, -es-, etc.) which you need not account for: except for
the difference between final -a and final -i which mark different tenses, you do
not need to be concerned with possible suffixes and alternations caused by
suffixes.
140 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

‘he V-ed me’ ‘he V-ed us’

kamvutila katufutila ‘rub for’
kamvuwila katufuwila ‘wash for’
kanzeka katuseka ‘laugh at’
kanzukumula katusukumula ‘push’
kadʒimisila katudʒimisila ‘extinguish for’
kabota katubota ‘beat’
kababanisa katubabanisa ‘squeeze’
kadaŋgila katudaŋgila ‘throw for’
kadetela katudetela ‘say to’
kaguvila katuguvila ‘fall on’
kandova katutova ‘beat’
kaɲdʒubula katutʃubula ‘scratch’
kaŋgamula katukamula ‘grab’
kambutukila katuputukila ‘rub for’
kanduvila katutuvila ‘run for’
kaŋgetulila katuketulila ‘cut for’
kandelekela katutelekela ‘cook for’
‘I will V’ ‘they will V’
dadumuli davadumuli ‘cut’
dadʒimisi davadʒimisi ‘extinguish’
daguvi davaguvi ‘fall’
dadeti davadeti ‘say’
dababanisi davababanisi ‘squeeze’
dadaŋgi davadaŋgi ‘throw’
danzeki davaseki ‘laugh’
damvuti davafuti ‘rub’
dandovi davatovi ‘beat’
dandeleki davateleki ‘cook’
daŋgetuli davaketuli ‘cut’
daŋgamuli davakamuli ‘grab’
danduvi davatuvi ‘run’
dambutuki davaputuki ‘rub’
daɲdʒubuli davatʃubuli ‘scratch’

3 Polish
What phonological rules are motivated by the following examples, and what
order do those rules apply in?

Singular Plural Singular Plural

klup klubi ‘club’ trup trupi ‘corpse’
dom domi ‘house’ snop snopi ‘sheaf’
ʒwup ʒwobi ‘crib’ trut trudi ‘labor’
dzvon dzvoni ‘bell’ kot koti ‘cat’
lut lodi ‘ice’ grus gruzi ‘rubble’
nos nosi ‘nose’ vus vozi ‘cart’
wuk wugi ‘lye’ wuk wuki ‘bow’
sok soki ‘juice’ ruk rogi ‘horn’
bur bori ‘forest’ vuw vowi ‘ox’
sul soli ‘salt’ buj boji ‘fight’
ʃum ʃumi ‘noise’ ʒur ʒuri ‘soup’
 Interacting processes 141

4 Logoori
Account for the vowel alternations in the following data. Tone may be ignored.

‘they just V’d’ ‘they just V’d for’ ‘they will V ‘they will V for
(rem. fut)’ (rem. fut)’
váakátáanga váakátáángɪra varakátáangɛ varakátáángɪrɪ ‘start’
váakávʊ́ njaanja váakávʊ́ njaanjɪra varakávʊ́ njaanjɛ varakávʊ́ njaanjɪrɪ ‘break’
váakázáázama váakázáázamɪra varakázáázamɛ varakázáázamɪrɪ ‘taste’
váakavʊrʊganja váakavʊrʊganjɪra varakavʊrʊganjɛ varakavʊrʊganjɪrɪ ‘stir’
váakaganaganja váakaganaganjɪra varakaganaganjɛ varakaganaganjɪrɪ ‘think’
váakarʊʊnga váakarʊʊngɪra varakarʊʊngɪ varakarʊʊngɪrɪ ‘season’
váakarɪɪnda váakarɪɪndɪra varakarɪɪndɪ varakarɪɪndɪrɪ ‘guard’
váakátʊ́ ma váakátʊ́ mɪra varakátʊ́ mɪ varakátʊ́ mɪrɪ ‘send’
váakásúunga váakásúúngɪra varakásúungɪ varakásúúngɪrɪ ‘hang up’
váakatuuma váakatuumɪra varakatuumɪ varakatuumɪrɪ ‘jump’
váakávɪń a váakávɪń ɪra varakávɪń ɪ varakávɪń ɪrɪ ‘dance’
váakavisa váakavisɪra varakavisɪ varakavisɪrɪ ‘hide’
váakávɪt́ a váakávɪt́ ɪra varakávɪt́ ɪ varakávɪt́ ɪrɪ ‘pass’
váakágámʊra váakágámʊrɪra varakágámʊrɪ varakágámʊrɪrɪ ‘catch’
váakahɪɪrɪɪta váakahɪɪrɪɪtɪra varakahɪɪrɪɪtɪ varakahɪɪrɪɪtɪrɪ ‘snore’
váakadiginja váakadiginjɪra varakadiginjɪ varakadiginjɪrɪ ‘tickle’
váakáhákiza váakáhákizɪra varakáhákizɪ varakáhákizɪrɪ ‘scorch’
váakavariza váakavarizɪra varakavarizɪ varakavarizɪrɪ ‘count’
váakáfʊ́ njɪɪriza váakáfʊ́ njɪɪrizɪra varakáfʊ́ njɪɪrizɪ varakáfʊ́ njɪɪrizɪrɪ ‘smell’
váakamɪnɪɪka váakamɪnɪɪkɪra varakamɪnɪɪkɪ varakamɪnɪɪkɪrɪ ‘be ill’
váakagarʊkiza váakagarʊkizɪra varakagarʊkizɪ varakagarʊkizɪrɪ ‘reverse’
váakarʊʊngikiza váakarʊʊngikizɪra varakarʊʊngikizɪ varakarʊʊngikizɪrɪ ‘straighten’
váakátʊ́ ŋaminja váakátʊ́ ŋaminjɪra varakátʊ́ ŋaminjɪ varakátʊ́ ŋaminjɪrɪ ‘invert’
váakasjɛɛna váakasjɛɛnɛra varakasjɛɛnɛ varakasjɛɛnɛrɛ ‘step’
váakárɛ́ ɛmba váakárɛ́ ɛ́ mbɛra varakárɛ́ ɛmbɛ varakárɛ́ ɛ́ mbɛrɛ ‘scold’
váakárɔ́ ɔta váakárɔ́ ɔ́ tɛra varakárɔ́ ɔtɛ varakárɔ́ ɔ́ tɛrɛ ‘dream’
váakasɛka váakasɛkɛra varakasɛkɛ varakasɛkɛrɛ ‘laugh’
váakatɛɛva váakatɛɛvɛra varakatɛɛvɛ varakatɛɛvɛrɛ ‘ask’
váakáhɛ́ ɛnza váakáhɛ́ ɛ́ nzɛra varakáhɛ́ ɛnzɛ varakáhɛ́ ɛ́ nzɛrɛ ‘seek’
váakarɔɔnda váakarɔɔndɛra varakarɔɔndɛ varakarɔɔndɛrɛ ‘follow’
váakárɛ́ ɛta váakárɛ́ ɛ́ tɛra varakárɛ́ ɛtɛ varakárɛ́ ɛ́ tɛrɛ ‘bring’
váakádɛ́ ɛka váakádɛ́ ɛ́ kɛra varakádɛ́ ɛkɛ varakádɛ́ ɛ́ kɛrɛ ‘cook’
váakámɛ́ ɲa váakámɛ́ ɲɛra varakámɛ́ ɲɛ varakámɛ́ ɲɛrɛ ‘live’
váakasɔɔma váakasɔɔmɛra varakasɔɔmɛ varakasɔɔmɛrɛ ‘read’
váakávɛ́ ga váakávɛ́ gɛra varakávɛ́ gɛ varakávɛ́ gɛrɛ ‘shave’
váakamɔrɔma váakamɔrɔmɛra varakamɔrɔmɛ varakamɔrɔmɛrɛ ‘speak’
váakarɛka váakarɛkɛra varakarɛkɛ varakarɛkɛrɛ ‘stop’

The following nouns illustrate a productive pattern for making nouns ‘tool for
V-ing with’:
ividujɪrʊ ‘pound’ ivivɛ́ gɛrɔ ‘shave’ ivikáragɪrʊ ‘cut’
ivisɔɔmɛrɔ ‘read’ ivivɪń ɪrʊ ‘dance’ ivinágɪllʊ ‘catch’
ivisɛɛmbɛllɔ ‘cultivate’ ivirʊʊngɪrʊ ‘season’
142 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

5 Shona
Acute accent indicates H tone and unaccented vowels have L tone. Given the
two sets of data immediately below, what tone rule do the following data
motivate? There are alternations in the form of adjectives, e.g. kurefú, karefú,
marefú all meaning ‘long.’ Adjectives have an agreement prefix, hence ku-refú
marks the form of the adjective in one grammatical class, and so on. In some
cases, the agreement is realized purely as a change in the initial consonant of
the adjective, i.e. gúrú ~ kúrú ~ húrú, which need not be explained.

bveni ‘baboon’ bveni pfúpi ‘short baboon’

táfura ‘table’ táfura húrú ‘big table’
ʃoko ‘word’ ʃoko bvúpi ‘short word’
ɓadzá ‘hoe’ ɓadzá gúrú ‘big hoe’
zigómaná ‘boy zigómaná gúrú ‘big boy
(augmentative)’ (augmentative)’
imbá ‘house’ imbá tʃéna ‘clean house’
m̤ ará ‘gazelle’ m̤ ará tʃéna ‘clean gazelle’
marı́ ‘money’ marı́ tʃéna ‘clean money’
ɓáŋgá ‘knife’ ɓáŋga gúrú ‘big knife’
ɗémó ‘axe’ ɗémo bvúpi ‘short axe’
n̤ úmé ‘messenger’ n̤ úme pfúpi ‘short messenger’
dʒı́rá ‘cloth’ dʒı́ra dʒéna ‘clean cloth’
hárı́ ‘pot’ hári húrú ‘big pot’
mbúndúdzı́ ‘worms’ mbúndúdzi húrú ‘big worms’
fúma ‘wealth’ fúma tʃéna ‘clean wealth’
ɲı́ka ‘country’ ɲı́ka húrú ‘big country’
hákáta ‘bones’ hákáta pfúpi ‘short bones’
dʒékéra ‘pumpkin’ dʒékéra gúrú ‘big pumpkin’

These data provide further illustration of the operation of this tone rule, which
will help you to state the conditions on the rule correctly.

guɗo ‘baboon’ guɗo rákafá ‘the baboon died’

ɓaɗzá ‘hoe’ ɓadzá rákawá ‘the hoe fell’
nuŋgú ‘porcupine’ nuŋgú jákafá ‘the porcupine
died’
ɓáŋgá ‘knife’ ɓáŋga rákawá ‘the knife fell’
n̤ úmé ‘messenger’ n̤ úme jákafá ‘the messenger died’
búku ‘book’ búku rákawá ‘the book fell’
mapfeni ‘baboons’ mapfeni makúrú ‘big baboons’
mapadzá ‘hoes’ mapadzá makúrú ‘big hoes’
mapáŋgá ‘knives’ mapáŋgá makúrú ‘big knives’
n̤ úmé ‘messenger’ n̤ úmé ndefú ‘tall messenger’
matémó ‘axes’ matémó mapfúpi ‘short axes’
mabúku ‘books’ mabúku maʒı́ndʒı́ ‘many books’
tʃitóro ‘store’ tʃitóro tʃikúrú ‘big store’

In the examples below, a second tone rule applies.

 Interacting processes 143

guɗo ‘baboon’ guɗo refú ‘tall baboon’

búku ‘book’ búku refú ‘long book’
ɓadzá ‘hoe’ ɓadzá refú ‘long hoe’
nuŋgú ‘porcupine’ nuŋgú ndefú ‘long porcupine’
maʃoko ‘words’ maʃoko marefú ‘long words’
kuɲı́ka ‘to the land’ kuɲı́ka kurefú ‘to the long land’
mapadzá ‘hoes’ mapadzá márefú ‘long hoes’
kam̤ ará ‘gazelle (dim)’ kam̤ ará kárefú ‘long gazelle (dim)’
tunuŋgú ‘porcupines (dim)’ tunuŋgú túrefú ‘long porcupines
(dim)’
guɗo ‘baboon’ guɗo gobvú ‘thick baboon’
búku ‘book’ búku gobvú ‘thick book’
ɓadzá ‘hoe’ ɓadzá gobvú ‘thick hoe’
makuɗo ‘baboons’ makuɗo makobvú ‘thick baboons’
mapadzá ‘hoes’ mapadzá mákobvú ‘thick hoes’
tsamba ‘letter’ tsamba n̤ ete ‘thin letter’
búku ‘book’ búku ɗete ‘thin book’
ɓadzá ‘hoe’ ɓadzá ɗéte ‘thin hoe’
imbá ‘house’ imbá n̤ éte ‘thin house’

What do the following examples show about these tone rules?

ɓáŋgá ‘knife’ ɓáŋgá ɗéte ‘thin knife’

ɗémó ‘axe’ ɗémó ɗéte ‘thin axe’
murúmé ‘person’ murúmé mútete ‘thin person’
kahúnı́ ‘firewood (dim)’ kahúnı́ kárefú ‘long firewood’
matʃı́rá ‘clothes’ matʃı́rá márefú ‘long clothes’
hárı́ ‘pot’ hárı́ n̤ éte ‘thin pot’

6 Guerze
Account for the phonological alternations in the following data from Guerze. Be
sure that you state the order of the rules which you propose, and justify your
conclusion about ordering.

bamaŋ ‘harp-drum’ bama bo ‘10 harp-drums’

bama dɔnɔ ‘1 harp-drum’ bama nɔɔlu ‘5 harp-drums’
bama ŋudono ‘100 harp-drums’ bama ŋujaa ‘heavy harp-drum’
bʌlʌ ‘yam’ bʌlʌ kujaa ‘long yam’
bʌlʌ lɔɔlu ‘5 yams’ bʌlʌ ɲɔŋɔ ‘bad yam’
bʌlʌ tɛγʌja ‘black yam’ bʌlʌ joγo ‘wet yam’
gbɔŋ ‘wood’ gbɔ naa ‘4 wood pieces’
gbɔ ɲoγo ‘wet wood’ gbɔ nʌnʌ ‘new wood’
hiiŋ ‘design’ hii dɔnɔ ‘1 design’
hii gujaa ‘long design’ hii gʌnʌ ‘big design’
hii naa ‘4 designs’ hii ɲɔŋɔ ‘bad design’
hii nokolo ‘small design’ hʌŋ ‘thing’
hʌ dɛγʌja ‘black thing’ hʌ gʌnʌ ‘big thing’
hʌ ɲoγo ‘wet thing’ hʌ ŋudono ‘100 things’
hʌ ŋujaa ‘heavy thing’ kɨhɨ ‘suitcase’
kɨhɨ kujaa ‘long suitcase’ kɨhɨ lokolo ‘small suitcase’
144 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

kɨhɨ naa ‘4 suitcases’ kɨhɨ tɔnɔ ‘1 suitcase’

kɨhɨ wujaa ‘heavy suitcase’ lii ‘heart’
lii kʌnʌ ‘big heart’ lii ɲɔŋɔ ‘bad heart’
lii ŋudono ‘100 hearts’ ɲɨŋ ‘tooth’
ɲɨ bo ‘10 teeth’ ɲɨ dɛγʌja ‘black tooth’
ɲɨ gujaa ‘long tooth’ ɲɨ nɔɔlu ‘5 teeth’
ɲɨ ɲɔŋɔ ‘bad tooth’ ɲɨ nʌnʌ ‘new tooth’
ɲɨ ŋujaa ‘heavy tooth’ tɛɛ ‘chicken’
tɛɛ kujaa ‘long chicken’ tɛɛ lɔɔlu ‘5 chickens’
tɛɛ lokolo ‘small chicken’ tɛɛ nʌnʌ ‘new chicken’
tɛɛ ŋudono ‘100 chickens’ tɛɛ po ‘10 chickens’
tɛɛ tɛγʌja ‘black chicken’ tɛɛ joγo ‘wet chicken’
jaba ‘onion’ jaba kʌnʌ ‘big onion’
jaba naa ‘4 onions’ jaba nʌnʌ ‘new onion’
jaba po ‘10 onions’ jaba tɔnɔ ‘1 onion’
jaba wujaa ‘heavy onion’

7 Catalan
Give phonological rules which account for the following data, and indicate what
ordering is necessary between these rules. For each adjective stem, state what
the underlying form of the root is. Pay attention to the difference between
surface [b, d, g] and [β, ð, γ], in terms of predictability.

Masc sg Fem sg Masc sg Fem sg

əkelj əkeljə ‘that’ mal malə ‘bad’
siβil siβilə ‘civil’ əskerp əskerpə ‘shy’
ʃop ʃopə ‘drenched’ sεk sεkə ‘dry’
əspεs əspεsə ‘thick’ gros grosə ‘large’
baʃ baʃə ‘short’ koʃ koʃə ‘lame’
tot totə ‘all’ brut brutə ‘dirty’
pɔk pɔkə ‘little’ prəsis prəsizə ‘precise’
frənses frənsezə ‘French’ gris grizə ‘grey’
kəzat kəzaðə ‘married’ bwit bwiðə ‘empty’
rɔtʃ rɔʒə ‘red’ botʃ boʒə ‘crazy’
orp orβə ‘blind’ ljark ljarγə ‘long’
sek seγə ‘blind’ fəʃuk fəʃuγə ‘heavy’
grok groγə ‘yellow’ puruk puruγə ‘fearful’
kandit kandiðə ‘candid’ frεt frεðə ‘cold’
səγu səγurə ‘sure’ du durə ‘hard’
səγəðo səγəðorə ‘reaper’ kla klarə ‘clear’
nu nuə ‘nude’ kru kruə ‘raw’
flɔɲdʒu flɔɲdʒə ‘soft’ dropu dropə ‘lazy’
əgzaktə əgzaktə ‘exact’ əlβi əlβinə ‘albino’
sa sanə ‘healthy’ pla planə ‘level’
bo bonə ‘good’ sərε sərεnə ‘calm’
suβlim suβlimə ‘sublime’ al altə ‘tall’
fɔr fɔrtə ‘strong’ kur kurtə ‘short’
sor sorðə ‘deaf’ bεr bεrðə ‘green’
 Interacting processes 145

san santə ‘saint’ kəlεn kəlεntə ‘hot’

prufun prufundə ‘deep’ fəkun fəkundə ‘fertile’
dəsen dəsentə ‘decent’ dulen dulentə ‘bad’
əstuðian əstuðiantə ‘student’ blaŋ blaŋkə ‘white’

8 Finnish
Propose rules which will account for the following alternations. It would be best
not to write a lot of rules which go directly from underlying forms to surface
forms in one step; instead, propose a sequence of rules whose combined effect
brings about the change in the underlying form. Pay attention to what
consonants actually exist in the language.

Genitive sg Nom sg Nom pl Ablative sg Essive sg

kanadan kanada kanadat kanadalta kanadana ‘Canada’
kirjan kirja kirjat kirjalta kirjana ‘book’
aamun aamu aamut aamulta aamuna ‘morning’
talon talo talot talolta talona ‘house’
koiran koira koirat koiralta koirana ‘dog’
hyvæn hyvæ hyvæt hyvæltæ hyvænæ ‘good’
kuvan kuva kuvat kuvalta kuvana ‘picture’
lain laki lait lailta lakina ‘roof’
nælæn nælkæ nælæt nælæltæ nælkænæ ‘hunger’
jalan jalka jalat jalalta jalkana ‘leg’
leuan leuka leuat leualta leukana ‘chin’
paran parka parat paralta parkana ‘poor’
reiæn reikæ reiæt reiæltæ reikænæ ‘hole’
nahan nahka nahat nahalta nahkana ‘hide’
vihon vihko vihot viholta vihkona ‘notebook’
laihan laiha laihat laihalta laihana ‘lean’
avun apu avut avulta apuna ‘help’
halvan halpa halvat halvalta halpana ‘cheap’
orvon orpo orvot orvolta orpona ‘orphan’
leivæn leipæ leivæt leivæltæ leipænæ ‘bread’
pæivæn pæivæ pæivæt pæivæltæ pæivænæ ‘day’
kilvan kilpa kilvat kilvalta kilpana ‘competition’
kylvyn kylpy kylvyt kylvyltæ kylpynæ ‘bath’
tavan tapa tavat tavalta tapana ‘manner’
korvan korva korvat korvalta korvana ‘ear’
æidin æiti æidit æidiltæ æitinæ ‘mother’
kodin koti kodit kodilta kotina ‘home’
muodon muoto muodot muodolta muotona ‘form’
tædin tæti tædit tædiltæ tætinæ ‘aunt’
kadun katu kadut kadulta katuna ‘street’
maidon maito maidot maidolta maitona ‘milk’
pøydæn pøytæ pøydæt pøydæltæ pøytænæ ‘table’
tehdyn tehty tehdyt tehdyltæ tehtynæ ‘made’
læmmøn læmpø læmmøt læmmøltæ læmpønæ ‘warmth’
laŋŋan laŋka laŋŋat laŋŋalta laŋkana ‘thread’
sæŋŋyn sæŋky sæŋŋyt sæŋŋyltæ sæŋkynæ ‘bed’
146 INTRODUCTION PHONOLOGY

hinnan hinta hinnat hinnalta hintana ‘price’

linnun lintu linnut linnulta lintuna ‘bird’
opinnon opinto opinnot opinnolta opintona ‘study’
rannan ranta rannat rannalta rantana ‘shore’
luonnon luonto luonnot luonnolta luontona ‘nature’
punnan punta punnat punnalta puntana ‘pound’
tunnin tunti tunnit tunnilta tuntina ‘hour’
kunnon kunto kunnot kunnolta kuntona ‘condition’
kannun kannu kannut kannulta kannuna ‘can’
linnan linna linnat linnalta linnana ‘castle’
tumman tumma tummat tummalta tummana ‘dark’
auriŋŋon auriŋko auriŋŋot auriŋŋolta auriŋkona ‘sun’
reŋŋin reŋki reŋŋit reŋŋiltæ reŋkinæ ‘farm hand’
vaŋŋin vaŋki vaŋŋit vaŋŋilta vaŋkina ‘prisoner’
kellon kello kellot kellolta kellona ‘watch’
kellan kelta kellat kellalta keltana ‘yellow’
sillan silta sillat sillalta siltana ‘bridge’
kullan kulta kullat kullalta kultana ‘gold’
virran virta virrat virralta virtana ‘stream’
parran parta parrat parralta partana ‘beard’

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Further reading
Anderson 1974; Chomsky 1967; Goldsmith 1990b; Kiparsky 1968a; Koutsoudas, Sanders, and Noll 1974.