Phonological teamwork in Kalahari Basin languages
Florian Lionnet
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004555
December 2018
This paper describes the complex, multiple-trigger, cumulative assimilation processes targeting the initial vowel (V1) of bimoraic stems in Kalahari Basin languages (KBA), first described by Anthony Traill (1985) in East ?Xoon (Tuu). The focus is on two languages: East ?Xoon and G?ui (Khoe-Kwadi). The goal is to describe these processes in as much detail as is possible from the available published and unpublished sources. Marked differences between the two languages in focus are brought to light, thus giving an idea of the so far unnoticed diversity of V1 realization in KBA languages. Finally, this paper briefly highlights important problems posed by such cumulative processes to phonological theory, many of which had already been identified by Traill (1985).