2015/12/10 by David Odden · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Linguistic Variation and Morphology #Phonetics and Phonology Research #Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
paper · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935345.013.59
openalex publication_date 2015/12/10 · openalex created_date 2022/05/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract This chapter surveys the main phonological phenomena found in Bantu languages. One such phenomenon is vowel harmony, where suffixes typically alternate in height depending on the preceding vowel. Combinations of nasal plus consonant are also frequently subject to various modifications; such clusters play an important role in debates over syllable structure, since Bantu languages seem to exhibit the peculiarity that the only onset clusters of consonantals are composed of a nasal followed by an obstruent, reversing the more general linguistic tendency for sonority to rise in the syllable onset. The tone systems of Bantu languages are especially well known for their complex systems of alternations in the form of spreading, dissimilation, and grammatically conditioned melodic alternation. A key feature of interest in the study of Bantu phonology is the considerable variability in the exact details of operation of a highly similar set of rules.