Positional Neutralization - Linguistics - University of California ...

counterparts in initial syllables which have onsets. As discussed in 3.2.3., absolute word-
initial vowels in Nawuri (Casali 1995, Kirchner 1998) fail to undergo an assimilation
process involving roundness of which they would otherwise be targets. Long vowels and
vowels in phrase-final position likewise avoid this assimilation, all three being associated
with additional duration. In Tamil, likewise, absolute word-initial vowels have been
shown experimentally to be longer than vowels in word-initial syllables with onsets
(Balasubramanian 1981). In Luganda, the contrast between long and short vowels is
neutralized in onsetless word-initial syllables. Additionally, only three vowels contrast in
this position (in fact, initially in any morpheme): /e,o, a/ (Hubbard 1994: 161-165). While
Hubbard’s durational measurements for vowels in this position are equivocal as to the
relative durations of these vowels, in at least certain cases they are longer than they
would be in internal positions. A similar example operating at the phrase-level comes
from Runyambo, in which initial /i, u/ are lowered to [e, o] after pause (Larry Hyman,
p.c.). This lowering of the high vowels to of the quantity distinction is most likely the
result of boundary-adjacent strengthening of the sort documented by Cho (2001), which
is discussed at length in Chapter 3 26 . It is possible that this effect is a result of the
26
Phonetic lowering substantial enough to lead to reinterpretation of high vowels as mid in particular
would be a consequence of what Cho calls “sonority enhancement” and documents as part of the complex
of strengthening effects found in English in boundary-adjacent and accented syllables.
92