Positional Neutralization - Linguistics - University of California ...

h. English (Germanic)(Hammond 1997)
Inventory: /i, , e, , æ, , , , o, , u/
Reduction: Unstressed word-internal preconsonantal syllables contain only [] 64
Unstressed word-internal prevocalic syllables contain [i, u, o, e]
Final strength effects: Word-final open syllables show [i, u, o, ]
i. Yakan (Austronesian: Philippines, SW Mindanao, Basilan Island) (Behrens
1975, Flemming 1993)
Inventory: /i, e, a, o, u/
Reduction: Primary stress is penultimate, with secondaries on alternating syllables
preceding. In unstressed syllables /a/ -> [e].
Resistance: In word-final open and closed syllables reduction does not take place (nor
does it in pretonic syllables when the following syllable is also [a]).
j. Maltese (Semitic)(Puech 1978)
Harmony: In Standard Maltese and closely related dialects, there is a left-to-right
rounding harmony which targets all short non-low vowels triggered by [o]. In
Siggieha and Gozitan dialect, harmony affects vowels of all heights, affecting
specifications for [back].
Resistance: While in some dialects suffix vowels only harmonize if they are in a final
closed syllable (with no harmony taking place if additional syllables intervening
between the stem and the word-final syllable, even if intervening syllables contain
otherwise-eligible vowels), in no dialect do vowels in final open syllables ever
harmonize. 65 ,
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Hammond’s analysis admits only one reduced vowel.
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A possible explanation for this not involving final lengthening directly is that while synchronically all
surface final vowels are short (phonologically), underlyingly they are all long. Maltese has undergone a
common sound change (to be discussed below in 3.6 and 3.7), whereby long final vowels shorten and short
final vowels are deleted. The original length of the remaining final vowels could have prevented their
harmonization. Flemming (1993: 21) does not discuss harmony, but notes that final syllables closed and
open are never subject to unstressed vowel deletion in Maltese, and attributes this resistance to final
lengthening. This may ultimately be so, though I see two reasons for skepticism. First is the tendency for
final closed syllables (indeed stronger than for internal closed syllables in some dialects), but not final open
syllables, to undergo harmony, suggesting if anything decreased duration in final closed syllables. Another
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