Positional Neutralization - Linguistics - University of California ...

. Ongota (affiliation uncertain - Cushitic or Omotic, Savà and Tosco 2000): In
word-final position, high vowels /i, u/ are optionally lowered to [e, o], such that only
three vowels contrast in this position. Neutralizing.
c. Dasenech (Cushitic, Sasse 1976): In word-final position, high vowels /i,u/ are
realized as [e, o]. Underlying /e, o/ are realized as [, ], so the process is non-
neutralizing. As noted above, Dasenech final vowels are also subject to devoicing or
deletion in phrase-internal final syllables and to partial devoicing phrase-finally.
d. Castillian dialects (Penny, 1986): In certain Castillian dialects of Spanish, only
[e, o, a] are found in final syllables. In others all five vowels still appear.
There are several possible factors which could give rise to final lowering, some or all of
which are likely responsible for the emergence of the cases above. First, one thinks of the
'sonority enhancement" found by Cho (2001) on English final unstressed vowels,
manifesting itself in part as lowering. The common pattern, discussed below, in which
languages avoid shorter vowels in final position also comes to mind as a source of
potential extra length through lowering. Under this interpretation then final lowering is a
Positional Augmentation of the sort Smith (2002) shows to be characteristic of certain
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