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ROA:336
Title:Esimbi Vowel Height Shift: Implications for Faith and Markedness
Authors:Rachel Walker
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Length:14
Abstract:Esimbi Vowel Height Shift: Implications for Faith and Markedness



Rachel Walker

USC





Esimbi shifts vowel height features from root to prefix (Hyman 1988).

This analysis explores several points of interest illuminating feature

theory. The surface distribution of height seems to counter the

generalization that affixes are unmarked relative to roots, captured in

Optimality Theory by a metaconstraint ranking root faithfulness

constraints over affix faithfulness (McCarthy and Prince 1994). I argue

that this metaconstraint actually plays a critical role in producing the

shift. Two related findings are that the feature transfer requires a

direct correspondence relation between features and this positional

licensing effect presents support for Positional Markedness constraints

(Zoll 1996); it cannot be expressed in terms of Positional Faithfulness

(Beckman 1998).
Type:Paper/tech report
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Article:Version 1