Re: Consonant Harmony?

En réponse à "Thomas R. Wier" <trwier@...>:

> I was sitting here reading an article about word classes in
> Winnebago when all of a sudden, more or less out of nowhere, I
> began to wonder if there were conlangs with consonant harmony.
> (I suppose some of the examples reminded me of some examples
> of palatal harmony I'd studied last year.) None of my languages
> have it, and I've never heard of any.  How about it? Are
> there any?
>
Tj'a-ts'a~n has both consonant and vowel harmony. Namely, prefixes and suffixes
(always of the form C'V'A, where the ' marks a sound that undergoes harmony)
harmonise with the nearest consonant and/or vowel of the root. Vowel harmony is
a simple frount unrounded<->back rounded thing. Consonant harmony is a more
complicated thing, with three levels: unvoiced, voiced and nasal. The rules are:
When the root consonant is:
        an unvoiced occlusive, s (pronounced /s/ or /S/), sj or sw: the affix
consonant is unvoiced:
        p->p    s->/s/ or /S/
        t->t    w->pw                   others don't change.
        k->k    j->tj

        a voiced occlusive, s (pronounced /z/ or /Z/), w, j, r, or no consonant
at all (a single-vowel root): the affix consonnant is voiced:
        p->b    s->/z/ or /Z/
        t->d                            others don't change.
        k->g

        a voiced nasalized occlusive or a nasal: the affix consonant is
nasalized and voiced:
        p->~b   s->/z/ or /Z/
        t->~d   w->mw                   others don't change.
        k->~g   j->nj

For instance, the prefix |tj'a| (abstract gender - Tj'a-ts'a~n has gender
classes -) is Tj'a-ts'a~n is an example of this harmony. It is normally listed
in the form j'a /ja/. The vowel can be |'a| /a/ or |a| /Q/ depending on the
quality of the vowel of the root. As for the consonant, it can be |j| /j/,
|tj| /t_j/, /t_S/ or /t_C/ or |nj| /nj/, /n_j/ or /J/, depending on the quality
of the consonant of the root. So each affix has as much as 6 different forms
because of both harmonies.

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

Take your life as a movie: do not let anybody else play the leading role.