Re: Takiyyudin phonology

Shreyas wrote:
<<
So, a question: in languages with harmony, is it common for affixes
to force the rest of a word into a particular form? I'm thinking
about including some that have -only- a green or blue form, possibly
because (fake-historically) they were borrowed from some other
language and not well assimilated.
 >>

I hate to respond with a "yes", but...yes.  I wish I had more actual
data to support it, but I just don't have any relevant examples at
hand.  There are definitely languages where affixes are affected by
vowel harmony (the usual), and languages where affixes govern
harmony (less common).  There are even languages with two
different types of affixes: those that assimilate, and those that force
roots/stems to assimilate.  And, of course, in harmony languages,
there are both roots and affixes that don't change at all, no matter
what.  And all three types can exist in the same language.  I can't
say with any certainty how common affixes that govern harmony
are cross-linguistically, but I'm fairly certain they're not rare.
(I've
seen examples from height harmony, ATR harmony and consonant
harmony languages, as well as with tone [i.e., where tones spread
from affix to stem and from stem to affix].)

So if Takiyyudin were to borrow an affix from another language,
and not assimilate it right away, it could very well become an
affix that causes the root to harmonize.  It could also simply be
opaque to harmony.  I'm sure there could also be a way that
such affixes could arise naturally, without borrowing.  It would
probably involve consonant loss, vowel change, etc.  Would need
to know more about Takiyyudin to say.

-David
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