Re: vowel harmony

>On Wed, 2003-06-18 at 08:45, Rob Haden wrote:
>> On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 23:31:56 +0400, Pavel Iosad <edricson@...>
wrote:
>>
>> >Well, basically, to develop a vowel harmony you'd need to turn your
>> >triangular system into a rectangular one. Thus, you need at least two
>> >low vowels. You could for instance split the low vowel into [&] and [A]
>> >or some other variation thereof.
>>
>> OK, so what's a good, realistic way to do that?
If you want to do it by soundchanges, rather than by other means:
At the same time, I'd like to know whether these actually are realistic
sound changes, since I'm not that sure about the ways vowels tend to change,
and how consonants affect them.

1.1 If you have long vowels, let them become diphtongs
1.2 Let the diphtongs assimilate into intermedial forms (iu > assimilation >
y (retaining roundness of u, retaining frontness of i, thereby being
intermedial)) so as to fill empty areas of the vowel space
1.3 Cause every vowel to conform to the same natural group as the stressed
syllable (realistic? no?)

2.1 Have a set of labialized stops.
2.2 Labialized stops trigger labialization on vowels.
2.3 Let rounded vowels become phonemic
(t_wi >assimilation > ty)
2.4 cause every vowel to conform to the same natural group as the stressed
syllable

Alternative to #2
2.1 Some of your back vowels probably are rounded anyway.
2.2 back round vowel + stop > assimilation > round vowel + labialized stop
2.3 labialized stop + front unrounded vowel > labialized round vowel
2.4. Cause every vowel to conform to the same natural group as the stressed
syllable.
([uki] >assimilation>uk_wi]>assimilation> uk_wy)

3.1 Cause some back rounded vowels to move front in certain locations
(between fronty consonants?). Let them retain their roundedness.
3.2 Make them phonemic
3.3 Cause every vowel...

4.1 Have nasal harmony on vowels, caused by nasal consonants
4.2. Cause every vowel...
4.3 (Collapse the nasal vowels into some other vowels)

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