The Phonology of Chichewa (The Phonology of the World's Languages)

Bantu languages have played and continue to play an important role as a source of data illustrating core phonological processes—vowel harmony, nasal place assimilation, postnasal laryngeal alternations, tonal phenomena such as high tone spread and the OCP, prosodic morphology, and the phonology–syntax interface. Chichewa, in particular, has been a key language in the development of theoretical approaches to these phonological phenomena. This book provides thorough descriptive coverage, presented in a clear, atheoretical manner, of the full range of phonological phenomena of Chichewa. Less well-studied topics—such as positional asymmetries in the distribution of segments, the phonetics of tone, and intonation—are also included. The book surveys, where relevant, important recent theoretical approaches to phonological problems—such as vowel harmony, the phonology–syntax interface, focus prosody, and reduplication—where Chichewa data is routinely referred to in the theoretical literature. The book will therefore serve as a resource for phonologists—at all levels and working in different theoretical frameworks—who are interested in the processes discussed. Because many of the phonological processes in Chichewa are conditioned by particular morphological or syntactic contexts, the book should also be of interest to linguists working on the interfaces. As there are almost no other monographs on the phonology of Bantu languages available, this book serves as an excellent introduction to core issues in the phonology of Bantu languages. This book provides thorough descriptive and theory-neutral coverage of the full range of phonological phenomena of Chichewa, a Malawian Bantu language. Bantu languages have played and continue to play an important role as a source of data illustrating core phonological processes such as vowel harmony, nasal place assimilation, postnasal laryngeal alternations, tonal phenomena such as High tone spread and the OCP, prosodic morphology, and the phonology-syntax interface. Chichewa, in particular, has been a key language in the development of theoretical approaches to these phenomena. In this volume, Laura Downing and Al Mtenje examine not only these well-known features of Chichewa but also less well-studied phonological topics such as positional asymmetries in the distribution of segments, the phonetics of tone, and intonation. They survey important recent theoretical approaches to phonological problems such as focus prosody, reduplication, and vowel harmony, where Chichewa data is routinely referred to in the literature. The book will serve as a resource for all phonologists interested in these processes, regardless of their theoretical background, as well as Bantu scholars and linguists working on interface issues. This Book Provides Thorough Descriptive And Theory-neutral Coverage Of The Full Range Of Phonological Phenomena Of Chichewa, A Malawian Bantu Language. It Covers Topics Such As Vowel Harmony, Nasal Place Assimilation, Postnasal Laryngeal Alternations, Tonal Phenomena, Prosodic Morphology, And The Phonology-syntax Interface. Laura J. Downing And Al Mtenje. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 271-291) And Index.