Feature domains and covert harmony in Turkish: The exceptional transparency of /a/ (original) (raw)

Author(s): Bellik, Jennifer Ann | Advisor(s): Ito, Junko | Abstract: Turkish vowel harmony is very systematic, but in a little-studied class of words, appears to break down. I propose that this apparent harmony failure is actually covert harmony, or exceptional transparency. Background: The backness of vowels in Turkish suffixes is determined by the backness of the nearest vowel in the word they attach to (1).(1) Nom. Dative Gloss a. kadran → kadran-a, *kadran-e 'clockface' b. beden → beden-e, *beden-a 'body'Harmony within roots is often violated, but harmony between suffixes and the nearest root vowel is extremely robust (2). Nonetheless, in certain roots, /a/ exceptionally behaves as transparent and suffixes must surface with front vowels (3).(2) Singular Plural Gloss a. kitap → kitap-lar, *kitap-ler 'book' b. kahve → kahve-ler, *kahve-lar 'coffee'(3) a. harf → harf-ler, *harf-lar 'letters' b. dikkat → dikkat-ler, *dikkat-lar 'attentions...