Vowel Harmony and Metaphony in Iberia: A Revised Analysis
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Abstract
The present article seeks to describe and account for the phenomenon of metaphony, as observed in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, within the context of a description of the vowel harmony observable in other languages of the world. Two features are shown to participate in Northern Iberian vowel harmony, namely tongue-height and centralization, both triggered by word-fi nal /ɨ/ and /ʉ/. Diachronic and diatopic accounts of the phenomena concerned here are followed by discussion of the morphological and semantic features that are associated with Hispanic metaphony. Finally, a comparison is made with the metaphony observable in Galicia, Portugal, and Italy. In conclusion, it is speculated that metaphony was a feature of the earliest Roman settlers of Spain, who came predominantly from areas of Italy where metaphony is strongly established today.
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References
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