Feature correspondence amongst Dholuo coronals
Publication Date
2016Author
Okello, Jackline Atieno; Ogone, John O.; Ongarora, David Ogoti
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This paper discusses the nature of correspondence amongst Dholuo coronals. This can be approached in two
ways, either as feature spreading or feature agreement which seem to be controversial in literature. Dholuo
coronal harmony involves action at a distance; it spans over vowels and/or consonants. Data reveals that
features affected are non contiguous and therefore only the targeted elements are affected. The fact that
coronal harmony affects non-local segments rules out feature spreading. The alveolar nasal blocks the
propagation of harmony phenomena as it remains unaffected hence co occurs with dentals. The existence of
transparent elements within the spreading domain weakens the hypothesis of feature spreading amongst
Dholuo coronals. Coronal harmony takes place when segments agree in the specification for the feature
distributed [±dist].