Two notes on Kinande vowel harmony

Abstract

This paper documents the acoustic reflexes of ATR harmony in Kinande followed by an analysis of the dominance reversal found in class 5 nominals. The principal findings are that the ATR harmony is reliably reflected in a lowering of the first formant. Depending on the vowel, ATR harmony also affects the second formant. The directional asymmetry noted in previous research is also confirmed. Dominance reversal is analysed within the Optimality Theory framework as the combination of dispreferences for affixal triggers and left-headed harmonic domains.