Phonology: case studies
By Scott Myers and Megan Crowhurst
Department of Linguistics at the University of Texas
Vowel harmony - general or specific?
In this module we have illustrated back and labial harmony in Turkish using two suffixes, the 2nd singular genitive and the plural, but the preceding discussion has suggested that vowel harmony is not limited to these suffixes specifically, but is more general. This is appropriate. Turkish has a number of suffixes with high vowels, including the accusative (object case marking) suffix, and all of the suffixes marking personal possession. Turkish also has a number of other suffixes containing a [-high] nonround vowel, including the dative and ablative suffixes. In each case, the vowel(s) in these suffixes behave regularly as expected with respect to the vowel harmony processes discussed in this module.
| (20) | High suffix vowels | |
| -t͡ʃic | 'diminutive, affectionate' | |
| -lic | (forms abstract nouns) | |
| -im | ownership by a first person singular possessor ('my') | |
Nonhigh suffix vowels |
||
| -da ~ -de | 'locative suffix (in, on, at)' | |
| -dan ~ -den | 'from, by, via, through' | |
| -(j)a ~ -(j)e | 'to, towards' | |