The Phonology of Consonants

The most comprehensive work on dissimilation (the avoidance or repair of combinations of similar sounds) to date, this book surveys over 150 dissimilation patterns drawn from over 130 languages, from Acehnese to Zulu. It contains a huge wealth of examples featuring data from 47 languages from around the world.

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The most comprehensive work on dissimilation (the avoidance or repair of combinations of similar sounds) to date, this book proposes a novel analysis that handles dissimilation as the avoidance of surface correspondence relationships. It draws on recent work in Agreement By Correspondence to show that dissimilation is a natural outcome predicted by the same theory of Surface Correspondence. The theory is developed in more detail than ever before, and its predictions are tested and evaluated through ten in-depth analyses of diverse languages from Quechua to Kinyarwanda, together with a typological survey of over 150 dissimilation patterns drawn from over 130 languages, from Acehnese to Zulu. The book redefines the core of Surface Correspondence theory to a level of formal specificity and theoretical precision surpassing previous work. The book's findings are made more accessible by numerous examples featuring data from 47 languages from around the world.