Labiovelars and the labial-velar hypothesis: Phonological Headedness in Bare Element Geometry

Abstract

This paper begins by strengthening the labial-velar hypothesis with a novel interpretation of the allophonic distributions of labials and velars in Lusoga. The labial-velar hypothesis (Backley & Nasukawa 2009) is an Element Theory proposal that labial and dorsal consonants can be marked by same ‘dark’ place feature |U| (cf. grave (Jakobson & Halle 1956)). The difference between Lab and Dors is that Lab is the headed manifestation of |U|, while Dors is headless. However, by hypothesis, this appears paradoxical for labial-velar stop complex segments (collectively labelled KP). These would seem to be headless and headed at the same time. This leads to an exploration of the term ‘headedness’ in phonology. Building on the positives of previous approaches, and pairing back the assumptions to the first principles of combination (Merge), I come up with a novel theory of headedness for segment-internal structure: Bare Element Geometry (BEG). The labial-velar hypothesis, in light of BEG, is then applied to KP. A close investigation of KP’s typological distribution and behaviour, especially in Guere (Western Kru) leads to the discovery that it has two root nodes each with its own place node and, contrary to the previous literature, that its parts are phonologically ordered. KP having two ordered root nodes allows BEG’s model of headedness since the same dark place feature |U| is both headed and headless in different parts of the structure. This asymmetric theory of headedness also correctly predicts Cahill (1999)’s empirical observation that KP is never headed by Dorsal (rather than Labial).