Distinctive nasality in Kwawu a prosodic account

Abstract

Nasality in Kwawu is distinctive in vowels but predictable in consonants. This uncommon distribution is interpreted here in prosodic terms. It is claimed that the feature [+nasal] is represented on morae rather than on individual segments. The assignment of the feature [+nasal] is integrated with syllabification rules, which explains the prosodic characteristics of nasality. Further evidence is drawn from the distribution of nasality in reduplicated forms; the moraic representation of the feature [+nasal] is crucial for the analysis of reduplicated CV stems.