Co-occurrence restrictions in the vocalic patterns of Afroasiatic plurals

Overview & Synopsis

This paper examines the vocalic patterns in the plural forms of four languages in Afroasiatic. Focus is made on the co-occurrence restrictions that the vowels obey in these forms; particularly it is shown that plurals in which high vowels co-occur are excluded. This restriction is argued to follow form the active role of the well-known Obligatory Contour Principle, which prohibits identical elements in the same domain. Then it is proposed that the same principle underlies the organization of the apophonic path à la Guerssel & Lowenstamm (1996).