Browsing by Author "Barrere, Ian"

The purpose of this paper is to conclude with some certainty the issue of the nature of the vowel harmony system of Proto-Mongolic. Since the first reconstructions, Proto-Mongolic has featured a palatovelar harmony similar to that of Proto-Turkic. Recently, however, scholars such as Ko (2012) have proposed differing reconstructions in which the vowel harmony of Proto-Mongolic is defined by tongue root position; the same basis as that of modern Khalkha, for example. To defend the traditional reconstruction, I have compiled a list of arguments for an original palatovelar harmony in Proto-Mongolic. The justifications include attributes of Written Mongol, synchronic and diachronic phonological considerations of contemporary Mongolic languages, in addition to language universals both inside and outside of the Mongolic family. With these arguments in mind, a compelling case is made for the palatovelar nature of Proto-Mongolic. As such, despite recent proposals to the contrary, there is sufficient evidence to continue supporting the traditionally-reconstructed vowel system of Proto-Mongolic.