Long Distance Bantu Nasal Agreement: Harmony or Allomorphy

Abstract

Long-distance nasal agreement (LDNA) is a process where consonants appear to agree in nasality across intervening “neutral” segments. This paper sets out to examine LDNA in Bantu languages, which has been previously analyzed as consonant harmony. It argues LDNA can be analyzed as a case phonologically conditioned suppletive allomorphy. This analysis simplifies phonology proper by shifting non-local harmony processes to morphology. Ascribing long-distance agreement patterns to allomorphy clarifies what a possible phonological process is and also provides further evidence for the possibility of strictly local phonological processes.