Vowel Harmony in Niger-Congo Languages of the Nuba Mountains

Abstract This chapter presents the main vowel harmony (VH) patterns of 14 Niger-Congo languages of the Nuba Mountains area in Sudan. These languages are in close contact with Nilo-Saharan and Kadu languages, many of which also have VH. The Niger-Congo languages are mainly characterized by advanced tongue root (ATR) harmony or height harmony. ATR systems in the area have between 8 and 12 vowels, but all are characterized by contrasts among high vowels. Both stem-control and dominant–recessive ATR systems are attested. Height harmony is observed in three languages. The height systems involve vowel raising and show dominant–recessive characteristics, as they can be triggered by suffixes. There is speculation that there may have been a shift from an ATR system to a height system. Finally, there is rounding and front harmony found in Tima, a language with a 12-vowel system.