, Rutgers University

Dissimilation is a process by which one segment systematically avoids taking on a feature (or a set of features) of a neighboring segment. In Tashlhiyt Berber, for example, labial prefixes like the reflexive [m-] delabialize when they combine with a root that also contains a primary labial consonant, i.e., [b, f, m], producing the following alternations: [n-fara] ‘disentangle’, [n-kaddab] ‘consider a liar’, cf. [m-xazar] ‘scowl’, [m-saggal] ‘look for’. Dissimilatory processes may be reflected dynamically in synchronic alternations, as in Berber, or statically, as co-occurrence restrictions in the lexicon. An example of the latter type is Arabic roots, which strongly avoid adjacent homorganic consonants. Another well-known example is Lyman’s Law, a static restriction that applies to the Yamato stock of the Japanese lexicon with the effect of prohibiting more than one voiced obstruent. While dissimilation processes are in principle possible with any phonological feature (Suzuki 1998), the most common cases involve dissimilation of tone, place, and laryngeal features.