A Q-Theoretic Solution to A’ingae Postlabial Rounding

Abstract I describe and analyze a process of postlabial rounding in A’ingae (isolate, iso 639-3: con): after labial consonants, the diphthong /ae/ may surface as [oe]. However, a postlabial monophthongal /a/ always surfaces faithfully as [a]. To capture these facts, I propose an analysis couched in Q-Theory, where one vocalic target of a diphthong corresponds to fewer subsegments than a monophthong. This predicts that diphthongs might show an emergence-of-the-unmarked (TETU) effect, while monophthongs surface faithfully. The prediction is borne out by A’ingae postlabial rounding, contributing a novel argument for the Q-Theoretic representations. Finally, I show that similar asymmetries between diphthongs and monophthongs have recurred throughout the language’s history, further strengthening the proposal.