A Reconstruction of Proto-Highland East Cushitic Phonology

This study reconstructs Proto-Highland East Cushitic (PHEC) phonology, with special attention to fricatives and glottalized consonants. Drawing on a 400-entry comparative lexicon, I reconstruct 21 consonants and 5 vowels, most showing contrastive length. The evidence points to an early split between Burji and the remaining languages (North HEC), leading us to recognize two distinct reconstruction levels: PHEC and PNHEC. This split is supported by shared phonological innovations in NHEC languages. The reconstruction reveals stable patterns for stops *t and *d, nasal *m, and fricative *f. More complex developments emerge with fricatives *z, *s, and *∫. I argue for reconstructing *z despite its merger with *d in most languages, as Kambaata and Alaaba preserve the distinction. The overlapping reflexes of *s and *∫ suggest an original PHEC distinction followed by merger in North HEC. The glottalized series presents unique challenges. While *t’ and *c’ show regular patterns, *d’ and *s’ display irregular reflexes that point to contact influence from Oromo and Omotic languages. I analyze key morphophonological processes, including suffix assimilation and Burji’s distinctive palatalization patterns. The middle/reflexive suffix *d’/ʔ shows complex interactions with root-final consonants. The study also examines final vowels and their role in gender and case marking. This reconstruction of PHEC not only studies internal developments within Highland East Cushitic but also contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of East Cushitic phonology and lexicon.