ARMONIE VOCALICHE E METAFONIA NELLE VARIETÀ SICILIANE

In this article we examine the distribution of the vocalic properties within the word prosodic domain in the Central Sicilian dialects. We consider the following phenomena: metaphony and its (partially) morphologized nature in Sicilian varieties; restrictions on aperture degree and centralization of the vowels in the word string, where the high close vowels are licensed by following –a; /u/ left-right propagation on the (stressed) following [a] in contexts where a velar occurs in the in-between position. The interaction between metaphony and the harmonic distribution of the aperture properties of vowels has leaded some authors to see the harmony as a sort of reversed metaphony. Our conclusion is that harmony and metaphony involve a common subset of cavity properties, even if on the basis of different requirements. These phenomena are analyzed in the terms of a minimalist re-elaboration of the Government Phonology model.