ABSTRACT
This chapter on segmental processes can be divided into two main sections. After a brief introduction, the first section (§2) gives an overview of phonological processes affecting the segmental and skeletal levels in the grammars of a wide variety of languages of North America. It aims to demonstrate (i) that North American languages evidence the same sorts of segmental phonological processes as do languages throughout the world (e.g., assimilation, deletion, epenthesis, neutralization) and (ii) to demonstrate how the segmental phonologies of North American languages exhibit, and have exhibited, particularly interesting patterns, both typologically and for the advancement of linguistic theories (e.g., vowel and consonant harmony, the (non)resolution of complex phonotactic sequences). The second main section (§3) expands on one of the latter type of patterns, focusing on how the intersection of segmental phonological processes with the areal phenomenon of polysynthesis in North American languages offers important insights into the study of word-internal phonological domains.
