At first glance, the variety of possible denotations of a given prefix might appear a chaotic set of idiomatic meanings, e.g. the prefix `za-´ may refer to the beginning of an action, movement to a position behind an object, a brief deviation from a path, or completion of an action. I propose a unified analysis of prefixes, where the differences in meaning are claimed to arise from different ...

In this paper I examine vowel harmony in Oroch, a recently extinct Manchu-Tungusic language. Oroch vowels are subject to the interplay of retracted tongue root (RTR) harmony and rounding harmony. The two kinds of harmony have contrasting effects on neutral vowels. The front vowels /i/ and / æ/ are transparent to RTR harmony, while the vowels /i/, /æ/, /ʊ/ and /u/ are opaque to rounding harmony. ...