Distribution of Mid Vowels and Relating Vowel Harmony in Zulu

This paper focuses on the distribution of mid vowels in Zulu and how the language system treats them. In this language, mid-low vowels such as [ɛ] and [ɔ] are raised to mid-high position as [e] and [o], when directly followed by a syllable with a high vowel. This paper attempts to analyze how raising happens focusing on [ATR] feature, and looks at cases which have not been studied in depth, such as whether the harmony iteratively occurs in the cases where a syllable with another mid vowel exists before the target mid vowel, or how a glide sound affects the harmony pattern. The analysis is given in terms of both Rule-based Theory and Optimality Theory. This paper has found that the vowel harmony regarding the mid vowels is non-iterative, and also found that a glide sound cannot be a trigger for the harmony.