Abstract This paper investigates the areal distribution of vowel systems in the Macro-Sudan Belt, an area encompassing most of the western and central parts of northern Sub-Saharan Africa. We report on a survey of 681 language varieties with entries coded for two phonological features: advanced tongue root (ATR) harmony and the presence of interior vowels (i.e. non-peripheral vowels [ɨ ɯ ɜ ə ʌ … ]). Our results show that the presence of ATR harmony in the Macro-Sudan Belt is limited to three geographically unconnected zones: an Atlantic zone, a West African zone, and an East African zone. Between the West and East African ATR Zones is a genetically heterogeneous region where ATR harmony is systematically absent: we term this the Central African ATR-deficient zone. Our results show that in this same Central African zone, phonemic and allophonic interior vowels are disproportionately prevalent. Based on this distribution, we highlight two issues. First, ATR and interiority have an antagonistic relationship and do not commonly co-occur within vowel systems; this finding is supported through statistical tests. Second, our survey supports the existence of the Macro-Sudan Belt, but the discontinuous distribution of ATR harmony and its systematic absence in Central Africa challenges the proposal that this area represents the ‘hotbed’ of the Macro-Sudan Belt.

中文翻译：

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宏观苏丹语带元音系统中的地域模式

摘要本文研究了撒哈拉以南非洲北部和中部大部分地区的大苏丹带（Macro-Sudan Belt）中元音系统的面分布。我们报告了一项对681种语言变种的调查，其中输入的词条具有两种语音特征：高级舌根（ATR）和谐和内部元音（即非外围元音）的存在。我们的结果表明，在宏观苏丹带中，ATR和谐的存在仅限于三个地理上无关的区域：大西洋区域，西非区域和东非区域。在西非和东非ATR区域之间是一个遗传上异质的区域，在该区域内系统性地缺乏ATR和谐：我们将其称为中非ATR缺陷区域。我们的结果表明，在同一中非地区，音位和异位音内部元音不成比例地流行。基于此分布，我们重点介绍两个问题。首先，ATR和内在性具有对立关系，并且在元音系统中通常不会同时发生。统计测试支持了这一发现。其次，我们的调查支持宏观苏丹带的存在，但是ATR和谐的不连续分布及其在中部非洲的系统性缺失，挑战了该地区代表宏观苏丹带的“温床”的提议。