Academic literature on the topic 'Onsetless syllable'

Syllables display symmetrical and asymmetrical properties in two Yoruba dialects. In the asymmetrical dialect, only a vowel with an onset participates in syllable-conditioned processes; an onsetless vowel is syllabically inert. In the symmetrical dialect, a vowel, with or without an onset, participates in syllable processes. It is argued that onsetless vowels are not syllabified in the asymmetrical dialect. Since there is no phonological contrast between syllables with onsets and those without onsets in the symmetrical dialect, all vowels are parsed into syllables exhaustively. Using ideas from Optimality Theory, attested interdialectal variation is shown to follow from different rankings of the same syllable and faithfulness constraints.

Abstract Modern Hebrew allows for a diverse variety of syllable structures, allowing syllables with codas, onsetless syllables, and complex syllable margins. Syllables with a complex onset are found in word initial position, mostly in nouns, and syllables with a complex coda are less common. In this paper, we provide the distribution of syllable types in Modern Hebrew, noting differences between verbs and nouns, native words and loanwords, as well as differences among positions within the word. Special attention is given to word initial complex onsets, with details regarding the restrictions governing consonant combinations.

Abstract This paper investigates the interplay between the metrical structure and phonotactic complexity in English, a language with lexical stress and an elaborate inventory of consonant clusters. The analysis of a dictionary- and corpus-based list of polysyllabic words leads to two major observations. First, there is a tendency for onsetful syllables to attract stress, and for onsetless syllables to repel it. Second, the stressed syllable embraces a greater array of consonant clusters than unstressed syllables. Moreover, the farther form the main stress, the less likely the unstressed syllable is to contain a complex onset. This finding indicates that the ability of a position to license complex onsets is related to its distance from the prosodic head.

This paper investigates the interplay between the metrical structure and phonotactic complexity in English, a language with lexical stress and an elaborate inventory of consonant clusters. The analysis of a dictionary- and corpus-based list of polysyllabic words leads to two major observations. First, there is a tendency for onsetful syllables to attract stress, and for onsetless syllables to repel it. Second, the stressed syllable embraces a greater array of consonant clusters than unstressed syllables. Moreover, the farther form the main stress, the less likely the unstressed syllable is to contain a complex onset. This finding indicates that the ability of a position to license complex onsets is related to its distance from the prosodic head.

The paper investigates the syllable structures of Qassimi Arabic (QA), which is a sub-dialect of Najdi Arabic (NA) and is spoken in the north-central region of Saudi Arabia, particularly in the Qassim Region. Within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT), we show how the well-formed syllable is derived from the interaction of constraints. We show how the OT captures some of the major processes for structuring the syllables of QA, such as syncope, epenthesis, and geminate. The analysis revealed that onsetless syllables are prohibited in QA. The dialect allows word-initial consonant clusters, which is a result of the syncope process. Coda clusters also occur in QA that must obey the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP); otherwise, epenthesis presents to repair the violation. As for the geminates, QA permits geminates medially and finally, but not initially. The data revealed that QA demonstrates seven fundamental syllable structures grouped into three categories: light syllables, as in CV; heavy syllables, as in CVV and CVC; and super heavy syllables, as in CVVC, CVCC, CCVVC and CVVCC.

This paper reexamines the issue of the mora, the foot and the syllable in Tokyo Japanese, and shows that whereas the mora and the foot are indisputably present and active, the evidence for the syllable is inconspicuous and disputable. Building on this observation, I claim that Tokyo Japanese makes no use of the syllable. Instead, two types of mora are distinguished: regular CV moras and weak (deficient) moras. Weak moras include the moraic nasal, the first part of a geminate and the second part of a long vowel, as well as moras containing an onsetless vowel, a devoiced vowel or an epenthetic vowel. I further argue that feet obey a set of structural constraints stipulating that they be properly headed by a regular full mora. With this enriched notion of mora type, the paper argues that neither the syllable nor any other level of the prosodic hierarchy is obligatory in all languages.

Abstract This paper presents a novel generalization of the reduplicant (henceforth red) placement in CV reduplication in Isbukun Bunun. It is shown that the variable red placements cannot be explained in terms of the presence of a PF marker or merely by the syllable number of the root, as assumed in previous studies. Rather, the variable red placements are argued to be simultaneously governed by the size and the syllable well-formedness of the root. The red is normally prefixed to the root; however, if onsetless red is generated under normal copying, the placement of the red shifts one syllable rightward, except for shorter (bimoraic) roots. Thus, the variable placements of the red are driven by a universal tendency for the red to be unmarked and the need for the P-Root to sustain a minimal size.

A dispreference for onsetless syllables is often manifested by processes of consonant insertion or vowel deletion which eliminate onsetless syllables, and it is sometimes manifested by disallowing prosodic distinctions which onsetful syllables make, e.g. onsetless syllables may resist bearing tone or stress. This paper investigates the interaction between minimality and the structure of onsetless syllables in the Bantu language Zinza, documenting a previously unobserved onsetless effect which is partially conditioned by minimality. In Zinza, word-initial vowels of disyllables are lengthened, so /o-ljá/ becomes [óó-lja] ‘you eat’ (compare [o-líma] ‘you cultivate’ and [bá-lja] ‘they eat’, with no lengthening). These facts test previous theories of onsetless effects (Downing 1993, 1998, Odden 1995, Orie 2000). I argue that a special representation of onsetless syllables is not warranted, and does not explain this pattern of lengthening. A constraint against word-initial short onsetless syllables interacting with word minimality suffices to explain this lengthening.

Syllables without consonantal onsets may be invisible for stress-assignment, reduplication, or tone. Many authors attribute this behavior to some sort of prosodic deficiency, while having little to say about cases in which onsetless syllables act as well-formed constituents. In the Onset Prominence (OP) representational environment, the ambiguous behavior of onsetless syllables is explained by means of a single representational parameter. Prosodically active initial vowels are assumed to be specified for the Vocalic Onset (VO) layer of structure, a specification lacking in prosodically inert onsetless syllables. Diverse phonological implications of VO specification for KiKerewe, Eastern Arrernte, Tashlhiyt Berber and Polish are examined. In the case of Polish, phonetic data on the glottalization of initial vowels provide additional support for the representational proposal. Finally, the place of the OP environment within the context of modern phonological theory is discussed.

This dissertation is an analysis of the segmental phonology of the Shangani language as spoken in the South Eastern parts of Zimbabwe. It starts by presenting the language situation in Zimbabwe and comparing the language’s status in Zimbabwe with that of its sister varieties in South Africa where it is referred to as Tsonga and in Mozambique where it is referred to as XiChangana or Changana. The dissertation is based on data collected from the speakers of Shangani using a variety of research techniques. The dissertation identifies and characterizes the language’s distinctive phonemes using the minimal pair and set tests. It presents the language’s consonants, which include aspirated, breathy-voiced, pre-nasalized, labialized and palatalized consonants. It shows that in Shangani, voiceless consonants cannot be pre-nasalized and that there is an incompatibility between that labio-velar glide /w/ and most labial consonants excpt /m/. The phonemes are analysed using Chomsky and Halle’s (1968) distinctive feature theory. The study uses Clements and Keyser’s (1983) CV phonology of the syllable structure to analyse the language’s syllable structure. The language’s canonical syllable structure is CV. It is also shown that consonant clusters are gaining their way into the language through borrowing from English, Afrikaans and other languages that have consonant clusters in their inventories. Onsetless Vs are marginally attested word-initially. In agent nouns, VV sequences are in most cases retained. These sequences are not analysed as diphthongs since they occupy different V slots on the syllable tier. The second vowel in the sequence is the onsetless syllable. Affricates, NCs, Cws and Cjs are presented as unitary segments that occupy a single C slot of the CV tier. Phonological processes that are attested in the language are also presented. Secondary articulation, vowel deletion, feature spreading, vowel coalescence and nasalization are shown to be the most common phonological process in the language. Since Shangani has the CV syllable typology, most of the phonological processes are there to resolve hiatus that would have been induced by suffixation of vowel commencing stems or suffixes to vowel final prefixes or stems. The notion of domains is shown to be a diagnostic tool for identifying a process in a hiatus situation. The study shows that vowel deletion is the least preferred strategy when secondary articulation, feature spreading, vowel coalescence have been blocked by some constraints like syllable structure processes or the language’s phonotactics<br>African Languages<br>D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)