Syllable Structure: The Limits of VariationThis book looks at the range of possible syllables in human languages. The syllable is a central notion in phonology but basic questions about it remain poorly understood and phonologists are divided on even the most elementary issues. For example, the word city has been syllabified as ci-ty (the 'maximal onset' analysis), cit-y (the 'no-open-lax-V' analysis), and cit-ty (the 'geminate C' analysis). San Duanmu explores and clarifies these and many other related issues through an in-depth analysis of entire lexicons of several languages. Some languages, such as Standard and Shanghai Chinese, have fairly simple syllables, yet a minimal difference in syllable structure has lead to a dramatic difference in tonal behavior. Other languages, such as English, German, and Jiarong, have long consonant clusters and have been thought to require very large syllables: San Duanmu shows that the actual syllable structure in these languages is much simpler. He bases his analyses on quantitative data, paying equal attention to generalizations that are likely to be universal. He shows that a successful analysis of the syllable must take into account several theories, including feature theory, the Weight-Stress Principle, the size of morpheme inventory, and the metrical representation of the syllable. San Duanmu's clear exposition will appeal to phonologists and advanced students and will provide a new benchmark in syllabic and prosodic analysis. He also offers an answer to the intriguing question: how different can human languages be? |
Contents
1 INTRODUCTION | 1 |
2 FEATURES SOUNDS COMPLEX SOUNDS AND THE NO CONTOUR PRINCIPLE | 11 |
3 THEORIES OF SYLLABLE STRUCTURE | 36 |
4 SYLLABLE STRUCTURE IN CHINESE | 72 |
5 STANDARD CHINESE | 86 |
6 SHANGHAI CHINESE | 112 |
7 SYLLABLE AND TONE | 129 |
THE MAXIMAL SYLLABLE SIZE | 148 |
10 GERMAN | 207 |
11 JIARONG rGYALRONG | 224 |
12 THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS | 237 |
| 257 | |
| 269 | |
| 272 | |
| 273 | |
SYLLABLE INVENTORY AND RELATED ISSUES | 182 |
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Syllable Structure : The Limits of Variation: The Limits of Variation San Duanmu No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
addition affix rule affricate allophones American English analyzed anti-allomorphy argue articulator assume Borowsky Caodeng CC clusters CELEX Chapter coda consider consonant clusters constraints Coronal CV syllables CVX theory De-Stress dialects diphthongs discussed disyllabic Duanmu exceed VX excluding extra consonants feature final frequencies fricative G-Spreading gestures glottal glottal stop GVX forms high vowels homophone density initial Jiarong Labial language lax vowels lexicon maximal syllable medial monosyllables morphemes morphology nasal non-final nucleus obstruent occur onset clusters perceived suffix phonetic phonological possible syllables predicts prefixes present analysis pronunciation proposed retroflex Shanghai Similarly Simple-Tone slot Soft-palate sonority rise speakers Standard Chinese stop stress super-syllables syllabic consonant syllabification syllable boundaries syllable onset syllable structure tense vowel Tonal-Distinction Tswana unstressed syllables VC rhymes violates voiced voiced onset voiceless vowel height Weight-Stress Principle word edges word-final word-initial word-medial