16841

Syllable Structure / Silbenstruktur

Renate Raffelsiefen

Kommentar

Syllable structure The distribution of phonemes within words is severely restricted in all languages. For example, in English, we find that obstruents may precede sonorants in word-initial position (e.g. the initial consonant clusters in words like bread, flip, shriek), but the inverse order does not occur. Word-initial clusters of three consonants always start with /s/ (street, scratch), word-initial clusters of four consonants are absent altogether. It is widely assumed that such restrictions result from the need to organize segments in the form of syllables and can be explained in terms of wellformedness constraints on syllable structure. In this course we will investigate this idea by examining relevant restrictions on phoneme combinations in English and German (participants are welcome to propose consideration of additional Germanic languages) along with relevant phonological markedness constraints. Ways in which these generalizations can be expressed in formal grammar (Optimality Theory) will also be explored. Participants who register for the seminar through Campus Management will automatically receive additional information and reading material. Others should contact me directly (rrenate@zedat-fu-berlin.de). Schließen