Presentation: The limits of variation in syllable structure
San Duanmu presented the colloquium talk at the Michigan State Linguistics Colloquium on Sept. 25, 2008.
Title and Abstract
The limits of variation in syllable structure: The CVX theory and its implications
Many linguists assume that there is a wide range of syllable types across languages. A common approach to such variation is to assume a set of parameters. I argue instead that the variation in syllable types is far more limited than currently conceived. In particular, if morphological factors are taken into consideration, the maximal syllable size is CVX (CVC or CVV).
The CVX theory claims that a word has the general structure M(C)S(C)M, where M is one or more affix or affix-like consonants, (C) is one consonant, and S is one or more syllables whose maximal structure is CVX. The theory attributes extra consonants, M and (C), to morphology, in the sense that (i) M must be added regardless of whether a neighboring syllable is full, and (ii) an initial (C) is found only in languages that have V-final prefixes, so that (C) can serve as its coda, and a final (C) is found only in languages that have V-initial suffixes, so that (C) can serve as its onset. In non-edge syllables, apparent CC onsets (e.g. [kw, pl, pr]) can all form a ‘complex sound’; in contrast, CC onsets that cannot form a complex sound are not found medially (e.g. sp-, sm-, thr-). In addition, apparent VXC rhymes can also be accounted for in terms of complex sounds, e.g. VNC ṼC, as in symptom.
I also discuss the implications of the CVX theory, including whether the syllable exists, its relation to metrical structure, the Weight-Stress Principle, the determination of syllable boundaries, the role of sonority, and the notion of parameters in the theory of grammar.