Alternatives To Syllable-Based Accounts Of Consonantal Phonotactics
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@MISC{Steriade_alternativesto,
author = {Donca Steriade},
title = {Alternatives To Syllable-Based Accounts Of Consonantal Phonotactics},
year = {}
}
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Abstract
Phonotactic statements characterize contextual restrictions on the occurrence of segments or feature values. This study argues that consonantal phonotactics are best understood as syllable-independent, string-based conditions reflecting positional differences in the perceptibility of contrasts. The analyses proposed here have better empirical coverage compared to syllable-based analyses that link a consonant's feature realization to its syllabic position. Syllable-based analyses require identification of word-medial syllabic divisions; the account proposed here does not and this may be a significant advantage. Word-medial syllableedges are, under specific conditions, not uniformly identified by speakers; but comparable variability does not exist for phonotactic knowledge. The paper suggests that syllableindependent conditions define segmental phonotactics, and that word-edge phonotactics, in turn, are among the guidelines used by speakers to infer word-internal syllable divisions.
