THEORY: Dirk on ambisyllabicity

Dirk:
> > "hatten" two syllables, four morae?
>
> Yup. Here's the representation for the entire word:
>
>           s   s
>           |\  |\
>           m m m m
>          /| |/| |
>         h a t e n
>
> Notice that the [t] is doubly linked; it is moraic in the first
> syllable and provides the onset for the second syllable. This is
> another definition of geminate: a consonant which is linked to two
> syllables at once. However, this definition of geminate relies on a
> representation which is the product of theoretical assumptions not all
> are willing to make. (Some have even argued that ambisyllabic
> consonants are really geminates in disguise since they also share the
> property of belonging to two syllables at once; interesting that in
> English many of these are written with two consonant letters, as in
> the word 'happy'.)
What is the argument for them being geminates in disguise? -- Given
that they're not lengthened phonetically, and given that some
English speakers (e.g. me) have, at a phonological level, minimal
pairs such as _stilly_ (adj. [archaic]) [stIli] vs. _stilly_ (adv. <
still + -ly) [stIlli].

FWIW (= not very much), my conclusion is that timing units are separate
from syllable structural units. E.g. (using O = onset, R = rhyme, T =
timing units):

     O     R   O R          O     R     O R
    / \   / \ /  |         / \   / \    | |
   T   T T   T   T        T   T T   T   T T
   |   | |   |   |        |   | |    \ /  |
   s   t i   l   i        s   t i     l   i

       [stIli]              [stIlli]

--And.