> Alexandre Lang wrote:
> > 3. What's the difference between a syllable break ([.]) and any other
> > break?
>
> What other kind of breaks would there be?
Maybe breaks between words, for example?
> > 4. Why isn't the onset part of the rhyme in a syllable?
> > (
http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsASyllable.htm)
>
> Because the rhyme is defined as the part of the syllable that excludes
> the onset. The concept of rhyme is useful because in many languages the
> coda functions as part of a unit with the vowel. For example,
> allophones often make reference to following consonants, e.g., vowels
> may be nasalized when followed by a nasal consonant, such that /kan/ =
> [ka~n] while /ka/ = [ka] or /kat/ = [kat]. However, it's not as common
> for vowels to nasalize when *preceded* by a nasal consonant, such that
> /na/ = [na~], and, as far as I know, there aren't any languages that
> would nasalize vowels when following a nasal, but *not* when preceding a
> nasal (unless, of course, there are no nasal codas in the first place).