Re: A phonology
| From: | Thomas R. Wier <trwier@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Friday, July 25, 2003, 21:06 |
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Quoting JS Bangs <jaspax@...>:
> Peter Bleackley sikyal:
> > Syllable structure
> >
> > [O]V[C]
> >
> > Where O is an onset consonant and C is a coda consonant. Codas are about
> > twice as common as onsets.
>
> This is not a fatal error, but it is an exception: in all natural
> languages, onsets are more common than codas.
Not all; there is a single language, in Australia, that has been
claimed to have no onsets. (It has V and VC syllables only.) But I
agree entirely: that is an exception that proves the rule.
=========================================================================
Thomas Wier "I find it useful to meet my subjects personally,
Dept. of Linguistics because our secret police don't get it right
University of Chicago half the time." -- octogenarian Sheikh Zayed of
1010 E. 59th Street Abu Dhabi, to a French reporter.
Chicago, IL 60637
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