Re: Moraic codas [was Re: 'Yemls Morphology]

Nik Taylor wrote:

> "Thomas R. Wier" wrote:
> > Some languages do essentially the same as the above things -- they have
> > geminate consonants, or their stresses seem to be affected by coda weight --
> > but it doesn't seem to work for all words in the language.
>
> So, if I understand you correctly, in those languages, one cannot
> predict if a word like, say, _kasta_ would be two or three morae?  Is
> that correct?
Right.  Looking at a single word like this one, you can tell extremely little
about the moraicity, at least from a metrical point of view, since you can't
even tell if the last syllable is extrametrical or not (the two syllables could
have one mora each, and as such both could participate in the higher up
foot structure).  Bisyllabic words, in particular, are not very helpful.  Words
with three, four, and five syllables are much more useful, because they can
also tell you whether all heavy syllables attract stress, and whether the
languages allows only one stress, or many, and if many, how the stresses
iterate (do they alternate every other syllable? every third syllable? etc.).

By the way, one thing I forgot to do is mention some sources where
y'all can read more about metrical phonology:

(a) _Optimality Theory_ by René Kager, in the Cambridge Textbooks in
Linguistics series, Ch 4;  the book is contains all the latest research done
in an OT framework (pub. 1999)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521589800/qid=994813905/sr=1-1/ref=sc_b_1/002-2283472-9710415>

(b) _Metrical Stress Theory:  Principles and Case Studies_, by Bruce Hayes,
is considered the seminal work in that subfield.  I don't remember offhand
which framework Hayes uses -- it's pre-OT, I know that.  (It may be
autosegmental theory...)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0226321045/qid=994813667/sr=1-1/ref=sc_b_1/002-2283472-9710415>

===================================
Thomas Wier | AIM: trwier

"Aspidi men Saiôn tis agalletai, hên para thamnôi
  entos amômêton kallipon ouk ethelôn;
autos d' exephugon thanatou telos: aspis ekeinê
  erretô; exautês ktêsomai ou kakiô" - Arkhilokhos

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