Re: THEORY: final features, moras, and roots [was: it's what I do]

From: "Raymond Brown" >

> >The issue for
> >me in Japanese is a representational one: is the onset of a Japanese
> >syllable adjoined to the first mora, or is it adjoined to the syllable
> >directly? Thus for the final syllable of the word _hatten_ the debate
> >is over the following representations (best viewed in a monowidth
> >font):
> >
> >          s       s         syllable
> >          |\     /|\
> >          m m   / m m       mora
> >         /| |   | | |
> >        t e n   t e n       segment
>
> Yes - but you are taking _ten_ as a _single_ bimoraic syllable.  That I
can
> understand and is in accord with its use in Latin & Greek prosody.
>
> What I found (and find) a problem with is the view which seemed to be
given
> that _te-n_ formed _both_ two morae _and_ two syllables.
>
> >I agree with linguists who argue for the former,
>
> The latter accords with what I've understood of Latin and Greek (prosodic)
> morae; but whether one takes /t/ as the onset of the first mora or as the
> onset of the syllable as a whole does not seem to me to change the fact
> that _ten_ is a single bimoraic syllable.
Well I'm still confused. The "mora" thing has always stumped me, but isn't
"hatten" two syllables, four morae? (ha-[small tsu]-te-n, but pronounced
hat-ten). Sambon ("three bottles") two syllables, four morae? (sa-n-bo-n,
pronounced sam-bon). Shinhatsubai ("newly out on the market") four
syllables, six morae? (shi-n-ha-tsu-ba-i, pronounced shin-ha-tsu-bai). Hoka
ni...

Kou