Ca alan Wo king Pape s in Linguis ics (CWPL)
1991:
149-165
Uni e si a Au hnoma de Ba celona
-
MORAS OR SKELETAL UNITS? A QUESTION OF PARAMETRIC
VARIATION
Ma ia-Rosa Llo e
Uni e si a Au 6noma de Ba celona
One majo issue ha is being add essed in ecen phonological esea ch is whe he
he phonological ep esen a ion has o ecognize he exis ence o mo as o skele ai
uni s as p imi i es. The p esen pape a gues ha bo h app oaches a e no
necessa ily mu ually exclusi e, since he e exis s he possibili y ha some
phonological p ocesses ha e o e e o bo h phonologicai en i ies in o de o
accoun o all he ac s o a language. In ac , bis dicho omy w ongly appea ed by
acing Hayes' (1989) mo aic heo y wi h o he heo ies o syllable s uc u e.
Howe e , i one akes in o amun ha nei he he skele on can be dis ega ded no
syllable weigh is always a phonological a iable, a new o de ing o phonological
p imi i es
can
be
sugges ed, which does no cmespond o al ema i e p osodic
heo ies bu e lec s he pa ame ic a ia ion ha languages show be ween mo aic
and syllablic s uc u e.
1.
In oduc ion.
One majo con ibu ion o non-linea phonology o he gene al phonological heo y has been he
in oduc ion o he
skele on
(McCa hy
1979)
as an in e media e le el be ween syllabic
cons i uen s and melodic segmen s.
(1)
O
O
R
(
=
syllable
A
I
O
=onse
N
C
R
=
~hp
N
=
nucbw
I
i
i
" X
7 7
X
=
skele sl
uni
)
g
a
1
a
[gal
The independence o his le el wi h espec o he o he s plays an impo an ole in he
desc ip ion o some segmen s (long owels, gemina e consonan s, complex segmen s) as well
as
in he jus i ica ion o ce ain phonological p ocesses ( o al assimila ions, compensa o y
leng henings, eduplica ions). Fo example, he ep esen a ion o long segmen s
as
wo skele al
uni s associa ed wi h he same melody cap u es and sa is ac o ily exp esses he ambiguous
beha io o long owels and consonan s, which some imes ac
as
i hey we e wo segmen s
while o he s as i hey we e a single en i y. In he Cushi ic O omo language, o ins ance,
phonological p ocesses ha a ec quan i y, such
as
epen hesis, ea long consonan s as a
sequence o wo segmen s: he epen he ic owel [i], which is inse ed o a oid iconsonan ic
sequences, occu s a e wo he e ogeneous consonan s (2a) as well as a e a gemina e
consonan (2b).
(2) a. a g+na
->
a gina
'
we see' gon + a
->
gon i a 'you (sing.) ado n'
b.kenn+na
->
kennina 'we gi e' mudd+ a
->
muddi a 'you p ess'
XX
X X
XX
XX
X
X
XXX
II
/+
II-II~~III
k
e
n
na
ke
n
i
n
a
[kennina]
Howe e , p ocesses ha in ol e melodic changes, such
as
labializa ion, ea long segmen s as
a single en i y: [w] sp eads i s labial cha ac e is ic o a p eceding owel, whe he his is sho
(3a) o long (3b).
(3) a. ilbiisaw+na
->
ilbiisowna
->
ilbiiso na 'we a e simple'
b. lakkaaw+na
->
lakkoowna
->
lakkoo na ("lakkao na) 'we coun '
II
/VI+II-II
I
II-
1
a
k
a wna la
k
O
yna
XX
X X X XXXX
.I
LAB
The p esence o a skele al ie is also p o ed h ough he analysis o phonological p ocesses
such as compensa o y leng henings. In La in, o ins ance, dele ion o /s/ be o e an e io
sono an s en ails leng hening o a p eceding owel (4). I one assumes he exis ence o a
skele al ie , compensa o y leng hening can
be
uni e sally jus i ied as a sp eading p ocess ha
epai s ill- o med s uc u es esul ing om he appea ance o emp y
X
posi ions, which
o hen ise could no
be
inco po a ed in o he p osodic s uc u e.
(4) *kasnus
->
kaanus 'g ay'
*
kosmis
->
koomis 'cou eous'
XXXXXX XXXXXX XXX XXX
ka
snu
s
ka
nus
ka
nus
[kaanw]
Al hough he p e ious
da a
seem o adequa ely jus i y he p esence o a skele on, du ing he las
decade
an
al e na i e p osodic ep esen a ion has been p oposed (Hayes
1989,
among o he s),
acco ding o which he skele al uni s (X) and he syllabic cons i uen s
(O,
R,
N,
C)
a e eplaceú
by
mo as
(5).
Using his app oach, mo as do no me ely ep esen a segmen (as X did) bu
play wo di e en oles: hey coun as phonological posi ions (i.e. hey a e phonological
p imi i es) and also ep esen he con as be ween ligh (o monomo aic) and hea y syllables.
The de ende s o such an app oach ega d his heo y as supe io o he one ha claims he
exis ence o a skele on and syllabic s uc u e, because mo aic ep esen a ion does no only
cap u e he duali y o some segmen s (e.g. long segmen s) bu jus i ies he phonological
p ocesses ha in ol e syllable weigh (e.g. compensa o y leng hening) be e han p e ious
app oaches. Fo exa nple, mo aic heo y explici ely cap u es he c oss-linguis ic gene aliza ion
ha only segmen s dele eú in coda posi ion igge leng hening o
an
adjacen segmen . Thus, in
La in dele ion o /s/ en ailed compensa o y leng hening in coda posi ion
(4
and 6a) bu no
wo d-ini ially (6b), because in his posi ion /s/ does no ha e mo aic alue. No e ha in o de
ha he heo y ha assigns skele al posi ions o all he segmen s accoun s o he da a in (6b),
one has o idiosync a ically s ipula e ha melodies only sp ead o syllable- inal emp y posi ions,
so ha he emp y wo d-ini ial
X
posi ion is no illed by sp eading bu dele ed h ough
con en ion because o i s s anded cha ac e (6b'). In mo aic heo y, howe e , his is
independen ly mo i a ed because only syllable- inal consonan s make hei syllable hea y, i.e.
hey ha e mo aic alue.
(6)
a. *kasnus
->
kaanus 'g ay'
*
kosmis
->
koomis 'cou eous'
b.
*snu us
->
nu us 'daugh e -in-law'
sme eo
->
me e0
'I
dese e'

C . b'
O
n
+
A
P
"
N
N
A
c
X
XXXX
IIIIY
XXXX X
I
s
n
u
u
s
0
n
u
u
s
9
1111
I
1
As a consequence o his eanalysis o he p osodic s uc u e, wo al e na i e p osodic heo ies
a e p esen ed nowadays in he li e a u e:
he heo y o syllable s uc u e
,
whose p imi i es a e
he skele al uni s
(X),
he syllabic cons i uen s
(O,
R,
N,
C), and he syllables (O), and he
mo aic heo y
,
which eplaces he skele al uni s and he syllabic cons i uen s by mo as
(p).
(7)
P osodic heo ies:
a. Theo y o syllable s uc u e
(X;
O,
R,
N,
C; O)
b. Mo aic heo y
(p;
O)
The aim o his pape is o p o e ha bo h heo ies a e no necessa ily mu ually exclusi e bu
hei di e ences co espond o some kind o pa ame ic a ia ion ha languages show. In
gene al, he dis inc ion es ablished by mo aic heo y be ween ligh and hea y syllables u ns ou
o
be
c ucial (i.e. phonologically ele an ) o languages ha show a phonemic con as be ween
sho and long owels, as i was al eady poin ed ou by T oube zkoy (1939).1 Howe e ,
syllable weigh is no a phonological a iable in languages wi hou phonemic owel leng h. In
hese languages, ins ead, he in e na1 s uc u e o he syllabic cons i uen s becomes ele an .
The a icle is o ganized as ollows. We i s p o ide da a o suppo he claim ha he
dicho omy p esen ed in
(7)
does no ma ch he eal ac s o he languages. Sec ion
2
jus i ies he
le el o skele al ep esen a ion e en in languages wi h well-mo i a ed mo aic s uc u es while
sec ion
3
shows ha he ole o he skele on can no
be
aken o e by melodic s uc u e ei he .
154
Wi h his done, we sugges a new o de ing o phonological p imi i es om which he
pa ame ic a ia ion ha languages show can
be
conec ly es ablished (sec ion
4).
2.
Skele on
and
Mo as.
Hayes (1989) claims ha skele al uni s a e empi ically unnecessa y because compensa o y
leng hening does no ake place sys ema ically whene e a segmen dele es lea ing an emp y
p osodic posi ion behind, bu only comes along in ce ain posi ions, which ,no acciden ally,
always ha e mo aic alue.2 In O omo, howe e , he e exis s a case o compensa o y
leng hening ha can only
be
jus i ied wi h he p esence o he skele ~n.~
O omo shows a phonemic con as be ween sho and long owels and, hus, syllable weigh
unc ions as a phonological a iable. The language ea s CV and CVC syllables
as
monomo aic
o ligh , while CVV and CVVC syllables a e ea ed as hea y o bimo aic.4
(8)
O om:
Ligh o monomo aic syllables: [CVIp, [CVCIp
Hea y o bimo aic syllables: [CVIp [VIp, [CVIp [VCIp
This di ision be ween he wo di e en ypes o syllables u ns ou o be c ucial, o ins ance,
o jus i y he beha io o such syllables in ela ion o he gene al cons ain ha he language
shows on he syllable s uc u e o he wo ds, namely O omo does no allow long owels in wo
successi e syllables unless he second is also wo d- inal. I conca ena ion o mo phs pu s
oge he syllables wi h long owels (9a), he owel o he second syllable obliga o ily sho ens.
This cons ain , howe e , does no conce n CVC syllables (9b).
(9) a. gaal+oo a
->
gaa
1
o
a
'camels' (c . nam+oo a
->
na moo
a
'men')
a caal+oom-
->
a caa 10 m-
'be
kind' (c . ko?+oom-
->
ko ?oo m- 'be busy')
b. a d+oo a
->
a doo
a
'ho ses'
lugn+oom-
->
lug noo m- 'be cowa d'
Wi h hese p ecisions es ablished on he weigh o he O omo syllables, le us now look a he
peculia compensa o y leng hening p ocess ha he language shows. O omo has a dele ion
p ocess ha e ases he melodic con en o a glo al consonan (i.e. glo al s op
/?/
and implosi e
lc
I)
in s yllable- inal posi ion. This dele ion en ails leng hening o he p eceding owel
(
10).
Acco ding o Hayes' mo aic heo y, his kind o dele ion should no yield compensa o y
leng hening because he dele ed glo al consonan does no lea e an emp y mo a behlnd (10a).
(Remembe ha in O omo inal consonan s do no add weigh o he syllable, i.e. hey ha e no
mo aic alue.) Howe e , he da a p o e ha such leng hening occu s, which can only be
jus i ied by he p esence o a skele on (10b).
(10) ec +na
->
eena 'we wish'
a?+ a
->
aa a 'you push'
b.
XXXXX XXXXX XX
XXX
ec
a
e
a
e
1
a
[ ee a]
Since O omo seems o equi e he p esence o
a
skele on, one could hink ha he language
does no need o e e o i s mo aic s uc u e bu , ins ead, i s syllable s uc u e would unc ion
as a phonological a iable. We will nex show, howe e , ha syllable s uc u es a e unable o
accoun o he O omo ac s. This will p o e ha in O omo, as in any language wi h phonemic
owel leng h, syllable weigh is a phonological a iable, which is be e exp essed h ough
mo aic ep esen a ion.
I we assume ha O omo has he syllable s uc u e shown in
(1
l), we co ec ly cap u e he
O omo syllable di ision be ween ligh CV(C) and hea y CVV(C) syllables: he hyme o ligh
syllables consis s only o nucleus while he hyme o hea y syllables consis s o nucleus and
coda. Howe e , he ep esen a ion o (1 1) canno jus i y he compensa o y leng hening p ocess
(CL)
ha he language shows, because he dele ed inal consonan occupies a posi ion di e en
om ha occupied by he second pa o a long owel, na nely he o me is included wi hin he
nucleus while he la e cons i u es he coda, and he e is no eason o claim ha he language
has wo di e en ypes o long owels.
ligh
syiiables
ka-
syllables
The syllable s uc u es ep esen ed in
(12)
and (13) a e also un enable o O omo.
In
his case
he compensa o y leng hening p ocess can be adequa ely ep esen ed because he owel
leng hened
as
a consequence o he dele ion o a inal consonan esul s in a long owel wi h he
same s uc u e o unde lying long owels (i.e.
a
complex nucleus in (12) o
a
b anching hyme
in (13)). No e, howe e , ha in hese cases he di ision be ween ligh and hea y syllables is
inco ec ly es ablished.
A i s e sion o his pape was p esen ed a he Pnme Coloquio de G amA ica Gene a i a
held a Mi a lo es de la Sie a, Mad id, Spain, 20-22 Ma ch 1991. The wo k bene i ed om
a
Pos doc o al Resea ch G an and he PB 89-0344 C.1.C.Y .T. G an .
No es
1
See Newman
(1972)
o a gene al s a emen on he impo ance o he syllable weigh concep .
2 See he p e ious La in example in (6).
3
The ollowing O omo
da a
a e aken om Llo e (1988).
4
No e
ha O omo con as s wi h La in in ea ing CVC syllables
as
ligh .
5
The e a e only wo excep ions, which ha e o be lexically ma ked:
(i) k1i i '+ii
->
k'i i ' ii (*k i i ' 'ii) 'chisel' ( '
=
ejec i e o glo alized )
(ii) hiik+ii
->
hiik ii (*hiikkii) 'ex ension'
6
This phenomenon is adi ionally e e ed o
as
liaison
.
7
The o he p osodic heo ies a e segmen al in he sense ha he numbe o p osodic segmen s
in ui i ely w esponds o he numbe o melodic segmen s.
Re e ences
Clemen s, Geo ge
N.
and Jay Keyse (1983)
CV
Phonology
,
M.I.T. P ess, Ca nb idge,
Massachuse s.
Hayes, B uce (1989) "Compensa o y Leng hening in Mo aic Phonology",
Linguis ic Znqui y
,
20, 253-306.
Hyman,
La y
(1985)
A
Theo y o Phonological Weigh
,
Fo is Publica ions, Do d ech .

I 6, Junko (1989)
"A
P osodic Theo y o Epen hesis",
NLLT
,7, 217-59.
Kaye, Jona han
D.
and Jean Lowens amm
(1984)
"De la syllabici é" in
F.
Dell,
D.
Hi s , and
J .-R. Ve gnaud
(eds.)
Fome sono e du langage: s uc u e des ep ésen a ions en
phonologie
,
He mann, Pa is.
Llo e , Ma ia-Rosa (1988)
Gemina ion and Vowel Leng h in O omo Mo phophonology
,
Ph.D.
disse a ion, Indiana Uni e si y, Blooming on, Indiana.
McCa hy, John (1979)
Fo mal P oblems in Semi ic Phonology and Mo phology
,
IULC,
Blooming on, Indiana.
McCa hy, John and Alan P ince ( o hcoming)
P osodic Mo phology
,
M.I.T. P ess,
Ca nb idge, Massachuse s.
Newman, Pau1 (1972) "Syllable Weigh as a Phonological Va iable",
S udies in Apican
Linguis ics
,3,301-23.
T oube zkoy, N.
S.
(193911967)
P incipes de phonologie
,
Klincksieck, Pa is.
UAB
Depa amenl
de
Filologia Ca alana
081
93
Bella ema (Ba celona)