Structure of the Syllable

doi:10.1017/9781108580410.007

5 - Structure of the Syllable

from Part Two - Phonetics and Phonology

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 June 2022

Giovanna Marotta

Edited by

Adam Ledgeway and

Martin Maiden

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Adam Ledgeway: Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Martin Maiden: Affiliation:
University of Oxford

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Summary

In this chapter, the syllable structure of Romance languages is addressed, focusing on properties shared by all varieties as well as some specific aspects of individual varieties. The syllable template adopted is hierachical and binary, with crucial recognition of the rhyme as an intermediate constituent. The fate of vowel quantity is discussed within a framework that takes the concepts of variation and multilingualism are primary, whilst making reference to current historical sociolinguistics. In addition to the main phonological processes sensitive to syllable structure, the prosodic categories of stress and timing are also briefly illustrated. The notion of proto-Romance is criticized as not corresponding to any historically documented linguistic reality nor to a uniform system, but only to an artificially reconstructed schema. In a classification of the Romance languages, taking into account the more dynamic force of the northern Romance varieties, it is argued that a vertical axis (i.e., North–South) is better than the traditional horizontal East–West axis.

Keywords

syllable prosody proto-Romance phonological processes timing

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Handbook of Romance Linguistics , pp. 183 - 208

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108580410.007 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

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References

Selected References

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