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A government-based analysis of the ‘mora’ in Japanese*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2008

Jonathan Kaye  and
Shohei Yoshida
Shohei Yoshida
Affiliation:
Australian National University
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Extract

The mora is defined as something of which a long syllable ((C)VV or (C)VC) consists of two and a short syllable ((C)V) consists of one (McCawley 1968). According to some linguists, languages are classified into two groups: those that are best analysed in terms of morae and those that should be analysed in terms of syllables. Japanese is frequently cited as an example of a language that belongs to the former group. However, if the ultimate goal of the field of phonology is to seek for a group of principles that make up Universal Phonology, a unit such as the mora, which is indispensable in some languages but completely irrelevant in other languages, is an unwelcome innovation.

Type
Phonological government
Information
Phonology , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , May 1990 , pp. 331 - 351
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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References

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