The phonotactics of word-initial clusters in Romance
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Diana Passino
Abstract
This contribution tackles the subject of consonant cluster phonotactics in word-initial position, focusing particularly on Romance. It calls attention to the presence of languages where clusters of obstruents, usually displaying a heterosyllabic behaviour crosslinguistically, are accommodated in word-initial position in languages that consistently repair sonority reversals. These languages represent a challenge for phonological theory since they do not fit into the binary phonotactic typology predicted by all generative theories dealing with the word-initial position, which set apart languages allowing only sonority raising tautosyllabic clusters from languages that potentially may accommodate any kind of non-tautosyllabic clusters. The possibility that, as opposed to sonority reversals, obstruent clusters may be tautosyllabic or monosegmental should be allowed in order for the theory to reach full empirical coverage. This contribution presents some arguments in favour of such a stance.
Abstract
This contribution tackles the subject of consonant cluster phonotactics in word-initial position, focusing particularly on Romance. It calls attention to the presence of languages where clusters of obstruents, usually displaying a heterosyllabic behaviour crosslinguistically, are accommodated in word-initial position in languages that consistently repair sonority reversals. These languages represent a challenge for phonological theory since they do not fit into the binary phonotactic typology predicted by all generative theories dealing with the word-initial position, which set apart languages allowing only sonority raising tautosyllabic clusters from languages that potentially may accommodate any kind of non-tautosyllabic clusters. The possibility that, as opposed to sonority reversals, obstruent clusters may be tautosyllabic or monosegmental should be allowed in order for the theory to reach full empirical coverage. This contribution presents some arguments in favour of such a stance.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- A’-dependencies in French 1
- The irregular forms of the Italian “Passato Remoto” 17
- On the lack of stranded negated quantifiers and inverse scope of negation in Romance 59
- Evidence for the competition-based analysis of subjunctive obviation from relative and adverbial clauses in Italian 75
- Quotative expansions 93
- Datives, prepositions, and argument structure in Spanish 125
- A typology of agreement processes and its implications for language development 143
- On the syntax of focalizers in some Italo-Romance dialects 157
- The phonotactics of word-initial clusters in Romance 175
- Double object constructions in Spanish (and Catalan) revisited 193
- Cognitive economy, non-redundancy and typological primacy in L3 acquisition 217
- L1 acquisition of noun ellipsis in French and in Dutch 249
- Index 267
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- A’-dependencies in French 1
- The irregular forms of the Italian “Passato Remoto” 17
- On the lack of stranded negated quantifiers and inverse scope of negation in Romance 59
- Evidence for the competition-based analysis of subjunctive obviation from relative and adverbial clauses in Italian 75
- Quotative expansions 93
- Datives, prepositions, and argument structure in Spanish 125
- A typology of agreement processes and its implications for language development 143
- On the syntax of focalizers in some Italo-Romance dialects 157
- The phonotactics of word-initial clusters in Romance 175
- Double object constructions in Spanish (and Catalan) revisited 193
- Cognitive economy, non-redundancy and typological primacy in L3 acquisition 217
- L1 acquisition of noun ellipsis in French and in Dutch 249
- Index 267
