Onsets
Subtitle: suprasegmental and prosodic behaviour
By: Nina Topintzi.
Series: Cambridge studies in linguistics -- 125
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9780521493352
Subjects: Prosodic analysis (Linguistics); Grammar, Comparative and general -- Phonology; Syllabication
Description: "The concept of the 'onset', i.e. the consonant(s) before the vowel of a syllable, is critical within phonology. While phonologists have examined the segmental behaviour of onsets, their prosodic status has instead been largely overlooked. In fact, most previous accounts have stipulated that onsets are insignificant when it comes to the 'heaviness' of syllables. In this book Nina Topintzi presents a new theory of onsets, arguing for their fundamental role in the structure of language both in the underlying and surface representation, unlike previous assumptions. To capture the weight behaviour of onsets, a novel account is proposed that relates their interaction with voicing, tone and stress. Using numerous case-studies and data from a variety of languages and phenomena (including stress, compensatory lengthening, gemination and word minimality), the book introduces a model that reflects the true behaviour of onsets, demonstrating profound implications for syllable and weight theories"--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: 1. Onsets and weight: the theory; 2. Onsets and stress; 3. Onsets and compensatory lengthening; 4. Onsets and word-minimality; 5. Onsets and geminates; 6. Other real and not-so-real onset-sensitive data: brief case studies; 7. Conclusion and discussion of alternatives.