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Formal Problems In Semitic Phonology And Morphology, John J. Mccarthy

John J. McCarthy

This study deals with the formal character of phonological representations and rules. Two basic lines of investigation are pursued. One, the metrical, holds that there is hierarchic metrical structure within syllable structure and of stress is elaborated based on data from Tiberian Hebrew, Classical Arabic, and the modern Arabic dialects of Cairo and Damascus. The effects of syllable structure on the form and function of segmental phonological rules are adumbrated with data from Tiberian Hebrew as well. The role of metrical structure in vowel harmony also figures briefly.

The other formal line followed is prosodic. An essentially autosegmental theory of …

On Stress And Syllabification, John J. Mccarthy

John J. McCarthy

Of all the diverse properties of segmental strings, syllable structure is the one that stress rules most often refer to. In fact, they refer to a quite specific aspect of syllable structure: syllable weight. Generally, it is this distinction between heavy and light syllables that affects the placement of stress. The richness of this problem is apparent from its ramifications. First, in many languages the notion "heavy syllable" invokes a disjunction of syllables containing a long vowel or diphthong and syllables with a short vowel but closed by a consonant. Second, though heavy syllables often attract the stress, they sometimes …

Ct, John J. Mccarthy

John J. McCarthy

The special status of coronals in consonant clusters.