17374

SoSe 14: S-Structure of English II: Prosodic Word Structure

Renate Raffelsiefen

Comments

The aim of this course is to explore the ways in which constraints on syllable structure affect phonotactics (possible combinations of phonemes) and morphology (conditions on affixation). The first aspect concerns questions such as: "Why are there words starting with /bl/ (e.g. blue, black), but no words starting with /lb/? Why can only high, tense vowels and diphthongs precede other vowels in English (e.g. cr/u.?/l 'cruel', r/i.?/l 'real', but not *cr/?.e/l? Why can consonant clusters occur at the end of words (gulp, film), but not in syllable-final position elsewhere (*silmver)?" The second aspect concerns questions such as "Why do many verbs ending in /t/ or /d/ with a preceding short vowel do not have a suffix in the past tense (e.g. hit, cut, bid), whereas verbs with a long vowel, diphthong, or final cluster generally do have the suffix (e.g. waited, rented, flirted)? In the course we will first clarify differences between various types of representation (phonemic, phonetic, orthographic) and proceed by introducing syllable structure with reference to phonemic representations. Participants should contact me for the reading material (raffelsiefen@ids-mannheim.de). The material should be read carefully before the course starts. There will be a written exam on the last day of the course. close

5 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Mon, 09:00 - 15:00 5 Class schedule

Mon, 2014-08-04 09:00 - 15:00

Lecturers:
PD Dr. Renate Raffelsiefen