16845

SoSe 20: Syllable structure in English and German

Renate Raffelsiefen

Comments

The distribution of segments within words is severely restricted in all languages. For example, in English, we find that obstruents can precede sonorants in word-initial position (e.g. initial clusters in words like bread, flip, shriek), but the inverse order does not occur. Clusters of three consonants are possible in word-initial position only if they start with /s/ (street, scratch), clusters of four consonants never occur. It is widely assumed that such restrictions result from the need to organize segments in the form of syllables and can be explained in terms of wellformedness constraints on syllable structure. In this course we will investigate this idea by examining phonological markedness constraints and their empirical motivations. The aim is to give an overview of possible restrictions in English and German, both in simplexes and morphologically complex words, and explanations for the restrictions in terms of independent constraints on prosodic structure. Ways in which these generalizations can be expressed in formal grammar (Optimality Theory) will also be explored, as will alternative explanations of restrictions on segment combination not referring to syllable structure. Participants should contact me by e-mail (raffelsiefen@ids-mannheim.de) for reading material, to prepare for the course. There will be a written exam on the last day of class. close

5 Class schedule

Regular appointments

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

Mon, 2020-07-20 09:00 - 15:00

Lecturers:
PD Dr. Renate Raffelsiefen