Onsets: Suprasegmental and Prosodic Behaviour

by Nina Topintzi

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521493352
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/08/2010
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Linguistics , #125
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Nina Topintzi is a Teaching Fellow in the School of English at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Table of Contents

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.

Editorial Reviews

'… the book is well written and very readable. … It is a significant and welcome contribution to the field.' The Journal of Phonology

From the Publisher