The Weight of Final Syllables in English

Abstract

1. Weight at the right edge Many languages exhibit a CVC weight asymmetry: (C)VC is considered a heavy syllable shape but it behaves as a light syllable word-nally.1 Because the languages in question generally treat codas as weight-bearing, moraic theory (Hyman 1985, McCarthy and Prince 1986, Hayes 1989) must be augmented to deal with the weight difference of a CVC syllable in word-nal position. One approach is to treat the nal consonant as extrametrical (Mohanan 1979, Steriade 1980). Given that some languages (such as Latin) completely discount the nal syllable for metrical structure (that is, exhibit nal syllable extrametricality), the option to discount the nal consonant is a plausible extension. This structure is illustrated in (1), where the nal consonant is treated as if it were not part of the nal syllable, and is instead attached to the prosodic structure only at the word level. (1) Word-nal C extrametricality Word σ σ μ μ μ C V C C V C A similar proposal treats the nal consonant as the onset of a nal catalectic, or degenerate, syllable (Kiparsky 1991). Here the consonant is not extrametrical, but because the nucleus of the degenerate syllable is empty, the syllable does not play a role in any metrical structure. The nal consonant does not contribute weight, as it is an onset, not a coda, as illustrated in (2). (2) Catalectic nal syllable Word σ σ σ μ μ μ