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Issues in the moraic structure of Spanish
Abstract
This dissertation is concerned with the role of the mora in the stress system and syllable structure of Spanish. Considerations of stress assignment, sonority and the syllabification of high vocoids point to the independence of morification from syllabification. It is shown that an analysis in which morification precedes syllabification accounts for both stress assignment and the syllabification of high vocoids. Chapter 1 introduces theoretical assumptions about stress, syllable structure and Lexical Phonology in addition to background information from Spanish phonology and morphology. In Chapter 2 I show that a moraic trochee rule provides a precise and explanatorily adequate account of word stress in nouns, adjectives and adverbs. I claim that when stress is assigned in Spanish, syllables are not present; only mora structure has been assigned. In order to assign stress to the mora tier alone, stress assignment (to moras) must be distinguished from stress realization (on syllable heads) via Head-Prominence Relation which matches up stresses with sonority peaks after Syllabification has applied. Chapter 3 places the analysis of stress within the framework of Lexical Phonology. The model adopted has two lexical levels which are governed by the Strict Cycle Condition, but which lack multiple cyclicity. I show that all cyclic effects can be derived from the interaction of levels. While Level 1 stress is mora-sensitive, Level 2-derived forms such as diminutives and verbs undergo a syllable-sensitive Level 2 stress rule. The general picture which emerges is one in which prosodic rules apply to whatever structure is present. In Chapter 4 I confirm the hypothesis that stress assignment precedes syllabification by showing that the syllabification of high vocoids is predictable from mora assignment and stress alone. The proposal is then implemented by formulating the morification and syllabification algorithms, which are sensitive to distinct sonority scales. Chapter 5 examines Spanish cooccurrence restrictions in light of the moraic approach to prosodic processes. The sensitivity of onsets and codas to distinct sonority hierarchies supports the overall approach in which morification and syllabification are likewise sensitive to the same two sonority scales.
Subject Area
Linguistics
Recommended Citation
Dunlap, Elaine Ruth, "Issues in the moraic structure of Spanish" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9207391.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9207391