Article

Syllable Structure for an Artificial Language Based on Universal Principles

Stuart Davis 1
Author Information & Copyright
1Indiana University

Copyright ⓒ 2016, Sejong University Language Research Institue. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published Online: Jan 01, 2017

Abstract

This paper discusses the types of syllables that should be found in a spoken artificial language based on the common types of syllables found in natural languages. The paper also examines the various units within the syllable, such as onset,nucleus ,and coda,suggesting how the preferred structure of these units maybe incorporated into an artificial language. One proposal that will emerge is that an artificial language needs to allow for at least a slight degree of complexity in its syllable structure. The paper further discusses related issue of prosody such as word stress and minimal word length in an artificial language. The paper concludes with an overview of the proposals made about syllable structure for an artificial language.

Keywords: syllable; prosody; artificial language; word stress; minimal word length

References

1.

B1evins ,1. 1995. The Syllable in Phonological Theory . In 1. Goldsmith (ed.), 206-244.

2.

Cresswell ,J. & J. Hartley . 1968. Esperanto. London : The English Universities Press '.

3.

Davis,S. 1988. Topics in Sy llable Geometry. New York : Garland .

4.

Davis,S. & M . Hammond . 1995. On the Status of On-glides in American English. Phonolo양 12,159-182.

5.

Goldsmith ,1. (ed .). 1995. The Handbook 01 Phonological Theory. Cambridge ,MA : Blackwel1.

6.

Halle ,M . & J. Vergnaud . 1987. An Essay on Stress . Cambridge ,MA : MIT Press.

7.

Hayes ,B . 1995. Metrical Stress Theory. Chicago ,IL: University of Chicago Press.

8.

Hyman ,L. 1977. On the Nature of Linguistic Stress. Studi es in Slress and Accent ,Southern California Occasional Pap ers in Linguis tics 4,37-82.

9.

Kager,R . 1999. Optimality Theory . Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.

10.

McCarthy ,J. & A . Prince . 1995. Prosodic Morphology . In 1. Goldsmith (ed .),318-366 .

11.

Prince ,A . & P. Smolensky . 1993. Optimali ty Theorγ : Cons traint /nt era ction in Generative Grammar . New Brunswikc ,NJ & Boulder ,CO: Rutgers University & University of Colorado .