Title

Mora and Taiwanese Syllable Structure

Author

Raung-fu Chung

Genre

Article  

Pages

533-549

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Language

English

Key words

Mora, secret language, nasal harmony, nasal dissimilation, labial dissimilation, syllable contraction, skeleton

Abstract

      The essential goal of this paper is to argue on the basis of Taiwanese that mora plays no significant role in terms of syllable structure. The arguments we have are: (a) the secret language formation, (b) nasal harmony and dissimilation, (c) labial dissimilation, and the lengthening of the syllable contracted from the disyllabic adjective. The glottal stop insertion exhibited in Xiaoyi, Yugan, Huangyan, and Mandarin is also discussed along with the lengthening. We conclude with some remarks on the phonological status of onset and nucleus.