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The size of the word-internal and word-final syllable rhyme

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In this topic the size of the word-internal and word-final syllable rhyme will be discussed. The Rhyme Constraint, according to which the rhyme of a word-internal syllable occupies two structural phonological positions, will be introduced and then examples will be given of consonants and consonant sequences following a falling diphthong, a centring diphthong and a long vowel + glide sequence. The falling and centring diphthongs appear to be followed by all kinds of consonants, the long vowel + glide sequences only by the vowel schwa (or the sequence schwa + sonorant consonant) and coronal obstruents (or obstruent sequences). This leads to the formulation of the Word Constraint: the rhyme of a word-final syllable occupies three structural phonological positions at most.

The rhyme of a word-internal syllable is claimed to occupy two structural phonological positions, which is both a minimum and a maximum. This is dubbed the Rhyme Constraint here:

Rhyme Constraint

the rhyme of a word-internal syllable occupies two structural phonological positions

A canonical underived Frisian word either has one full vowel (a monophthong or a diphthong), in which case it ends up as a monosyllabic form, or it has both a full vowel and schwa, in that order, resulting in a bisyllabic form. Examples are provided below:

Examples of canonical underived Frisian words

/ko:/

cow

dize

/di:zə/

mist, haze

duvel

/dy:vəl/

devil

biezem

/biəzəm/

broom

libben

/lɪbən/

life; lifetime; lively

wakker

/vakər/

very (much)

The effect of the Rhyme Constraint shows up most clearly in words having more than one full vowel, which in Frisian is the privilege of loanwords; this is exemplified below:

Examples of the syllabification of loan words in Frisian

Occurring ones

fanfare

/fanfa:rə/

[(fan)(fa:)(rə)]

brass band

barbaar

/barba:r/

[(bar)(ba:r)]

barbarian

tempo

/tɛmpo:/

[(tɛm)(po:)]

tempo

Non-occurring ones

*faanfarmka

/fa:nfarmka:/

[(fã:)(farm)(ka:)]

*barkbaar

/barkba:r/

[(bark)(ba:r)]

*termpo

/tɛrmpo:/

[(tɛrm)(po:)]

The forms in (2b) have non-final syllables with a rhyme occupying more than two structural positions. Inevitably, they convey the impression of being compounds or derivations, though this has not been tested by asking native speakers for their judgements on these and similar forms.

Indigenous derived and inflected words also testify to the validity of the Rhyme Constraint. Take the examples in (3) below:

Examples of indigenous derived and inflected words

aaien

/a:j+ən/

[(a:)(jən)]

eggs

wolkich

/volk+əɣ/

[(vol)(kəx)]

cloudy

reade

/rɪəd+ə/

[(rɪə)(də)]

red (inflected form)

The phonological content of the stems aai /a:j/ egg, wolk /volk/ cloud, and read /rɪəd/ red can be accomodated by a single syllable: [(a:j)], [(volk)], and [(rɪət)]. The derived and inflected forms, however, all have a first syllable with a rhyme of two positions. The stem-final segment ends up as the onset of the following syllable, making for a syllabification which is in accordance with the Rhyme Constraint .

extra

The syllabification [(a:)(jən)] (for aaien /a:j+ən/ eggs) and [(rɪə)(də)] (for reade /rɪəd+ə/ red (inflected form) is also in line with the claim that a VCV string is universally syllabified as /(V).(CV)./ (see Blevins (1995) for more on this).

Many Frisian nouns and inflected forms end in the sequence /-VCə/, as do takke /takə/ branch and passe /pɔs+ə/ to fit; to suit (all plural persons present tense; infinitive). A schwa syllable must have an onset, which implies that these words must be syllabified as [(ta)(kə)] and [(pɔ)(sə)], respectively (which is also in line with the universal alluded to in the Extra above). These syllabifications, however, are at odds with the Rhyme Constraint. The latter forces the intervocalic consonant to become ambisyllabic, i.e. to function as both the coda of the leftmost and the onset of the rightmost syllable: [(tak)(kə)] and [(pɔs)(sə)]. So, the geminate-like behaviour of the consonant is enforced by the shortness of the (full) vowel.

The consonants and consonant sequences by which the vowels and vowel sequences in simplex Frisian words can be followed also shed light on how many structural positions a regular word-final rhyme consists of.

Falling and centring diphthongs consist of two segments, so they occupy two structural positions, i.e. they are long. Sequences of a long vowel followed by a glide occupy three such positions, hence they are superlong. The three tables below give an overview of the consonants and consonant sequences by which falling diphthongs, centring diphthongs, and long vowel + glide sequences can be followed.

Table 1: Examples of consonants and consonant sequences following a falling diphthong

/ɛj/	-#	rij ruler, nij new, frij free
	-ə	trije three (only example)
	-əm	Hijum place name
/ʌɥ/	-#	brui things, matters, jui fuddle
	-əl	skuiel(je) to swing, to sway (only example)
	-l	struil squirt, spout, skuil(e) to slide
	-z	uis eye (e.g. in a canvas), buis tube
	-st	duist soft, woolly hairs of a pig (only example)
/ɔw/	-#	hou gash, bou structure; cultivation, sjou grind, sweat
	-ə	dauwe dew, mouwe sleeve, souwe sieve, Douwe proper name
	-əl	ouwel wafer, grouwel horror, abhorrence, touwel bunch of hard, old reed stems and roots
	-ən	lauwen vapid, dull (only example)
	-ər	ouwer shore, fjouwer four, touwer thunderstorm
	-t	hout wood, bout (screw) bolt, smout sheltered; cosy, snug
	-d	goud gold, moud mild (of the weather)
	-k	hauk hawk, douk spigot
	-s	paus pope, applaus applause (loan words)
	-z	smous Yid, krous leftover(s), kous wick, saus sauce(loan word)
/aj/	-#	bei berry, wei road; way, mei with
	-ə	leie (bridle) rein, homeie fence which marks the edge of the farmyard
	-əl	fleiel flail (only example)
	-p	jeip cut, gash, leip rascal; slut, tart
	-t	geit goat, heit father; dad(dy), pleit plea
	-d	reid reed, breid bride, arbeid labour, work
	-k	leik dredging brace, (giele) keik wild radish
	-s	skeis(en) coin, worth 5/8 cents (only example)
	-z	fleis meat, reis trip, journey, seis six
	-ɣ	steich lane, alley(way), eig(en) own
	-l	neil nail, heil welfare, salvation, geil randy, lecherous; over-fertile
	-n	ein end; duck, rein rain, snein sunday
	-m	deim fallow deer, (ge)heim secret
	-nt	bleint sandy ridge which is close to the surface, feint servant; boyfriend; mate, kweint short stick which is used in a certain game
	-nd	weind headland (only example)
	-ts	laits laugh, maits maggot, grub(worm), skraits long-tailed skua; tall and scrawny person
/oj/	-#	fuoi ugh!, phooey!, buoi shower
	-ə	muoie aunt (only example)
	-k	muoik(e) aunt (only example)

Table 2: Examples of consonants and consonant sequences following a centring diphthong

/iə/	-#	skrie black-tailed godwit, snie snow, mie mead
	-p	liep cunning, skiep sheep, sliep sleep
	-t	liet song, miet starting line, wiet wet
	-d	tried thread, sied seed, skied partition, boundary
	-k	kriek collection of reeds and other water plants which have washed ashore
	-v	dief thief, brief letter, epistle
	-z	kies molar, ies bait, snies a quantity of twenty (eggs)
	-l	miel meal, diel part, kiel throat
	-r	fier far, hier hair; hire, rent, mier dislike, aversion
	-m	fiem fathom, liem loam, hiem property, premises
	-n	trien tear, ien one, mien common, communal
	-nt	mient starting line (only example)
	-st	iest (drying-)kiln (only example)
	-lk	skielk in the near future (only example)
/yə/	-t	n(j)uet tame(d) (only example)
	-z	flues film, skin; fleece (only example)
	-r	kuer cure, ûnhuer coarse, rude; terribly
	-n	fluen(gers) certain sort of grass (only example)
/uə/	-#	tsjoe call for chasing chickens (only example)
	-t	kloet punting pole, foet foot, groet greeting
	-d	bloed blood, goed good, hoed hat
	-s	koers /kuəs/ course; price, quotation, parkoers /parkuəs/ track
	-z	oes eye (e.g. in a canvas), goes goose, moes (curly) kale
	-l	doel goal, koel cool, stoel chair; stool
	-r	toer tower, boer farmer, roer rudder
	-n	soen reconciliation, loen vapid, dull, spoen chip (of wood)
	-ts	koerts /kuəts/ course (only example)
/ɪə/	-#	dea dead; death, skea loss(es); damage, (n)ea (n)ever
	-p	reap rope, heap heap, pile, keap buy, sale; deal
	-t	keat pastern; link (of chain), leat (off)shoot, neat nothing
	-d	lead lead, read red, dead dead; death
	-k	heak hook, reak rick, weak soft; weak
	-v	leaf dear, reaf skein, hank, skeaf sheaf
	-z	kreas neat, tidy; pretty, good-looking, heas hoarse, sjeas gig
	-ɣ	each eye (part of the body), reach cobweb(s), pleach plague
	-l	keal calf, feal pale, heal half
	-r	kear time; turn, near oppressive, sultry, sear sore, painful
	-n	tean toe, hean slight, slender, fean peat
	-m	beam tree, kream stall, stand, pream pra(a)m, flat(boat)
	-ŋ	eang frightened; frightening; rough (of teeth) (only example)
	-nt	treant bumblebee (only example)
	-nd	eand with young, bearing (of ewe) (only example)
	-st	east east(erly), geast mind, ghost, spirit, least last; footmark
	-ts	pleats farm, keats(e) to play fives
/øə/	-n	gleon glowing, red-hot, freon (boy)friend, sneon saturday
	-r	fleur brightness, cheerfulness, kleur colour, seur(e) to nag, to harp
	-z	beurs /bøəz/ purse; grant; exchange (only example)
/oə/	-#	goa pagus, soa well (then), so
	-t	kloat testicle, ball; bastard, boat boat, poat paw
	-d	snoad bright, clever, soad heartburn, acidity of the stomach, Joad Jew
	-z	moas moss, noas nose, hoas stocking
	-l	moal flour, soal sole; channel, fairway,foal with young, bearing (of sow, ewe, mare, etc.)
	-r	doar door, boar drill, brace, smoar grease, fat
	-n	soan son, oan on, toan tone
	-st	oast gnarl, knur(r), froast frost, toarst /toəst/ thirst
	-ts	boats barrel, koarts /koəts/ fever
	-nt	oant till, until, goant gosh!

Table 3: Examples of consonants and consonant sequences following a long vowel + glide sequence

/a:j/	-#	skaai race, raai (corn-, grass-)stalk, ha(u)lm, draai turn, bend
	-ə	Baaie proper noun, Haaie proper noun, Jaaie proper noun, maaie May
	-əl	flaaiel flail (only example)
	-əm	Baaium place name, boaiem /bwa:jəm/ bottom, gaaiem rabble, riffraff, jaaiem blue ruin, schnapps, maaiem drink, water
	-ən	glaaien suave, honeyed, sugary (only example)
	-k	maaik maggot, grub(worm) (only example)
	-ts	maaits maggot, grub(worm), skraaits long-tailed skua; tall and scrawny person
/o:j/	-#	roai valuation, estimation, sloai ruin (w.r.t. prices), troai(e) to placate, to appease
	-ə	oaie adult who acts like a child (only example)
	-ən	goaien gosh! (only example)
	-t	(n)oait (n)ever (only example)
	-ts	boaits tub, barrel, loaits look (in one's eyes), ploaits(je) to pick, to pluck
/u:j/	-#	boei buoy, marker; chain, handcuff, groei(e) to grow, knoei blow, set-back
	-ts	tsjoeits call for chasing chickens (only example)
/i:w/	-#	iuw century; age, kiuw gill, branchia, miuw (sea-)gull, Siuw he who is from the Dutch province of Zeeland
	-ə	Liuwe proper noun

extra

The only example of a word ending in /uə/ is tsjoe call for chasing chickens. There are also three preterite stems of strong/irregular verbs, viz. koe /kuə/ (of kinn(e) can, soe /suə/ of sill(e) shall, and woe /vuə/ (of woll(e) to want to, to wish).

It appears that a falling diphthong cannot be followed by a full vowel, but only by schwa or the sequence schwa + sonorant consonant (though there are not many instances of it). Due to suffixation, this vocalic sequence is quite common in complex words, as in nije /nɛj+ə/ new (inflected form), beien /baj+ən/ berries, and bruier /brʌɥ+ər/ loose liver, debauchee. Schwa always adds a syllable. In the actual realization, a homorganic glide is inserted between the diphthong and schwa (see the resolution of vocalic hiatus between a falling diphthong and a following vowel).

A centring diphthong cannot be followed by schwa (see also general constraints on the combination of falling diphthongs and glides and centring diphthongs and schwa). This is easily explained as an effect of the Obligatory Contour Principle, which bans sequences of two identical adjacent segments.

extra

A sequence of a centring diphthing followed by schwa may arise in complex words, like breaen /brɪə+ən/ rye breads and in strieën /striə+ən/hoed a straw hat. This configuration, of vocalis hiatus is resolved as follows: the schwa-portion of the diphthong deletes, a front glide is inserted between the diphthong's full vowel and the remaining schwa, and the diphthong's full vowel is lengthened, yielding the realizations [(brɪ.)(jən)] and [(stri.)(jən)] (see the resolution of hiatus between a centring diphthong and a following vowel).

A long vowel + glide sequence cannot be followed by a full vowel, but only by schwa or the sequence schwa + sonorant consonant. Again, this configuration is more common in complex words, as in aaie /a:j+ə/ to stroke, to caress (all plural persons present tense; infinitive), aaien /a:j+ən/ eggs, and aaierich /a:j+ərəɣ/ fond of stroking, caressing. The glide is syllabified as the onset of the schwa syllable: [(a:)(jə)], [(a:)(jən)], [(a:)(jə)(rəx)].

Although there are differences between the falling diphthongs in table a and the centring diphthongs in table b as to the consonants and consonant sequences by which they may be followed, the differences between this group as a whole and the long vowel + glide sequences in table c are very clear. The falling and centring diphthong can be followed by all kinds of consonants, whereas the long vowel + glide sequences can only be followed by 1) schwa or the sequence schwa + sonorant consonant or 2) coronal obstruents or obstruent sequences (with the exception of maaik maggot, grub(worm), which is a variant of maaits). Word-final schwa, also as part of the word-final sequence schwa + sonorant consonant, behaves as a word boundary in simplex words (see Visser (1994) and Visser (1997:241-248) and the topic on the obstruents: the fricatives), so the fact that long vowel + glide sequences can be followed by schwa or the sequence schwa + sonorant consonant is an indication that a long vowel + glide sequence contains the maximum number of phonological positions a regular word-final syllable rhyme can accommodate. The fact that long vowel + glide sequences can be followed by coronal obstruents or obstruent sequences is indicative of the same. Coronal obstruents are known for their ability to show up in the periphery of syllables and words, where they may give rise to configurations violating constraints on sonority sequencing or regular word size. If these segments have the above effects, they are said to be extra-syllabic (see extra-syllabic consonants).

Word-finally then there appears to be room for a regular third rhyme position, which may be occupied by all sorts of consonants. This is dubbed the Word Constraint:

Word Constraint

the rhyme of a word-final syllable occupies three structural phonological positions at most

In general, all that goes beyond the three positions allowed for by the Word Constraint is occupied by coronal obstruents.

References

Blevins, Juliette1995The Syllable in Phonological TheoryGoldsmith, John A., Riggle, Jason & Yu, Alan C. L. (eds.)The Handbook of Phonological TheoryBlackwell Publishers
Visser, Willem1994Schwa-appendixen in het FriesBooij, Geert Evert & Marle, J. van (eds.)DialectfonologieAmsterdamP.J. Meertens-Instituut116-137
Visser, Willem1997The Syllable in FrisianVrije Universiteit AmsterdamThesis

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About this article

Author(s): Willem Visser

Category: Frisian Phonology

Keywords: phonotacticsrhymerhyme constraint

Version: 1.0, December 2015

Version history:

version	editor(s)	date	remarks
1.0	Willem Visser	December 2015

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