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Word-final sequences of two consonants
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Frisian allows for complex codas, i.e. final consonant sequences of two or three members.

Consonants do not form sequences in an arbitrary way. In the first place, there must be a sonority contrast between two adjacent consonants. In the second place, towards the nucleus, which is the most sonorous element of the syllable by definition, the inherent sonority of the consonants must increase. This is expressed by the Sonority Sequencing Constraint:

Sonority Sequencing Constraint
between any member of a syllable and the syllable peak, only sounds of higher sonority rank are permitted (Clements (1990:285))

The following Sonority Scale is adopted:

sonority scale
obstruents < nasals < liquids < vowels (where '<' means: has a smaller inherent sonority than)

Because the sonority of consonants must decrease towards the edges of the syllable, initial and final consonant sequences are often each other's mirror image.

Preferably, a syllable has a sonority profile that rises maximally towards the peak and falls minimally towards the end, proceeding from left to rightClements (1990:301). In principle, due to this difference in the required sonority distance between adjacent segments, more word-final than word-initial consonant sequences are allowed. Word-final sequences, however, are constrained by quantitative restrictions on the syllable rhyme as a whole.

References
  • Clements, George N1990The role of the sonority cycle in core syllabificationPapers in Laboratory Phonology1Cambridge University Press283-333
  • Clements, George N1990The role of the sonority cycle in core syllabificationPapers in Laboratory Phonology1Cambridge University Press283-333
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