A great many languages of the world exhibit phenomena of FO DOWNTREND – phenomena whereby, other things being equal, the fundamental frequency (Fo) of the speaking voice declines over the course of an utterance. That much is uncontroversial; further details are either simply unknown or the subject of considerable debate. The purpose of the study reported here was to shed light on some of these unknown or uncertain matters by the controlled investigation of pitch realisation in Yoruba.

The tree model of segment structure proposed by Clements (1985) is an important innovation in phonological theory, making possible a number of interesting predictions about the form of phonological rules, locality of rule application, and the organisation of the feature system. Clements' proposal has given rise to an expanding literature, including Sagey (1986), Schein & Steriade (1986), McCarthy (1988), Archangeli & Pulleyblank (forthcoming) and other work.

Within the expanding framework of non-linear morphology, no wordformation process has sparked more interest than reduplication. Once relegated to a secondary status with a few examples, reduplication has now arrived centre stage as a testing ground for alternative theories of multitiered morphology and phonology. The innovative work of McCarthy (1981) and Marantz (1982) on this subject has laid the groundwork for subsequent formal treatments of reduplication, including Levin (1983), Broselow & McCarthy (1984), Clements (1985), Odden & Odden (1985), Schlindwein (1986, 1988), McCarthy & Prince (forthcoming), Kiparsky (1986), Mester (1986) and Steriade (1988), among others. These varying accounts of reduplication have been tested against a large and growing body of data from most parts of the world. Surprising to us, however, since every Bantu language we are familiar with has one or more reduplicative processes, relatively little attention has been focused on this rather large linguistic group of several hundred languages coverin a major part of the African continent.

This study deals with syllable structure in Polish. The central theme is the question of when and how syllabification rules apply in the lexical phonology of Polish. In § i we lay the ground for our subsequent discussion by giving the basic syllable patterns of Polish. We also propose here a first version of the syllabification algorithm for Polish. In §2 we show that syllabification applies cyclically, because certain cyciic phonological rules make crucial use of information about the prosodic structure of their potential inputs. § 3 then shows that the syllabification algorithm has to apply both before and after the application of cyclic phonological rules on one cycle, and that syllabification is therefore a continuous process. In § we argue that the syllabification algorithm proposed in § i must be modified to enable us to predict whether a high [-consonantal] segment will surface as a vowel or as a glide. Since the distinction between vowels and glides is crucial for the application of certain cyclic phonological rules of Polish, this again shows that syllabification has to apply cyclically. § defends the hypothesis that resyllabification is restricted to Coda Erasure (and the subsequent syllabification of the desyllabified consonants). Again, the (un)predictability of the vowel/glide distinction plays a crucial role here. We summarise our conclusions in §6

Steriade (1988) proposes a model of reduplication and templatic systems that includes a process of onset simplification. For example, in Tagalog, the first syllable of a root can undergo prefixal reduplication with onset simplification: ta-trabaho, bo-bloaut. Steriade cites a number of cases of onset simplification cooccurring with syllable-based templatic systems, but provides no examples of it with foot-based systems. Here we provide an example of onset simplification applying to a foot-based templatic system. This demonstration is important for two reasons. First, it shows that the onset simplification phenomenon is more general, applying to syllables and feet.

Kaisse (1985) presents a theory of syntax–phonology interaction whereby a rule may require one element in the environment of the rule to ccommand another element in the environment. A crucial notion in that theory, hereafter referred to as the c-command theory, is domain ccommand, which is defined as follows (Kaisse 1985: 159):

In the structure [xmax … α …], Xmax is defined as the domain of α. Then α c-commands any β in its domain.

Our aim in this paper is to address certain empirical and conceptual issues in the theory of Universal Phonology. Specifically, we will formulate a number of proposals aimed at characterising the notion ‘possible syllable' and ‘possible word'. The principles we will lay out follow from what we see as a unified theory of phonological government.

The introduction of the notion of multi-levelled representations, as well as the recognition of constituent structure organisation in phonology, has allowed for a shift from mainly segment-internal, paradigmatic considerations to the study of syntagmatic relations holding between phonological units. What is now required is nothing less than a syntax of phonological expressions.

In this paper I consider the behaviour of word-internal empty nuclei preceded by a consonant cluster. I provide a principled account for the fact that in this context a properly governable empty nucleus receives a phonetic interpretation. To do so I introduce a new notion: GOVERNMENT-LICENSING. I argue that a non-nuclear head can govern a complement only if (i) it has the required charm value, or if charmless, the required complexity, and (ii) it is licensed to govern by a following nuclear head. Among other things government-licensing accounts for the phonetic realisation of an empty nucleus following a governing onset head (i.e. a non-nuclear skeletal point which governs a rhymal or an onset complement), and for the simplification of a consonant cluster preceding an unrealised empty nucleus. If, in order to govern a complement, a nonnuclear point must be government-licensed and if a properly governed empty nucleus may not be such a licenser, in a situation where a properly governable empty nucleus follows a consonant cluster we predict the two following possibilities: to license the consonant to govern, the empty nucleus will fail to be properly governed, or proper government will apply, preventing the non-nuclear head from governing its complement, which entails the loss of this head.

In this article, I explore a class of phonological reduction phenomena which highlight the role of segmental complexity in phonological government. I discuss a condition on phonological representations which requires that a segment occupying a governed position be no more complex than its governor, where complexity is straightforwardly calculated in terms of the number of elements of which a segment is composed. More generally, the present enterprise is to be seen as part of a wider programme in which reduction phenomena, including those traditionally referred to as lenition, are examined for the light they shed on the internal structure of consonants.

One of the main thrusts of the research programme known as Government Phonology has been the attempt to replace the rule component of a phonology by a group of universal principles common to all linguistic systems along with a series of parameters which delimit the nature of linguistic variation from one system to another. Given the wealth of analyses that employ rules and the fact that their number continues to grow, even to this day, it is a daunting task to find plausible alternative stories for each and every analysis that employs phonological rules in some crucial way. One of the leading ideas of work done on syllable structure that I have participated in for the last ten years has been the emergence of such alternative analyses for a series of phenomena that seemed to call for phonological rules.

The mora is defined as something of which a long syllable ((C)VV or (C)VC) consists of two and a short syllable ((C)V) consists of one (McCawley 1968). According to some linguists, languages are classified into two groups: those that are best analysed in terms of morae and those that should be analysed in terms of syllables. Japanese is frequently cited as an example of a language that belongs to the former group. However, if the ultimate goal of the field of phonology is to seek for a group of principles that make up Universal Phonology, a unit such as the mora, which is indispensable in some languages but completely irrelevant in other languages, is an unwelcome innovation.