Complex onsets and coda markedness in Persian
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7557/12.6239Keywords:
loanword phonology, syllable phonotactics, Optimality Theory, nonce-word testAbstract
This paper argues for the Coda Condition to be a universal set of violable constraints on the basis of new vowel epenthesis data from Persian (Farsi). Vowel insertion in L2 phonology, loanwords, and nonce-words is driven by a strict ban on consonant clusters in syllable onsets. The choice between anaptyxis and prothesis is determined by the Coda Condition. As there is no detectable evidence for a coda condition in the existing Persian lexicon, it would be impossible for speakers of Persian to have acquired the Coda Condition as part of the L1 acquisition process. Moreover, this study contradicts two claims made in the literature: first, that anaptyxis/prothesis splits are always caused by the Syllable Contact Law, and second, that all coda condition effects can be reanalysed with positional faithfulness. Going beyond the Persian data, the paper argues for a formulation of the Coda Condition as positional licensing rather than simple markedness in interaction with positional faithfulness.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Martin Krämer

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).