Syllabification in Chukchee: A Constraints-Based Analysis

Abstract

Several constraints are proposed to describe the distribution of epenthetic schwa in Chukchee. Contiguity forces medial epenthesis to fall at the gap between morphemes yielding C@CC or CC@C depending on the location of the morpheme boundary. Higher-ranking alignment constraints force schwa inside a morpheme word initially (#C@C) and word finally (C@C#). Several cases of C+C+C medial clusters with two morpheme gaps are discussed. Here considerations of syllable contact and leftwards orientation are at play. The paper closes with an analysis of cluster simplification in Korean where contiguity plays a role.