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Part of the book series: Kluwer International Handbooks of Linguistics ((KIHL,volume 2))

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Abstract

In this chapter we explore a modified version of our analysis of syllable structure in MA. In this new version, syllables with a schwa would all be reanalyzed as vowelless. In the end we settle on a mixed account, in which hollow syllables are vowelless, except in special circumstances, in which they contain schwas.

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Notes

  1. For other similar instances in 〈28〉, see lines 7a, 8a, 9b and 12a.

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  2. On secondary rimes, see 〈42〉 and the surrounding text.

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  3. On geminate inseparability in the new analysis, see below in § 9.4.3.

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  4. On MINIMAL-PATH(voice), see § 6.3.1.

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  5. On MINIMAL-PATH(place), see § 6.3.1.

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  6. On final lengthening, see e.g. Beckman and Edwards (1990).

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  7. See also Harrell (1962b: 17).

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  8. In (10) below the labelled brackets indicate the edges of Intonational Phrases. On the phonological constituent ‘Intonational Phrase’, see Selkirk (1978) and work in its wake, e.g. Nespor and Vogel (1982), Rice (1987), Selkirk (1984).

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  9. This generalization simplifies slightly. Words of the form ZVL@N (L a liquid, N a nasal) allow the alternation between [ZVL@N] and [ZVLN], e.g. salem ‘unharmed’, !dalem ‘unjust’. The alternation in these forms is left unaccounted for by the analysis proposed below.

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  10. See Heath (1987: 266), Mitc]hell (1993: 144) and Durand (1995/96). E1 Mejjad (1985: 158 ff.) reports a predictable difference between final stress and penultimate stress in Marrakesh MA. Benhallam (1990) and Durand (1995/96) contain partial surveys of the meagre literature on stress in MA.

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  11. See Dell (1984).

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  12. A good example of the latter view is Kouloughli’s (1978) analysis of an Algerian dialect.

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  13. buy:aor=do3s. Underlying /γ/ devoices before the following /t/.

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  14. Cf. !sxet ‘he cursed’.

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  15. Compare table (3) above with the inventory of syllable types given for Tashlhiyt in table (28) in § 4.6.

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  16. See § 4.9.

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  17. percuss-3mp=do3ms

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  18. The Tashlhiyt form was discussed briefly in § 6.4.1. The MA noun has a variant merdedduš, the only one given in Harrel and Sobelman (1966).

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  19. a wr, AD neg (/ad ur/).

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  20. (22)a allows an alternative pronunciation for which (22)b has no counterpart. That pronunciation, which is slower, differs from the first in that the vocoid between b and d at the end of the verb is auditorily more salient. We assume that that longer vocoid is the realization of the vowel inserted by IP=Final Epenthesis when (22)a contains two IPs: [baš te-žbed] [bezzaff].

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  21. See Chapter 7. For some interesting discussion of the syllabification of high vocoids in MA, see Keegan (1986) and Heath (1987).

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  22. In his discussion of the high vocoids in the Ait Seghrouchen variety of Tamazight Berber, Guerssel (1986) proposed that high vowels have a preassociated rime node.

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  23. On the derivation of this form, v. § 8.5.1.

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  24. On this inability, see § 6.3.2. and § 8.2.2. Parenthesized ‘@’ will be omitted from such sequences in the forms cited below.

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  25. See § 7.3.1.

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  26. For similar facts in Imdlawn Tashlhiyt, see § 7.4. As in Tashlhiyt, a crucial factor in the syllabification of geminates is the constraint NoOns∼, which forbids the first half of a geminate to be an onset. On the role of NoOns∼ in Tashlhiyt, v. § 4.8. The role of this constraint in MA will be taken up later, see the text below (46) in § 9.4.3.

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  27. On u fronting in Tashlhiyt, v. § 3.8. On that process in MA, see Elmedlaoui (1995a: 222-227). u fronting also applies in the Moroccan pronunciation of Classical Arabic.

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  28. The uncliticized forms are kesw-a and šehw-a. The suffix /-a/ becomes /-t/ before a possessive clitic.

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  29. Cf. /wsws/ [usw@s] ‘he mislead’.

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  30. Cf. sas ‘he shook down’, sus’ shake down!’.

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  31. Cf. /swws/ [suw@s] ‘it is worm-eaten’.

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  32. A third case will be discussed in section § 9.5.

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  33. The fs suffix /-a/ becomes /-i/ before a possessive clitic.

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  34. The uncliticized forms are šekw-a, nešw-a.

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  35. Except for the replacement of some occurences of e by the release symbol2, the transcriptions in (37) and others below are standard transcriptions.

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  36. On MINIMAL-PATH(place), § 6.3.1.

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  37. See § 6.3.3.

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  38. Other such verbs are sekkek, žennen, ħellet and gettet in (37). See Harreil (1962b: 31) for others.

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  39. In (41)a Fusion has merged the stem-final /t/ with the following /-t/ suffix. Merger of the stem-final /t/ with the preceding /t/ would have created a violation of constraint NoOns∼, see below (47) and (48).

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  40. sekket ‘cause to fall silent’ is a causative derived from sket ‘fall silent’.

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  41. The machinery which Heath sets up to deal with hiatus is also put to use in his account of the length alternation in the passive prefix (p. 280 ff.). Lack of space prevents us from going into the details of Heath’s discussion. We simply suggest an alternative account based on syllable structure. In the dialect described by Heath the passive prefix is a simplex t in some forms and a geminate tt in others. It is for instance long in tte-qtel ‘he was killed’ and short in t-qetl-u ‘they were killed’. In terms of our own account of the syllable structure of MA, it seems that the surface form of the passive prefix must meet the following requirement: a skeletal position belonging to the prefix must be included in a rime. The prefix takes on its long form only if its short form cannot meet this requirement. The forms cited above meet the requirement in question. The syllabic parse of t-qetl-u is.t.qt.lu. and that of tte-qtel is .t.tq.tl.

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  42. Other such verbs are !geriet ‘cut off’, feynen ‘hum’, hernen ‘grumble’.

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  43. A classicism derived from CA sta-θnaa.

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  44. See McCarthy (1986) on antigemination effects.

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  45. On devoicing and absorption, see our discussion of W-internal sequences in § 8.2.2.

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  46. The terminal representation of šekk2=u is identical with that displayed in (38), except for the last consonant.

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  47. These extra-long consonants contrast with the geminates, as already pointed out in Harrell (1962a).

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  48. Ath Sidhar Rifian has CCieCi verbs, on the other hand, as we have seen in § 6.5.3.

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  49. See e.g. Benhallam (1980: 141ff), Hyman (1985: 126, note 22).

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  50. See the text under 〈39〉 at the end of § 8.3.3.

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  51. The occurrence of glottal vibrations between two voiceless consonants is a sure symptom of the presence of an intervening vowel, see e.g. § 9.2.

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Dell, F., Elmedlaoui, M. (2002). Vowelless Syllables in Moroccan Arabic. In: Syllables in Tashlhiyt Berber and in Moroccan Arabic. Kluwer International Handbooks of Linguistics, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0279-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0279-0_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-1077-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0279-0

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