LA SYLLABE EN BIRIFOR REVISITÉE

Abstract

This article deals with a re-analysis of the syllable in Birifor. After an initial interpretation of this phonological unit in a structural perspective, which led to the result that there are syllables with a coda in the language, the present study aims to be an answer to certain questions. In the context of government theory, the analysis reveals that it is the core that governs the onset. In CVC stems, the final -C# consonant is not a coda but the onset of a second empty-nucleus syllable. This is justified by the fact that sonants automatically legitimize empty nuclei in final position in Birifor. Also, in CVV structures, the VV sequences do not belong to the same syllable. -V- is the nucleus of the first syllable and -V# represents the nucleus of the following empty-attacking syllable.