"parap(@)legic"

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On May 22, 2007, at 6:08 AM, Larry Horn wrote:

> At 7:45 AM -0400 5/22/07, Charles Doyle wrote:
>> Of course, we find syllabic schwa insertion (or retention) in
>> participles like "grappling," "babbling," and "grumbling," but those
>> are explainable (partly, at least) by the pronunciation of the base
>> forms. There seems to be no tendency to pronounce "complexity" as
>> "comp(@)lexity" or "complete" as "comp(@)lete."
>>
>> --Charlie
>
> Note the stress patterns:  the epenthesis [in "paraplegic"] is
> evidently associated
> with a stressed syllable coming up after the cluster.  Arnold can
> probably direct us to relevant research on this.

it goes back at least to my old old paper:

Note on a phonological hierarchy in English. Linguistic Change and
Generative Theory, ed. by R. Stockwell & R. Macaulay. Indiana Univ.
Press (1972) 275-301.

joan bybee has some more recent very interesting stuff; i need to get
to my files to find it, though.  hang on.

arnold

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