Q: Minimal words?

[Larry Trask]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Bobby Bryant writes:
 
 
> Does the notion of a prosodic "minimal word" find a happy home among
> historical linguists?  In particular, can anyone cite a case where
> it has been plausibly invoked as the driving force behind some
> change, or as the endorsement for an exception to an otherwise
> regular change?
 
Yes; there are a number of such cases.  M. Kenstowicz (1994),
Phonology in Generative Grammar, Blackwell, p. 640 ff., cites several
examples of historical changes which were blocked whenever they would
have produced a violation of a minimal word requirement.  Also, if I
remember correctly, Bob Dixon's grammar of Yidiny reports a conspiracy
in that language to ensure that every word-form contains an even
number of syllables.
 
Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK
 
larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk