| Abstract: | One of the most frequently discussed syllable structure conditions is the Coda Condition (CODA-COND). Accounts on this constraint treat it as one of the fundamental among phonological phenomena. However trivial the formulation of CODA-COND might appear to be at first sight, a deeper scrutiny of the various analyses of languages in which the constraint is in force often unveils aspects that have been assumed to be unproblematic. This paper will present a close look at the various formulations of CODA-COND and will explain the structure of the syllable in Acehnese using a constraint-based framework following Optimality Theory. In particular we will show that an optimality-theoretic alignment approach faces both empirical and theoretical problems. It fails to offer an adequate characterization of the Acehnese data. It also misses the generalization that onset place features are preserved and spread in assimilation contexts. The material covered is weighted in favor of a positional-faithfulness-based analysis. |
