Vv > vc > v for stress: Coercion vs. prominence

Abstract

A common approach to ternary VV > VC > V weight for stress involves coerced moraicity, by which codas are moraic only under stress, when no VV is available. As I show, coercion is untenable for about half of 17 such systems surveyed, and must be augmented by a theory of vowel prominence (e.g., VV-TO-STRESS). I further argue that vowel prominence is superior to a previously suggested solution in terms of coda prominence, which favors stress on syllables with (nonmoraic) codas.