Universals of Prosodic Structure

Abstract

The systematic study of prosodic structures is relatively recent, and the study of universals of these structures is even more recent. This paper presents a total of ten possible universals, some of which have been extracted from the original presentation of prosodic phonology in Nespor and Vogel(1986). Additional universals have been proposed based on further examination of the model as well as certain proposed modifications, in particular with relation to the Strict Layer Hypothesis. The universals are presented and analyzed in relation to three categories: (a) general properties of prosodic structure, (b) the geometry of prosodic constituents, and (c) prosodic structure phenomena. Several areas in which potential universals have been challenged are examined, and the more general question is discussed of what it means for a theory if apparent counter-examples are presented.