The Syllable Structure In Yiyang Chinese

This thesis aims at providing a preliminary study on the syllable structure in Yiyang Chinese (hereafter YC) within the framework of non-linear phonology.With the descriptive data provided in Cui (1998), this thesis analyses the surface initials and finals in YC, and with the theories of Underspecification and Feature Geometry, it proposes that there are seven vowels and eighteen consonants in the underlying representation. Based on the predictability of the CV ordering, the CV cooccurrence patterns, and the distinctive effect of tone on meaning, this thesis hypothesizes that there are a vowel tier, a consonant tier, and a tonal tier in the morpheme in YC. Tier conflation takes place as a prerequisite for syllabification.The syllabic model in this thesis has the following characteristics, (a) A syllable includes an onset and a rhyme. The rhyme can either be divided into a nucleus and a coda or just comprises a nucleus alone, (b) A syllable usually occupies three timing units, which comprise an independent level.Segments map onto the syllable structure through the timing units. Tones are assumed to link with the tone-bearing units under Association Convention so as to have the phonetic representation. The tone-bearing units in YC are assumed to be the sonorant segments in the rhyme including vowels, glides and a nasal. It is also assumed that every tone is restricted to be linked with a TBU that occupies one timing unit at least. Constraints during the derivations are as follows, (a) Phonotactic constraints, (b) Syllable structure constraints.The syllable structure hypothesized above has been proved by the following aspects: (a) The analysis of syllables with the rusheng tone, (b) The derivation of the surface sound system, and (c) the explanation for the absent forms in the surface representation.This thesis hypothesizes that there is such a syllable as CVC2 ([-son, +con]) in YC. In addition, it proposes that in YC the rusheng tone mentioned in Cui (1998) and Xu (2001) is the neutralization of yinping and shangsheng in syllables ending with an abstract obstruent, thus arguing that there are only four lexical tones in YC, which are yinping, yangping, shangsheng, and qusheng.