Frida Morelli

Obstruent Clusters in Optimality Theory Frida Morelli

This book presents a cross-linguistic study of the occurrence patterns and restrictions that clusters containing two obstruents exhibit in onset position. It is argued that s+Stop clusters are the best-formed of all obstruent clusters because they are unmarked along the manner and place dimensions. A typology of obstruent clusters is developed and phonotactic patterns from representative languages are analyzed within the framework of Optimality Theory.