Some things you just cannot share: On Schneider’s Law, geminates and syllables

• Main Authors: Markoulaki, Katerina, Topintzi, Nina
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Selected papers on theoretical and applied linguistics 2023
• Subjects: geminates; markedness; syllable; optimality theory; Schneider’s Law; Dogrib; inuktitut
• Online Access: http://ejournals.lib.auth.gr/thal/article/view/9204; https://doi.org/10.26262/istal.v24i0.9204

Various dialects of Inuktitut present consonant reduction in sequences of consonant clusters due to an alleged ban on syllable-adjacent geminates. This ban has been known as Schneider’s Law (henceforth SL). The present paper re-approaches its definition, focusing on the markedness of geminates and their co-existence in a single syllable. We claim that the underlying cause of SL lies in the fact that two geminates under a single syllable node render the syllable ‘super-marked’ thus calling for simplification of one of the two geminates. We also propose that SL is a more widespread phenomenon applying to other languages too including Japanese, Dogrib and Trukese.