Chapter 1

Syllable weight as a phonological variable

This is an abridged version of a paper originally published over forty years ago (Newman 1972). It is being reprinted here because of its significance in the history of phonological theory and its contribution to African linguistics. At a time when the role of the syllable in linguistics was being ignored, this paper demonstrated the importance of the syllable for linguistic description and proposed a new variable that needed to be taken into account, namely ‘syllable weight’, a term first introduced there. A dozen years later, Hyman (1985) built on ideas in that paper and published an influential book that sparked general phonological interest in syllable weight and lay the groundwork for all subsequent studies dealing with this variable, whether theoretical, typological, or descriptive.

In the years since the publication of this paper, our understanding of syllable weight, along with its complexities and variation, has developed tremendously. Nevertheless, because this paper is being included for historical purposes and to make it more generally accessible, I have resisted the urge to rewrite the paper anew and am presenting it essentially in its original form, albeit with minor editorial changes. I have, however, taken the liberty of making a few modifications. First, this version is abridged: extraneous material in the original version, some perhaps of interest at the time, has been deleted. Second, selected up-to-date references have been added when needed. Finally, in illustrating syllable weight in Hausa, I have replaced the complex discussion of Hausa plurals by other clearer and more cogent examples.