Sillaba aperta. Spigolature in margine ad un vecchio problema

Abstract

The Open Syllable: Gleaning on an Old Problem

In the first part of the article, the author offers a short examination of some general problems relating to the open syllable principle, which in his opinion recalls a drift in the Sapirian sense – and thus must be taken as a tendency rather than a rule. Afterwards, the author examines whether the phenomenology of the syllable is as important for the history of the Slavonic languages as Bernštejn maintains. Close-knit analysis encourages us to discard this possibility since, in Slavonic linguistic history, the open syllable structure is neither durable nor deeply bound up with the morphologic structure. Finally, the author contrasts the instability of the open syllable structure in Slavonic languages with the stability of the same structural feature in Polynesian languages. He argues that morphological factors are decisive in maintaining the open syllable structure (as is the case with Polynesian languages) and, conversely, in discarding it relatively early discarding as far as Slavonic languages are concerned.