Nyelvtudományi Közlemények 103. kötet (2006)
Tanulmányok - Tamás Ildikó: The Lule Saami vocalism 7
Fig. 3. The syllable structure of Lule Saami: noninitial syllables CV tier Segmental tier 3. The Lule Saami foot and word In the Lule dialect two-syllable words are dominant, but we can easily find three-syllable ones as well. Neither compounds nor suffixed words are longer than four or five syllables. Only grammatical or function words are monosyllabic. In Lule Saami the vocalism of the first and second syllables is closely connected. The alternation of the vowel in the second syllable (marginal vowel) can implicate the alternation of the vowel at the first syllable (central vowel12 ). For the description of the regressive processes, we have to get acquainted with the structure of Lule Saami words. The bisyllabic Saami word contains one stressed syllable, while the four-syllable word has two (one main and one secondary). The stressed syllable can be followed by one unstressed syllable in words with an even number of syllables; however, in the case of words with an odd number of syllables, the number of unstressed syllables can be two. Consequently, the first syllable of a three-syllable word is stressed and both the following ones are unstressed. The nucleus of a stressed syllable is a central vowel, while that of the following unstressed syllable is called a marginal or 'latus' vowel. In the first case mentioned, the unstressed syllable is the last syllable at the same time, while in the latter case it is followed by another unstressed syllable. Consonants and consonant clusters at the boundary of a stressed and an unstressed syllable are also said to be central. The consonant or consonant cluster between the latus and the following unstressed nucles (if there is one), the marginal vowel, is also called marginal. An onset consonant in the 12 In Lappology, the term 'central' is not used to indicate the place of articulation of a vowel but to mark its position within the word itself. The term 'central' can either refer to individual phones or phone articulations.
