This paper examines the relationship between tone and prosodic positions. I show that prosodic heads prefer higher tone over lower tone, while non-heads exhibit the opposite preference. These generalisations are expressed within Optimality Theory as a family of constraints in a fixed ranking. One set regulates the relation of tone to heads: *HD/L [Gt ] *HD/M [Gt ] *HD/H; the other deals with tone on non-heads: *NON-HD/H H [Gt ] *NON-HD/M [Gt ] *NON-HD/L. These constraints are used to account for the stress system of Ayutla Mixtec: in this language, stress is attracted to a syllable based on its tonal content, but is also influenced by the post-tonic syllable's tone. The implications of the theory for other tone–stress interactions – metrically influenced tone placement and neutralisation – are also examined.

The present article provides a reanalysis of word-edge coronal obstruents in German and English commonly assumed to be extrasyllabic (e.g. the [s] in German Gips ‘plaster' and in English lapse). It will be argued below that (i) there are no extrasyllabic consonants in surface representations in German and English and that surface forms are fully syllabified, and (ii) there is no derivational stage in which extrasyllabicity in either of these languages exists. The evidence commonly presented in support of representations with extrasyllabic consonants will be shown to be compatible with fully syllabified surface representations. An optimality-theoretic treatment with constraints referring to fully syllabified output representations will be proposed.

This article is concerned with an interesting upstep phenomenon in the intonation of some speakers of Southern dialects of German. It experimentally establishes the main properties of this upstep phenomenon, and discusses the theoretical consequences. The upstep occurs on the nuclear pitch accent of a non-final intonation phrase. It targets the phonetic height of the utterance-initial peak, regardless of downstepped peaks that intervene between the initial peak and the upstepped peak. The findings are argued to provide unexpected support for a model of intonation in which downstep among accents can be embedded inside downstep among larger prosodic domains (Ladd 1988, van den Berg et al. 1992). In a combination of that model with an extension of Pierrehumbert & Beckman (1988), it is suggested that the choice between downstep and upstep is conditioned by association to higher prosodic constituents in a systematic way.

The Mouton interactive introduction to phonetics and phonology (henceforth MIIPP) is an informative and interesting interactive CD introduction to phonetics and phonology. It is compatible with both Macintosh (version 8.1 or higher) and Windows (NT 4.0 or higher, 95 or higher) operating systems. Ambitious in coverage and innovative in its multimedia presentation, the CD offers an engaging overview of a number of topics in phonetics and phonology, including articulatory phonetics, auditory phonetics, acoustics, segmental and prosodic phonology, and phonological theory. It is ideal for informal self-study or as an accompaniment to a formal undergraduate introductory course in phonetics and phonology, used in conjunction with a textbook or other materials.

Bachra takes a fresh look at the issue of phonotactic constraints in the consonantal verbal roots of the Semitic languages. This topic has received much previous attention, both descriptive and theoretical. The prevailing view is that consonant combinations in verbal roots are avoided when those consonants share major place of articulation features. For example, roots in Arabic containing both /b/ and /f/ are highly underrepresented, and these two consonants share [labial] place. In generative analyses, this constraint is considered to be an instantiation of the Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP), restricted to place of articulation features (e.g. McCarthy 1994). There are, of course, some complications. The constraint is partially sensitive to manner features, as combinations of coronal obstruents and coronal sonorants are permitted. In addition, the set of uvular, pharyngeal and laryngeal consonants is prohibited from co-occurring, indicating that shared place of articulation can be construed rather broadly. Finally, the constraint is gradient, rather than absolute. In many cases, consonant combinations that share place are found, but are just very infrequent.

This volume is a welcome addition to the literature on Italian dialectology, specifically phonology, and to the wider discourse of phonological theory.I would like to thank Sharon Hargus for her keen attention to detail on earlier drafts of this review. Originally intended as a companion volume to Syntactic theory and the dialects of Italy (Belletti 1993), this volume grew out of a project initiated by the editor in 1995. The contributions collected in this book display the enormous richness of Italy's complex linguistic situation, a complexity which arises from the interaction between Standard Italian and Italian dialects, as well as from influences from other minority languages spoken throughout the Italian peninsula. Standard Italian as a widely used national language is little over 100 years old. However, as Berruto (1993: 3) points out, ’whether or not Italian is the national language of our country, maintaining that all Italians speak (only) Italian would be a serious misrepresentation of the facts‘ (my translation). Italian dialects are classified geographically into three macro-categories: Northern (those above the La Spezia-Rimini isogloss), Tuscan and those of the Centre-South (which includes Sicily and Sardinia) (see Lepschy & Lepschy 1992, Sobrero 1993 and Maiden & Parry 1997 for detailed information pertaining to both Standard Italian and Italian dialects). As well as providing descriptive and theoretical accounts of aspects of Standard Italian phonology, the contributions in this volume cover a range of southern and northern dialects, including Friulian, a Tuscan variety (Pisan) and data from the Raeto-Romance of Eastern Switzerland. There are, however, no in-depth treatments of the dialects of Sicily or Sardinia. Theoretical frameworks include classical generative phonology, (early) Optimality Theory, derivational constraint and repair models, moraic phonology and feature-based models. The collection resembles a who's who of Italian phonology, in that it gathers together work from many important established and upcoming scholars in the field.