This book looks at the range of possible syllables in human languages. The syllable is a central notion in phonology, yet basic questions about it remain poorly understood and phonologists are divided on even the most elementary issues. For example, the word city has been syllabified as ci-ty (the 'maximal onset' analysis), cit-y (the 'no-open-lax-V' analysis), and cit-ty (the 'geminate C' analysis).

San Duanmu explores and clarifies these and many other related issues through an in-depth analysis of the entire lexicons of several languages. Some languages, such as Standard and...