Syllable structure and phonotactics  

 

Does the language have contrastive length on consonants and/or vowels?  

What syllable shapes are permitted in the language? Are onsets obligatory? Are there any combinatorial restrictions on nuclei + coda shapes (e.g. VVC and VCC allowed but VVCC disallowed)?  

Does the language allow coda consonants word-medially and word-finally? Are there any types of consonants that are systematically barred from appearing in coda position?  

If the language has stress, are there differences in attested syllable shapes for stressed and unstressed syllables?  

What kinds of consonant clusters, if any, are allowed in onsets? What clusters, if any, are found in codas? Do they obey the Sonority Sequencing Generalization?  

What diphthongs does the language have (if not addressed earlier in the Vowels section)?  

Are there any restrictions on CV or VC sequences? In other words, can all vowels occur freely in combination with all consonants?  

 

Section 5 and beyond: Phonological processes (main focus: 60% of word count)  

 

Describe any phonological processes and discuss how to analyse them using concepts from phonological theory. Include examples to illustrate each process.