Reduplication in Yapese: A case of syllable copying

Reduplication is a productive process in Yapese. It requires a great deal more study than has been made so far (Jensen 1977:110). Jensen observes three different phonological reflexes of reduplication in Yapese (CV-, CVC-, -CVC). The present work holds that a single generalisation describes reduplication in Yapese; namely that the reduplicating affix in Yapese copies the first or last syllable of the stem. Hung (1989:49) asserts that "syllables [in Yapese] must be closed in word-final position; otherwise they must be open." The above description of reduplication directly contradicts this position, and it will be argued, using evidence from reduplication, that closed syllables are permitted in non-final position in Yapese. After outlining the salient features of tier-based approaches to morphology, McCarthy & Prince's (1995) theory of prosodic circumscription is invoked to describe Yapese reduplication. McCarthy & Prince's Minimality Hypothesis predicts that the circumscribed element is at least a minimal word in a given language. Evidence from Yapese shows this hypothesis to be false