Introduction

Chapter 9 analyzed syllable structure requirements in Ponapean, a distributional problem. We shift the lens in this chapter, focusing instead on an alternation problem. Specifically we consider epenthesis, a type of phonological process that inserts segments not present in the input. On the surface, it appears that epenthesis can be analyzed without reference to syllable structure. We show here that an understanding of syllable structure can reveal the cause of epenthesis as well as help us understand and predict the epenthesis site. The phenomenon we choose to illustrate epenthesis here is taken from Ponapean, which has a productive process of vowel epenthesis. We select Ponapean partially because its epenthesis is related to the syllable structure requirements and partially because it creates continuity, allowing us to build on and extend the understanding of Ponapean syllable structures developed in Chapter 9.

This chapter has four objectives. First, it introduces a new phonological phenomenon – epenthesis – and develops your understanding of epenthesis. Second, starting with the first chapter on Kikuyu vowel sequencing, we hinted that the distributional restrictions play a significant role in alternation. This chapter continues this theme and develops your understanding of how important a role the distributional properties of Ponapean syllables play in epenthesis. Third, this chapter presents and compares three different analyses of epenthesis. This presentation develops your understanding of the history and development in our thinking about epenthesis from a segment-driven phenomenon to a syllable-driven process. This development has resulted in the rejection of the rule and templatic approaches and the adoption of a constraint-based view of epenthesis introduced in Chapter 11. Finally, this chapter strengthens your ability to develop and evaluate competing analyses of the same phenomenon.