--- In qalam@yahoogroups.com, "Peter T. Daniels" <grammatim@...>
wrote:

> suzmccarth wrote:
> >
> > > > I do notice however that most Indic language sites refer to

the

> > > > syllable as the basic unit - often what is referred to as a

letter

> > > > or character is actually a syllable, this is the basic

element.

> > >
> > > An aksara doesn't necessarily represent a syllable; it

represents any

> > > number of consonants plus a vowel, but not CVC. All syllable-

final

> > > consonants are attached to the initial consonant of the next

syllable.

> > > --
> > > Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...
> >
> > Aren't (C)(C)CV still syllables? On the other hand can you tell me
> > if aksara boundaries and morpheme boundaries conflict in Tamil? I
> > guess I wouldn't want to represent "pro-tec-ted" by these three
> > syllables or "mi-stake" by these two syllables.
>
> Maybe CCCV can be a syllable in some language or other, but in

Indic or

> Dravidian? No akshara can represent a closed syllable CVC.
>
> The syllables of the English word are pro-tec-ted, but in an Indic
> script it's written <pro-te-cte-d>. Thus aksharas don't necessarily
> correspond to syllables.

Now I am really puzzled since Cree would have a similar syllable
structure <ma-si-na-hi-ka-n> simple CV <a-s-pi-ta-s-ko-pi-so-n> and
CV with final /s/ and final /n/ using a "final". The system is
composed of syllabics for open syllables and finals (plus a couple of
featural signs not always used)They certainly call their system
syllabic even though Naskapi has a different structure in the spoken
language.

> --
> Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...