CONSONANT RELEASE AND THE SYLLABLE

Syllable-boundary phenomena, particularly the ''_ {C, #}'' rule enviro nment, are the most frequently mentioned evidence for the phonological role of the syllable. Consonant release provides an effective charact erization of the syllable boundary and an increase in explanatory powe r over the unrefined notion ''syllable (boundary).'' Although it remai ns in need of full articulatory rather than acoustic definition, conso nant release yields phonetic burst, a perturbed postconsonantal airstr eam that clarifies voicing and place of articulation contrasts. Nonrel ease naturally leads to neutralization and/or ''weakening.'' Thus for example Quebec French stop nasalization is of unreleased rather than s yllable-final stops, and German devoicing is of unreleased rather than syllable-final obstruents. Consonant release is a necessary feature o f complete allophonic phonetic specification of languages and is perha ps contrastive in some. Other aspects of syllable phonology are better understood in terms of consonant release, such as the maximal onset p rinciple, which maximizes released acoustically marked consonants, and the sonority cycle, which perhaps reflects degrees of releasability b ased upon degrees of openness.