The Time Structure Model of the Syllable

The syllable serves as a time structure that assigns temporal intervals to consonants, vowels, tones and phonation registers. The alignment of the temporal intervals follows three principles:

1. Co-onset of the initial consonant, the first vowel, the tone and the phonation register at the beginning of the syllable;
2. Sequential offset of all non-initial segments, especially coda C; and
3. Synchrony of laryngeal units (tone and phonation register) with the entire syllable. In each case, again, the temporal interval of a segment is defined as the interval during which its target is approached.