Editing Shilha language (section)

=== Syllable structure ===
Shilha syllable structure has been the subject of a detailed and highly technical discussion by phoneticians. The issue was whether Shilha does or does not have vowelless syllables. According to John Coleman, syllables which are vowelless on the phonemic level have "schwa" serving as vocalic nucleus on the phonetic level. According to Rachid Ridouane on the other hand, Shilha's apparently vowelless syllables are truly vowelless, with all phonemes, vowels as well as consonants, capable of serving as nucleus. The discussion is summed up in Ridouane (2008, with listing of relevant publications), where he conclusively demonstrates that a perfectly ordinary Shilha phrase such as {{Lang|shi-latn|tkkst stt}} "you took it away" indeed consists of three vowelless syllables [tk.ks.tst:.], each made up of voiceless consonants only, and with voiceless consonants (not "schwa") serving as nucleus. Many definitions of the syllable that have been put forward do not cover the syllables of Shilha.<ref>For example, "Syllable: A phonological unit consisting of a vowel or other unit that can be produced in isolation, either alone or accompanied by one or more less sonorous units" (P.H. Matthews, ''Oxford concise dictionary of linguistics'', Second Edition, Oxford: OUP, 2007). See also [[Syllable]], which contains references to other languages with vowelless syllables.</ref>

==== Syllable types ====
The syllable structure of Shilha was first investigated by Dell and Elmedlaoui in a seminal article (1985). They describe how syllable boundaries can be established through what they call "core syllabification". This works by associating a nucleus with an onset, to form a core syllable CV or CC. Segments that are higher on the sonority scale have precedence over those lower on the scale in forming the nucleus in a core syllable, with vowels and semivowels highest on the scale, followed by liquids and nasals, voiced fricatives, voiceless fricatives, voiced stops and voiceless stops. When no more segments are available as onsets, the remaining single consonants are assigned as coda to the preceding core syllable, but if a remaining consonant is identical to the consonant that is the onset of the following syllable, it merges with it to become a long consonant. A morpheme boundary does not necessarily constitute a syllable boundary.

{{interlinear|lang=shi-latn|number=ex:
|ddan s yaw wurti kcmn iss ad ccin tazart d waḍil
|they.went to one EA-orchard they.enter into-it to- they.eat EL-figs with EA-grapes
|"they went to an orchard and entered it to eat figs and grapes"}}

{| class="wikitable"
!
| {{mono|ddan s yaw wurti kcmn iss ad ccin tazart d waḍil}}
|-
! Core syllabification
| {{mono|d{{color|#09c|da}}{{color|#9c3|n s}} {{color|#09c|ya}}w {{color|#9c3|wu}}r{{color|#09c|ti}} k{{color|#9c3|cm}}{{color|#09c|n i}}s{{color|#9c3|s a}}{{color|#09c|d c}}{{color|#9c3|ci}}n {{color|#09c|ta}}{{color|#9c3|za}}r{{color|#09c|t d}} {{color|#9c3|wa}}{{color|#09c|ḍi}}l}}
|-
! Coda assignment:
| {{mono|{{color|#09c|d:a}}{{color|#9c3|n s}} {{color|#09c|ya}} {{color|#9c3|w:ur}}{{color|#09c|ti k}}{{color|#9c3|cm}}{{color|#09c|n i}}{{color|#9c3|s: a}}{{color|#09c|d c}}{{color|#9c3|cin}} {{color|#09c|ta}}{{color|#9c3|zar}}{{color|#09c|t d}} {{color|#9c3|wa}}{{color|#09c|ḍil}} }}
|}

Comparative diagram of the following:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|- style="font-size:85%"
!
! colspan="28" |Example of Phonological Processes in Shilha
|-
!Gloss of text
| colspan="3" | they.went
| to
| colspan="2" |one
| colspan="3" | EA-orchard
| colspan="3" |they.enter
| colspan="3" |into-it
| colspan="2" |to-
| colspan="3" |they.eat
| colspan="4" |EL-figs
|with
| colspan="3" |EA-grapes
|-
!Shilha text
| colspan="3" | ddan
|  s|| colspan="2" | yaw|| colspan="3" |  wurti|| colspan="3" | kcmn|| colspan="3" |iss
| colspan="2" |ad
| colspan="3" |ccin
| colspan="4" |tazart
|d
| colspan="3" |waḍil
|-
!Core Syll
|d
| (da)
| colspan="2" |(ns)
|(ya)
|w
| (wu)
| r
| (ti)
| k
|(cm)
| colspan="2" |(ni)
|s
| colspan="2" |(sa)
| colspan="2" |(dc)
|(ci)
|n
|(ta)
|(za)
|r
| colspan="2" |(td)
|(wa)
|(ḍi)
|l
|-
!Coda Assgn.
| colspan="2" | (d:a)
| colspan="2" |(ns)
| (ya)
| colspan="3" |(w:ur)
| colspan="2" | (tik)
| (cm)
| colspan="2" |(ni)
| colspan="3" |(s:a)
| colspan="2" |(dc)
| colspan="2" |(cin)
|(ta)
| colspan="2" |(zar)
| colspan="2" |(td)
|(wa)
| colspan="2" |(ḍil)
|-
!English trans
| colspan="28" |"they went to an orchard and entered it to eat figs and grapes"
|}Application of core syllabification produces the following Shilha syllable types:

{| class="wikitable" border='1'
|-
|width="80"|C V
|width="80"|C: V
|width="80"|
|width="80"|
|-
|C V C
|C: V C
|C V C:
|C: V C:
|-
|C C
|C: C
|C C:
|C: C:
|-
|C C C
|C: C C
|C C C:
|C: C C:
|}

Shilha syllable structure can be represented succinctly by the formula {{Not a typo|CX(C)}}, in which C is any consonant (single/long), and X is any vowel or consonant (single) and with the restriction that in a syllable CXC the X, if it is a consonant, cannot be higher on the resonance scale than the syllable-final consonant, that is, syllables such as [tsk.] and [wrz.] are possible, but not *[tks.] and *[wzr.].

Exceptional syllables of the types X (vowel or single/long consonant) and {{Not a typo|V(C)}} (vowel plus single/long consonant) occur in utterance-initial position:
:{{Lang|shi-latn|rgl t}} [r.glt.] "close it!" (syllable C)
:{{Lang|shi-latn|ffɣat}} [f:.ɣat.] "go out!" (syllable C:)
:{{Lang|shi-latn|awi t id}} [a.wi.tid.] "bring it here!" (syllable V)
:{{Lang|shi-latn|acki d}} [ac.kid.] "come here!" (syllable VC)
Another exceptional syllable type, described by Dell and Elmedlaoui (1985), occurs in utterance-final position, when a syllable of the type CC or CC: is "annexed" to a preceding syllable of the type CV or C:V, for example {{Lang|shi-latn|fssamt}} "be silent!" is [fs.samt.] not *[fs.sa.mt.].

Since any syllable type may precede or follow any other type, and since any consonant can occur in syllable-initial or final position, there are no phonotactical restrictions on consonant sequences. This also means that the concept of the consonant cluster is not applicable in Shilha phonology, as any number of consonants may occur in sequence:

{{interlinear|lang=shi-latn|number=ex:
|frḥɣ s lmɛrft nnk
|I.am.glad by.means.of the.acquaintance of.you
|"I'm glad to make your acquaintance"}}

:[fr.ḥɣs.lm.ɛrf.tn.nk.] (6 syllables, 14 consonants, no vowels)

==== Metrics ====
The metrics of traditional Shilha poems, as composed and recited by itinerant bards ({{Lang|shi-latn|inḍḍamn}}), was first described and analyzed by Hassan Jouad (thesis 1983, book 1995; see also Dell and Elmedlaoui 2008). The traditional metrical system confirms the existence of vowelless syllables in Shilha, and Jouad's data have been used by Dell and Elmedlaoui, and by Ridouane to support their conclusions.

The metrical system imposes the following restrictions:
*each line in a poem contains the same number of syllables as all the other lines
*each syllable in a line contains the same number of segments as its counterpart in other lines
*each line contains one particular syllable that must begin or end with a voiced consonant
*each line is divided into feet, with the last syllable in each foot stressed ("lifted") in recitation
Within these restrictions, the poet is free to devise his own metrical form. This can be recorded in a meaningless formula called {{Lang|shi-latn|talalayt}} which shows the number and the length of the syllables, as well as the place of the obligatory voiced consonant (Jouad lists hundreds of such formulae).

The system is illustrated here with a quatrain ascribed to the semi-legendary Shilha poet [[Hemmou Talb|Sidi Ḥammu]] (fl. 18th century) and published by Amarir (1987:64):
{{Poem quote|text={{Lang|shi-latn|a titbirin a tumlilin a timgraḍ
ab bahra wr takkamt i lxla hann lbaz
igan bu tassrwalt ig lxatm ɣ uḍaḍ
ak k°nt yut ukan iɣli d ignwan izug}}}}
{{Poem quote|text="O white doves, O pets!
Do not venture into the desert too often, for there is the falcon,
Wearing small trousers; he'll put a ring on [your] finger,
To strike you but once — then he ascends into the sky and is gone!"}}

Application of Dell and Elmedlaoui's core syllabification reveals a regular mosaic of syllables:

{| class="wikitable"
!width="80"|
!width="40"|1
!width="70"|2
!
!width="60"|3
!width="60"|4
!width="60"|5
!width="70"|6
!
!width="60"|7
!width="60"|8
!width="60"|9
!width="60"|10
!
!width="60"|11
!width="70"|12
|-
!Line 1
|a
|t í t
|
|b i
|r i
|n a
|t ú m
|
|l i
|l i
|n a
|t í
|
|m g
|r á ḍ
|-
!Line 2
|a
|b: á h
|
|r a
|w r
|t a
|k: á m
|
|t i
|l x
|l a
|h á
|
|n: l
|b á z
|-
!Line 3
|i
|g á n
|
|b u
|t a
|s: r
|w á l
|
|t i
|g l
|x a
|t ḿ
|
|ɣ u
|ḍ á ḍ
|-
!Line 4
|a
|k°: ń t
|
|y u
|t u
|k a
|n í ɣ
|
|l i
|d i
|g n
|w á
|
|n i
|z ú g
|}

The poem is composed in a metre listed by Jouad (1995:283) and exemplified by the formula {{Lang|shi-latn|a láy}}, {{Lang|shi-latn|la li la láy}}, {{Lang|shi-latn|la li la lá}}, {{Lang|shi-latn|li lád}} (the {{Lang|shi-latn|d}} in the last syllable indicates the position of the compulsory voiced consonant).