This dissertation covers glides and high vowels that appear within syllables in Korean. The maximal type of Korean syllable is [CGVC]sigma where 'G' stands for a glide. When segments are syllabified, nucleus position is filled first, then onset, and then coda. The on-glide occurs under both onset and nucleus; it occurs under onset when it is a syllable-initial glide (i.e., [G[V]N(C)]sigma), whereas it forms a complex nucleus with the following vowel when there is a preceding tautosyllabic consonant (i.e., [C[GV]N(C)]sigma). This phenomenon is also found in Spanish (Harris and Kaisse 1999) and Slovak (Rubach 1998).; I also provide phonetic analyses of [w] and [h]. In the literature of Korean phonology, many researchers assume that [wi] and [we] are in free variation with [y] and [o], respectively. However, the results from the phonetic experiments I conducted do not agree with this; [y] and [o] are not found in-the experiment since all of the tokens examined have F2 transitions, which is typical for diphthongs; [h] appears between a tautosyllabic consonant and a front vowel whereas the [w] appears elsewhere. Based on these findings I claim that /w/ becomes [h] between a tautosyllabic consonant and a front vowel within a syllable.; I also discuss that there is a lexical distinction between underlying high vocoids (i.e., [+high, -consonantal] segments in underlying representation (UR)) in Korean; some are marked for syllabicity in the UR whereas others are unmarked. The lexically marked ones are always realized as high vowels, hence occur under nucleus. The unmarked ones may be realized as glides or high vowels depending on their positions within a syllable. This phenomenon is also found in Berber (Guerssel 1986) and Spanish (Harris and Kaisse 1999).; I also discuss how the underlying stem-final segment of Korean p-irregular predicates is realized within a syllable. I propose that the phonological representation for this is [+lab, -cons] in the UR and realized as [u] under nucleus, [w] under onset, or [p] under coda with change of [-cons] to [+cons]. The similar alternation among consonants, glides, and vowels is also found in German (Hall 1990) and Sliamon (Blake 1992).
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