skeletal tier

A term used in AUTOSEGMENTAL PHONOLOGY for the TIER where units are represented as CONSONANTS and VOWELS within SYLLABIC STRUCTURE; also known as the CV-tier or skeleton. The intention is to represent information about the length and arrangement of segments independently of their articulatory characteristics. In the original formalization, this tier is specified for the FEATURE [±syllabic], where vowels (V) are [+syllabic] and other units (C) are [−syllabic]; SEGMENTS may also be unspecified (symbolized as X). If these distinctions are interpreted structurally, corresponding to location within the syllable, the C-position is the ONSET (where only non-syllabic material can be found), the V-position is the NUCLEUS (where only syllabic material can be found), and the X-position is the CODA (where either is possible). There are analogous notions in other models of NON-LINEAR PHONOLOGY, e.g. the syllabic representation which forms part of the prosodic HIERARCHY in PROSODIC morphology.