phoentics / phonology : r . goedemans , weightless segments new from holland academic graphics rob goedemans weightless segments a phonetic and phonological study concerning the metrical irrelevance of syllable onsets weightless segments deals with a specific question that arises when we regard the stress rules of quantity-sensitive languages . in these languages , vowels and coda consonants can , by virtue of their presence or absence , influence the weight of the syllable , and thus , indirectly , the location of word stress . it is common knowledge that onset consonants do not have this capacity . the question that this book , researched within the laboratory phonology framework , tries to answer is why . a phonetic explanation for the weightless behaviour of syllable onsets is sought in the durational behaviour of onset , nucleus and coda . assuming that duration is the primary phonetic correlate of phonological weight , an asymmetry in the durational behaviour of these subsyllabic constituents might explain the observed differences in potential weight . a series of production and perception experiments was conducted to reveal this asymmetry , and to explain it . a further task that is undertaken in this book is the reanalysis of a group of , mostly australian aboriginal , languages for which some degree of onset influence in their stress rules has been claimed in the past ( in defiance of the universal rule that onsets do not count ) . in the second part of this book , after a general overview of stress in aboriginal languages , it is shown that these offending languages can all be reanalysed without any reference to onset influence whatsoever . contents : 1 . introduction 2 . onset durations in production experiments 3 . the perception of syllabic duration 4 . exploratory psychophysics 5 . the role of onsets in stress rules 6 . two case studies 7 . conclusions 1998 . viii + 262 pp . isbn : 90 5569 052 x . paperback . [ lot international series 9 . hil / leiden university dissertation . ] price for individuals ordering directly from the publisher : nlg 42 . 00 ( excl . vat and p&p ) . < http : / / www . hagpub . com > holland academic graphics po box 53292 2505 ag the hague the netherlands fax : + 31 70 448 0177