| Resumo: | In many languages, there is a restriction on the minimum prosodic size of a word (McCarthy & Prince 1986). Further, the minimal content word of a language has been equated with the minimal foot allowed in that language. In this vein, certain languages require that every content word either contain at least two moras or two syllables. This minimality requirement corresponds to the claim that feet must be binary under moraic or syllabic analysis (McCarthy & Prince 1993: 90). Nivaĉle presents an interesting case study in this regard. Specifically, in Nivaĉle, what is found is that a CVC syllable can stand alone as a word. However, because in the present analysis it is argued that there is no independent prosodic evidence for coda consonants (other than /ʔ/) being moraic, a Nivaĉle CVC word does not meet the bimoraic constraint. Nor, clearly, does a CVC word meet the bisyllabic constraint. It is proposed nonetheless that CVC in Nivaĉle, despite being monomoraic and monosyllabic, constitutes a Minimal Word and functions also as a minimal well-formed foot.
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