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Syllabic consonants109The forms in (6) can be realised either with (6b) or without (6a) a syllabicconsonant. In the latter case, unlike the former, the schwa is realisedphonetically. This is a typical situation which is found elsewherein the language (see (5) above). However, when an infinitive (6c) or agentive(6d) vowel-initial suffix is added to such forms the nasal is obligatorilynon-syllabic and non-homorganic. Interestingly enough, the obstruentoccurring before the nasal undergoes devoicing, compare [ze†g®N] vs.[ze†kn-Œ].Let us stop for a moment to take stock of the findings in this section.The general conclusion emerging from both the English and German datais that syllabic consonants are left-branching structures. In both languagesa sonorant spreads to the left and docks on to the nuclear positionoccupied by the schwa. The problem which calls for explanation, however,is the origin of syllabic consonants. To put it differently, we shouldbe able to explain the expansionist behaviour of sonorants and capturethe exact context in which syllabic consonants appear. In the second partof this chapter it will be shown that the solutions available within theframework applied in this book, that is, the Strict CV model, are able togive an explanation for some minor problems accompanying the occurrenceof syllabic consonants. Such problems have been indicated andbriefly discussed in this section, and in the section that follows we shalloutline the problems connected with the remaining structures, i.e. bogusclusters and vowel syncope. Additionally, we have seen that in certaincases the formation of syllabic consonants is accompanied by the progressivenasal assimilation both in German and English. This problemis worth pursuing as it proves difficult especially for Government Phonology.The analysis of the progressive nasal assimilation, along with partialgeminates, will be presented in section 4.2. Moreover, the prospectivesolution should offer a unified explanation of the inconsistent behaviourof sonorants in (6b) and (6c, d) and the obligatory devoicing of theobstruent preceding the non-syllabic consonant (6c, d). Finally, it seemsinteresting to look more deeply at the syllabification of syllabic consonantsin complex consonant sequences. This is especially true in languageswhich allow for at most three-consonant clusters.It follows that in order to find an adequate explanation for the issuesmentioned above, we must look more thoroughly at the behaviour of sonorantsin general, as they play a pivotal role in all the discussed phenomena.This is especially true because the phenomena presented in thefollowing sections, i.e. bogus clusters and vowel syncope, will be shownto also rely on the syllabic ability of sonorants. Moreover, the idea developedin the previous chapter, i.e. the active/passive character of the initialempty CV unit, will help us to explain the impossibility of the word-