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16 The frameworksion in section 3 below concerning the special status of the word-finalempty nuclei).To sum up the discussion so far, we have seen that the Strict CVmodel views syllable structure as strictly alternating sequences of nonbranchingonsets and non-branching nuclei, hence, there are no branchingconstituents, no rhymes and no codas. In order to clarify the pointsraised above, let us focus on a handful of examples. In (1) we give theStrict CV representation of some traditional structures, namely, closedsyllables (1a), geminates (1b), long vowels (1c), branching onsets (1d),coda-onset contacts (1e) and word-final consonants (1f). The ‘C’ and ‘V’on the melodic tier stand for any consonant and any vowel respectively,the ‘TR’ represents a typical branching onset, that is, an obstruent followedby a sonorant.(1)skeletal tiermelodic tiera.C V C V| | | |C V C Pb.C V C V|C Vc.C V C V|C Vskeletal tiermelodic tierd.C V C V| | | |T P R Ve.C V C V| | | |R P T Vf.C V| |C PThe representations in (1) demonstrate that the traditional branchingonsets are reanalysed as two onsets separated by an empty nucleus (1d).Similarly, coda-onset clusters are represented as two onsets with an emptynucleus in between them (1e). 2 Geminates are interpreted as consistingof two consonantal positions with an intervening empty nucleus (1b). Itmust be emphasised here that despite the extreme segmentation of thesyllable structure, the structural information of the traditional approachesis preserved in the Strict CV model. For instance, as will be mentionedin section 3 below, certain phenomena like, for example, devoicingor lenition, occur word-finally and before consonants and hence fall underthe uniform description ‘coda’. In the Strict CV approach, these phenomenaare referred to as occurring before a governed empty nucleus.The superiority of the latter statement over the former one lies in the2It is crucial for any theory of syllable structure to recognise the difference betweenbranching onsets and coda-onset contacts. In the Strict CV approach the difference liesin the fact that the former, to the exclusion of the latter, constitutes a domain for theInfrasegmental Government relation, see section 5.1 below.