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parameters of sonority within consonant clusters and of nucleus complexity did not
provide reasonable means of typologizing languages.
Length contrasts, which have been discussed as a defining property of
mora-based rhythm, show a rather erratic distribution across the languages of our
sample. Phonemic length in vowel inventories has been documented for ten languages,
co-occurring with almost any combination of the other phonological parameters of
linguistic rhythm discussed so far. Such contrasts in vowels and, at the same time, in
consonants are reported for otherwise prototypically stress-based languages like
Maltese, but also for West Greenlandic, Tamil and Finnish. It seems therefore possible
that length contrasts in vowels and consonants can appear in languages with any value
for the parameters of phonetic correlates of stress, segmental effect of stress and syllable
complexity. However, some languages behave as prototypical representatives of
mora-based rhythm. The clearest case is West Greenlandic, a language which has no
stress and no segmental effects of stress, a low degree of syllable complexity and length
contrasts in vowels and consonants. The same could be said about Tamil, since it
exhibits weak stress, no segmental effects of stress, a moderate degree of syllable
complexity and phonemic length in vowels and consonants.
With respect to the morphophonological parameters of the rhythm-based
typology of language introduced in 3.2., we already noted the erratic distribution of the
various relevant processes over the languages in our sample. The only generalization
which can be drawn on this level of analysis is that assimilations across consonant and
vowel clusters are only possible in languages whose phonotactics allow such clusters.
Accordingly, Maori and Yoruba, which both lack consonant clusters due to their simple
CV phonotactics, do not exhibit assimilations. Languages such as Kayardild, Georgian
and Tamil will not show assimilation processes across vowels, since their respective
phonotactics do not permit vowel clusters. However, even in the presence of clusters,
there is no need to assimilate across the individual segments of a cluster. Mandarin
Chinese phonotactics allow consonant clusters; nevertheless there are no rules of
consonant assimilation across such clusters. Similarly, Catalan, which exhibits vowel
clusters, has no rules of vowel assimilation across such clusters. A similar case could be
made with respect to cluster resolution. When the phonotactics of a language prohibit
such clusters from resulting in morphophonological processes, there will be no cluster
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