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Abstract

Syllable is one of the most intuitional units of language that has been studied for a long time, and there has been a lot of discussion on its boundaries. A lot of research has been done on this topic in Italian language as well. In this paper the elements that can occur either at the onset, peak and coda of the syllable in Italian are discussed. There is a dominant tendency
towards breaking consonant clusters in order to turn them into smaller syllables. The function of liquid consonants, type of vowels and position of
stress should be considered when we want to define the syllable boundaries. The definite articles, prepositions and other elements occuring in the segmental axis prepare the ground for breaking consonant clusters which are in initial positions, too. But within words, vowel sequences are usually beneficial in breaking clusters.

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