Reduplication in Bilua, a Papuan Language of the Solomon Islands

Abstract

This paper examines the morpho-phonological features of reduplication in Bilua, a Papuan language spoken in the Solomon Islands. It presents a formal analysis of Bilua reduplication following the Optimality Theory framework. It is argued that reduplicants conform to the Prosodic Word-Restrictor Constraints in copying the minimal prosodic word in Bilua, a bi-moraic foot left-aligned with the base. It is also argued that syllable unmarkedness of the reduplicant follows from the ranking of the markedness constraints NO-CODA and *COMPLEX over MAX-BR.