A grammar of Pite Saami, 2014

2.2 Multisyllabic word structure
2.2.2.2 Foot onset
Foot onset position is the first consonant or consonant cluster of a foot. It is not
obligatorily filled. In Saamic linguistics, this has typically been referred to as the
‘initium’ (cf. Sammallahti 1998: 39).
2.2.2.3 V1
V1 is the first vowel of a foot, and is the peak of the stress-carrying syllable for
the foot. It can be long or short, and can be a monophthong or a diphthong. The
vowel in the final V1 position 3 of a word is the location for umlaut and ablaut/jharmony
(cf. §4.1.2.2 and §4.1.2.3). In Saamic linguistics, this has been referred
to as the ‘vowel center’ (cf. Sammallahti 1998: 39).
2.2.2.4 The consonant center
The consonant center is the consonant or consonants that follow V1 (the initial
vowel) and precede V2 (the second vowel), and essentially form the core of a foot.
Every foot has a consonant center. The final consonant segment of the consonant
center is the onset of the second syllable due to syllabification (cf. §2.2.3). The
final consonant center of a word is the location for consonant gradation. The
term ‘consonant center’ is commonly used in Saami linguistics (cf. Sammallahti
1998: 39).
2.2.2.5 V2
V2 is the second vowel of a foot. It never carries stress. Every foot has a vowel
in this position. With the exception of the diphthong phoneme /u͡a/, all vowel
phonemes are attested here. In Saamic linguistics, this has been referred to as
the ‘latus’ (cf. Sammallahti 1998: 39).
2.2.2.6 C2
C2 is the consonant or consonants following V2. It is not obligatorily filled. If
it is followed by a V3, then its final segment is resyllabified as the onset of the
following syllable. In Saamic linguistics, this has also been referred to as the
‘consonant margin’ (cf. Sammallahti 1998: 39).
3 Only words of four or more syllables can have more than one V1 position.
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