Abstract
In this paper I am going to argue that Pre-Latin and Proto-Romance shared the same syllable structure and that Classical Latin was innovative. I believe both Pre-Latin and Proto-Romance had the syllable structure VC$CV and that in the case of certain consonant clusters, this shifted in Classical Latin to become V$CCV in order to improve the syllabic contact. Thus it is from this Proto-Romance and Pre-Latin syllable structure that the modem Romance languages are derived and on which some important later phonological processes are based.
Refereed
Yes
