Application of sonority theory in standard Albanian

The Sonority Theory, which is the fundamental model in syllabification, has been one of the most researched theories for more than a century. Although this theory has been treated by Albanian linguists, it is necessary that a few supplementations and precisions be made. Through this paper, we intend to provide a more comprehensive view of this theory and its mechanisms in Standard Albanian. The aim of this paper was to prove that the sonority theory is applicable to the standard Albanian, because the interviewed students were its native speakers. The object of this paper were bi-consonantal clusters, that are numerous in Albanian. Based in the material comprised in the Dictionary of Present-Day Albanian (1980) we explored bi-consonantal clusters appearing in onsets and codas, which were classified into three kinds: a) consonant clusters in full compliance with the sonority sequencing principle, b) consonant clusters that violate the sonority sequencing principle, and c) consonant clusters that have the same scale of sonority. From the undertaken analysis, conclusions were drawn as to the dispersion of sounds in the onset and coda for the syllable model of standard Albanian, and suggestions were given according to the orthography of some words with consonantal clusters that violate the sonority principle.