Abstract
Based on a non-linear framework of phonology, this article claims that English Vowel Lengthening is due to the reshaping of syllable structures which result from the affixation of certain types of suffixes. The paper also seeks to establish a general principle that governs different types of English Vowel Lengthening that have hitherto been considered distinct processes. Introducing the idea of Rime-Onset Alternation Principle, it is shown that vowel lengthening originates from the violation of the wellformedness condition of the syllable sequences.
