Syllable structure in Esperanto as an instantiation of universal phonology

The linguistic discipline of phonology is underrepresented within the field of Esperanto studies. Most grammatical work concentrates on syntax and morphology, but the sound structure is ignored in many works on the grammatical structure of the language. A serious monograph discussing the most relevant aspects is yet to be written. One of the reasons for the relative lack of interest may be the fact that at first sight Esperanto does not have the type of phonological system that would excite phonologists. One of the official sixteen rules of Esperanto phonology (rule number 9, Kalocsay & Waringhien 1985:19) is: 'Every word is read aloud as it is written'. This statement is of course rather informal. If we translate it into the terminology of modern phonology, we could say that phonological elements do not alternate or get deleted: the orthographic representation gives us underlying structure and surface structure at the same time.