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Lesson Six

The document defines and provides examples of syllables from both a phonetic and phonological perspective. Phonetically, a syllable has a nucleus that allows airflow and consonants before and after that restrict airflow. Phonologically, a syllable contains at least one vowel and can have up to three consonants before (onset) and four after (coda). The document then lists 21 possible syllable structures in English using phonetic transcriptions and examples.

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26 views4 pages

Lesson Six

The document defines and provides examples of syllables from both a phonetic and phonological perspective. Phonetically, a syllable has a nucleus that allows airflow and consonants before and after that restrict airflow. Phonologically, a syllable contains at least one vowel and can have up to three consonants before (onset) and four after (coda). The document then lists 21 possible syllable structures in English using phonetic transcriptions and examples.

Uploaded by

ranoucharaoui
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Syllable

I. Definition of a Syllable

Vowels and consonants could be distinguished on phonetic grounds [in

relation to how much they obstruct the airflow], and on phonological grounds

[vowels and consonants having different distributions, i.e., vowels are central

elements and consonants are marginal]. We find a similar situation with the syllable

in that it may be defined both phonetically and phonologically.

 Phonetic Definition:

There are no satisfactory purely phonetic definitions of the syllable; syllables

are usually described as consisting of a centre, which has no obstruction to the

airflow, and which sounds comparatively loud; before and after the centre [that is at

the beginning and the end of the syllable] there will be greater obstruction to the

airflow and /or sound less loud.

 Phonological Definition:

A syllable is a phonological unit composed of one or more phonemes. Every

syllable has a nucleus which is usually a vowel. The nucleus may be preceded by

zero up to three consonants called the onset and followed by zero up to four

consonants called the coda or termination.


The combination of Nucleus and Coda is referred to as Rhyme or Rime.

 Examples

 What might be called a Minimum syllable would be a single

vowel inisolation.

Examples: are , or , I (these are preceded and followed by silence)

 Some syllables have an onset and a

nucleus.Examples: car , key , for

 Some Syllables may have no onset but a termination or a coda.

Examples: am, ought , ease

 Some syllables may have onset, nucleus and coda

Examples: run, feel , sit, late .................. etc.

NB: The number of syllables in a word is determined by the number of

pronounced vowels. Transcription makes it easy.

 Monosyllable: (a Monosyllabic word) a word which contains

one syllable,for example: some, do, hat.


 Polysyllable: (a Polysyllabic word) a word which contains more

than one syllable, for example: story, history, Phonetics,

university.

 Syllabification: is the division of a word into syllables.

 Onset: is the opening segment of a syllable, it may be simple or

complex,and may not occur in all syllables.

 Nucleus: is the core segment of a syllable -typically but not exclusively-.

 Coda: is the closing segment of a syllable. It may be simple

or complex and may not occur in all syllables.

 Phoneme: is the smallest unit of a sound that can differentiate

one wordfrom another. It makes lexical distinctions.

II. Structure of the Syllable in English

English is known by the complexity of its syllable structure, which can be


summarized in the following formula:
V
Twenty one different syllable structures can be derived from the above formula;
they are grouped in the following table:

Syllable Structure Word Transcription


V I /aɪ/
CV key /ki:/
CCV tree /tri:/
CCCV spree /spri:/
VC at /ӕt/
VCC act /ӕkt/
VCCC asks /ɑ:sks/
VCCCC ex.empts /ɪɡ.zempts/
CVC dog /dɒg/
CVCC bald /bɔ:ld/
CVCCC facts /fӕkts/
CCVCCC sculpt /skʌlpt/
CVCCCC texts /teksts/
CCVC speak /spi:k/
CCVCC stamp /stӕmp/
CCVCCC prompt /prɒmpt/
CCVCCCC sculpts /skʌlpts/
CCCVC street /stri:t/
CCCVCC script /skrɪpt/
CCCVCCC scripts /skrɪpts/
CCCVCCCC scrambles /skrӕmbls/

Note: The last consonant in ‘four consonantal codas’ is a bound non-syllabic


morpheme, either /s/ for plural /teksts/ or third person singular (in verbs) /skʌlpts/,
or /t/ and /d/ for past tense /kӕnsld/, /ɡlɪmpst/

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