THE SYLLABLE
Group 4: Nguyễn Thị Kiều Tiên – 1757010250
Võ Thiên Trang – 1757010262
AGENDA
• The nature of the syllable
• The structure of the syllable
• Syllable division
1. The nature of the syllable
• It may be defined both phonetically and
phonologically.
• Phonetic ground:
A centre with has little or no obstruction to
airflow and which sounds comparatively loud.
Before and after this centre, there will be
greater obstructions to airflow and less loud sound.
i) Minimum syllable is a single vowel in isolation
‘are’ ɑ: ‘or’ ɔ:
ii) Some syllables have an onset (one or more consonant
preceding the centre)
‘key’ kiː ‘more’ mɔː
iii) Some syllables have a coda (one or more consonant at
the end)
‘am’ æm ‘ought’ ɔːt
iv) Some syllables have both onset and coda
‘ran’ ræn ‘sat’ sæt
• Phonological ground:
the possible combinations of English
phonemes.
the word can begin with a vowel, or with
one, two or three consonants.
‘or’ ɔ: ‘key’ kiː ‘play’ pleɪ ‘spread’ spred
the word can end with a vowel, or with one,
two, three or four consonants.
‘no’ nəʊ ‘not’ nɒt ‘think’ θɪŋk
‘next’ nekst ‘prompts’ prɒmpts
2. The structure of the syllable
a. Onset
• The first syllable begins with a vowel: zero onset
‘aim’ eɪm
• The syllable begins with one consonant: initial consonant
‘can’ kæn
• The syllables begin with two or more consonants: consonant
cluster
• Syllables begin with two consonants (two-consonant
clusters):
s (pre-initial) + one from a small set of consonants
(initial): ‘speak’ spiːk
one of about fifteen consonants (initial) + one of the
set l, r, w, j (post-initial): ‘smile’ smaɪl
s (pre-initial / initial) + one of the set l, r, w, j (initial /
post initial): ‘slang’ slæŋ
• Syllables begin with three consonants (three-
consonant clusters):
s (pre-initial) + one of the set p, t, f, k (initial) + one of the
set l, r, w (post-initial)
‘spring’ sprɪŋ
‘sphragide’ sfreɪdʒaɪd
‘sphragistics’ sfrəʤɪstɪks
‘sphrigosis’ sfrɪʤəʊsɪs
2. The structure of the syllable
b. Coda:
• No final consonant: zero coda
• One final consonant of any consonant except h,
w, j: final consonant
‘can’ kæn
‘spread’ spred
Final two-consonant clusters
Final consonant preceded by a pre-final consonant.
The pre-final consonants form a small set: m, n, ŋ, l, s. We
can see these in
Bump /bʌmp/
Bent /bent/
Bank /bæŋk/
belt /belt/
Ask /ɑːsk/
Final two-consonant clusters
Final consonant followed by a post-final consonant,
The post-final consonants also form a small set: s, z, t, d, θ,
example words are:
Bets /bets/
Beds /bedz/
Backed /bækt/
Bagged /bæɡd/
Eighth /eɪtθ/
Final three-consonant clusters
The first is pre-final plus final plus post-final,
as set out in the following table.
Final three-consonant clusters
The second type is Final plus post-final 1 plus post-
final 2. Post-final 2 is again one of s, z, t, d, θ.
Final four-consonant clusters
Most four-consonant clusters: a final consonant
preceded by a pre-final and followed by post-final 1
and post-final 2, as shown below:
Final four-consonant clusters
A small number of cases seem to require a different
analysis
The structure of the English syllable
The structure of the English syllable
Syllable
rhyme
onset
peak coda
Syllable division
An unanswered question: how we decide on the division
between syllables?
Consonant(s) at the end of one word + consonant(s) at
the beginning of the following word
Walked through /wɔːkt θruː /
ktθr
Syllable division
extra
1. [Link]ə
2. [Link]ə
3. [Link]ə
4. ekst.rə
5. ekstr.ə
Syllable division
Maximal onsets principle: any consonant between them
should be attached to the right-hand syllable (as far as
possible).
Morning mɔːn.ɪŋ mɔː.nɪŋ
Syllable division
extra
1. [Link]ə kstr is not a possible onset
2. [Link]ə
3. [Link]ə
4. ekst.rə
5. ekstr.ə kstr is not a possible coda
Syllable division
Better be.tə bet.ə
Carry kæ.ri kær.i
Ambisyllabic
Thank you
for listening!
