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Q5-Syllable in Phonology

This document provides information about syllables in phonology. Some key points: - Words can be divided into units called syllables, which consist of a single uninterrupted sound. Syllables help segment speech into a rhythm of strong and weak beats. - Syllables have parts including the onset (initial consonant(s)), nucleus (vowel sound), and coda (final consonant(s)). Not all syllables have all parts. - Syllables are described as open (ending in a vowel) or closed (ending with a consonant coda). Consonant clusters can occur in onsets and codas. - In some cases, consonants like /l/, /

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84 views20 pages

Q5-Syllable in Phonology

This document provides information about syllables in phonology. Some key points: - Words can be divided into units called syllables, which consist of a single uninterrupted sound. Syllables help segment speech into a rhythm of strong and weak beats. - Syllables have parts including the onset (initial consonant(s)), nucleus (vowel sound), and coda (final consonant(s)). Not all syllables have all parts. - Syllables are described as open (ending in a vowel) or closed (ending with a consonant coda). Consonant clusters can occur in onsets and codas. - In some cases, consonants like /l/, /

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saqib
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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SYLLABLE IN

PHONOLOGY
By: yahya choy

Words can be cut up into units called syllables.


Syllable is a unit of spoken language consisting of a

single uninterrupted sound.


Humans seem to need syllables as a way of segmenting

the stream of speech and giving it a rhythm of strong and


weak beats.
Syllables exist only to make speech easier for the brain to

process.
A word contains at least one syllable.

Determine how many syllables are in the following


words:
Emily
Trevor
Suzy
Restroom
Recess
Book
Environment

Syllables and their parts


The parts are onset and rhyme; within the rhyme

we find the nucleus and coda.


Not all syllables have all parts; the smallest

possible syllable contains a nucleus only.


A syllable may or may not have an onset and a

coda.

Onset (O)
Onset: the beginning sounds of the syllable; the

ones preceding the nucleus.


These are always consonants in English. The
nucleus is a vowel in most cases, although the
consonants [ r ], [ l ], [ m ], [ n ], and the velar
nasal (the 'ng' sound) can also be the nucleus of
a syllable.

Rhyme (R)
Rhyme (or rime): the rest of the syllable, after the

onset (the underlined portions of the words


above). The rhyme can also be divided up:

Rhyme = nucleus + coda

Nucleus (N)
is the core or essential part of a syllable. A

nucleus must be present in order for a syllable to


be present.
In English and most other languages, most
syllable nuclei are vowels.
The English liquids [ r l ] and the nasals [ m n ]
can be the nuclei of syllables under certain
conditions. [ r ] can be a nucleus as easily as a
vowel, in any position: the words 'bird', have [ r ]
as the nucleus; in other words, there is no vowel
in the pronunciation of these syllables, even
though they have one in the spelling.
[brd]

[ l ] and the nasals [ m n ] become syllable nuclei

when they follow an alveolar consonant in the last


syllable of a word. This happens in the relaxed or
casual rather than very formal articulation of the
word. Compare casual vs. formal pronunciations
of 'button', 'bottle', 'bottom'.

Coda (C)
Coda is the ending sound of the syllable, the

ones preceding the nucleus.


These are always consonants in English.
Onsets are strongly preferred over codas
Consonants in codas are weakened: think of what
happens to r in many English dialects (car [kaa]
versus red). Coda consonants are much longer.
They affect stress patterns.

Linguists often use tree diagrams to illustrate

syllable structure. 'Flop', for example, would look


like this (the word appears in IPA symbols, not
English spelling). 's' = 'syllable'; 'O' = 'onset'; 'R' =
'rhyme'; 'N' = 'nucleus'; 'C' = 'coda'.
The syllable node at the top of the tree branches
into Onset and Rhyme; the Onset node branches
because it contains two consonants, [ f ] and [ l ].
The Rhyme node branches because this syllable
has both a nucleus and a coda.

/ \
O R
/\ / \
| | NC
| | | |
[f l a p]

Steps to determine the diagram:


a.

Determine the nucleus (N)

b.

Add Rhyme ( R ) on the ordinate of the nucleus

c.

Determine the onset (O) and the coda (C).

If a syllable has the coda, it is called as closed syllable


Example : cap, sit, man
If a syllable doesnt have the coda it is called as open
syllable.
Example : he, she, me

Draw, the syllable structure of the following words:


apron
basic
began
begin
depend
even
hotel

Syllables and Clusters


A syllable must contain a vowel or a vowel-like sound.
The most common type of syllable in a language has a

consonant as well.
When describing syllables:

C = consonant
V = vowel

Coda, onset and nucleus


syllable
onset
(optional)
one or more
consonants

rhyme
Nucleus
(not optional)
vowel

coda
(optional)
one or more
consonants

syllables

open syllables
Syllables which end
in a vowel and
no coda

closed syllables
syllables which
end in a coda
consonants

Consonant clusters:
both the onset and the coda can consist of more that one
consonant

e.g. green (CCVC)


street (CCCVC)
post (CVCC)

Syllabic consonants
Sometimes when a vowel is elided a consonant

can become a syllabic nucleus.


Only a consonant in the coda can become a
syllabic nucleus.
Only the following actual consonants can become
syllabic nuclei:
/l m n/

Syllables and stress


Some syllables are more prominent than others.
These are termed stressed syllables.
Stress is related to the location of a syllable in a word.

Exercise
Which is the stressed syllable in the following words?
income
stupid
induce
Phantom

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