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The Syllable As A Phonetic and Phonological Unit: Types of Syllables. Syllable Patterns. Phonotactics

The document discusses the syllable as both a phonetic and phonological unit. As a phonetic unit, the syllable is defined by articulatory, auditory, and acoustic properties that apply universally across languages. As a phonological unit, the syllable structure is defined by the rules of individual languages. There are four main types of syllables defined by the position of consonants relative to the vowel: open, closed, covered, and uncovered. Syllable patterns vary between languages, with English having more complex patterns than some others. Phonotactics refer to a language's rules for combining phonemes into syllables.

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Akinai Egemberdieva
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174 views15 pages

The Syllable As A Phonetic and Phonological Unit: Types of Syllables. Syllable Patterns. Phonotactics

The document discusses the syllable as both a phonetic and phonological unit. As a phonetic unit, the syllable is defined by articulatory, auditory, and acoustic properties that apply universally across languages. As a phonological unit, the syllable structure is defined by the rules of individual languages. There are four main types of syllables defined by the position of consonants relative to the vowel: open, closed, covered, and uncovered. Syllable patterns vary between languages, with English having more complex patterns than some others. Phonotactics refer to a language's rules for combining phonemes into syllables.

Uploaded by

Akinai Egemberdieva
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The syllable as a phonetic

and phonological unit


Types of syllables. Syllable patterns.
Phonotactics.
The syllable as a phonetic and
phonological unit
• Sounds (phonemes) are the smallest
segments into which the speech
continuum is generally divided for
purposes of analysis, because these
units serve to differentiate words.
The syllable as a phonetic and phonological
unit. Types of syllables. Syllable patterns.
Phonotactics.

When we pronounce a
syllable, the speech organs,
while producing a
consonant, take all the
positions necessary for the
following vowel, for
example note the
movements of the tongue
and the lips in /su:n/
“soon”, /lu:z/ “lose”.
The syllable as a phonetic and phonological
unit. Types of syllables. Syllable patterns.
Phonotactics.

The syllable can be considered as


both a phonetic and a
phonological unit. As a phonetic
unit the syllable is defined in
articulatory, auditory (perceptual)
and acoustic terms with universal
application for all languages.

As a phonological unit the


syllable can be defined and
described only with reference to
the structure of one particular
language. The very term
“syllable” denotes particular
ways in which phonemes are
combined in a language.
The approaches to defining a syllable

Two approaches to defining a syllable:


 The first approach defines the syllable as
sequence of segments. The syllable is a unit
consisting of 0 or more consonants followed
by a vowel followed by 0 or more consonants.
A vowel may be replaced by a syllabic
consonant.
The approaches to defining a syllable

The formula of a syllable:


CnV Cn
where Cn = any number of
consonants
and V = vowel or syllabic
consonant.
The approaches to defining a syllable

 The second approach defines syllables by their


sonority (or relative loudness). Some types of
phonemes appear to be more sonorous (louder)
than others.
The approaches to defining a syllable

Syllable is an element of speech that acts as a unit of


rhythm, and has internal structure. The constituent
parts are ONSET and RHYME, within the rhyme
we find the NUCLEUS and CODA. The NUCLEUS
is obligatory, other parts are optional. The smallest
syllable contains a nucleus only.
Types of syllables

Depending on the position of consonants (C)


in relation to the vowel (V), there are 4 types
of syllables:
Types of syllables

Covered
Open syllables Closed Uncovered
syllables
(CV), when syllables (VC), syllables (V(C)
(CV(C), when
there is no when the when there is
the vowel is
consonant vowel is no consonant
preceded by a
after the followed by a before the
consonant:
vowel: far, tie, consonant: vowel: apt,
say, like,
sea art, sit, life eat, eight.
shore.
Syllable patterns.

The fundamental syllable type in English is the closed


syllable, whereas in Russian it is the open syllable.

As to the presence, number and arrangement of


consonants there are 23 syllable patterns in English , such
as V, VC, CVC, CV, CCVC, CCVCC, CCCVC, CCCVCC etc.

The vowel may occur alone in a syllable or it may have up


to 3 consonants before it and up to 4 consonants after it.

The most frequent and fundamental pattern in English is


CVC.
Phonotactics

As a phonological unit,
the syllable requires a
separate definition for
each individual language,
because each language has
its own rules of
combining its phonemes
into syllables, or
PHONOTACTICS.
Phonotactics.

In every language certain sound sequences are


not permitted. This is called called
‘phonotactic constraints’. English permit
more combinations of consonants than many
languages
Phonotactics.

When the English first attempt the


initial /kn/ of German KNABE (boy),
Some combinations that don't occur in
they insert a vowel and make it
English (e.g., syllable-initial /tl/) are
/kǝ’nɑ:bǝ/, i.e. three syllables rather
permissible in other languages (e.g.,
than two (as is for Germans),
Polish, Russian).
because /kn/is no longer a permissible
initial sequence in English.
Phonotactics.

So, phonologically, the


syllable is a structural
unit, which consists of a
vowel (or a syllabic
sonorant) surrounded by
consonants in the
numbers and
arrangements permitted
by a given language.

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