/ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/ Phonetics & Phonology
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MODULE 5
The syllable
Instructor: Lam Hoang Phuc
5.1. The nature of the syllable
▪ The syllable is important in the rhythm of speech.
▪ On phonetic grounds, syllables are described as consisting
of a centre which has little or no obstruction to airflow and
sounds comparatively loud; before and after this centre,
there will be greater obstruction to airflow and/or less loud
sound.
▪ On phonological grounds, syllables are the possible
combinations of phonemes. The study of the possible
phoneme combinations of a language is called
phonotactics.
5.2. The structure of the English syllable
▪ If a syllable has a single vowel in isolation, we call it a
minimum syllable. Isolated sounds such as m or ʃ are also
regarded as syllables.
▪ A syllable may have an onset (one or more consonants that
preced the centre) and/or a coda (one or more consonants
that follows the centre).
▪ When we have two or more consonants together, we call
them a consonant cluster.
5.2. The structure of the English syllable
❖ Syllable onset
▪ If the syllable begins with a vowel (any vowel may occur,
though ʊ is rare), we say that this syllable has a zero onset.
▪ If the syllable begins with one consonant, that consonant
(called initial) can be any consonant except ŋ, ʒ is rare.
▪ If the syllable begins with two consonants, there are two
types:
o Pre-initial (s) + initial (p, t, k, f, m, n).
🡪 Refer to Table 2 on page 58.
o Initial (any consonant except ð, z, ʒ, ŋ, r, w, j) +
post-initial (l, r, w, j).
🡪 There are restrictions on which consonants can occur
together. Refer to Table 3 on page 58.
5.2. The structure of the English syllable
❖ Syllable onset
▪ If the syllable begins with three consonants, the onset
consists of pre-initial (s) + initial (p, t, k) + post-initial (l, r,
w, j). Refer to the table on page 57.
▪ The number of possible initial three-consonant clusters is
quite small.
5.2. The structure of the English syllable
❖ Syllable coda
▪ If the syllable has no consonant at the end, we say that this
syllable has a zero coda.
▪ If the syllable ends with one consonant (called final), it can
be any consonant except h, w, j, r (r does not occur in BBC
pronunciation, but occur in many rhotic accents).
▪ If the syllable ends with two consonants, there are two
types:
o Pre-final (m, n, ŋ, l, s) + final (any consonant except h,
w, j, r).
o Final (any consonant except h, w, j, r) + post-final (s, z,
t, d, θ). The first plosive of a plosive-plus-plosive cluster
is usually without plosion and thus practically inaudible.
5.2. The structure of the English syllable
❖ Syllable coda
▪ If the syllable ends with three consonants, there are two
types:
o Pre-final + final + post-final.
o Final + post-final 1 + post-final 2.
🡪 There are strict restrictions on these combinations.
Refer to the tables on page 59.
▪ If the syllable ends with four consonants, the general
pattern is pre-final + final + post-final 1 + post-final 2.
Refer to the table on page 59 for more information.
▪ A small number of four-consonant clusters are analysed to
be consisting of final + post-final 1 + post-final 2 +
post-final 3. Refer to the table on page 60 for more
5.2. The structure of the English syllable
❖ Summary of the structure of the English syllable
▪ Much present-day work in phonology makes use of a
rather more refined syllable structure:
5.3. Syllable division
▪ One of the most widely accepted guidelines is the maximal
onsets principle: where two syllables are to be divided,
any consonants between them should be attached to the
right-hand syllable as far as possible within the restrictions
governing syllable onsets and codas.
5.3. Syllable division
▪ However, a consonant must be assigned to the left syllable
if that prevents one of the vowels ɪ, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ from
occurring at the end of a syllable.
🡪 If one of these vowels is followed by r (e.g. carry – kæri), it
is more preferable assign r to the left syllable since this is
natural in many rhotic accents.
▪ Another solution is that when it is difficult to assign a
consonant to one syllable or the other, we can say that the
consonant belongs to both syllables. This situation is called
ambisyllabic.
REFERENCES
Roach, P. (2009). English phonetics and phonology – A
practical course (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.