1. Phonetics II Marga Vinagre
The syllable
Phonetics II
Marga Vinagre

2. 1. Syllable
Syllable: is a unit of pronunciation typically larger than a single sound and smaller than a word.
Consider the following examples:
“card” /k:d/ includes one syllable composed of a vowel
/a:/ and preceding and following consonants /k, d/.
“car” /k:/ includes one syllable composed of a vowel
/a:/ and a preceding consonant /k/.
“is” /z/ includes one syllable composed of a vowel //
and a following consonant /z/.
“are” /:/ includes one syllable (a minimum syllable)
composed of the vowel /:/.
Accordingly, syllable s must include a vowel, may have consonants preceding and following that vowel.
The different possibilities of the structure of a syllable can be represented as follows: (C) V (C)
CVC
/k:d/
card CV
/k:/
car VC
/z/ is V
/:
are

3. 2.Syllable Structure: Technically, a syllable:
must have a centre (called peak or nucleus) which is a vowel
could have an onset (which is the initial part of the syllable) that consists of either one or more consonants.
could have a coda (which is the final part of the syllable) that consists of either one or more consonants.
the nucleus and the coda form the rhyme/ rime.

4. 2.Syllable Structure:

5. Provide examples of rhyming words.
E.g. see bee me tea
seat
sit
sat
car
horn
cut
ear
hair
tour
buy
pay
boy

6. Provide examples of rhyming words.
E.g. see bee me tea
seat, heat eat, feet, beat,
sit, it, fit, hit
sat, at, bat, hat
car, are, bar, tar
horn, torn, morn
cut, hut, butt, but
ear, clear, dear, near, year, fear, beer, tier, pier
hair, chair fair, hair, pair, bare, dare, share, square, hare, bear, pear, there
tour, poor, sure, moor
buy, die, lie, tie, by, dry, cry, my, fly, try, why
pay, day, may, way, hey, weigh, they
boy, joy, toy, buoy

7. Draw a tree diagram for each of the following words to show their syllabic structures.
Dream
Cream
Car
Card It Or
Bright

8. 3. Syllable Nature:
A syllable can be defined both phonetically and phonologically.
Phonetically : a syllable consists of a centre which has little or no obstruction of airflow and which sounds loud. Before and after this centre there might be greater obstruction of air flow and less loud sound.
E.g. - minimum syllables  ‘are’ /:/ , ‘or’ /:/  consist of a single vowel in isolation, preceded and followed by silence.
-syllables with onset + peak  (i.e.) have more than just silence preceding the centre of the syllable  ‘bar’ /b:/, ‘key’ /ki:/, ‘more’ /m:/
-syllables with peak + coda  ‘am’ /m/, ‘ought’ /:t/, ‘ease’ /i:z/
-syllables with onset +peak + coda  ‘run’ /rn/, ‘sat’ /st/, ‘fill’ /fl/

9. 3. Syllable Nature:
Phonologically : a syllable is a unit that involves possible combinations of English phonemes.
There are three possibilities of sound patterns :
a- permitted patterns: train
b- impossible patterns: rtain
c- possible/non-existant: tream
The distribution of sounds in sound patterns is not arbitrary, but follows some constraints called phonotactics.
Phonotactics: the set of constraints on the permissible combination of sounds in a language, which is part of the speaker’s phonological knowledge.

10. 4. Phonotactics: In a syllable-initial position:
- it is allowed to begin with a vowel, or with one, two or three consonants.
- no syllable begins with more than three consonants.
In a syllable-final position:
- a syllable can end with a vowel, or with one, two, three or four consonants.
- no syllable ends with more than four consonants.

11. 4. Phonotactics: The syllable onset:
If the syllable begins with a vowel, it has a zero onset as in ‘am’ /m/; ‘ease’ /i:z/.
If a syllable begins with one consonant, the initial consonant can be any consonant phoneme except // ( is rare). Examples: ‘key’ /ki:/; ‘kick’ /kk/.
If a syllable begins with two or three consonants, such a sequence of consonants is called a consonant cluster. Examples: ‘play, stay, street, split, etc’.

12. 4. Phonotactics: Initial two-consonant clusters are of two types:
Consonant clusters in the onset:
Initial two-consonant clusters are of two types:
Composed of (/s/ + one of a small set of consonants)
(pre-initial + initial)
Examples: ‘stay, spoon, skin, small, snow, sleep, swim, etc’.
Sue (legal, I’m going to sue you) can be pronounced su: or sju:

13. 4. Phonotactics: Initial two-consonant clusters:
Consonant clusters in the onset:
Initial two-consonant clusters:
Composed of (one of a set of fifteen consonants + /l, r, w, j/).
(initial + post- initial)
Examples: ‘fly, green, three, twin, pride, blind, try, quick, swim’.
Lewd (obsceno), muse (think about something for a long time),

14. 4. Phonotactics: S + Consonant clusters in the onset:
Initial three-consonant clusters are:
Composed of (/s/ + voiceless stop + approximant)
(pre-initial + initial + post-initial)
Examples: ‘splash, spread, string, screen, squeeze, etc’
S +
Lewd (obsceno)

15. 4. Phonotactics: The syllable coda:
If the syllable ends with a vowel, it has a zero coda as in ‘car’ /k:/; ‘see’ /si:/.
If a syllable ends with one consonant, the final consonant can be any consonant phoneme except /h, r, w, j/. Examples: ‘at’ /t/; ‘kick’ /kk/, ‘catch’ /kt/, ‘seen’ /si:n/.
If a syllable ends with two, three or four consonants, such a sequence of consonants is called a consonant cluster. There is a possibility of up to four consonants at the end of the word. Examples: ‘books, six, bank, banks, prompts, etc’.

16. 4. Phonotactics: Final two-consonant clusters:
Consonant clusters in the coda:
Final two-consonant clusters:
Examples: ‘help, bank, edge, belt, blind, books, six etc’.
In final three-consonant clusters: (pre-final, final, post-final consonants)
-Pre-final consonants: m, n, , l, s (this last one in a:sk)
-Post-final consonants: s, z, t, d, 

17. 4. Phonotactics: Consonant clusters in the coda:
Final three-consonant clusters:
Examples: ‘helped, seconds, fifths, etc’.

18. 4. Phonotactics: Final four-consonant clusters:
Consonant clusters in the coda:
Final four-consonant clusters:
Examples: ‘prompts, sixths, etc’.

19. Thus, the English syllable has the maximum phonological structure:

20. 5. Syllabification
A word consisting of one syllable (like tip) is referred to as a monosyllable.
A word consisting of two syllables (like monkey) is called a disyllable.
A word consisting of three syllables (such as interpret) is called a trisyllable.
A word consisting of more than three syllables (such as intelligence) is called a polysyllable.
The term ‘polysyllable’ is often used to describe words of two syllables or more. So, the words, “monkey, interpret, intelligence” can be called polysyllabic.
Sometimes syllables are marked off from each other by a period [.].
E.g. /tp/ /m.ki/ /n.t:.prt/
Sometimes the symbols C and V (standing for Consonant and Vowel, respectively) are used to show syllabic structure.
E.g. "interpret " /n.t:.prt/ is VC.CV.CCVC.

21. 6. Strong and Weak Syllables
Polysyllabic English words include strong and weak syllables.
Let’s consider the word “father” /f:./; “happy” /h.pi/. Strong syllables can be distinguished from weak syllables in terms of three aspects:
1. Phonetic characteristics
2. Stress
3. The peak of the syllable

22. 6. Strong and Weak Syllables
1. Phonetic characteristics
The vowel in a weak syllable is short.
E.g. in the word ‘father’ /f :. /: the second syllable, which is weak, includes the vowel // which is shorter and less loud than /:/ in the first (and strong) syllable.
2. Stress
Strong syllables are stressed and weak syllables are unstressed.
E.g. in the word ‘father’ /f :. /: the first syllable /f :/ is stressed while the second syllable is unstressed /  /.

23. 3. The peak of the syllable
The peak of the syllable determines if the syllable is weak or strong.
Weak syllables include:
// with or without a coda, E.g. ‘father’ /f:.  / ‘sharpen’ /:.pn/
/i/ and /u/ with no coda, E.g. ‘happy’ /h.pi/ ‘carry’ /k.ri/
or syllabic consonants like /l, n/ (with no vowels). E.g. ‘bottle’ [b.tļ]; ‘button’ [b.tņ],
** Syllabic consonant is a consonant which either forms a syllable on its own, or is the nucleus of a syllable. Nasals and laterals are syllabic at the end of a word when come immediately after an obstruent (stops, fricatives, and affricates)

24. Underline the weak syllables in the following words:
Intimate /n.t.mt/
Panel /p.nļ/
Molar /m.l/
Carrot /k.rt/
Potato /p.te.t/
Catty /k.ti/
Happen /h.pn/

25. Underline the weak syllables in the following words:
Intimate / n.t.mt/
Panel /p.nl/
Molar /m.l/
Carrot /k.rt/
Potato /p.te.t /
Catty /k.ti/
Happen /h.pn/

26. Wikispace Phonetics II UAM