9

SYLLABLES

1.Phonology above the segment
The central task for phonologists is assessing what speakers know about the structure of
their language. Speakers behavior and intuitions indicate the presence-of phonological
organization at a series of higher levels, above the single segment. Vowels and consonants are
not just, strung together haphazardly into long, unstructured strands. Instead ,they form a series
of larger units with their own internal structure and distribution, governed by their own rules.
The smallest of these superordinate units is the syllable. Understanding syllables helps us
state some phonological process (for example involving English /l/ and the aspiration of
voiceless plosives) more accurately. The syllable is also crucial in analyzing and determining the
position of stress within each word. Finally, in whole utterances of a sentence or more,
phonological processes may apply between words. Rhythm and intonation produce the overall
melody of longer stretches of speech.

2. The syllable

Speakers certainly have an intuitive notion of how many syllable each word contains: for
instance, speakers of English would generally agree that meadow, dangerous and
antidisestablishmentarianism (allegedly the longest word in the language) have two, three end twelve
syllables respectively. It is less easy tor speakers to reflect consciously on the internal structure of
syllables, or to decide where one stops ano tne next starts. Yet, a wide variety of cross-linguistic studies
have helped phonologists construct a universal template for the syllable, within which particular
languages select certain options. The internal structure of the syllable and evidence for its subparts from a
range of English phonological processes are important topics in English phonology.

3.Constituents of the syllable

The universal syllable template accepted by most phonologists is given in (1). ( ) is
shorthand for syllable; capital sigma ( ).
(1)















onset rhyme





Nucleus coda


4.The grammar of syllable: patterns of acceptability

Patterns of permissibility vary in terms of filling these constituents of the syllable. In some langua
ges, like Arabic, every syllable must have an onset; if a word without an onset in one syllable is borrowed
from another language, for instance, a glottal stop [?] will be inserted to meet that requirement.
Conversely, in Hawaiian, no codas are allowed, so that coda consonants in loanwords will be deleted, or
have an extra vowel introduced. However, there are no languages insisting on codas or ruling out onsets.
The universal type is therefore CV: all known languages allow this, whether they have other, mere
complex syllable types in addition, or not.


4.1 .Phonotactic constraints

Even languages like English, which allow both onsets and codas, have restrictions on the
permissible contents of those slots: these restrictions are known as phonotactic constraints. In
particular, English allows clusters of two or three consonants in both onsets and codas; some
languages have more complex clusters types, others only CC, and perhaps in the onset only.
Some restrictions on the composition of clusters reflect structural idiosyncrscies of English; these
include the examples in (2).
(2) In a CCC onset, C1 must be /s/.
1. // does not appear in onsets.
2. /v z/ do not form part of onset clusters.
3. /t d / plus /l/ do not form permissible onset clusters.
4. /h/ does not appear in codas.
5. Coda clusters of nasal plus oral stop are only acceptable if the two stops share the same
place of articulation.
6. /lg/ is not a permissible coda cluster.

Coda clusters of nasal plus oral stop are only acceptable if the two stops share the same
place of articulations.
/lg/ is not a permissible coda cluster.




4.2 The Sonority Sequencing Generalisation

Some other restrictions on possible clusters are not specific to English, but rather reflect
universal prohibitions or requirements. The most notable phonological principle which comes
into play here is known as the Sonority Sequencing Generalisation; and governs the shape of
both onsets and codas.Sonority is related to the difference between sonorants (sounds which are
typically voiced, like approximants, nasal stops and vowels) and obstruents (oral stops and
fricatives, which may be either voiced or voiceless).
Knowledge of acoustic phonetics and other aspects of sound behavior can be combined to
produce a sonority scale like the one given in (3).
(3)
Low vowels: [ ]...
High voweis: [i u]
Glides: [j w]
Liquids: [l ]
Nasals: [m n ]
Voiced fricatives: [v z]...
Voiceless fricatives: [f s] ...
Voiced plosives: [b d]
Voiceless plosives: [p t k]

Natural classes of sounds which function together in phonological processes are often
composed of single or adjacent levels on the sonority hierarchy.
The general rule expressed by the Sonority Sequencing Generalisation is that syllables should
show the sonority curve in (4).
(4)





t m p


The nucleus constitutes the sonority peak of the syllable, with sonority decreasing
gradually toward the margins. Syllable like trump, prance, plant, the outermost consonants, at
the beginning of the onset and the end of the coda, are at the bottom end of the sonority scale,
while less marginal consonants, adjacent to the vowel, are also closer to the vowel in their
sonority value.
Like many rules, the Sonority sequencing generalization has an exception, and this involves the
behavior of /s/. The onset clusters in spray, skew have the sonority profile in (5).
(5)







s p e
s k j u:

The marginal consonant [s] has a higher sonority value than the adjacent voiceless
plosive: yet there is no question of drawing a syllable boundary here and recognizing two
syllable within the same word, as [s] is not one of the English consonants which can become
nuclear, or syllabic. The same problem arises in codas. However, codas with both orders of
clusters involving [s] are possible, as in apse and asp, or axe and ask, and the same sonority
pattern in (6b) must be analysed, contrary to the Sonority Sequencing Generalisation, as
corresponding to a single syllable.

(6)




(a) l t









(b) f k s





These exception are at least not random: cross-linguistically, violations of the Sonority
Sequencing Generalisation always seem to involve coronal consonants (those produced using the
tongue tip or blade, and typically alveolars), and especially /s/.
5. Justifying the constituents

5.1 Syllable-based processes

Sometimes, what determines or conditions a phonological process or change is simply the
nature of an adjacent segment: for example, the nasal of the prefix in- assimilates to a following
consonant, and that sound frequently become voiced between other voiced segments.However, ,
it other case it is the position of a sound within the syllable that dictates its phonetic shape.
First, the notion of the syllable in general, and the onset constituent in particular, helps to
state the environment for aspirations of voiceless stops more accurately.Rather informal version
predicts aspiration in absolute word-initial position; /p t k/ surface as aspirated in pill, till, kill,
but not when preceded by /s/ in spill, still, skill. However, there is aspiration
in repair, return, record, not in respond, disturb, discard. In the first group, the voiceless stops
are the sole constituents of the onset for syllable two, so initial in that syllable. In the second
group, a preceding /s/ inhibits aspiration in onsets word-medially in short, aspiration of voiceless
stops takes place, not at the beginning of the word, but at the beginning of the onset.
Similar support is found for the rhyme, the second constituent of the syllable. English has
two main allophones of /l/, clear and dark, in complementary distribution. It is stated that the
dark [l] takes place after the vowel in a word as in hill versus clear. However, this is unclear in
the medial position with dark [l] infalter and clear [l] in holy. This process proves both the
contrast between onset and coda position and the superordinate rhyme constituent, consisting of
the nucleus plus the optional coda. In consonant syllabification, the dark allophone [l] takes place
in syllable rhymes.


5.2 Onset Maximalism

The rule of Onset Maximalism allows us to draw properly the boundaries between
syllables, determining what consonants are in the coda of an earlier syllable, and which in the
onset of a later one. The Sonority Sequencing Generalisation enables us to draw syllable
boundaries, leaving aside the exceptional case of /s/ in clusters. The sonority profile ascends
from the left-hand margin of the onset up to a sonority peak in the nucleus, and subsequently
descends to the right-hand margin of the coda. However, there is another, equally important
principle governing syllable division. Onset Maximalism states that it is better to assign as many
consonants as possible to the onset on the condition that every word must consist of a sequence
of well- formed syllables.
This tells us that, in a word like leader, the medial /d/ must belong to the second syllable,
where it can be located in the onset. Likewise, the medial /st/ cluster of (oyster) belongs to the
onset of the second syllable while the initial diphthong forms a syllable on its own.
Similarly, hill has a single syllable where a vowel occupying the nuclear slot, so the /l/
must be in the coda, and therefore dark. However, hilly has two syllables, and Onset Maximalism
means /l/ must be in the onset of the second where it automatically surfaces as clear. In non-
rhotic accents of English, /r/ has two realizations, namely [] in onsets as in (red, bread, very),
and zero in codas as in (car, park). The addition of suffixes can change the situation. For
instance, starhas no final consonant for non-rhotic speakers, but there is a medial [] in starry,
where the /r/ constitutes the onset of the second syllable. So, syllable boundaries do not always
coincide with morpheme boundaries (meaningful units). In starry, the two morphemes are (star,
the stem) and (-y, the suffix), but the syllables are divided as sta.rry.
However, in a word like falter, we cannot straightforwardly assign the medial /lt/ to the
second syllable because it is not a possible word-initial cluster in English. Yet, the Sonority
Sequencing Generalisation allows the syllable boundaries to follow /lt/, whereas Onset
Maximalism forces the /t/ at least into the onset of the next syllable. So, (falter) is divided into
(fal),(ter).
On the other hand, (bottle) might be proposed (bo.ttle) fitting the Sonority Sequencing
Geralisation and Onset Maximalism. However, /b/ with a single short vowel cannot make up
the rhyme of a stressed syllable. The first syllable clearly needs a coda. The usual solution is to
analyze the /t/ of bottle as ambisyllabic, belonging simultaneously in both the coda of the first
syllable, and the onset of the second. This does not conflict with either the Sonority Sequencing
Generalisation or Onset Maximalism, but also accords with native speakers' intuitions and the
stress patterns of English.


5.3 Literary applications of syllable constituents

Recognising the onset and rhyme allows us to write more accurate versions of
phonological rules and to understand alternations between sounds which arise with adding an
affix or combine words into longer strings, thus creating different syllabifications. These two
constituents are also integral parts of two different literary traditions. In alliterative poetry, the
important constituent is the onset, which must be identical in several words in a single line (and
often, the more the better). The alliterating sound may appear in word-internal onset positions
too.
More obviously, the rhyme of the syllable determines poetic rhyme. For a perfect rhyme,
the nucleus and coda (if any) must be exactly the same, and the onset does not matter. That is,
(meet) rhymes with (eat, beat, sweet), but it does not rhyme with (might, mate) for different
nucleus; or (bee) for no coda or (leek, beast) for different codas.

5.4 Syllable Weight

The syllable weight provides evidence for the syllable-internal structure. Here, the
nucleus and the coda work together, but the onset does not,contribute at all. There are two further
subdivisions type, both depending on the structure of the rhyme. First, syllables may be closed
(having a coda) or open (in which the rhyme consists of a nucleus alone). It does not matter
whether the nucleus and coda are simple, containing a single element, or branching, containing
more than one. A branching nucleus has a long vowel or diphthong, while a branching coda
would contain a consonant cluster.
There is a second related distinction between light and heavy syllables. A light syllable
contains only a short vowel in the rhyme, with no coda, as in the first syllable
of potato, report, about. Although the first two cases have onsets, and the third does not, all these
initial syllables are still light because onsets are entirely irrelevant to the calculation of syllable
weight. If a syllable has a complex rhyme, then it is heavy. A heavy syllable may have a short
vowel, but one or more does consonants, as in bet, best. A branching nucleus, consisting of a
long vowel or diphthong with or without coda, as in beast, bite, or bee, by.
Syllable weight is a major factor in determining the position of stress in a word.
Essentially, no stressed syllable in English may be light. So, no lexical word of English can
consist only of a short vowel alone with or without an onset. Nouns, verbs and adjectives bear
stress as be, say, loss. Yet, function words like the indefinite article a, or the pronunciation /t/
for the preposition to, which are unstressed, can be light. When they are stressed, they have
special pronunciation /eI/ and /tu/, where the vowel is long, the nucleus branches, and the
syllable is therefore heavy.
In most cases, syllable weight and the guidelines for the placement of syllable boundaries
work together. For instance, (potato) and (report) have a consonant which could form either the
coda of the first syllable, or the onset of the second. Onset Maximalism would force the second
analysis, placing the first [t] of potatto, the [p] of report, and the [b] of about in the onset
position which is supported by the evidence of aspiration. The first syllable of each word is
therefore light; and since the syllables are stressed, this is unproblematic. Yet, in some cases, a
conflict arises between the two aspects of syllable structure. In words like (penny, follow), Onset
Maximalism argues for syllabifications pe.nny, fo.llow. Howwever, the initial syllable is stressed
the English rule states that no stressed syllable may be light. Rather than overruling Onset
Maximalism completely, the problematic medial consonant is treated as ambisyllabic, belonging
simultaneously in the coda of the first syllable and the onset of the second.