Technische Universität München Introduction to English Pronunciation Syllable Structure

Technische Universität München Syllable Structure Words can be cut up into units called syllables Humans seem to need syllables as a way of segmenting the stream of speech and giving it a rhythm of strong and weak beats, as we hear in music Every word contains at least one syllable Divide the following words up into syllables: –t o m a t o –w i n d o w –p r e p o s t e r o u s –f u n d a m e n t a l –s u p e r c a l i f r a g i l i s t I c e x p i a l i d o c I o u s

Technische Universität München Syllable Structure In RP/BBC, as in most languages, all syllables have a nucleus The nucleus (sometimes called the peak) is the central part of the syllable It is most commonly a vowel It can be single vowel, as in the words or Phatic expressions, such as the interjection /m/, or /ʃ/ are exceptions In addition to a nucleus, a syllable may begin with an onset and end with a coda

Technische Universität München Syllable Structure The syllabic structure of the word in RP/BBC may thus be analysed as follows: The nucleus and coda are often treated as the rhyme of the syllable It is therefore common to represent syllables as a tree diagram onsetnucleuscoda cat

Technische Universität München Syllable Structure c a t The syllable nucleus, then, is typically a vowel sound in the form of a monophthong a diphthong, or, less frequently, a triphthong

Technische Universität München Syllable Structure Consonant clusters can form the onset or coda of a syllable In RP/BBC the maximum number of consonants in an onset is 3; in a coda it is 4 Syllables with short vowels /æ e ʌ ɪ ɒ ʊ/ must be followed by a coda. The exceptions are schwa /ə/and “/i/ or /u/” (see Roach pp.78-82); these are sometimes referred to as ‘lax’ Students /stju:dnts/: unless a schwa is inserted (i.e. /stju:dənts/), the second syllable has no vowel Sometimes consonants, such as the nasals, /m/ and /n/ and the velar nasal /ŋ/, can form the nucleus, as can the lateral /l/ or the approximant /r/ These are known as syllabic consonants

Technische Universität München Syllable Structure In English, a consonant may be analysed as acting simultaneously as the coda of one syllable and the onset of the following syllable English is therefore described by some phonologists as ambisyllabic Examples occurring in RP/BBC include words such as: arrow /ærəʊ/burrow /bʌrəʊ/ hammer /hæməerror /erə/ picking /pɪkɪŋ/mirror /mɪrə/ hugging /hʌgɪŋ borrow /bɒrəʊ/ These can't be divided into separately pronounceable syllables

Technische Universität München Syllable Structure Not all phonologists agree that syllables have internal structure; in fact, some phonologists doubt the existence of the syllable as a theoretical entity There are also a few languages such as Nuxalk and some dialects of Berber, where it is difficult to divide words into syllables using the conventions we have looked at It may be that the concept of 'syllable' doesn't apply, or that syllabic nuclei are optional in these languages

Technische Universität München Strong and weak syllables The strength or weakness of a syllable is closely connected to stress Strong syllables are shorter, less loud, and will contain a vowel phoneme other than schwa or /i/ or /u/ If a syllable is strong and contains a short vowel (other than schwa or /i/ or /u/), it will always have a coda in RP/BBC If a syllable is weak, there are a limited number of possible nuclei: –The most common is schwa /ə/ –/i/ or /u/ are possible, as is / ɪ / if preceded by a consonant –Also possible: syllabic consonants /m/, /n/, /Ɩ/ and /r/ and the velar nasal /ŋ/