1. Part Five
SYLLABLE STRUCTURE &
WORD STRESS

2. Supra-Segmental Phonology:
Phonology above the level of ‘segments’ (sounds)
Units: syllable, word, phrase, etc.
Processes: stress, rhythm, tone, intonation, etc.

3. THE SYLLABLE Why do we need the concept ‘syllable’?
Which of the following sequences of sounds are impossible in English?
If [bm], [zn] etc. are impossible sequences in English, then why are the following words (containing these sequences) possible?

4. a) [hau] (Mandarin) [kau] (Cantonese)
*[haup] (M) *[kauts] (C)
But why are the following possible?
Why do these names translate into more syllables in Chinese than in English?
Rob = luo bu Steve = si ti fu Clinton = ke lin dun

5. Comparing syllables in English and German:

6. The English syllable:
Question: What must a syllable in English consist of, at the very least?

7. THE PARTS OF A SYLLABLE
Nucleus: the indispensable ‘core’ of a syllable
Onset: the consonant(s) preceding the nucleus
Coda: the consonant(s) following the nucleus
The nucleus and coda together make up the rime

8. SYLLABLES IN CHINESE:
a) CANTONESE
QUESTION: What differences in syllable structure can you see in these dialects?

9. INVESTIGATING THE STRUCTURE OF THE SYLLABLE IN ENGLISH

10. spl spr spj
str stj
skl skr skj skw
smj
snj
Generalisations: C1 C2 C3
In a 3-segment onset,
C1 can only be ____________
C2 can only be ___________
C3 can only be ____________

11. spl spr spj
str stj
skl skr skj skw
smj
snj
pl pr pj
tr tj tw
kl kr kj kw mj nj

12. sp st sk
sm sn
sl sj sw
spl spr spj
str stj
skl skr skj skw
smj
snj

14. In a 3-segment onset, C1 can only be [s]
C2 can only be a [+stop]
C3 can only be an approximant ([+son –stop])
spl spr spj
str stj
skl skr skj skw
smj
snj
Observation: C2 must be [+stop] only if C1 is filled.
Suppose we change C2 to: ‘C2 is an open slot’
Condition: If C1 is filled (i.e. by [s]), then C2 can only be a [+stop]

15. ENGLISH WORD STRESS
In the following words, which syllables are stressed, and how do the stressed syllables differ phonetically from the unstressed?

16. Analysing stress-assignment rules
Example from Spanish:
ha'blar, mu'jer, ver'dad, tempo'ral, capi'tal
speak woman truth temporary capital
'hablo, 'casa, impor'tante, son'risa, presi'dente
speak house important smile president
Generalisation:
In Spanish, stress falls on the _______ syllable of the
word if ______________________________________,
Otherwise, it falls on the __________ syllable.

17. USEFUL CONCEPTS:
'closed syllable' - one ending in a consonant
'open syllable' - one ending in a vowel
E.g. the last syllables of hablar and verdad are closed,
but the last syllables of hablo and casa are open
Generalisation:
In Spanish, stress falls on the final syllable of the
word if it is a closed syllable; otherwise, stress falls on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable.

18. STRESS IN SUFFIXED WORDS IN ENGLISH
DATA SET 1:
-ic -ity
'athlete -> ath'letic 'tranquil -> tran'quility
'system -> sys'temic 'stupid -> stu'pidity
'phoneme -> pho'nemic 'fluid -> flu'idity
'microscope -> micro'scopic 'uniform -> uni'formity
ca'tastrophe ->catas'trophic senti'mental ->sentimen'tality
GENERALISATION: For words ending in suffixes like –ic or -ity, the stress falls on: __________________________________

19. DATA SET 2:
-ate -tude
'generate 'multitude
'delegate 'solitude
com'municate 'attitude
as'similate si'militude
pro'pitiate ine'xactitude
GENERALISATION: For words ending in suffixes like -ate or -tude, the stress falls on: ____________________________________

20. 2. 'detriment detri'mental 3. 'sentiment senti'mental
DATA SET 3:
a) stem stem + al
1. 'suicide sui'cidal
2. 'detriment detri'mental
3. 'sentiment senti'mental
4. 'anecdote anec'dotal
5. 'universe uni'versal
6. 'dialect dia'lectal
b) stem stem + al
1. 'magic 'magical
2. 'music 'musical
3. sen'sation sen'sational
4. 'medicine me'dicinal
5. 'origin o'riginal
6. pro'fession pro'fessional

21. IMPORTANT CONCEPTS:
Heavy syllable -- a syllable with a complex rime, i.e. containing either (i) a short vowel plus one or more consonants in the coda (as in bet [bet] and best [best]), or (ii) a diphthong or long vowel, with or without a coda (as in bay [bei], bait [beit], bee [bi:], beast [bi:st]).

22. Focus on the penultimate syllable in terms of ‘light’ or ‘heavy’:
SET I
SET II

24. MONOSYLLABIC WORDS IN ENGLISH
A B C D
Generalisation: Only _______ syllables can stand on their own as words.

25. STRESS IN SIMPLE WORDS
(i) A B C D
o'bey tor'ment 'utter 'gallop
po'lite col'lapse 'happy 'promise
hu'mane dis'gust 'angry 'normal
re'ly e'xist 'carry 'exit
ad'mire at'tract 'murder 'rapid
(ii) A B C D
o'bey tor'men(t) 'utter 'gallo(p)
po'li(t)e col'lap(se) 'happy 'promi(se)
hu'ma(n)e au'gus(t) 'angry 'norma(l)
re'ly ex'is(t) 'carry 'exi(t)
ad'mire at'trac(t) 'murder 'rapi(d)

26. OTHER USEFUL CONCEPTS
‘extrametrical’ -- i.e. ignored by (or 'invisible' to) stress-assignment rules
English Stress Rule (ESR):
‘Stress the final syllable of a word if it is heavy; otherwise, stress the penultimate syllable.’
Consonant Extrametricality (CE):
‘The final consonant of a word is extrametrical

27. VERB NOUN
in'crease 'increase
ex'port 'export
re'cord 'record
sur'vey 'survey
sub'ject 'subject
re'ject 'reject
con'flict 'conflict
ad'dict 'addict
con'test 'contest
tor'ment 'torment
ac'cent 'accent
com'pound 'compound
GENERALISATION: For purposes of stress assignment, the final syllable of a noun is ________________________________

28. MORE NOUNS
QUESTION: How do we explain the above stress assignments, using the concepts we’ve arrived at so far?