1. Listening and Speaking 3
Week 4
Feb
Chapter 8 (Part One)

2. Lesson Outline Course Introduction. Chapter 8, The Syllable
8.1 The Nature of the Syllable, 56-57
Conversation

3. Course Info Email mrs.lujain@live.com Webpage
Course title
Listening and Speaking 3
ENGL 2137
Units 2
Text book
Roach, Peter. (Fourth edition) English Phonetics and Phonology.

4. Evaluation Applied part: presentations + participation 5
Applied part: listening quiz 10
Theoretical part: phonetics quiz
Theoretical part: 2 midterm exams 30
Applied part: final oral exam 20
Applied part: final project
Total
100

5. 8.1 The Nature of the Syllable
What is a Syllable?
The syllable is a basic unit of speech studied on both the phonetic and phonological levels of analysis.
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.
A word contains at least one syllable.

6. Defining the Syllable Phonetically
Phonetically means in relation to production and how it sounds.
Phonetically syllables are usually described as consisting of a center which has little or no obstruction to airflow and which sounds comparatively loud; before and after that center there will be greater obstruction to airflow and/or less loud sound.

7. Defining the Syllable Phonologically
Phonological syllable is “a complex unit made up of nuclear and marginal elements”. Laver (1994: 114)
Nuclear elements are the vowels, marginal elements are consonants.

8. Syllable Structure 1. Minimum Syllable: a single vowel in isolation.
Example: ‘are’ , ‘or’ , ‘err’ . These are preceded and followed by silence.
Onset: one or more consonant preceding the center of the syllable. Example: ‘bar’ , ‘key’
Coda: the syllable ends with one or more consonants. Example: ‘am’ , ‘ought’
Some syllables have both onset and coda. Example: ‘ran’ , ‘sat’

9. Conversation