LESSON 6: SYLLABLE STRUCTURE

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LESSON 6:
SYLLABLE STRUCTURE
Glossary:
beat
: nhịp đánh
cluster
: tổ hợp âm, chuổi âm
coda
: (âm, phần) cuối
component
: thành phần, phần hợp thành
constraint
: sự kiềm chế
core
: cái cốt (lỏi)
function
: chức năng
illustrate
: minh hoạ
internal
: ở trong, bên trong
linguist
: nhà ngôn ngữ học
nucleus
: nhân, âm chính
obligatory
: bắt buộc
onset
: (âm) đầu
optional
: tuỳ ý, không bắt buộc
peak
: đỉnh (thường là  nguyên âm của âm tiết)
phonotactic
: (thuộc) phương thức kết âm, kết âm học
resonant
: (âm) vang, hưởng âm
rhyme
: vần
sonorant
: âm vang
sonority
: độ vang của âm, tính vang âm
syllable
: âm tiết
syllable structure
: cấu trúc âm tiết
tree branch
: nhánh hình cây
tree diagram
: sơ đồ hình cây
vertical line
: đường thẳng đứng

Syllables and their parts

A syllable is a unit of sound composed of a central peak of sonority (usually a vowel), and the consonants that cluster around this central peak. 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. Syllables don't serve any meaning-signalling function in language; they exist only to make speech easier for the brain to process. A word contains at least one syllable.
Most speakers of English have no trouble dividing a word up into its component syllables. Sometimes how a particular word is divided might vary from one individual to another, but a division is always easy and always possible. Here are some words divided into their component syllables (a period is used to mark the end of a syllable):
- tomato = to.ma.to
- window = win.dow
- supercalifragilisticexpialidocious = su.per.ca.li.fra.gi.lis.ti.cex.pi.a.li.do.cious (some people might put some of the periods in different places in this word).

Syllables have internal structure: they can be divided into parts. The parts are onset and rhyme; within the rhyme we find the nucleus and coda. Not all syllables have all parts; the smallest possible syllable contains a nucleus only. A syllable may or may not have an onset and a coda.
Onset: the beginning sounds of the syllable; the ones preceding the nucleus. These are always consonants in English. The nucleus is a vowel in most cases, although the consonants [ r ], [ l ], [ m ], [ n ], and the velar nasal (the 'ng' sound) can also be the nucleus of a syllable. In the following words, the onset is in bold; the rest underlined.
read
flop
strap

If a word contains more than one syllable, each syllable will have the usual syllable parts:
win.dow
to.ma.to
pre.pos.te.rous
fun.da.men.tal

Rhyme (or rime): the rest of the syllable, after the onset (the underlined portions of the words above). The rhyme can also be divided up:
Rhyme = nucleus + coda
The nucleus, as the term suggests, is the core or essential part of a syllable. A nucleus must be present in order for a syllable to be present. Syllable nuclei are most often highly 'sonorant' or resonant sounds, that can be relatively loud and carry a clear pitch level. In English and most other languages, most syllable nuclei are vowels. In English, in certain cases, the liquids [ l r ] and nasals [ m n ] and the velar nasal usually spelled 'ng' can also be syllable nuclei.
Parts
Description
Optionality
Onset
Initial segment of a syllable
Optional
Rhyme
Core of a syllable, consisting of a nucleus and coda (see below)
Obligatory
– Nucleus
Central segment of a syllable
Obligatory
– Coda
Closing segment of a syllable
Optional
The syllable structure analysis of the words 'read', 'flop', 'strap' and 'window' are as follows (IPA symbols are used to show the sounds in the word/syllable):
read = one syllable
Onset = [ r ]
Rhyme = [ id ] (within the rhyme:)
- Nucleus = [ i ]
- Coda = [ d ]

flop = one syllable
Onset = [ f l ]
Rhyme = [ a p ]
- Nucleus = [ a ]
- Coda = [ p ]

window = 2 syllables
First syllable: [wIn]
Onset = [ w ]
Rhyme = [ I n ]
- Nucleus = [ I ]
- Coda = [ n ]

Second syllable: [ d o ]
Onset = [ d ]
Rhyme = [ o ]
- Nucleus = [ o ]
- (This syllable has no coda)

Linguists often use tree diagrams to illustrate syllable structure.
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'Flop', for example, would look like this (the word appears in IPA symbols, not English spelling). 'σ' = 'syllable'; 'O' = 'onset'; 'R' = 'rhyme'; 'N' = 'nucleus'; 'C' = 'coda'. The syllable node at the top of the tree branches into Onset and Rhyme; the Onset node branches because it contains two consonants, [ f ] and [ l ]. The Rhyme node branches because this syllable has both a nucleus and a coda.
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Liquids and nasals as syllable nuclei

The English liquids [  l ] and the nasals [ m n ] can be the nuclei of syllables under certain conditions. [ l ] can be a nucleus as easily as a vowel. For example, the words 'table', 'little', both have [ l ] as the nucleus; in other words, there is no vowel in the pronunciation of these syllables.
When one of these sounds is a syllable nucleus, this is shown in transcription by putting a very short vertical line under the IPA symbol:
                    [ r l m n ]
                      ' '  '   '
In terms of consonants and vowels, the following words represent the following structures:

VC
up
an
in
CV
my
hoe
so
CCV
pry
grow
free
CCCV
screw
spray
stray
VCC
old
and
ink
VCCC
Olds
ants
amps
CVCCC
test
tenths
lunged
CVCCCC
thirsts
texts
worlds
CVC
bed
set
cap
CCVC
bred
dread
stone
CVCC
bald
sand
hunt
CCVCC
brand
trains
swings
CCCVC
strut
squat
sprain
CCCVCC
struts
squats
sprained
CCVCCC
slurps
prints
flirts
CCCVCCC
scrimps
sprints
squelched

Phonotactic constraints

All languages except sign languages use sequences of phones to make words. No languages allow sounds to combine freely. That is, there are always constraints on what phones any particular phone can precede and follow. These constraints are called phonotactic constraints. The sum total of all the phonotactic constraints of a language is called its phonotactics.
o In any syllable-internal sequence of a nasal and a stop, the nasal and the stop must have the same place of articulation:
Actual
Impossible
Possible
hand
*hamd
hant
taunt
*taumt
taund
punk
*pumk
pung
o In any 2-consonant onset, the second consonant must be a sonorant.
Actual
Impossible
please
*ptease
proud
*psoud
pure
*pshure
twin
*tdin
trust
*tpust
queen
*ksean
clean
*cshean
cream
*cteam
o In any 3-consonant cluster in an onset, the first consonant must be [s]: splash, strong, spew .
o In any 3-consonant cluster in an onset, the second consonant must be a voiceless stop [p,t,k]: splash, strong, spew , extreme.

Initial consonant clusters in English containing a voiceless stop
Labial + sonorant
Coronal + sonorant
Velar + sonorant
[pl]      please
[pr]     proud
[pw]   ____
[pj]      pure
[spl]   splat
[spr]   spring
[spw]  ____
[spj]    spew
[tl]     ____
[tr]     trade
[tw]   twin
[tj]     tune
[stl]   ____
[str]   strip
[stw] ____
[stj]   stew
[kl]      clean
[kr]      cream
[kw]    queen
[kj]      cute
[skl]    sclerosis
[skr]    scrap
[skw]  squeak
[skj]    skewer


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