Syllables

Most of us have an intuitive feeling about syllables No doubt about the number of syllables in the majority of words. However, there is no agreed upon definition for the term syllable. Difficult to state an objective phonetic procedure for locating the number of syllables in a word or a phrase.

Syllables
So

what can we agree on? We can agree that a syllable is made up of three parts: One: The Nucleus, which is the core of the syllable. Its the vowel if there is one. Otherwise, the nucleus is made up of a syllabic consonant.

Syllables
All

syllables have a nucleus, but may or may not have other constituents. Two: The Onset, which is made up of all of the consonants before the nucleus. Three: The Coda, which is everything after the nucleus.

Syllables
Another

thing that we can agree on is the difference between open vs. closed syllables. Closed syllables end in a consonant. Open syllables end in vowel.

Syllables
Currently,

the most popular approach to defining the syllable is in terms of the Phonological Approach, which appeals to the notion of Phonotactic Constraints.

Syllables
In

every language, there are restrictions on the kinds of sounds and sound sequences possible in different positions in words (particularly at the beginning and the end of words).

Syllables
These

restrictions can be formulated in terms of rules stating which sound sequences are possible in a language and which are not. Languages generally prefer CV, but some languages allow a syllable to begin with more than one consonant.

Syllables
English

has a wide variety of syllable types: V oh VC at VCC ask VCCC asked

Syllables
CV

CVC
CVCC

CVCCC

no not ramp ramps

Syllables
CCV

flew CCVC flute CCVCC flutes CCVCCC crafts

Syllables
CCCV

spree CCCVC spleen CCCVCC strength CCCVCCC strengths

Syllables
Other

languages dont have such a large number of syllable structures.

Syllables
Hebrew

CV
CVC

CVCC

(only at end of word)

Syllables
Japanese

V
CV

CVC

Syllables
Hawaiian

V
CV

Syllables
Indonesian

V
VC

CV
CVC

Syllables
English allows any consonant to occur word-initial, except for [] and [] (except in borrowed words, such as Jacques or Nguyen; no native English word begins with them). A large number of two consonant combinations occur, with a stop or a fricative being followed by a liquid or glide:

Syllables
[br]

bring [gl] glean [my] music [kw] quick

Syllables
[r]

three [fl] fly [hy] humor [sw] sweet

Syllables
In addition, [s] can also be followed by voiceless and nasal stops (stay, small) and by [f] and [v] in a small number of borrowed words (sphere, svelte). [] (esh) can be followed by a nasal stop or a liquid, but only [r] (esh r) is a cluster native to English (shrink).

Suprasegmental Features
So

far we have studied the characteristics of the segments of speech But speech sounds may also have suprasegmental features Riding on the top of other segmental features

Suprasegmental Features
Are

different from segmental features. Not only may they belong to a single phonetic segment, They may instead extent across numerous segments in an utterance.

Suprasegmental Features
Intonation

Pattern

of rises and falls in pitch across a stretch of speech such as a sentence. Meaning can depend in part on the sentences intonation contour.

Suprasegmental Features
For

example:

You
You

got an A on the test

can make this sentence sound like a statement Or a question.

Suprasegmental Features
Intonation

also helps mark the boundaries of a syntactic unit. For example:

You

got an A on the test, a C on the homework, and a B on the quiz

Suprasegmental Features
Tone

In

many languages, the pitch at which the syllables in a word are pronounced can make a difference in the words meaning. Such languages are called tone languages.

Suprasegmental Features
Languages

include: Thai, Chinese dialects, Vietnamese, the Bantu languages of Africa such as Zulu, Luganda, and Shona, other African languages like Yoruba and Igbo, and North and South American Indian languages like Apache, Navajo, Kiowa, and Mazotec.

Suprasegmental Features
So:

m
m

m
m

(high level) (low rising) (low falling rising) (high falling)

mother hemp horse scold

Suprasegmental Features
Two

types of tonal languages: Register tone languages Contain only register, or level, tones such as high, mid, low. Contour tone languages Contain gliding tones as well as register tones.

Suprasegmental Features
Stress

Property

of syllables, not individual segments. Stressed syllable more prominent than an unstressed syllable. But this is relative.

Suprasegmental Features
What

is important is that the stressed syllable is perceived to be produced with greater effort. English uses several stress levels, as illustrated by the word photography.

Suprasegmental Features
In

this word, the second syllable is most prominent primary stress. The final syllable is next most prominent secondary stress. The other syllables are unstressed tertiary stress.

Suprasegmental Features
Suprasegmental

features are difficult to transcribe because they are superimposed on the other features.