English Phonetics and Phonology 4th edition Peter Roach Chapter 8

1. SILENCE PLEASE
PRESENTATION
IN PROGRESS

2. CHAPTER
(8)
SYLLABLE

3. In this chapter
•The nature of the syllable
•The structure of the English syllable
•Syllable division

4. Many people find it easier to
count how many syllables there
are in a word/sentence more
than defining what a syllable is
Introduction
What a syllable is

5. THE NATURE
OF THE
SYLLABLE

6. Syllable
Phonetically
The relationship
between how we
produce them & how
they sound
phonologically
The possible
combination of English
phonemes

7. Syllable
(Phonetically)
Minimum syllable
(a single vowel in
isolation)
ʃ
m
Onset
(one or more consonant
preceding the center of
the syllable)
bɑː
kiː
mɔː
Coda
(end with one or
more consonants)
æm
ɔːt
iːz
Onset & coda
Sæt
fɪt
consist of a center which has little or
no obstruction to airflow and which
sounds comparatively loud; before and
after it there will be greater
obstruction to airflow and/or less loud
sounds

8. ʃʃʃʃ

9. Mmmmm
(in agreement)

10. Phonotactics: The study of the possible
phoneme combinations of a language
Syllable
(phonologically)
What can
occur at initial
position
Vowel, 1 or 2 or
3 consonants
What can
occur at final
position
Vowel, 1 or 2 or
3 or 4 consonants

11. THE
STRUCTURE OF
THE ENGLISH
SYLLABLE
syllable
Onset
C (c)
Rhyme
Nucleus
V (v)
Coda
C (c)

12. Onset syllable
Zero onset (Question)
1st syllable of the word
begins with a vowel
Any vowel may occur,
though (ʊ) is rare
The syllable
begins with one
consonant
Any consonant may
occur, though (ŋ,ʒ)
are rare

13. Consonant cluster: 2 or more consonants
together
Consonant
clusters
1st:Two-consonants
(s) Followed by one
of a small set of
consonants
2nd:Two-consonants
Begins with one of a
set of 15 consonants,
followed by one of
the set (l, r, w, j)
3 consonants
A relationship
between them & the
2 sorts of 2
consonant clusters

14. (s) pre-initial consonant
Initial
p t k b d g f θ s ʃ h v ð z ʒ m n ŋ
spɪn stɪk skɪn - - - sfəɪ - - - - - - - - smel snəʊ -
Initial or post-initial
l W J r
slɪp swɪŋ sjuː srɪndʒ
1st : Two-consonant
clusters with pre-initial
(s)

15. Post-
initial
v ð z ʒ m n ŋ l r w j
l - - - - - - - - - - -
r - - - - - - - - - - -
w - - - - - - - - - - -
j vjuː - - - mjuːz njuːz - ljuːd - - -
Post-
initial
p t k b d g f θ s ʃ h
l pleɪ - kleɪ blæk - gluː flaɪ - slɪp - -
r preɪ treɪ kraɪ brɪŋ drɪp grɪn fraɪ θrəʊ ?4 ʃruː -
w - twɪn kwɪn - dwel ?1 - θwɔːt swɪm ?5 -
j pjɔː tjuːn kjuː bjuːti djuː ?2 fjuː ?3 sjuː - hjuːdʒ
2nd : Two-consonant
clusters with post-initial
(l, r, w, j)

16. 4- Some people pronounce the word ‘syringe’ as srɪndʒ; there are no
other cases of sr unless one counts foreign names (e.g. Sri Lanka)
1- Many Welsh names (including some well known outside wales) – such
as girls’ names like Gwen and places names like the country of Gwent –
have initial gw and English speakers seem to find them perfectly easy
to pronounce
5- Two cases make ʃw seem familiar: the vowel name ‘schwa’, and the
name of the soft drinks brand Schweppes. This is ,however, a very
infrequent cluster in English
2- The only possible occurrence of gj would be in the archaic word
‘gules’, which is in very few people’s vocabulary
3- θj occurs in the archaic word ‘thew’ only

17. Three-consonant
clusters
*The number of possible initial three-consonant clusters
is quite small and they can be set out in full
Pre-initial Initial Post-initial
l r w j
s
p ‘Splay’ ‘spray’ - ‘spew’
t - ‘string’ - ‘stew’
k ‘sclerosis’ ‘screen’ ‘squeak’ ‘skewer’

18. Final syllable
Zero coda
No final consonant at
the end of a word
Final consonant
Only one consonant
Any consonant may be a
final consonant except
(h, w, j)
(r) is a special case: it
doesn’t occur as a final
consonant in BBC
pronunciation

19. Consonant final cluster
Two-consonant
final cluster
Final
consonant
preceded
by pre-
final
consonant
Final
consonant
followed by
a post-final
consonant
Final three-
consonant
cluster
Pre-final +
final +
post-final
Final +
post-final
+post-final
Four-
consonant
cluster
Pre-final +
final +
post-final
+ post-
final
Final + 3
post-final
consonants

20. Pre-final
m Bump bʌmp
n Bent bent
ŋ Bank bæŋk
l Belt belt
s Ask ɑːsk
Final consonant preceded by pre-final consonant

21. Post-final
s Bets bets
z Beds bedz
t Backed bækt
d Bagged bægd
θ Eighth eɪtθ
Final consonant followed by a post-final consonant

22. The release of the 1st plosive of a plosive-
plus-plosive cluster such as the g (of gd) in
bægd or k (of kt) in bækt is usually without
plosion and therefore practically inaudible
Point of pronunciatio

23. Pre-final final Post-final
Helped he l p t
Banks bæ ŋ k s
Bonds bɒ n d z
Twelfth twe l f θ
Pre-final + final + post-final

24. Final + post-final +post-final
final Post-final Post-final
Fifth fɪ f θ s
Next ne k s t
lapsed læ p s t

25. Pre-final + final + post-final + post-final
Pre-final final Post-final Post-final
Twelfths twe l f θ s
Prompts prɒ m p t s

26. Few cases
Final + 3 post-final consonants
Final Post-final Post-final Post-final
Sixths sɪ k s θ s
Texts te k s t s

27. Pre-
initial
Post-
initial
Initial
VOWEL
Pre-
final Final
Post-
Final
1
Post-
Final
2
Post-
Final
3
ONSET CODA

28. syllable
Onset Rhyme
peak
vowel
coda
optional

29. SYLLABLE
DIVISION
/Sɪ.lə.bl̩z/

30. It often happens that one or more consonants from the
end of one word combine with ne or more at the beginning
of the following word, resulting in a consonant sequence
that could not occur in a single syllable
Maximal onsets principles: Two syllables are to be divided,
any consonants between them should be attached to the
right-hand syllable
Consonants are assigned to the right-hand syllable as far
as possible within the restrictions governing syllable onsets
and codas
Ambisyllabic: When one consonant stands between vowels
and it is difficult to assign the consonant to one syllable or
to the other

31. Extra /ekstrə/
I. e.kstrə
II.ek.strə
III.eks.trə
IV.ekst.rə
V. ekstr.ə

32. Notes:
Sonority theory of syllables: Sonority corresponds to
loudness, and some sounds have greater sonority than
others
Vowels have the greatest sonority
(S) has greater sonority than (k, t)

33. Thank