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Review
 English words may have 1 syllable or more syllables.

Lecture notes 7b  A syllable has several components, including the

onset, nucleus and coda. The nucleus and coda
Syllable and its structure: 
form a unit called Rhyme (or Rime).
Rhymes are important in poetry.
Cont’d  The onset and the coda may be absent in a syllable.
But NUCLEUS is always present in a syllable, e.g.,
eye, oh
Joaquim Kuong  The onset may contain more than 1 consonant (i.e.,
having a consonant cluster, spin, play).
Department of English, FAH
 The coda may also have a consonant cluster in
English (e.g., fast, most).

Consonant cluster within a

Review
syllable
 There are many words in English with 2 or more  A consonant cluster (a sequence of two or more
syllables. consonants together) must have more than one
 Multiple syllables are separated by syllable consonant
breaks with a dot.  A consonant cluster can be in the onset or in
the coda, or in both.
 A syllable break can be indicated by writing a
dot . (in IPA) between two syllables (e.g., /CV . A. stop please
B. post wind
CVC / as in the word re port
C. spring scream
D. strange twelve

 Therefore, it is important to consider both the

consonants and the vowels when we discuss the
syllable structures of words in English.

Consonant cluster
(A) stop skip spin please black flat Consonant cluster in onset
 consonant cluster in onset; one C in coda
CC V C Example
(B) post wind bind width Syllable
 consonant cluster in coda; one C in onset
C V CC
1.please Onset Rhyme
(C) spring string strong scream
 consonant cluster in onset; one C in coda
CCC V C (The CCC onset is not universal) Nucleus Coda
(D) strange twelve (“monosyllabic” words)
/p l i z /
 consonant cluster in onset AND in coda
CC(C) V CC (This cluster pattern is rare in other
languages)
 Important: When we study syllable structures, we focus
on the sounds, NOT the letters or letter sequences.

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Practice
Phonotactics
 Many spoken languages show constraints
Find 2 English words for each of the following initial prohibiting certain sequences of speech sounds.
consonant clusters. Use examples of your own. You  In a given language, some sounds do NOT go
may use your dictionary or talk with a classmate. together in a sequence.
1. /pr/ a. b.  These constraints can be called Phonotactic
2. /kl/ a. b. Constraints (or simply “phonotactics”), which
3. /gl/ a. b. limit the permissible sequences or positions of
4. /mj/ a. b.
phonemes.
5. /fl/ a. b.
e.g. rbging dmlap ngbzim
6. /spl/ a. b.
 Such consonant sequences as /rbg-/, /dml-/, and
/ŋbz-/ don’t seem to occur in the languages of
the world.

Phonotactics Phonotactics
 Each language also has some specific preferences  Each language has its own phonotactics. English
and constraints about acceptable and unacceptable consonant clusters show special ordering restrictions.
sequences of speech sounds. print proud *rpint *rpoud
e.g. psychology /s-/ tsunami /s-/ blend black *lbend *lback
pneumonia /n-/ string street *ztring *ztreet
spring spread *zbread
 These words occur in English. They are from Greek splash splendid
and from Japanese. squeeze squash /skw-/
 Speakers of English do not pronounce these words  A phonological constraint in one language may not be a
according to Greek and Japanese pronunciation. constraint in another language.
 Rather, the initial consonants for the first word is  The following are not English words. They are foreign
/s-/, not /ps-/; the initial consonant for the names. English speakers would adapt the pronunciation
second word is /s-/, not /ts-/, as the spelling when they read these words.
might suggest. Mbeki Ngan Sri Lanka

Other languages Consonant cluster in onset

 In Japanese, Mandarin, and Cantonese, word-
Example
initial double or triple consonants (i.e. consonant
Syllable
clusters) are not allowed. CCV or CCCV are absent.
 As a result, words borrowed from English into
these languages may be pronounced by adding a 1.please Onset Rhyme
vowel within the consonant clusters.
Task: Count the number of syllables for each word Nucleus Coda
and then count number of syllables in /p l i z /
Cantonese/Mandarin or in Japanese
2. Proud
Clinton Trump Swanson Watson’s
3. Glad
Question: Any other examples?

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Consonant cluster in coda Syllable structure and language

Example typology
Syllable  Both Cantonese and Mandarin have fewer CVC
structures compared to English.
1.think Onset Rhyme 新 生 森
beef leave bus buzz judge pitch
Nucleus Coda

 Unlike English, Cantonese or Mandarin does NOT

/ θ I ŋ k have CVCC(C) syllable structure.
2. most e.g., rift lapse Watson’s
3. rest
pinch(ed) axed

Review: Review:
Consonant cluster in onset Consonant cluster in coda
Example Example
Syllable Syllable

1.please Onset Rhyme 1.think Onset Rhyme

Nucleus Coda Nucleus Coda

/p l i z /
/ θ I ŋ k/
2. Proud
2. most
3. Glad
3. Rest
4. */ lp i z / 4.*/ŋ k I t/

Syllabification Syllabification
 In this course, when we discuss syllabification, we
 Many words in English are disyllabic (e.g., arrive, will not use the dictionary criteria since they
action) and polysyllabic (reaction, arrival). focus more on spelling than on speech sounds (or
phonemes).
 Words may have more than 1 syllable. How to
break up two syllables (or 3 syllables) in a word?  In phonology, syllabification focuses on speech
This is the issue of syllabification. sounds and pronunciation, rather than on spelling
(since it's often unreliable).
 It is important to note how syllables are separated
from each other in a word.

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Maximal Onset Principle & Maximal Onset Principle &

Phonotactic constraints Phonotactic constraints

 There is one general principle guiding syllabification.

e.g., kidney /kId.ni/ NOT /kI.dni/
 Consonants are put in the onset position if possible. action / æ k . ʃ ə n/ NOT / æ .k ʃ ə n/
This is called the Maximal Onset Principle.
 Informally, this principle suggests that the onset can Discussion (Please study the following words carefully)
have as many consonants as possible unless the onset How many syllables are present in each word below? How are
violates the phonotactic constraints in the language, the following examples syllabified? Where is the dot?
(Hint: Use IPA symbols and focus on pronunciation)
e.g., kidney /kId.ni/ NOT /kI.dni/
e.g. balloon compose
action / æ k . ʃ ə n/ NOT / æ .k ʃ ə n/ Gipsy Santa

Summary Practice
 A consonant cluster may occur at the onset  First, transcribe the following words using IPA
and/or coda. according to BBC English pronunciation. Second,
syllabify them by putting a dot to indicate a
 The sequencing of consonants is constrained by
language-specific phonotactics. break between syllable. There is no need to mark
the stress.
 English onsets do not allow /mp-/, /nt-/ or /ps-/
for example. 1. announce 2. respect
3. foolish 4. chapter
 Syllables are separated by syllable break(s).
 Again, we should not be copying the answers
 Syllabification observes the Maximal Onset from the dictionaries. Many dictionaries simply
Principle and the Phonotactic Constraints. focus on spelling, not on sounds.

Practice at home References

 Carr, P. (2013). English Phonetics and Phonology: An
Introduction. (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
 First, count the number of syllables in the
 Fromkin, V., Rodman, R. & Hyams, R. (2007). An
examples.
Introduction to Language (8th edition). Thomson Wadsworth.
 Second, transcribe the following words using IPA.  O’Grady, W., Archibald, J., Aronoff, M., Rees-Miller, J. (2005).
 Third, syllabify them by putting a dot to indicate Contemporary Linguistics (5th ed.). Bedford : St. Martin's.
a break between syllables. There is no need to  Knight,Rachael-Anne (2012). Phonetics: A Coursebook.
mark the stress. Cambridge University Press.
 McCully (2009). The Sound Structure of English: An
1. longer 2. collective 3. adopted Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
NOTE: Be prepared to show your answers on the  Roach, P. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology: A
white board in the following class. practical course. (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.