Report Lecturer:

English Phonology Evi Kasyulita, M.Pd.

ENGLISH PHONOLOGY

THE SYLLABLE

ARRANGED BY:
Dewi Prasetiya Ningrum (1832007)
Melia Yunita Anggun SN (1832016)
Rika Safitri (1832026)

EDUCATION OF ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF PASIR PENGARAIAN
2019
 PREFACE

First at all, give thanks for God’s love and grace for us.

Secondly, give thank to aour prophet Muhammad Saw by saying “Allaumma salli’ala
Muhammad wa’ala ali Muhammad”

Thanks to God for helping me and give me chance to finish this assighment timely. And I would
like to say thank you to Mrs.Evi Kasyulita,M.Pd as the lecturer that always teaches us and give
much knowledge about our learning English Phonology.

This assighment is the one of English task that English Phonology of the sylable. I realized this
assighment is not perfect. But I hope it can be useful for us. Critics and suggestion is needed here
to make this assighment be better.

Hopefully we as a student in English Study Pogram can work more professional by using
English as the second language whatever we done. Thank you.

Masda Makmur, September 06, 2019

Author

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

PREFACE …………………………………………………………………………………i
TABLE OF CONTENT……………………………………………………………………..ii
A. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………….1
B. The Syllable ……………………………………………………………………….1
C. English syllable ………………………………………………………………….1
1. Definition ……………………………………..……………………………..1-2
2. The nature of the syllable ……………………..………………………………..2
3. The structure of the English syllable …………………………………………..2-3
4. Strong and weak syllables …………………………………………………….3-4
5. Syllabic consonant …………………………..………………………………4
a. Syllabic l ……………………………………………………………………5
b. Syllabic n …………………………………………………………………..5
c. Syllabic m, ŋ ………………………………………………………………..6
d. Syllabic r ………………………………………………………………….6
e. Combination of syllabic Consonant …………….…………………………6-7
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………….7
Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………..8

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 A. INTRODUCTION
It is believed that syllable is a very important unit, that is, it is found in all languages and in
all words. Most of us think that even by not knowing what a syllable is, we can identify or count
how many syllables are in a certain word. It could perhaps be helpful, but we will find
difficulties on dividing the syllables accurately. So, we will need knowledge of it.
However, in this group assignment, we will focus on the syllable, starting with some
definitions for better understanding. One of the important things to do in this work is look at the
nature of the syllable that should really help us on identifying the syllables. Furthermore, we will
be concentrated on the structure of English syllable which is a very important aspect on dividing
the syllables looking at their phonemes. On the same aspect, we will look at the weak and strong
syllables, that is, where sure is most used and where it is not.
Finally, we consider the syllabic consonant, than can form a vowel, or which can also be
used instead of vowel to form a syllable. These all issues are going to be discussed along the
work. At the end of this group work is found the sources used to the elaboration of this work.
B. THE SYLLABLE
Speakers certainly have an intuitive notion of how many syllables each word contains: for
instance, speakers of English would generally agree that meadow, dangerous and
antidisestablishmentarianism (allegedlythe longest word in the language) have two, three and
twelve syllables respectively. It is less easy for speakers to reflect consciously on the internal
structure of syllables, or to decide where one stops and the next starts; but a wide variety of
cross-linguistic studies have helped phonologists construct a universal template for the syllable,
within which particular languages select certain options. The internal structure of the syllable,
and evidence for its subparts from a range of English phonological processes, will be the topic of
this chapter.
C. ENGLISH SYLLABLE
1. Definition
Roach (1998:67) states that the syllable is a very important unit in both Phonetics and
Phonology.
Skandera and Burleigh (2005:65) sustain that syllable can be probably defined as the
smallest rhythmic unit of spoken language, for example, or a unit that is typically larger than a
single sound smaller than a word. So, they believe that the syllable can be defined in different
ways.
Crystal (1985:164) believes that syllable is an element of speech that acts as a unit of
rhythm, which is noticeable in English pronunciation and consisting of a vowel, a syllable
consonant or a vowel plus consonant combination. On the other hand, Hancock (2003:50)
beliefs that a syllable is often described as a group of one or more sounds with a peak or nucleus.
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 Forel and Puskás (2005:35) affirm that in English a syllable consists of a phoneme or
sequence of phonemes. If the syllable receives word stress it can be associated with meaning and
form what is usually called a word.
For us, syllable is the unit which sounds loud in a spoken word, formed normally by a
nucleus, which stands as the centre of the syllable.

2. The nature of the syllable

Roach (1998:67) states that phonetically, we look at the way we produce the syllable and the
way they sound, we will notice that syllables are usually described as consisting of a centre
which has little or no obstruction to airflow and which sounds comparatively loud. However,
before and after this centre (that is, at the beginning and end of the syllable), there will be greater
obstruction to airflow and/or less loud sound. In the same aspect, Skandera and Burleigh
(2005:67) sustain that phonetically, a syllable can be described as having a centre, also called
peak or nucleus, which is produced with little or no obstruction of air, and is therefore usually
formed by a vowel ( either a monophthong or diphthong).
Phonological involves looking at the possible combination of English Phonemes. It is simplest
to start by looking at what can occur in the initial position. In other words, what can occur at the
beginning of the first word when we begin to speak after a pause. We find that the word can
begin with a vowel, or with one, two, or three consonants. No word begins with more than three
consonants. In the same way, we can look at how a word ends when it is the last word spoken
before a pause; it can end with a vowel, or with one, two, three or (in a small number of cases)
four consonants. No word ends with more than four consonants (Roach, 1998:67).

3. The structure of the English syllable

Technically, the basic elements of the syllable are the onset (one or more consonants) and the
rhyme. The rhyme (sometimes written as ‘rime’) consists of a vowel, which is treated as the
nucleus, plus any following consonant(s), described as the coda. Syllables like, the / ðǝ/ or were /
wǝ/ have an onset and a nucleus, but no coda. They are known as ‘open’ syllables. When a coda
is present, as in the syllables on /ɒn/, up /ʌp/ or of / ǝv/, they are called ‘closed’ syllables,
because the coda is present. (Yule, 2006:47).
Example 1: sue /su:/ CV- open
Example 2: bean /bi:n/ CVC- closed

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 The structure of the syllable can be shown as follows:

SYLLABLE

RHYME
ONSET

ONSET ONSET
(Roach, 1998:73)

Both the onset and coda can consist of more than one consonant, also known as a consonant
cluster. The combination /st/ is a consonant cluster (CC) used in the word stop, and as coda in the
word past. There are many CC onset combinations permitted in English phonotactics, as in
blank, bread, trick, twin, flat and throw. Note that liquids (/l/, /r/) and glide (/w/) are bei used in
second position. English can actually have larger onset clusters, as in the words stress and splat,
consisting of three initial consonants (CCC). The phonotactics of these larger onset consonant
clusters is not too difficult to describe. The first consonant must always be /s/, formed by one of
the voiceless stops (/p/, /t/, /k/) and then one of these liquids or glides (/l/, /r/, /w/). (Yule
2006:47).
Example, in the words like structure /strʌkʧǝ/, split /splIt and screed /skri:d/ have larger onset
consonant clusters.

4. Strong and weak syllables

One of the most noticeable features in English is that many syllables are weak. Then
phoneticians have found that it is useful to make separate syllables that have more prominent
nucleus, that is, which is normally pronounced loud, and less prominent nucleus, because of this,
they divided the syllables into strong (have more prominent nucleus) and weak (have less
prominent nucleus).
Some authors like Smith (1982:10) uses the terms “heavy” and “long” when referring to a
strong syllable and the terms “light” and “short” when referring to a weak syllable. On the other
hand, Crystal (2003:493) affirms that syllables can be metrically “heavy” or “light”, in this case
accepting Smith’s idea on the concept of “heavy” and “long”. Furthermore, Crystal (2003:493)
sustained that a light syllable is one whose rhyme comprises a short vowel nucleus alone or
followed by a coda of no more than one short consonant, thus it has the structure CV or CVC, in
which “C” represents ‘consonant’ and “V” is the sort representation of “vowel”.

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 The stress is a major factor in determining whether a syllable is strong or weak, so, these two
types of syllables can be described in part in terms of stress since they are closely associated with
this aspect. We could describe them partly in terms of stress by saying, for example, that strong
syllables are stressed and weak syllable are unstressed, but until we describe what “stress” means
such a description would not be very useful. The most important thing to note at present is that
any strong syllable will have as its peak one of the vowel phonemes (or possibly a triphthong)
but not ǝ (“Schwa”). Weak syllables, on the other hand, as they are being defined here, can only
have four types of peak.
i) The vowel ǝ “schwa”;
ii) A close front unrounded vowel in the general area of i: and I;
iii) A close back rounded vowel in the general area of u: and ʊ;
iv) A syllabic consonant.
When we compare weak syllable containing vowels with strong syllables, we find the vowel
in a weak syllable tends to be shorter, of lower intensity and different in quality. For example, in
the word ‘father’ /f'a:ðǝ/ the second syllable, which is weak, is shorter than the first, is less loud
and has a vowel that cannot occur in strong syllables. In a word like “bottle” / bɒtl / the weak
second syllable contains no vowel at all, but consists entirely of the consonant l.

we call this a syllabic consonant (Roach, 1998:75).

a) The vowel ǝ (“schwa”)
The most frequent occurring vowel in English is ǝ, which is always associated with weak
syllables. In quality it is mid (that is, half-way between close and open) and central (that is,
half- -way between front and back. It is generally described as lax, that is, not articulated with
much energy. Of course, the quality of this vowel is not always the same, but the variation is
not important.
Not all weak syllables contain ǝ, though many do. Learners of English need to learn
where ǝ is appropriated and where it is not. To do this we often have to use information that
traditional phonemic theory would not accept as relevant. We must consider spelling (Roach,
1998:76).

5. Syllabic Consonant
We must also consider syllables in which no vowel is found. In this case, a consonant, either
l, r or a nasal, stands as the centre of the syllable instead of the vowel. It is usual to indicate that a
consonant is syllabic by means of a small vertical mark, for example “cattle”/ kæt!/

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a) Syllabic l
Syllabic l is perhaps the most noticeable example of the English syllabic consonant,
though it would be wrong to expect to find it in all accents.
It occurs after another consonant, and the way it is produced depends to some extent
on the nature of that consonant. If the preceding consonants is alveolar, as in “bottle”
bɒtl, “muddle” mʌdl, “tunel” tʌnl, the articulatory movement from the preceding
consonant to the syllabic l is quite simple. The sides of the tongue, which are raised for
the preceding consonant, are lowered to allow air to escape over them (this is called
lateral release). The tip and blade of the tongue do not move until the articulatory contact
for the l is released. (Roach, 1998:79)
We also find syllabic l in words spelt with, at the end, one or more consonant letters
followed by “al” or “el”, for example:
‘panel’ pænl
‘pedal’ pedl
In some less common or more technical words, it is not obligatory to pronounce
syllabic l and the sequence ǝl may be used instead, though it is less likely: “missal”
/misǝl/; ‘acquittal’ /ǝkwItl/ or /ǝkwItǝl/.

b) Syllabic n
Of the syllabic nasals, the most frequent found and the most important is n. A general
rule could be made that weak syllables which are phonologically composed of a plosive
or fricative consonant plus ǝn are uncommon except in initial position in the words. So
we can find words like ‘tonight’ /tǝnait/, ‘canary’ /kǝneǝri/ with an /ǝ/ before /n/, but
medially and finally, as in words like ‘threaten’, ‘threatening’, we find more commonly a
syllabic n: /θretn/, /θretnIŋ/. Syllabic n is most common after alveolar plosives and
fricatives, in the case of t and d followed by n the plosive is nasally released by lowering
the soft palate, so that in the word ‘eaten’ /i:tn/, for example, the tongue does not move in
the /tn/ sequence but the soft palate is lowered at the of /t/ so that compressed air escapes
through the nose. We do not find /n/ after /l/ or /ʧ/, /dʒ/, so that for example “sullen” must
be pronounced /sʌlǝn/, ‘Christian’ as /krisʧǝn/ (though this word may be pronounced with
/t/ plus /i/ or /j/ instead of /ʧ/ and “pigeon” as /pidʒǝn/.
After /f/ or /v/, syllabic n, is more common than /ǝn/ (except as with the other cases
described, in word-initial syllables). Thus ‘seven’, ‘heaven’, ‘often’, are more usually
/sevn/, /hevn/, /ɒfn/ than /sevǝn/, /hevǝn/, /ɒftǝn/. (Roach, 1998:80)
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c) Syllabic m, ŋ
We find them sometimes in words like ‘happen’, which can be pronounced / hæpm/,
though /hæpn/ and /hæpǝn/ are equal acceptable, and ‘uppermost’ which could be
pronounced as /ʌpmaʊst/ though /ʌpǝmǝʊst/ would be more usual. Examples of possible
syllabic velar nasals would be “thicken” /θIkŋ/ (where /θIkǝn/ are also possible), and
‘broken key’ /brǝʊkŋ ki:/, where the nasal consonant occurs between velar consonants
(again, /n/ or /ǝn/ could be substituted for /ŋ/). (Roach, 1998:81)
d) Syllabic r
In many accents of the type called “rhotic”, such as most American accents, syllabic r
is very common. The word ‘particular’ for example, would probably be pronounced
prtikjǝlr by most Americans, while RP speakers would pronounce this word pǝtikjǝlǝ.
Syllable /r/ is less common in RP and in most cases where it occurs there are perfectly
acceptable alternative pronunciations without the syllabic consonant. Here are some
examples:
o Where non-syllabic /r/ is also acceptable
‘History’ hIstri or hIstri (not usually hIstǝri)
‘Wanderer’ wɒndrǝ or wɒndrǝ (not usually wɒndǝrǝ).
o Where non-syllabic r is also acceptable
“buttering” bʌtrIŋ or bʌtǝrIŋ (not usually bʌtrIŋ).
‘flattery’ flætri or flætǝri ( not usually flætri).
It seems that type (a) concerns cases where more than one consonant precedes the
weak syllable in question, and type (b) where there is only one consonant preceding.
There are few pairs of words (minimal pairs) in which a difference in meaning appears to
depend on whether a particular /r/ is syllabic or not, for example.
‘Hungary’ hʌŋgri ‘hungry’ hʌŋgri
‘adulterous’ ǝdʌltrǝs ‘ adultress’ ǝdʌltrǝs
But we find no case of syllabic r where it would not be possible to substitute either
non-syllabic r (type a) or ǝr (type b); in the example above, ‘hungry’ could equally well
be pronounced hʌŋgǝri and ‘adulterous’ as ǝdʌltrǝrǝs (Roach, 1998:81).

e) Combination of syllabic consonant

It is not unusual to find two syllabic consonant together. Examples are “national”
næʃnl “literal” lItrl “visionary” vIʒnri “ veteran” vetrn. It is important to remember that it
is often possible to say with certainty wheteher a speaker has pronounced a syllabic
consonant, a non-syllabic consonant or a non-syllabic consonant plus ǝ.
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 For example, the word “veteran” given above could be pronounced in other ways
than vetrn. An RP
speaker might instead say vetrǝn, vetǝrn or vetǝrǝn. The transcription makes it looks as if
the difference between these words was clear, it is not. (Roach:1998:82).

D. Conclusion
During the group work, we have learned that in English a syllable consists of a phoneme or a
sequence of phonemes. While dividing the syllables we do not look at the letters that a given
word has or contains, but the phonemes. No word in English can consist of anything less than a
syllable and no syllable can consist of anything less than a vowel.
Each vowel has the possibility of constituting a syllable (hence a monosyllabic word) by
itself whereas this is never possible for a consonant. This is the great phonological distinction
between vowels and consonants. But not all English vowels form a word by themselves. / ʊǝ/ for
istance, is not an existing English word. However, what matters is that it could be a word.
We have learned that most English syllables consist of more than one vowel. We must
examine what they can consist of, because it is not sufficient to add any consonant or group of
consonants to a vowel to get an English syllable. For example: /pteI/ is not a syllable of English
whereas /pleI/ and /steI/ are.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

CRYSTAL, D. (1985). What is linguistics? London: Edward Arnold.

CRYSTAl, D. (2003). A dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Oxfor: Blackwell.
FOREL, Claire-A. and PUSKÁS, G. Phonetics and Phonology. Geneva, University of
Geneva, 2005.
ROACH, P. English Phonetics and Phonology. 2nd ed., UK, CUP, 1998.
SKANDERA, P., and BURLEIGH, P. A manual of English Phonetics and Phonology.
Bindung, Gunter Narr Verlag, 2005.
SMITH, N. (1982). The structure of Phonological Representation. (Part 11). Dordrecht:
Foris Publication.
YULE, G., The study of Language. 3rd ed., Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006.