Phonetics and Phonology

SESSION 8:
THE SYLLABLE – STRONG AND WEAK SYLLABLES
1. The nature of the syllable

Phonetically, syllables are usually described as consisting of a centre which has little or no
obstruction to airflow and which sounds comparatively loud;
VOWEL
Before and after this centre (that is, at the beginning and the end of the syllable), there will
be greater obstruction to airflow and/or less loud sound.
CONSONANT

Example words Onset Centre Coda

Or // ------- // --------
Bar //  / --------
Am / ------- / /
Run // // // //

Phonologically (possible combinations of English phonemes – phonotactics):

➢ Words can begin with a vowel, or with one, two or three consonants.
➢ No word begins with more than three consonants.
➢ Words can end with a vowel, or with one, two, three or four consonants.
➢ No word ends with more than four consonants.

2. The structure of the syllable

Listen attentively to your friends’ presentation and complete the information or answer
the questions below. Use your PENCILS please!

How many components are there in a syllable? What are they? Draw a diagram:

SYLLABLE

2.1. SYLLABLE ONSETS

How many types of onsets are there? ……….What are they? What consonants have
limited distribution?

- Type 1: …………………………: the syllable begins with a ………….. (……...is rare)

- Type 2: ……………………………………….: the syllable begins with a ……………
(……….. never occurs, …………. is rare)

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- Type 3: ……………………………………….: the syllable begins with a

………………………………... There are ………sub-kinds:

Complete the diagram. In the first line, write the position of the consonants; in the
second line, write the phonemic symbols for the consonants which can occur in that
position.
ONSET 3-1

……………. …………..
/…….…/ /……………………./
ONSET 3-2

…………. ……………..
/.............................../ /…./
/............................................/ /…./
/............................../ /…./
/........................................................./ /…./

- Type 4: ……………………………………: quite simple, the syllable begins with a

……………………………………….

ONSET

……………. ……….. ……………

/…/ /………../ /……………/

2.2. SYLLABLE CODAS

How many types of codas are there? ……….What are they? What consonants have
limited distribution?

- Type 1: …………………..: the syllable has .............................................................

- Type 2: …………………………………..: the syllable ends with a …………………….
(except …………………………….)
- Type 3: ……………………………………: the syllable ends with a ………………..…..
………………… There are …….sub-kinds:

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CODA 3-1

……………. …………………..
/.................................../ any, except /……..…………../

CODA 3-2

……………… …………………..
Any, except /…………/ / ................................./

- Type 4: ………………………………..: the syllable ends with a …………………………..

There are ………sub-kinds:

CODA 4-1

……………. ………… ………………….

/ ............................... / any, except /...... ....../ / .............................../

CODA 4-2

…………… …………….. …………………….

Any, except /…………/ / ......................./ / ................................../

- Type 5: ………………………………: the syllable ends with a …………………………….

There are ………sub-kinds:

CODA 5-1

…………… …………. ………….. ……………

/ .......................... / any, except /……..…/ /............................./

CODA 5-2

……….. …………. …………… …………………….

Any, except /…….…..../ /………...……….……………/

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To sum up, an English syllable can have the following maximum phonological structure,

EITHER:

SYLLABLE

………….. ………… ………………..

……... ……. ……… ………… …….. ……. ……. ………

……… ……… …….. ……. ……….

OR:
SYLLABLE

………….. ………… ………………..

……... ……. ……… ………… …….. ……. ……. ………

……… ……… . ……. …….. ………

Remember:
➢ Pre-initial: /………/
➢ Initial: many consonants
➢ Post-initial: /………………………/
➢ Pre-final: /..................................../
➢ Final: any consonant, except /…………………./
➢ Post-final: /…………………………./

3. Syllable division

Take extra as an example to examine how two syllables are divided. The possibilities are:
 
 
 
 
 
- Maximum onsets principle is the most widely accepted guideline. Here’s the principle:
“Where 2 syllables are to be divided, any consonants between them should be
assigned/attached to the right-hand syllable ….

Therefore we can choose (a) //

But we know that an English syllable cannot begin with /kstr/.

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…as far as possible within the restrictions governing syllable onsets and codas.” So we
reject (a) (impossible onset) and (e) (impossible coda). Then we have 3
left: (b), (c) and (d). The maximum onsets rule make us choose (b) 

However, if we look at better, we still find problem. If we apply the maximum onsets rules,
we will have /But syllables ending with a short vowel (except and no coda
do not occur in English. Therefore, the maximum onsets rule must be modified like this:

“Where 2 syllables are to be divided, any consonants between them should be

assigned/attached to the right-hand syllable as far as possible within the restrictions
governing syllable onsets and codas. However, a consonant can be assigned to the left
syllable if that prevents a short vowel from occurring at the end of a syllable.”
 Better //

- There are still problems:

carry // (a short consonant at the end of a syllable) or // (the sound /r/ at the
end of a syllable)?
A preferable solution is to divide the word as //, as this division would acceptable
in many rhotic accents of English.
One further possibility:
carry //, better / /r/ or /t/ in this situation is called ambisyllabic, i.e. it belongs
to both syllables.

4. Strong and weak syllables

4.1. The nature of weak syllables:

- Phonetic characteristics: The vowel in weak syllables tends to be shorter, of lower
intensity and different in quality.
Ex: Father / the second syllable is shorter and less loud.
- In terms of stress: strong syllables are stressed while weak syllables are unstressed.

4.2. Strong syllables:

- Any strong syllable will have as its peak one of the vowel phonemes, except 
- If the vowel is short, the strong syllable will always have a coda as well.

4.3. Weak syllables:

- Weak vowels can only have a very small number of possible peaks.
- At the end of a word, we may have a weak syllable ending with a vowel (with no coda):

✓ The vowel ə (the schwa): better /

✓ A close front unrounded vowel in the general area of : and  (symbolized i): happy
//
✓ A close back rounded vowel in the general area of u: and  (symbolized u): thank you
//

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- There are weak syllables in word-final position with a coda if the vowel is ə.
Ex: Open /, sharpen //
- Inside a word, the above vowels acting as peaks without codas in weak syllables.
Ex: photograph //, radio //, influence //.
- The vowel  can act as peaks without codas if the following syllable begins with a
consonant.
Ex: architect //

4.4. The schwa //

- /ə/ is the most frequently occurring vowel in English and always associated with weak
syllables.
- Not all weak syllables contain ə, THOUGH many do.
- Usual rule of English spelling (a rough guide): Those spellings would be normally
pronounced as weak form (

Spelt with… Strong Examples:

pronunciation
would have…
a  Attend /, character , barracks
//
ar  Particular /, molar /,
monarchy /
Adjectival  Intimate , accurate /, desolate
endings ‘ate’ /(exception: private 
o  Tomorrow /təˈmɒrəʊ/, potato
/pəˈteɪtəʊ/, carrot /ˈkærət/
or  Forget /fəˈget/, ambassador /æmˈbæsədə/,
opportunity /ɒpəˈtjuːnəti/
e  Settlement /ˈsetl ̩mənt/, violet /ˈvaɪələt/, postmen
/ˈpəʊstmən/
er  Perhaps /pəˈhæps/, stronger /ˈstrɒŋə/ superman
/ˈsuːpəmæn/
u  Autumn /ˈɔːtəm/, support / səˈpɔːt/, halibut
/ˈhælɪbət/
ough Many pronunciations Thorough /ˈθʌrə/, borough /ˈbʌrə/
ou  Gracious /ˈreɪʃəs/, callous /ˈkæləs/

4.5. The vowels i and u

- In weak syllables, the difference between /:/ and //, /u:/ and // is not so clear.
- For the two words easy and busy, we can have the following possibilities of
transcription:

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(a). 

Few speakers with BBC accent seem to feel satisfied with any of these transcriptions.
- A solution to the transcription of the vowels in weak syllables is to symbolize them as
long vowels without length marks (as // and /u/), but it goes against standard phoneme
theory. // is the neutralized vowel of /and //; /u/ is the neutralized vowel of /u:/ and
//.
- Where i is found?
➢ In word-final position in words spelt with final ‘y’ or ‘ey’: happy /…………./,
valley /…………./
➢ In morpheme-final position in words having suffixes beginning with vowels:
happier /…………../, easiest /……………./, hurrying /………………./
➢ In a prefix spelt ‘re’, ‘pre’, ‘de’ if it precede a vowel and is unstressed: react
/………..…../, preoccupied /……………………../, deactivate /………………./
➢ In the suffixes spelt ‘iate’, ‘ious’ when they have two syllables: appreciate
/…………………/, hilarious /…………………………./
➢ In the following words when unstressed: ‘he, she, we, me, be’ and the word ‘the’
when it precedes a vowel.
Other cases in weak vowels, it should be the sound //.
- u is not commonly found.
➢ Most frequently found in ‘you’ /……./, ‘to’ /……/, ‘into’ /……./, ‘do’ /……/ when
they are unstressed and are not immediately preceding a consonant.
➢ In ‘through’ /…………../ and ‘who’ /……../ when they are unstressed in all
positions.
➢ Before a vowel within a word: evaluation /……… ……../

5. Syllabic consonants

- When a consonant can stand as the ……………. of a syllable instead of a …………..,

we call it syllabic.
- We have ……… syllabic consonants in English: /

5.1. Syllabic //

- The most noticeable example of the English syllabic consonants

- The syllabic / occurs in:

✓ A word ending with one or more consonant letters followed by ‘……………..’

Cattle / bottle / wrestle / muddle /
Couple / trouble / struggle / knuckle /
When a suffix beginning with a vowel (for example: -ing) is attached to those words,
they normally lose their final e, but the sound /l/ remains syllabic.
Compare: coddling /………………../ (coddle + -ing) vs. coddling /………….…./ (cod
+ -ling). The ………one contains /l ̩/ while the ………….one doesn’t.
✓ Words spelt, at the end, with one or more consonant letters followed by ‘…….’, or ‘…..’
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Panel /…………………/ , petal /………../, kernel /……………/, pedal /…………./, papal

/…………./, parcel /……………/, Babel /…………/, ducal /……………../

✓ In less common or more technical words, it is not obligatory to pronounce syllabic /l ̩
we can pronounce // instead: missal /………………/ or /……………../, acquittal
/……………./ or /……………………./.

5.2. Syllabic /

- The most ………………….. and the most …………………. syllabic consonant

- / occurs when we have a composition of a ……………………….. + // in medial
and …………………….. positions: threaten /……………../ , threatening/……………./
- Most commonly found after alveolar …….……… or ……..……….: eaten /……….../
- Not found after //: sullen/……………../
- / after ………………………. consonants is not so widespread.

✓ After velar consonants, spelt ‘……..’ or ‘………’: toboggan, wagon. // is more
usual.
✓ After bilabial consonants: happen, happening, ribbon. / or // is ……………….
✓ After /f, v/, / is ……………………….. than //

- If there is more than 1 consonant before /n/, / is …………………… to occur.

5.3. Syllabic //ŋ̩

- / can occur but only as the result of ……………………….. or …………………..

happen: // / // are equally acceptable

thicken: // //ŋ/̩ are possible

5.4. Syllabic /

- In rhotic accents, syllabic / is very common.

Particular /

- In BBC pronunciation, syllabic  is less common.

Particular /
Compare Hungary /…………./ vs. hungry /……………../ The ………….one contains
/r̩/; while the ..................one doesn’t.

5.5. Combinations of syllabic consonants

National /; Literal /Visionary //; Veteran /

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