The Syllable

The syllable is a unit difficult to define, though native speakers of a language

generally have a good intuitive feeling for the concept, and are usually able to
state how many syllables there are in a particular word. For instance, if native
speakers of English are asked how many syllables there are in the word potato
they usually have little doubt that there are three(even if for certain words, e.g.
extract, they might find it difficult to say where one syllable ends and another
begins).

A syllable can be defined as a unit larger than the phoneme but smaller than the
word. Phonemes can be regarded as the basic phonological elements. Above the
phoneme, we can consider units larger in extent, namely the syllable and the
word.

Syllables can be approached from two different standpoints:

 On phonetical (articulatory/auditory) grounds, syllables are usually

described as consisting of a centre having little or no obstruction to the
airflow and sounding comparatively loud. This centre is the peak in
resonance, i.e. the most resonant element in the syllable. Before and/or
after this centre, i.e. at the beginning and/or end of the syllable, there will
be greater obstruction to the airflow and/or less loud sound, resonance or
prominence;

 On phonological (distributional/functional) grounds, the study of syllables

involves looking at the possible combinations of English phonemes. It will be
found that the phonemes in English fall into two classes:

a- Those which are typically nuclear or central in the syllable (vowels and
diphthongs),
b- Those which are marginal or non-central or peripheral (consonants and
semivowels).
Syllable Structure

 Minimum syllable: a single vowel element in isolation, e.g. air    , I   ,

or   ;
 With onset, e.g. bar   , key   , tour   ;

 With coda, e.g. ought   , ease   , am   ;

 With onset and coda, e.g. run   , feel   , curl   .

Syllabic Consonants

Typically, every syllable contains a vowel as its nucleus, and one or more
consonants either side of this vowel at its margins. If we take the syllable cats as an
example, the vowel acting as the nucleus is  , and the consonants at the

margins    and   .

However, certain consonants are also able to act as the nuclear elements of

syllables. In English, the nasals  , ,  and the lateral    can function in this

way, as in rhythm , bitten , taken , subtle . Here the
syllabic element is not formed by a vowel, but by one of the consonants  , ,
,  , which are in this case longer and more prominent than normal. Such

consonants are termed syllabic consonants, and are shown by a little vertical
mark   placed beneath the symbol concerned.

Sources:

 Carley, Paul, Mees, Inger, & Collins, Beverley English Phonetics and Pronunciation
Practice Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon. 2018.
 Roach, Peter English Phonetics and Phonology- A Practical Course, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge. 1993.

Prof. Adriana Joaquina Falconi