LL 700: Introduction to Linguistics

part two & three

PHONOLOGY
Prepared by:
Kimberly Mae DC. Rael
Phonotactics
Syllables
Coarticulation Effects
 Phonotactics

is the study of the ways in which phonemes are

allowed to combine in a particular language.
e.g. at the beginning of a word /s/ cannot precede
voiced stops.
/sbik/ or /sdoʊ/
but /s/ can precede voiceless stops.
/spik/ or /stoʊ/
Phonotactic constraints can tell

Phonotactic
us what can count as syllable.
English allows up to 3 consonants

Constraints
at the beginning and end of
syllables.
e.g. /splɪnt/

Polish allows up to 4
consonants at the beginning
and up to 5 consonants at the
end of syllables.
e.g. następstw 'aftermath'
There are also constraints in terms of

Phonotactic
what sequences are possible, and where in
the syllable they can occur. For example,
although /bl/ is a permissible sequence at

Constraints
the start of a syllable, it cannot occur at
the end of one; conversely, /nk/ is
permitted at the end, but not the start."

English words like knife and knee

are pronounced /naɪf/ and /ni/.
Historically, they did have the
initial /k/, which is still present in
several sister languages.
Syllables
A syllable must contain a vowel or
vowel-like sound, including diphthongs.
The most common type of syllable
also has a consonant (C) before the
vowel (V) and is represented as CV.
 Onset
the beginning sounds of the syllable; the ones
preceding the nucleus.
These are always consonants in English.
The nucleus is a vowel in most cases, although
the consonants [ r ], [ l ], [ m ], [ n ], and the
velar nasal (the 'ng' sound) can also be the
nucleus of a syllable.
 Ryhme

Rhyme (or rime): the rest of the syllable,

after the onset.
The rhyme can also be divided up: Rhyme =
nucleus + coda
 The English liquids [ r l ] and the
nasals [ m n ] can be the nuclei of

Nucleus syllables under certain conditions. [

r ] can be a nucleus as easily as a
vowel, in any position: the words
'bird', have [ r ] as the nucleus; in
other words, there is no vowel in
the pronunciation of these
syllables, even though they have
is the core or essential part of a
one in the spelling. [brd]
syllable. A nucleus must be
present in order for a syllable to
be present.
In English and most other
languages, most syllable nuclei are
vowels.
 Coda
Coda is the ending sound of
the syllable, the ones following
the nucleus. These are always
consonants in English.

Onsets are strongly preferred over codas.

Some languages' phonotactics, like that of Japanese, limit syllable
codas to a small group of single consonants, whereas others allow
any consonant phoneme or even clusters of consonants.
 Examples and Illustrations

Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

 Steps to determine the
diagram

Determine the nucleus Add rhyme (R) on the Determine the onset
(N) ordinate of the nucleus (O) and the coda (C)
 Syllabic
Consonants
Sometimes when a vowel is elided a consonant
can become a syllabic nucleus.

Only a consonant in the coda can become a

syllabic nucleus.

Only the following actual consonants can

become syllabic nuclei: /l m n/
 Coarticulation
Effects
It is quite unusual for languages to have large consonant
clusters of the type just described. In English, large
clusters may be reduced in casual conversational speech,
particularly if they occur in the middle of a word. This is
just one example of a process that is usually discussed in
terms of coarticulation effects.
 Assimilation

When two sound segments occur in sequence and some aspect of one
segment is taken or “copied” by the other, the process is known as
assimilation. In the physical production of speech, this regular process happens
simply because it is quicker, easier and more efficient for our articulators as
they do their job.
 Nazalization

Vowels are also subject to assimilation. In isolation, we would typically

pronounce [ɪ] and [æ] with no nasal quality at all. However, when we say
the words pin and pan in everyday talk, the anticipation of the final nasal
consonant makes it easier to go into the nasalized articulation in advance.
This process is known as nasalization and can be represented with a small
diacritic (~), called “tilde,” over the vowel symbol.
 Elision

The process of not pronouncing a sound segment that might be present in the
deliberately careful pronunciation of a word in isolation is described as elision. There
is typically no [d] sound included in the everyday pronunciation of a word like
friendship [frɛnʃɪp].
Vowels also disappear through elision, with the result that sometimes a whole syllable
may not be pronounced, as in [ɛvri] for every, [ɪntrɪst] for interest, [kæbnət] for
cabinet, [kæmrə] for camera, [prɪznər] for prisoner and [spoʊz] for suppose.
THANK
YOU!
 References
Yule, G. (2020). The study of language. Cambridge university press.

Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 26). Definition and Examples of Phonotactics in

Phonology. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/phonotactics-phonology-term-
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