MORE ON SYLLABIFICATION PRINCIPLES

1. MORE ON SYLLABIFICATION PRINCIPLES Dr. Marga Vinagre Department of English Studies, UAM

2. 1. If a consonant cluster within a word can be divided into two parts, such that the first is a possible word-final cluster and the second a possible word-initial cluster, then a syllable boundary may be placed between these two parts. Ath.lete, not a.thlete since thl- is not a permitted word-initial clauster and not athl.ete –thl not permitted word-final cluster. Ob.struct, not o.bstruct since bstr- not permitted in word-initial and not obs.truct/obst.ruct or obstr.uct since all these forms are not permitted word-final clusters

3. 2. Sometimes alternatives are possible; as a general rule, stressed syllables tend to attract consonants more than unstressed ones. Roos.ter is to be preferred to roo.ster since the lenght of the oo vowel is comparable to that of loose (rather than that of moo). The s belongs to the stressed syllable. 3. A single consonant between vowels is normally taken as being the onset of the syllable containing the following vowel. Maximum Onset Principle Ba.con (even though the fist syllable is stressed and [bek] is a possible syllable) Com.pe.ti.tive (even though the second syllable is stressed and [pet] is a possible syllable)

4. 4. A doubled consonant between two vowels is normally pronounced as single, unless one if the identical consonants is within the SP (stress-able portion) and the other outside it, as is (un)natural [,n’ntrl]. For this purpose ck counts as doubled k, tch as doubled ch, and dg as doubled g[d]. However, there are times when such doubled consonants act as two consonants for stress-assignment purposes. For example, the stressing Kent’tucky, to’bacco,Ca’milla require the penultimate syllable to be closed: /ken.tk.ki/, /t.bk.k/, /k.mil.la/

5. The letter x usually represents the sound sequence [ks] or [gz], and the syllable boundary often comes in the middle of this sequence. E.g. extraction [k.strk.n] In English many syllables are weak (phonetic characteristics of syllables). We could describe strong & weak partly in terms of stress (thus strong syllables are stressed and weak syllables are unstressed). Moreover, any strong syllable will have as its centre one of the vowel phonemes but not . Weak syllables can only have four types of centre: The vowel  A close unrounded vowel in the general area of i: &  A close rounded vowel in the general area of u: &  A syllabic consonant

6. When we compare weak syllables containing vowels with strong syllables, we find the vowel in the weak syllable tends to be shorter, of lower intensity and different quality [fa:], [btḷ] The vowel schwá a) Spelt with ‘a’; strong pronunciation  attend [tend], character[krkt], barracks[brks] Spelt with ‘ar’; strong pronunciation : particular [ptkl], molar[ml], monarchy [mk] Adjectival endings spelt ‘ate’; strong pronunciation e intimate [tmt], desolate [deslt], accurate [krt] exception private [pravt]

7. Spelt ‘o’; strong pronunciation  tomorrow [tmr], potato [ptet], carrot [krt] Spelt with or; strong pronunciation : forget [fgt], ambassador [mbsd], opportunity [tu:t] Spelt with ‘e’; strong pronunciation e settlement [setļmnt], violet [valt], postmen [pstmn] Spelt with ‘er’; strong pronunciation : perhaps [phps], stronger [str], superman [su:pmn]

8. h) Spelt with ‘u’; strong pronunciation  Autumn [:tm], support [sp:t], halibut [hlbt] i) Spelt with ‘ough’; many pronunciations thorough [r], borough [br] Spelt with ‘ous’ gracious [gres], callous [kls] Close front and close back vowels It’s difficult to distiguish between i: &  and between u: &  in weak syllables (easy, busy). Some speakers (Welsh) i: whereas in Yorkshire accents . Aspects to consider: The vowels in question are more like i: and u: when they precede another vowel; less so when they precede a consonant or pause.

9. It’s impossible however to distinguish between the two in these contexts. Therefore i is used for both [i:, ] as a symbol of weak vowel. Despite some objections raised, we’ll use i for syllabification only when focussing on weak syllables, (for phonemic transcription it’s better to use one or the other) We find i ocurring: -in word-final position in words spelt with y (happy, vally) and in morpheme-final position when such words have suffixes beginnig with vowels (happier [happiə], easiest [i:ziəst], hurrying [hʌriɪŋ)

10. In a prefix such as those spelt ‘re’, ‘pre’, ‘de’ if it precedes a vowel and is unstressed: react [riækt], preoccupied [priɒkјʊpaɪd], deactivate [dɪæktɪveɪt] • In the suffixes spelt ‘iate’, ‘ious’ when they have two syllables: appreciate [əpri:ʃieɪt], hilarious [hɪleəriəs] • In the following words when unstressed: ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘we’, ‘me’, ‘be’ and the word ‘the’ when it precedes a vowel. • In most other cases we can assign the vowel to the ɪ phoneme as in the first syllable of resist [rizist], inane [ɪneɪn], enough [ɪnʌf], the middle syllable of incident [ɪnsɪdent], orchestra [ɔ:kɪstrə], artichoke [ɑ:rtɪtʃəʊk] and the final syllable of swimming[swɪmɪŋ], liquid [lɪkwɪd], optic [ɒptɪk]

11. - Weak syllables with closed back rounded vowels are not so commonly found. We find u in the words ‘you’, ‘to’, ’into’, ‘do’ when they are unstressed and are not immediately preceding a consonant, and ‘through’ and ‘who’ in all positions when they are unstressed. We also find weak syllables where the vowel tends to sound more like the ʊ vowel of book; usually with a preceding i glide (computation [kɒmpјʊteɪʃṇ]

12. Syllabic consonants A consonant (l, r or n) stands as the centre of the syllable instead of the vowel. It’s indicated by means of a small vertical mark ḷṇṛ Syllabic l -Exs: tunnel [tʌnḷ], bottle [bɒtḷ], cattle[kætḷ], couple[kʌpḷ], trouble[trʌbḷ], struggle[strʌgḷ], panel[pænḷ], petal[petḷ], kennel[kenḷ], parcel[pɑ:sḷ] Syllabic n -Exs: Sp. In middle and final positions: threatening[Өretṇɪŋ], threaten[Ɵretṇ] ribbon[ribṇ] or [rɪbən], seven [sevṇ], heaven [hevṇ], often[ɒfṇ] rather than [sevən], [hevən], [ɒfən]

13. -One special rule: Although syllabic n is preceeded in these examples by another consonant, it’s also possible for another consonant to precede that one: -Exs: Boston [bɒstṇ], Wilton [wɪltṇ]; other sequences such as ndṇ or ntṇ not possible in RP: London [lʌndən], abandon[əbændən] Syllabic m & ŋ They can occurr as syllabic as a result of a process of assimilation or deletion: Uppermost [ʌpṃəʊst] or [ʌpəməʊst]] Thicken [Өɪkŋ(syllabic)] or [Өɪkən] or[Өɪkṇ] Happen [hæpṃ]

14. Syllabic r In rothic accents (most American accents): Exs: particular [pṛtɪkjəlṛ] in RP[pətɪkjələ] Other examples: Where non-syllabic r is also acceptable history [hɪstṛi] or [hɪstri] not usually [hɪstəri] wandered [wɒndṛə] or [wɒndrə] not usually [wɒndərə] Where ər is also acceptable buttering [bʌtṛɪŋ] or [bʌtərɪŋ] flattery [flætṛɪ] or [flætəri]

15. Finally: It’s also possible to find two syllabic consonants together: national [næʃṇḷ], literal[lɪtṛḷ], visionary [vɪṇṛi], veteran[vetṛṇ] In all cases it’s possible to find ər instead of syllabic r.