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Linguistics

Notes , υ:, (which in his analysis all begin with the same vowel), one could postulate a diphthong
Ju and remove j from post-initial position. These are interesting proposals, but thereis not enough
e
space here to examine the arguments in full.
• There are many different ways of deciding how to divide syllables. Analysing syllable structure,
as we have been doing in this unit, can be veryuseful to foreign learners of English, since English
has a more complex syllable structurethan most languages. There are many more limitations
on possible combinations of vowels and consonants than we hae covered here, but an
understanding of the basic structures described will help learners to become aware of the types
of consonant cluster that present them with pronunciation problems. In the same way, teachers
can use this knowledge to construct suitable exercises. Most learners find some English clusters
difficult, but few find all of them difficult.
9.4 Key-Words

1. Plum-Plumb merger : It is the reduction of the final cluster /mb/ to MI that occurs in all dialects
to present English.
9.5 Review Questions

1. Using the analysis of the word ‘cramped’ given below as a model, analyse the structure of the
following one-syllable English words:

Initial Post- Pre- Final Post-
initial final initial
æ
‘Cramped’ k r Peak m p t

Onset Coda
(i) spuealed (ii) eighths (iii) splash (iv) texts
2. Devoicing of l, r, w, j
When l, r, w, j follow p, t or k in syllable-initial position they are produced as voiceless, slightly
fricative sounds. Listen and repeat:
pleI play treI tray klI clear
e
preI pray twIn twin kraI cry
pju: pew tju:n tune kju: queue
3. Repetition of initial clusters
Two Consonants
Listen and repeat:
sp Z t spot pla plough
st e n stone twIst twist
skeIt skate kri:m cream
sfI e sphere pj e pure
smaIt smile fleIm flame
sn e snow ∫ rIŋk shrink
slæm slam vju: view

swIf ∫ switch qw :t thwart

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