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Unit 12: Transcription of English Speech Sounds: From Words to Sentences, Syllables: Monosyllabic...

rhyme: [i:d] (within the rhyme) Notes
nucleus: [i:]
coda: [d]
If the word contains more than one syllable, e.g. ‘window’, it is analysed phonologically as shown
below:
window: two syllables
first syllable: [win]
rhyme: [in]
nucleus: [i]
coda: [n]
second syllable: [dow]
onset: [d]
rhyme: [ow]
nucleus: [ u]
e
(This syllable has no coda) (Rubba, 2000: 2)
A syllable may not have a vowel in special cases as when syllabic consonants are used, for example,
( , ,,, ,lm n , , η r ) To exemplify, the word ‘middle’ is made up of two syllables though it has only one
,
, ,
vowel and pronounced with a final syllabic consonant [mid ] (Brandford, 1967: 32). Rogers (2000:
Í
88-9) states that syllables with an empty coda are called ‘open syllables’ e. g. tree /tri:/; while those
with final coda are called ‘closed syllables’ e. g. sweet /swi:t/ (Yule, 1998: 57). Thus, the basic syllable
structure is as follows:
Consonant(s) Vowel consonant(s) or in short: CVC
(Thornborrow and Wareing, 1998: 26).
In every language there are restrictions on the sequences of phonemes that are used, and studying
the syllables of the language helps to analyse what the restrictions and regularities are in a particular
language. For example, no English word begins with the consonant sequence zbf or ends with the
sequence ah. (lbid.: 45).
It is necessary to have a look at the following maximum phonological structure as seen below:
Pre- Post Pre- Post- Post- Post-
Initial Initial Initial Vowel Initial final Final Final Final
1 2 3

Onset Coda

Figure 12.3: The Maximum Phonological Structure of the syllable
Taken from Roach (2000: 76)
12.6 Syllable Division

On syllable division, Kreidler (2003:84-6) stresses the fact that the English language has stress timing,
i.e., certain syllables are louder and longer; others are softer and shorter and usually have a reduced
vowel. It is easy to indicate and clarify the beginning of the strong syllable, but it is too difficult to tell
where a weak syllable begins unless it is an initial syllable. It is possible to get information about how
a written word should be syllabified from a dictionary, the dictionary indicates syllable division
according to certain conversation that are based on two principles (1) recognition of certain prefixes
and suffixes which are not divided (mis. treat, un.able, free, dom, work, ing), and (2) different treatment
according to whether the vowel letter A, E, I (or Y), if the vowel is ‘long’, it ends with a syllable and

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