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

12.7.1 Monosyllabic, Disyllabic and Polysyllabic Notes
Trask (1996: 226) defines monosyllabic as “A word consisting of a single syllable e.g. cat, dog, is, try,
black, when, strength.” While the longest complex monosyllabic English words are: scratched,
stretched, scrunched, straights, strengths (the Free Encyclopedia, 2005: a lnt.). In one syllable lexical
word, the primary stress is actually unmarked because it is predictable (Tathem, 1998:1). Disyllabic is
a word consisting of two syllables e.g. money, delay, trouble, happy, believe, teacher etc. Polysyllabic
is a word consisting of three or more syllables, e.g.:
generous /gen ∂ r ∂ s/
ambassador / ∂ mbas ∂ d/

opportunity /op ∂ tjumn ∂ ti/
particular / p ∂ tikj ∂ l ∂ /
Roach (2000).
12.7.2 Simple and Complex Syllables
Syllables are classified in terms of complexity. Singh and Singh (1977:170) differentiate between a
simple syllable and a complex one saying that a simple syllable is “one with a vowel or vowel
accompanied by a single consonant or a vowel preceded and followed by a single consonant. All
other syllable types are called complex syllables i.e., one with consonant clusters in the onset and/ or
the coda” the symbol ‘c’ is used to refer to consonant whereas the symbol ‘V’ stands for a vowel e.g.
see/si:/, the letter s is represented by the symbol ‘C’ and the double letter ee are represented by the
symbol ‘V’ (Stetson , 2003:1).
The following table illustrates the distinction between simple and complex syllables by Singh and
Singh (1979: 38)
Table 12.4
Simple and Complex Syllables
Syllable type example

V a/ ∂ /or/o:
Simple CV the / ∂ , e/
VC it /it/
CVC sit /sit/

CCV tree /tri:/
VCC east /i:st/
CCVC stood /stud/
CCCVC street /stri:t/
Complex CCCVCC streets /stri:ts/

CCCVCCC strength /stre kθ /
CVCC sips /sips/
CCVCC treats /tri:ts/
CVCCC depths /dep θ s/
CCCV screw /skru:/
VCCC asks /a:sks/

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