18 Questions
The ______ of a syllable is usually a vowel.
center
Syllables can be manipulated in language games, as well as units within the syllable itself, such as rhyme, alliteration, and ______.
assonance
In connected speech, sounds may vary depending on the regional accent of the speaker, as well as factors like age, gender, and socio-economic ______.
status
The Asante dialect is spoken in the southern part of ______.
Ghana
A syllable is defined as a unit containing an obligatory ______ part, which is a sonorant.
center
Sounds can vary based on their position within the ______.
syllable
The __________-rhyme model separates a syllable into onset, nucleus, coda, and rhyme.
Onset
A minimal word in English is a single stressed syllable with at least two timing positions dominated by the __________.
rhyme
Syllables with two timing positions in the rhyme are known as __________ syllables.
heavy
The monophthongs /ɪ ɛ æ ʌ ɒ ʊ ə/ count as __________; they are linked to just one timing position.
short
The form like /lɛ / is not a possible word as it does not have the minimum number of timing positions in the __________.
rhyme
Syllables with one timing position in the rhyme are known as __________ syllables.
light
The privileged status of onsets is reflected by the Maximal Onset Principle: All things being equal, syllables prefer to have __________.
onsets
All things being equal, consonants prefer to be in __________.
onsets
Empty onsets: We assume that syllables always have an onset position, even in the absence of an onset consonant. Syllable structure is not always directly reflected in the phonetics, because some syllabic positions may remain ________.
empty
An empty onset position can be optionally filled by a glottal stop – a phenomenon called ________ attack.
hard
Hard attack can be used to emphasize an important word. But very often, it’s used not to emphasize a word but to separate words in connected ________.
speech
It has been suggested that speakers are counting sonority ________. The idea is that sounds differ in their sonority, with the most sonorous sounds being the most vowellike.
peaks
Study Notes
Syllable Structure
- A syllable typically has a vowel as its core.
- Units within a syllable, such as rhyme, alliteration, and assonance, can be manipulated in language games.
Speech Variation
- Sounds in connected speech may vary depending on regional accent, age, gender, and socio-economic status.
- The Asante dialect is spoken in the southern part of Ghana.
Syllable Definition
- A syllable is defined as a unit containing an obligatory sonorant part, which is a vowel.
- Sounds can vary based on their position within the syllable.
Syllable Model
- The onset-rhyme model separates a syllable into onset, nucleus, coda, and rhyme.
Minimal Word
- A minimal word in English is a single stressed syllable with at least two timing positions dominated by the vowel.
Syllable Types
- Syllables with two timing positions in the rhyme are known as heavy syllables.
- Syllables with one timing position in the rhyme are known as light syllables.
- Monophthongs (/ɪ ɛ æ ʌ ɒ ʊ ə/) count as light; they are linked to just one timing position.
Onset Principle
- The Maximal Onset Principle states that all things being equal, syllables prefer to have onsets.
- All things being equal, consonants prefer to be in onset positions.
Empty Onsets
- Syllables always have an onset position, even in the absence of an onset consonant.
- Empty onset positions can be optionally filled by a glottal stop, known as glottal attack.
Glottal Attack
- Glottal attack can be used to emphasize an important word or to separate words in connected speech.
- It has been suggested that speakers are counting sonority peaks, with sounds differing in their sonority, and the most sonorous sounds being the most vowellike.
Explore the concept of the Maximal Onset Principle, which suggests that onsets are more basic than codas in English syllables. Learn how intervocalic consonants or consonant clusters are assigned to the onset of the second syllable. Understand the privileged status of onsets and how the principle influences syllable structures.
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