Scribd
Upload
38 views

Consonant Syllabicity PDF

The document discusses syllabic consonants in English. It explains that consonants can become syllabic nuclei by merging with a following vowel sound. The most common syllabic consonants in English are M and L. For M to be syllabic, it must be preceded by a single consonant, usually an alveolar one. L can be syllabic when preceded by any consonant except a nasal. Examples of words containing syllabic M and L are given.

Uploaded by

Iqra Shaheen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
38 views

Consonant Syllabicity PDF

The document discusses syllabic consonants in English. It explains that consonants can become syllabic nuclei by merging with a following vowel sound. The most common syllabic consonants in English are M and L. For M to be syllabic, it must be preceded by a single consonant, usually an alveolar one. L can be syllabic when preceded by any consonant except a nasal. Examples of words containing syllabic M and L are given.

Uploaded by

Iqra Shaheen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Consonant Syllabicity

All syllables must have a nucleus. The nucleus may optionally be preceded by an onset,
consisting of one or more consonants and it may optionally be followed by a coda, consisting
of one or more consonants. The sound which may perform the function of syllable nucleus
are said to be syllabic.

Vowels are syllabic, whereas, in most languages, consonants are not syllabic, i.e., they
cannot be syllable nuclei. In English, too, consonants are generally non-syllabic, but there
is a process known as Syllabic Consonant Formation which makes consonants such as
or syllabic, that is to say syllabic nuclei. In SCF, a sequence of followed by either by
or may merge so that the vowel disappears, but gives its syllabic characteristic to
the consonant. Syllabic consonants are represented with the diacritic / underneath e.g.,
the word chosen . The most likely consonants to become syllabic in English are
and , under certain conditions. For both consonants the sequence and or must be
in the same syllable, but there are other requirements for SCF to be possible. These
conditions are more restrictive for the nasal than for lateral .

The alveolar nasal may become syllabic in the following environments:

• When the sequence is preceded by a consonant, which must be an obstruent (plosive,


fricative or affricate). Nasal syllabicity is more likely if the preceding consonant is an
alveolar. Examples: listen - , pardons -
• If the sequence is preceded by more than one consonant, SCF is sometimes possible
but not if one of the preceding consonants is a nasal:
golden -

BUT NOT
London -

The details of which consonant sequence may be followed by SCF involving are rather
complicated. So, it’s better to confine to those situations where the sequence is preceded by a
single consonant, although RP speakers use in other circumstances. On the other hand, if
the sequence precedes the stressed syllable, syllabicity is not very frequent, so simply
ignore it:
condense or , sentence , instant ,

mention , intention
SCF involving the alveolar lateral only requires that the sequence be preceded by at
least one consonant, other than (approximents).

parcel

pistol

handle

panel

Notice that if a morpheme starting with a weak vowel is added after the syllabic nasal or
lateral, syllabicity for the consonant may be lost (de-syllabicity), since the consonant may
become the onset of the following syllable:

listen OR

panel OR

rattle OR

There are a lot of syllabic consonants, for practice, in the following transcribed
passage:
| |
|
| |
|
|

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy