Seminar 4

Syllable formation theories

Another theory most often referred to is the theory of syllable put forward by O. Jespersen. It is
generally called the sonority theory / the prominence theory and is based on the concept of
sonority. Otto Jespersen has proved that the least sonorous sounds are those for which the mouth is
closed (voiceless oral stops), while the most sonorous sounds are those for which the mouth is
wide open (low vowels). All other sounds are ranked in between these two extreme points of the
sonority scale: (from the highest degree to the lowest):

1. Low vowels (a:, ɔ..).

2. High vowels (i:, i....)

3. Semivowels (j, w)

4. Liquids (1, r)

5. Nasals (m, n, ŋ)

6. Fricatives (voiced) (v, z, ð)

7. Fricatives (voiceless) (f, θ, s)

8. Oral stops (voiced) (b, d, g)

9. Oral stops (voiceless) (p, t, k)

By this theory the syllable is treated as the combination of a more sonorous sound with a less
sonorous one. All the sounds with the greatest degree of sonority (vowels and sonorants) are at the
peak of the syllable. 

Academician L.V. Shcherba put forward the theory of muscular tension. He explained syllable
formation by muscular tension impulses and three types of consonants. In speaking, muscular
tension impulses follow one another. Each impulse has its strongest point – the peak of prominence
– and its weakest prominence – the valley of prominence. Valleys of prominence correspond to
points of syllabic division. The end of one syllable and the beginning of the next one can be
ascertained by determining the type of consonants which take part in forming the syllables.

Consonants may be pronounced:

1) initially strong – the beginning of a consonant may be more energetic, while the end may be
weaker (e.g. it, us, add);

2) finally strong – the beginning of the consonant may be weak, and its end more energetic
(e.g. may, tea);

3) geminate or double – both the beginning and the end are energetic with a weakening of
muscular tension in the middle, acoustically, they give the impression of two consonants (e.g. pen-
knife [n:], midday [d:]).
The more energetic part of a consonant is attached to a vowel, so that initially strong C occurs at
the end of a close syllable, while finally strong C occurs at the beginning of a syllable.
His theory again does not give a complete explanation of the syllable division mechanism.

The linguist and psychologist N.I. Zhinkin has suggested the so-called loudness theory which
seems to combine levels of production or perception. The experiments carried out by N.I. Zhinkin
showed that the syllable could be thought of as the arc of loudness which correlates with the arc of
articulatory effort on the speech production level since variations in loudness are due to the work
of all the speech mechanisms. In other words, syllables are due to a rise and fall of the loudness.

It is perfectly obvious that no phonetician has succeeded so far in giving an adequate explanation
of what the syllable is. The difficulties seem to arise from the various possibilities of approach to
the unit. There exist two points of view:

1. Sоme linguists consider the syllable to be a purely articulatory unit which lacks any functional
value. This point of view is defended on the ground that the boundaries of syllables do not always
coincide with those of morphemes.

2. However the majority of linguists treat the syllable as the smallest pronounceable unit which can
reveal some linguistic function.

Trying to define the syllable from articulatory point of view we may talk about universals. When
we mean the functional aspect of the syllable, it should be defined with the reference to the
structure of one particular language.

The definition of the syllable from the functional point of view tends to single out the following
features of the syllable:

a) a syllable is a chain of phonemes of varying length;

b) a syllable is constructed on the basis of contrast of its constituents (which is usually of vowel -
consonant type);

c) the nucleus of a syllable is a vowel, the presence of consonants is optional; there are no

languages in which vowels are not used as syllable nuclei, however, there are languages in which
this function is performed by consonants;

d) the distribution of phonemes in the syllabic structure follows by the rules which are specific
enough for a particular language.

Sonorants are speech sounds intermediate between noise-consonants and vowels because they have
articulatory features in common with both. In their production an obstruction is formed but in the
case of oral sonorants [w, j, l, r] it is not narrow enough to produce much noise and prevent the
mouth cavity altogether from functioning as a resonator, while in the case of the occlusive
sonorants [m, n, ŋ] the nasal resonator is brought into action. Muscular tension is concentrated in
the place of obstruction, but the exhaling force is weak.
Syllable division according to F. de Saussure.

The acoustic aspect of the syllable has been studied by E. Zwirner, R. Jacobson & M. Halle.
According to the results obtained, the peak of the syllable (a vowel or sonant) has a higher
intensity than its consonants & in many cases a higher fundamental frequency. Perceptually, the
 peak is louder & higher in pitch. These acoustic features easily agree with physiological definition
of the syllable as an arc of articulatory effort (muscular tension).

Functions of syllable

The syllable as a phonological unit performs three functions: constitutive, distinctive,

identificatory. They are closely connected.

1. Constitutive Function

Syllables constitute words, phrases and sentences through the combination of their prosodic
features: loudness — stress, pitch — tone, duration — length and tempo. Syllables may be
stressed, unstressed,, high, mid, low, rising, falling, long, short. All these prosodic features
constitute the stress pattern of words, tonal and rhythmic structure of an utterance, help to
perform distinctive variations on the syllabic level.

2. Distinctive and Differentiator^ Function

If we compare the words: lightening освещение and lightning молния, we may observe that

their syllabicity is the only minimal, distinctive feature: /Uaitfltn vs. Uaitnm/.

It is an example of the word-distinctive function of the syllabicity of /n/.

There are rather many combinations in English distinguished from each other by means of the
difference in the place ol the syllabic boundary: a name—an aim, ice cream—/ scream, we
loan— we'll own: /ataeim/—/an leim/, /iais'kri:m/—/ai iskrhm/, /wi- Uaun/— ,/wil isun/.

The distinctive, differentiator function of the syllabic boundary makes it possible to introduce
the term "juncture". Close juncture or conjuncture occurs between sounds within one syllable,
e.g. a name, I scream: in the first example the close juncture is between In! and /ei/, in the
second — between /s/ and /k/. Open juncture, disjuncture, or internal open juncture occurs
between two syllables. If we mark open juncture with /-f / then in our examples it will occur
between a +mme, I + scream. American scientists H. A. Gleason, L. S. Harris and K. Pike
consider the open juncture a separate segmental phoneme. They include /+/ into the inventory
of phonemes as a separate differentiatory unit.

3. Identificatory Function

This function is conditioned by the pronunciation of the speaker. The listener can understand
the exact meaning of the utterance only if he perceives the correct syllabic boundary —
"syllabodisjuncture", e.g. pea stalks стеблу гороха—peace talks мирные переговоры; my
train мой поезд — might rain

Definition and types of syllable

A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. It is typically made up of a
syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins
(typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "building blocks" of
words

There are six types of syllables:

1. A closed syllable ends in a consonant. The vowel has a short vowel sound, as in the
word bat.
2. An open syllable ends in a vowel. The vowel has a long vowel sound, as in the first
syllable of apron.
3. A vowel-consonant-e syllable is typically found at the end of a word. The final e is silent
and makes the next vowel before it long, as in the word name.
4. A vowel team syllable has two vowels next to each other that together say a new sound,
as in the word south.
5. A consonant+l-e syllable is found in words like handle, puzzle, and middle.
6. An r-controlled syllable contains a vowel followed by the letter r. The r controls the
vowel and changes the way it is pronounced, as in the word car.

Basic Syllable Rules

1. To find the number of syllables:
---count the vowels in the word,
---subtract any silent vowels, (like the silent "e" at the end of a word or the second vowel when two vowels a
together in a syllable)
---subtract one vowel from every diphthong, (diphthongs only count as one vowel sound.)
---the number of vowels sounds left is the same as the number of syllables.
The number of syllables that you hear when you pronounce a word is the same as the number of vowels sounds
heard. For example:
The word "came" has 2 vowels, but the "e" is silent, leaving one vowel sound andone syllable.
The word "outside" has 4 vowels, but the "e" is silent and the "ou" is a diphthong which counts as only one sound,
so this word has only two vowels sounds and therefore, two syllables.

2. Divide between two middle consonants.

Split up words that have two middle consonants. For example:
hap/pen, bas/ket, let/ter, sup/per, din/ner, and Den/nis. The only exceptions are the consonant digraphs. Never
split up consonant digraphs as they really represent only one sound. The exceptions are "th", "sh", "ph", "th", "ch",
and "wh".

3. Usually divide before a single middle consonant.

When there is only one syllable, you usually divide in front of it, as in:
"o/pen", "i/tem", "e/vil", and "re/port". The only exceptions are those times when the first syllable has an
obvious short sound, as in "cab/in".

4. Divide before the consonant before an "-le" syllable.

When you have a word that has the old-style spelling in which the "-le" sounds like "-el", divide before the
consonant before the "-le". For example: "a/ble", "fum/ble", "rub/ble" "mum/ble" and "this/tle". The only
exception to this are "ckle" words like "tick/le".

5. Divide off any compound words, prefixes, suffixes and roots which have vowel sounds.
Split off the parts of compound words like "sports/car" and "house/boat". Divide off prefixes such at "un/happy",
"pre/paid", or "re/write". Also divide off suffixes as in the words "farm/er", "teach/er", "hope/less" and "care/ful". In
the word "stop/ping", the suffix is actually "-ping" because this word follows the rule that when you add "-ing" to a
word with one syllable, you double the last consonant and add the "-ing".

By what is the English stress or accent marked?

a short vertical line that, when the pronunciation of a word is being shown, is printed before
the syllable that receives the most stress or the second most stress in the word:
What is the largest number of syllables in an English word?
8 syllables: unintelligibility, incomprehensibility
Seminar 5
The nature, function, placement, degree of word stress
Stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a
phrase or sentence. In English, stressed syllables are louder than non-stressed syllables. Also, they are
longer and have a higher pitch. English is a stress-timed language.
Function:
Word-stress has a constitutive function, as it moulds syllables into a word forming its stress pattern.
Word-stress has a distinctive function in English, because exists there different words in English with
analogous sound structure which are differentiated in speech only by their stress pattern. E.g.
Noun / adjective verb
'Insult in'sult
'Subject sub'ject
Word-stress has an identificatory factory function, because stress patterns of words enable people to
identify definite combinations of sounds as meaningful linguistic units. A distortion of the stress pattern
may hamper understanding or produce a strange accent .
Placement- free position

Degree-The problem is to determine which of the degrees are linguistically relevant. There are 2 views
of the matter. Some (e.g. D. Jones, R. Kingdon, V. Vassilyev) consider that there are 3 degrees or in
English: primary, secondary (partial stress) and weak (unstressed). Secondary stress is chiefly needed to
define the stress pattern of words. E.g. “e,xami'nation”, “,qualifi'cation”, “'hair-,dresser”.

All these degrees stress are linguistically relevant as there are words in English the meanings of which
depend on the occurrence of either of the 3 degrees in their stress patterns. E.g. 'import - im'port,
,certifi'cation - cer,tifi'cation =certificate.

Some American linguists (G. Trager, A. Hill) distinguish 4 degrees of W-s:

 Primary (as in “cupboard”) /  /

 Secondary (as in “discrimination) / ^ /

 Tertiary (as in “analyze”)

Weak stress (as in “cupboard”), but very often the weakly stressed syllable is left unmarked. /v/

American phoneticians consider that secondary stress generally occurs before the primary stress (as in
examination), while tertiary stress occurs the primary stress (as in handbook, specialize).

Tendencies
Two main tendencies determine the place and different degrees of word stress in English: the
RECESSIVE tendency and the RHYTHMIC tendency. The oldest of the English word accentuation
tendencies is the RECESSIVE tendency, characteristic of all Germanic languages.
Two equally strong stressed English words
There are several large groups of words in English with two equally strong stresses. These words consist
of two morphemes. The use of the second strong stress is caused by the semantic significance of both
equally stressed elements of the word, e.g. 're'write, 'four'teen. Word stress in English as well as in
Russian is free, in the sense that the primary stress is not tied to any particular syllable in all the words.
But it always falls on a particular syllable of any given word.
BrE vs AmE
The British linguists usually distinguish three degrees of stress in the word. A.C. Gimson, for example, shows the
distribution of the degrees of stress in the word ex4a3mi2na1tion5. The primary stress is the strongest, it is
marked by number 1, the secondary stress is the second strongest marked by 2. All the other degrees are
termed weak stress. Unstressed syllables are supposed to have weak stress.
 The American scholars B. Bloch and G. Trager find four contrastive degrees of word stress, namely: loud,
reduced loud, medial and weak stresses. Other American linguists also distinguish four degrees of word stress but
term them: primary stress, secondary stress, tertiary stress and weak stress. The difference between the secondary
and tertiary stresses is very subtle and seems subjective. The criteria of their difference are very vague. The second
pretonic syllables of such words as libe'ration, recog'nition are marked by secondary stress in BrE, in AmE they are
said to have tertiary stress. In AmE tertiary stress also affects the suffixes -ory, -ary, -ony of nouns and the
suffixes –ate, -ize, -y of verbs, which are considered unstressed in BrE, e.g. 'territory, 'ceremony, 'dictionary;
'demonstrate, 'organize, 'simplify.
Different languages and the placement of stress

English – free stress

German- on the first syllable
French/Latin- on the last syllable

Compounds and phrase

Compounds have primary stress on the first word and on those following them they have secondary stress. In the
compound "GOLF ball," the first word has primary stress and the following the secondary stress. As for phrases,
however, their qualified elements i.e. the words second in line, are stressed more prominently. Therefore the
acquisition of such a distinction in stress patterns in phrases and compounds is very important for learners of English
in order to analyze what is said and convey their meaning more precisely in their oral communication.

In English there are three types of stress:

 syllable stress. when one syllable in a word is pronounced louder and more clearly than
adjacent syllables.
 word stress. when one word is pronounced louder and more clearly than adjacent words
in a sentence.
 phrase, clause or sentence stress.

Compound nouns
Stress is important in pronunciation, as it distinguishes between a compound noun and
an adjective with a noun. In compound nouns, the stress usually falls on the first syllable
In a compound noun, the first word usually takes on the stress
ICEland
TOOTHpaste
SEAfood
AIRplane