Syllabic structure of English

Hierarchical structure of language
Definition 1
Speech sounds are normally part of a larger and hierarchically higher phonetic unit known as the syllable, which is an integral constituent part of a still higher unit which is the word.

Syllable : Definition
Syllable is the smallest unit into which speech continuum is divided .
Is it evident? How do you divide into syllables: an aim, a name, reading, studying, city, seated, agree, unrestricted, simple, etc.

Definition3
Syllable is the smallest articulatory (pronunciation) unit.
Ex. twilight, tea, see- seed- seat,
Вода, вод, водовоз

Definition 4
Syllable is the smallest perception unit.
Experiments has shown that the listener can recognize the preceding sound only after he has analyzed the whole syllable (Кожевников, Чистович, Джапаридзе).

Definition 5
The syllable determines particular ways in which phonemes are grouped in a particular language. (Greek : “syn”- together, “labein” – take)
Ex. “Knabe” (German – 2 syl, English – 3 syl) )

Definition 6
Syllable is a combination of vowel and consonant.
(term “con+sonant” – sounding with something)

Other possible definitions?
Syllable is a unit of rhythm.
The foot in poetry is a certain combination of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Example : мой дядя…..

Syllable structure
C+V
CV
VCV
CVCC
No
Ago
Rhythm

Definition 7
«Syllable is a structural unit , which consists of a vowel alone or of a vowel (or a syllabic consonant) surrounded by consonants in the numbers and arrangements permitted by a given language»
(Борисова, Метлюк. Теор фонетика) .

Classification of syllables
Open (be)
Closed (fit)
Covered (not)
Uncovered (awe)

Orphographic classification
Open “be” “sale”
Closed “fit”
Syl 3 “card” “third” “hurl”
Syl4 “care” “lure”

English syllabic sonorants
Вопль
Фильм
Ритм
Челн
People
Film
Rhythm
Fallen

English syllabic sonorants
in word final positions

Syllable division
An aim
A blacked eye
A nice house
Stand ‘up
Is’over
A name
A black tie
An ice house
Stan’dup
Iso’ver

Open vs closed syllables
Syllable division
Parking
Forty
Garden
Music
city
lily
petty
sorry
money

Syllable division and morphemic structure
Late-ly
Feel- ing
La-ter
Fee-ling

Syllable vs Mora
English and Russian are syllable counting and not MORA – counting .
MORA = length of 1 short vowel

Syllable as carrier of prosodemes
Ex. How many
syllables are there in the
word
“syllable” ?

Syllable and sound change
Assimilation (historical , incidental, complete, partial)
Accommodation

Theories
R. Stetson “Chest pulse theory”
Every syllable is a fresh expiration?
- star, seeing

Relative Sonority Theory
O. Jespersen
Sounds group themselves according to the degree of sonority
Sounds differ in the degree of sonority
Sounds are opposed as peaks of sonority vs valleys of sonority
Ex. sand vs sadden

Classification of sounds acc. to the degree of sonority
Open vowels
Mid-open vowels
Close vowels
Sonorants
Voiced fricartives
Voiced stops
Voiceless fricatives
Voiceless stops

Definition 8
The distance between the two points of lower sonority is a syllable.
Ex. 1. October (3), melt (1) , metal (2)
2. Star, skate, next
3. an aim, a name

Muscular Tension Theory
Shcherba L.S.
Syllable is an arc of muscular tension
Three types of consonants :
сильноконечные, сильноначальные, двухвершинные
Ex. It, pin,
tie, part,
that time, pen knife

Loudhess theory
Syllable is an arc of loudness.
Ex. a black tie
a blacked eye