1.
Phonotactics and syllables
Prof. Gustavo Santamaría

2.
 Let’s combine the following sounds to form English
words:
/ŋ/ /i/ /t/
/k/ /t/ /Ɛ/ /n/
 Is it possible?
 Why?

3.
 Each language has rules to combine its sounds.
 These rules are language specific! What is possible in
English may not be possible in Spanish!
 These rules of sound combinations are known in
phonology as
Phonotactics.

4.
Phonotactics
 The constraints on positions and sequences of sounds
in a language.
 Some rules:
 Combination of /pn/ in intial position of a word is not
permitted in English.
 /ŋ/ is never word initial
 /ʒ/ is never word initial, but common word medially.

5.
Phonotactics
 Some rules:
 /h/, /j/, and /w/ are always syllable initial before
stressed vowels (house, youngster, wonderful)
 /ð/ is word initial only in certain pronouns, adverbs,
demonstratives, but never in nouns, verbs, and
adjectives. Otherwise, it occurs freely word medially or
word finally.
…and some other rules…

6.
Phonotactics
 Phonotactics operate in larger phonological units
called:
The syllables
 What is a syllable?
 How do speakers determine the number of syllables in
a given utterance?

7.
Defining the syllable
 A phonological unit
 Larger than the phoneme
 Psychological features:
 Almost all speakers divide words into syllables not into
sound segments.
 Speakers of a language will divide the same word into
more or less the same number of syllables.

8.
Defining the syllable
 Production and recognition:
 It’s a geniune and easily recognized unit of speech.
 Easy to identify, impossible to define.
 Hypothesis:
 The syllable is a group of sounds produced by a single puff of
air (chest pulse).
 What about the words “city” and “pots”? One or two chest
pulses?

9.
Defining the syllable
• Production and recognition
– Speakers may recognize two syllables, but only one chest
pulse.
– Recognition must combine a number of features:
• Sonority (relative prominence)
• Stress
• Length
• Pitch
• Certain phonetic features (beginnings and endings of
syllables)

10.
Syllabic segments
 Syllabic segments:
 Each syllable = one prominent segment
(vowel or sonorant*)
 Vowels are almost always syllabic (vowel symbols involve
syllabicity).
 Consonants are usually non-syllabic (consonant symbols
don’t involve syllabicity)
 Syllabic consonants need a mark (diacritic) to indicate
syllabicity. For example: / l /
*Sonorant sounds: glides /w, j/; liquids /l, r/; and nasals /m, n, ŋ/

11.
Syllabic segments
 Syllabic segments:
 Usually syllabic consonants are liquids or nasals.
 Rarely fricatives work as syllabic consonants ([pst])
 The division between syllables (syllable juncture) is
marked with a hyphen [-] or with a dot [٠]
 Example: “city” syllabification = [sIt-I]
“mistake” syllabification = [mI-steik]
“mistime” syllabification = [mIs-t aIm]
 Syllabic segments represented by V, non-syllabic ones
represented by C.
h

12.
Syllable structure
Syllable
Onset:
segments that
precede the
peak
Core (Rhyme)
Peak (Nucleus):
the syllabic segment
Coda:
segments that
follow the peak

13.
Syllable structure/Example
city: [sIt-I]
Onset
[s]
[sIt]
Core
Peak
[I]
Coda
[t]
[I]
Peak

14.
Syllable structure
 About the coda:
 When it is present, the syllable is CLOSED or checked.
 When it is absent, the syllable is OPEN or unchecked.

15.
Syllable structure
[sIt]
Core
Peak
[I]
Coda
[t]
[I]
Peak
[sIt-I]
Onset
[s]
Closed
Open

16.
Coda restrictions in English
• Closed syllables may vary from 1 to 4 consonants in word
final position:
– Examples:
• 1: Top /tap/ , lock /lak/, meet /mit/
• 2: Apt /æpt/, fix /fIks/, list /lIst/
• 3: Mumps /mʌmps/, puzzled /pʌzld/, twelfth /twƐlfƟ/
• 4: Sixths /sIksƟs/, prompts /prampts/, twelfths /twƐlfƟs/
• Open syllables: only tense vowels occur in stressed
syllables with no coda (me /mi/, saw /sͻ/, true /tru/).

17.
Onset restrictions in English
• Syllables may have onsets from 1 to 3 consonants:
– Examples:
• 1: tea /ti/
• 2: try /traI/
• 3: stress /strƐs/
– Onsets of 3 consonants follow the pattern:
• 1st sound = /s/
• 2nd sound = voiceless stop /t, p, k/
• 3rd sound = /l, r, w, j/
splash, strike,
squeeze, studio*
/j/ or /u/

18.
Onset restrictions
 Onsets of 2 consonants are:
 /p/ + /l, r, j/ = plural, prize, computer
 /t/+ /r, j, w/= triumph, tune, twelve
 /k/+/l,r,j,w/= clown, crack, cute, quick
 /b/+/l,r,j/= blue, brown, beautiful
 /d/+/r,j,w/= dry, dual*, dwelling
 /g/+/l,r,j,w/= glow, grape
 /m/+/j/= music
 /n/ + /j/= new

19.
Onset restrictions
 Onsets of 2 consonants:
 /l/ + /j/ = lure
 /f/+/l,r,j/= flaw, fry, furious
 /v/+/j/= view
 /Ɵ/+/r,j,w/= through, thwart
 /s/+/l,j,w,p,t,k,m,n/= slide, splash, stake, smack, snake,
sweet
 /ʃ/+/r/=shrink, shrimp
 /h/+/j/= huge