3 Syllabic structure: syllable formation and syllable division

Phonemes are seldom pronounced in isolation. They usually occur in sequences. Any speech flow consist of series of picks and valleys of prominence with the more sonorous phonemes at the pick and less sonorous in the valleys. Sounds sequences are acoustically broken up into smaller units known as syllables, which are the minimal units of sounding speech.

A syllable may consist of one or number of phonemes.

A speech sound which is capable of forming a syllable is called syllabic.

A speech sound which is not capable of forming a syllable called non-syllabic. The syllabic structure of word may be graphically represented by the letter V standing for a vowel sound, and the letter C standing for a consonant sound. The syllabic sonorant is represented by S. Every syllable has a definite structure. It belongs to one of the following 4 main types of syllable : V, VC, CV, CVC. They are classified as covered, uncovered, open and closed. A syllable which begins in a consonant is called covered. A syllable which ends in a vowel is called open. A syllable which ends in a consonant is called closed. V uncovered, open (or, I). VC uncovered, closed (it, add, as). CV covered, open (see, me). CVC covered, closed (catch, pit).

There are several theories which try to explain the mechanism of syllable formation and syllable division. The oldest of them is the so- called expiratory theory. According to this theory each syllable corresponds to one expiration. A word consists of as many syllables as there are such expirations made when the word is uttered. Each syllable begins with the fresh expiration. So, according to this theory the number of syllables depends on the number of expiration.

The next is the sonority theory. It was develop by Otto Jesperson. The term “sonority” is taken by O.Jesperson as “the degree of perceptibility”.

All speech sounds have different inherent sonority. The most sonorous are open back vowels, the list sonorous are the voiceless stops. O.Jesperson classified all speech sounds according to 7 level of sonority.1 vowels; 2 semi-vowels [j,w]; 3 sonorants [l,m,n,r] ; 4 voiced fricatives [v ð z з]; 5 voiced stops [b d g]; 6 voiceless fricatives [f ө s h ʃ]; 7 voiceless stops [p t k]. According to this theory each vowel constitutes a peak of sonority. So, according to this theory the number of this syllables depends on the number of peaks of sonority. The word “popular” consists of three peaks of sonority, that is why it has three syllables. This theory was criticized because it cannot explain the mechanism of syllable formation and syllable division.

Professor Shcherba put forward a theory of syllable formation and syllable of division. It was further developed by his followers. According to him all consonants may be of 3 types: 1 initially strong and finally weak (it, on, us); 2 finally strong and initially weak (may, so, tea); 3 double consonants which are strong at both ends and have a weakening in the middle (good day, misspell, unknown); The most energetic part of consonant is attached to a vowel. In the word “ten” there are 2 consonants: [t] and [n], the consonant [t] is finally strong and initially weak, because the vowel is attached to the end of the consonant. The consonant [n] is initially strong and finally weak, because the vowel is attached to the beginning of [n]. it may represented graphically in the following way. At the beginning [t] is weak, at the end it gets stronger. The muscular tension increases still until it reaches its climax produced by the vowel [e]. Then the muscular tension begins to diminish. The [n] is still strong at the beginning but gets quite weak at the end. This theory was known as “muscular tension theory”.

By using different complicated techniques prof. Zhinkin found out which speech organ causes a syllable to be formed. This organ is the pharyngeal cavity. When the walls of the pharynx are contracted the passage through the pharyngeal cavity gets narrower. This process increased the actual loudness of the sound and the latter produces an “arc of loudness”. This theory is often reffered to as “loudness theory”. Prof. Zhinkin has proved that “the arc of loudness” is due to the complex work of the speech mechanism as a whole (including the work of the power, vibrator, resonator and obstructer mechanisms). That is why prof. Vassilyev suggest that it would be more precise to call a syllable an “arc of articulatory effort”, but not an “arc of loudness”.

The syllabic structure of English performs 3 main functions:

1) constitutive; 2) distinctive; 3) recognitive;

The syllabic structure is constitutive function because syllables constitute the material forms of all the word, phrases and sentences. The distinctive function of the syllabic structure includes differences in both syllable formation and syllable division. Presence or absence of a syllable in one and the same position, as well as different syllabic boundaries may differentiate one word from another word. Here are some phonological oppositions of presence vs absence in the same position in a minimal pair: [Bet-betә ]– bet-better; [beit-ә’beit] – bate-abate; [dri:m-dri:mi] – dream-dreamy; the distinctive function of syllable division may be only one example: [nai-treit; nait-reit] (nitrate – night-rate). The number of combinations of words distinguished from each other by different syllabic boundaries is rather considerable: a name – an aim; I scream – ice-cream; a nice house – an ice house.

The recognitive function of the syllabic structure manifests itself in the fact that the right syllabic boundary makes it easier to recognize words, phrases and sentences. Correct pronunciation [hӕp-i] incorrect [hӕ-pi](happy); (stand up) correct [stӕnd-ʌp] incorrect [stӕn-dʌp]; The violation of the recognitive function of the syllabic structure results in the following: 1)wrong syllable division produces a strong foreign accent; 2)in produces a comic impression upon an Englishman; 3)it hampers the process of communication.