Definition of syllable: a part of a word pronounced with a single uninterrupted sounding.

As you can see from this definition, a syllable is part of the pronunciation of a word, and a discussion of a syllable belongs in this lesson on phonology. We have already seen that some writing systems use symbols that correspond to the syllable instead of to an individual sound. Even when the syllable is not evident in a writing system, words can be broken into smaller pronunciation units called syllables. Some languages have many multisyllabic words, but others tend to have monosyllabic words.

In this lesson we will look more closely at the structure of a syllable, especially syllables in English, and the implications for teaching ESL.

Activity: Finding Syllables

Most native speakers of English are able to determine the number of syllables in a word because they know how to pronounce a word. Using what you already know and are able to do, count the number of syllables in each word below. Then try to write each word in the IPA (you can just hand write on a piece of paper; you don't need to try to type). As you write the word in the IPA, include a dot to indicate the division between syllables.

1. cat
2. spot
3. cost
4. alarm
5. release
6. construct
7. continents

Nucleus

The first important structural feature of a syllable is the nucleus: every syllable needs a nucleus. The nucleus is usually a vowel but may be a syllablic consonant. In English the liquid and nasal consonants can act as the nucleus of a syllable.

Onset and Coda

A syllable may consist of the nucleus alone, or the nucleus may have other sounds attached to it, either in front or in back of it.

• Sounds attached to the beginning of the nucleus are called the onset: onsets might consist of one or more sound segments.
• Sounds attached to the end of the nucleus are called the coda: codas may consist of one or more sound segments.

Activity: Finding Onsets and Codas

Using the same words you used in the last activity, try to identify the onsets and codas of each syllable. Remember to use the IPA transcription you made or you end up looking at letters of the alphabet, not sounds in the syllables.

1. cat
2. spot
3. cost
4. alarm
5. release
6. construct
7. continents

Click here to see the answers.

Now take a look at the following lists of words:

What would you say about all of the words in the list on the left?
What would you say about all of the words in the list on the right?

How would you describe the answers in the linguistic terms you've just learned?

You should have noticed that the words in the list on the left were all rhyming words, and that the words in the list on the right aren't rhyming words, but they do all begin with the same sound. Did you also notice that all the words on the right not only begin with the same consonant, but they also have the same vowel following that consonant?

The last activity shows that syllable structure is the basis of rhymes in a language. Rhymes, in return, show us more details about the structure of a syllable; they show us that the nuclear vowel and the coda work toegther in ways that the nuclear vowel and the onset don't. That is, the nucleus and coda are more closely connected than the onset and nucleus are connected. In fact, we use the term rhyme to capture this relationship, but we have no corresponding term to a relationship between an onset and the nucleus. Linguists show the general structure of a syllable, then in the following way, using a tree diagram:

Notice that the technical term for the nucleus-coda pairing is Rime, not rhyme.

Phonotactic Constraints

The phonotactic constraints are the rules about what and how many sounds can combine as onsets and codas. Every language has rules about how many and what kind of sounds can be in the onset and coda.

For example, in English, /ŋ/ cannot be used as the onset of a syllable. However, English’s rule for how many sounds can be in the coda or onset allows an unusually large number of sounds in both:

• Three sounds in the onset
• Four in a coda.
• strengths is an example of the maximal English syllable (largest possible syllable).

The diagram below shows the syllable structure of the word strengths

Language learners may insert extra vowels (epenthesis) to break up long onsets or codas, thereby creating more syllables than the word should have.

• broke [bɹok]may be pronounced as [bə.ɹok]
• cart [kaɹt] may be pronounced as [kaɹ.ət]

Alternatively, language learners may delete some of the sounds as an unconscious approach to reducing the numbers of sounds in the onset or coda. It is possible that the highly common practice of deleting the -s plural noun suffix, the -s third-person singular verb suffix, and the -ed verb suffix may be due more to syllable structure than to a lack of conception of the ideas of plurality or tense.

• cats may be pronounced as either [kæt] or [kæs]; both pronunciations delete one of the two consonants in the coda
• five [fajv] may be pronounced as [faj]

Tips to Teach Syllable Structure

• Practice dividing words into syllables by tapping them out or clapping while saying the word.
• Create hand signals to use to prompt students to shorten a syllable or to lengthen it, such as a karate chop to cut off something or a taffy-pulling signal for lengthening.

Three phonological issues are big issues for ELLs:

• The meaningful differences caused by the difference between phonemes and allophones
• The phonological processes used when producing sounds next to each other.
• The syllable structure rules for English.