Syllable

5.1. The phenomenon of the syllable.

5.2. Syllable formation.
5.3. Syllable division.
5.4. Functional aspect of the syllable.
5.5. Graphic characteristics of the syllable.
 5.1. THE PHENOMENON OF THE
SYLLABLE
M.A. Sokolova points out that
speech can be broken into minimal
pronounceable units into which
sounds show a tendency to group
themselves. These smallest
phonetic groups are called syllables.
As syllables are the smallest
pronounceable units, they can form
language units of greater
magnitude, i.e. morphemes, words,
phrases and sentences. Each of
 According to J. Kenyon the
syllable is one or more speech
sounds forming a single
uninterrupted unit of utterance,
which may be a whole word, or a
commonly recognized and
separable subdivision of a word.
The syllable can be a single word
(chair [ʧeə]), a part of a word
(English ['ɪŋɡlɪʃ]), a part of the
grammatical form of a word (later
['leɪ-tə]).
 The syllable is a complicated phenomenon
and it can be studied on four levels: acoustic,
articulatory, auditory and functional.
Acoustically the syllable is characterized by
the force of utterance, pitch of the voice and
length. On the auditory level the syllable is
the smallest unit of perception. The
articulatory energy which constitutes the
syllable results from the combined action of
the power, vibrator, resonator and obstructor
mechanisms. Phonologically the syllable is
regarded and defined in terms of its structural
and functional properties.
 The fact that the syllable can be approached
from different points of view gave rise to a number
of theories:
- the so-called expiratory theory (experimentally
proved by R.H. Stetson);
- the sonority theory (O. Jespersen);
- the theory of muscular tension (was sketched by
L.V. Sherba and modified by V.A. Vasilyev);
- the loudness theory (worked by N.I. Zhinkin).
The expiratory theory states that there are as
many syllables in a word as there are expiration
pulses. The sonority theory states that there are as
many syllables in a word as there are peaks of
prominence or sonority. Two points of lower
sonority constitute the beginning and the end of
one syllable. This theory helps to establish the
number of syllables in a word. The loudness theory
states that the centre of a syllable is the syllable
 The syllable can also be viewed in
connection with its graphic
representation. Syllables in writing are
called syllabographs and are closely
connected with the morphemic
structure of words.
Syllables are characterized by some
variation in the force of utterance. So
they can be classified according to their
accentual weight. From this point of
view, syllables may be stressed and
unstressed.
The syllabic structure of words has
two aspects which are inseparable from
each other: syllable formation and
 5.2. SYLLABLE
FORMATION

A syllable is a speech unit

consisting of a sound (V) or a sound
sequence (VC, CS) one of which is
heard to be more prominent than the
others. The most prominent sound
being the peak of the syllable is called
syllabic. Only syllabic sounds are
capable of forming syllables. Syllabic
sounds are generally vowels and
sonorants (in English).
 A word consisting of only
one vowel sound represents
a separate syllable (I [aɪ], are
[ɑː]). In the case of a
diphthong the peak of the
syllable is formed by its
nucleus.
In English there are four types of the
syllable (by M.A. Sokolova, V.D. Arakin):
1) CV covered open (no)
2) VC uncovered closed (on)
3) CVC covered closed (man)
4) V uncovered open (are)
 5.3. SYLLABLE DIVISION

It is not difficult to count how many

syllables a word contains by noticing the
peaks or the most prominent sounds in it, but
it is not generally easy to determine precisely
the syllable boundary.
Sometimes the beginning of a syllable is
marked by a stress (create [krɪ'eɪt]).
In other cases, the transition from one
vowel sound to another indicates the
separation of syllables (seeing ['siːɪŋ]).
 Syllable division rules can be defined
as follows:
1) An intervocalic (consonants between
vowels) consonant tends to belong to the
following syllabic sound when it is
preceded by a long vowel or a diphthong,
as they are always free (unchecked) at
the end and there is no need to close the
syllable (music ['mjuː-zɪk]).
2) When two vowels are separated from
each other by two consonants the point of
syllable division is often conditioned by
whether this cluster occurs at the
beginning of English words or not. If it
does, the point of syllable division is
before the cluster; if it does not, the
syllabic boundary is between the
consonants (agree - [ə'-ɡriː], admit [əd'-
mɪt]).
 5.4. FUNCTIONAL ASPECT OF THE
SYLLABLE

The syllable performs three functions:

constitutive, distinctive, identificatory. They
are closely connected.
1. Constitutive function. This refers to the
syllable’s role in forming words. Syllables
constitute words, phrases and sentences.
2. Distinctive function. The syllable is
characterized by its ability to differentiate
words and word-forms.
 There are rather many combinations in
English distinguished from each other by
means of the difference in the place of the
syllabic boundary:
a name [ə'neɪm] – an aim [ən'eɪm], ice
cream ['aɪs 'kri:m] – I scream [aɪ 'skri:m].
The distinctive function of the syllable
boundary makes it possible to introduce the
term “juncture”. Close juncture occurs
between sounds within one syllable (a
name, I scream): in the first example the
close juncture is between [n] and [eɪ], in
the second – between [s] and [k].
3. Identificatory (recognitive) 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 pea
stalks (aстебли гороха) – peace talks
(мирные переговоры).
 5.5. Graphic characteristics of the
syllable
Parts of orthographic and phonetic syllables do
not always coincide so it is very important to
observe correct syllable division when
necessity arises to divide a word in writing.
Division of words into syllables in writing
(syllabographs) is based on morphological
principles. The morphological principle of word
division in orthography demands that the part
of a word, which is separated, should be either
a prefix, or a suffix, or a root: be-fore, un-
divided, utter-ance. However, if there are two
or three consonants before -ing, these
consonants can be separated in writing: gras-
ping, puz-zling.
Words can be divided in writing
according to their syllabic structure
(un-kind-li-ness) or they can also be
divided according to their meaning
(spot-light).
The following rules can help with dividing a
word in writing:
− never divide a word within a syllable;
− never divide a suffix of two syllables such
as -able, -ably, -fully;
− with the exception of -ly, never divide a
word so that an ending of two letters such as
-ed, -er, -ic begins the next line;
− never divide a word so that one of the
parts is a single letter;
− never divide a word of one syllable;
− never divide a word of less than five
letters.
Syllable – the shortest segment of speech
continuum. It is one or more speech
sounds, forming a single uninterrupted unit
of utterance, which may be a word, or a
commonly recognized and separable
subdivision of the word (J. Kenyon).
Syllabic – capable of forming a syllable.
Syllabic sounds – sounds that can form
the peaks of prominence.
Questions:
1. What is the syllable?
2. What theories of syllable formation do you
know?
3. What do you know about syllable
formation?
4. What do you know about syllable division?
5. What functions does the syllable perform?
6. What are the rules of dividing a word in
writing?