Syllable division

3. Types of transcription.

-1-

Syllable formation in English is based on the phonological opposition vowel – consonant. Vowels are usually syllabic while consonants are not, with the exception of [l], [m], [n], which become syllabic if they occur in an unstressed final position preceded by a noise consonant [/litl], [/ga:dn].

The structure of the syllable is known to vary because of the number and the agreement of consonants. In English there are 4 types of syllables:

1) open (no),

2) closed (odd),

3) covered (note),

4) uncovered (oh).

The structure of the English syllables reveals variations in the number of pre-vocalic consonants from 1 to 3 and post-vocalic consonants from 1 to 5.

As to the number of syllables in the English word it can vary from 1 to eight.

-2-

The other aspect of the dialectal unity which characterizes the speech continuum is syllable division. The linguistic importance of syllable divisions in different languages is in finding typology of syllables and syllable structure of meaningful units of a language, that is morphemes and words.

The syllabic structure of a language is patterned. The part of phonetics that deals with this aspect of a language is called phonotactics.

In English the problem of syllable division exists only in case of intervocalic consonants and their clusters like in the words [/siti], [ ə/gri:].

2 variants are possible:

1) the point of syllable division is after the intervocalic consonant;

2) the point of syllable division is inside the consonant.

In both cases the first syllable remains closed according to phonotactic rules of the English language, because the short vowel should be checked. The results of the analysis show that the point of syllable division in words like [/piti], [/topic] is inside the intervocalic consonant.

Functions of the syllable:

1) the constitutive function. It lies in its ability to be a part of a word or a word itself;

2) the distinctive function. The syllable is characterized by its ability to differentiate words and word forms.

So at the functional level of description the syllable could be conceived of as a smallest pronounceable unit with potential linguistic importance.

-3-

The system of phonetic notations is generally termed as “transcription”. Transcription is a set of symbols representing speech sounds. The first type of notation is broad or phonemic transcription which provides special symbols for all the phonemes of a language. The second type – the narrow or allophonic transcription – suggests special symbols including some notes about the articulation of a particular allophone. It is used in research work.

There are two types of broad transcription, used in this country:

1) the first type was introduced by D. Jones. He realized the difference in quality as well as in quantity between the vowel sounds in the words “sit” and “seat”, the neutral vowel and the vowel in the word “earn”. He wanted to reduce the number of symbols and insisted that some conventions should be stated one and for all. One of these conventions is that the above mentioned long and short vowels differ in quality as well as in quantity. That’s why one used the same symbols for them [i – i:].

2) the second type used by V.A. Vassilyel, causes no phonological misunderstanding providing special symbols for all vowel phonemes [I], [i:], [e], [æ], [a:], [Λ], [o], [o:], [u], [u:], [3:], [ə].

Being a good visual aid this way of notation can be strongly recommended for teaching the pronunciation of English to any audience.

Questions:

1. How many types of syllables do you know? Name them.

1. What are the three points according to which a syllable can be analyzed?

3. What is the main problem of the syllable division in English?

4. What are the functions of the syllable?

5. Give the definition of the term “syllable”.

6. What are the basic differences between the broad and narrow types of transcription?