Syllables

Question 1

the sonority hierarchy

Answer 1

syllables as sonority peaks (most sonorous sound in a string)
counting sonority peaks = number of syllables
sonority hierarchy: 
low vowels
mid vowels
high vowels
rhotics
laterals
nasals
fricatives
stops

Question 2

Syllable structure: onset + rhyme

Answer 2

Onset:
“low sonority sounds that occur before the peak” (p .335)
Consonants that occur before the nucleus

Rhyme: nucleus + coda
Nucleus: the sonority peak (usually a vowel)
Coda: “low sonority sounds that occur after the peak” (p. 335)
Consonants that occur after the nucleus

Open syllables: no coda
Closed syllables: coda present

Question 3

Dividing words into syllables: Maximum Onset Principle (MOP) aka ‘priority of onsets

Answer 3

Maximum Onset Principle (MOP) aka ‘priority of onsets’
Fill onsets as completely as possible before codas

how would you syllabify ‘caprice’?
/kæp.ɹis/ or /kæ.pɹis/ or /kæpɹ.is/
MOP suggests: /kæ.pɹis/

/kæp.ɹis/ => maybe seems right because you are dividing Cs into different syllables (like we did with ‘friendship and ‘structure’

Question 4

Maximum Onset Principle

Answer 4

aka ‘priority of onsets’
fill onsets as completely as possible before codas

Compare /kæ.pɹis/
to /ʃtrʌktəɹ/
Can we fill the onset with ‘kt’? /ʃtrʌ.ktəɹ/

Question 5

Maximum Onset Principle

Answer 5

How would you divide these words? 
concrete
/kɑnkɹit/
nucleus
/nʌkliəs/

/kɑn. kɹit/

/nʌ.kli.əs/

Question 6

Intermediate Review

Answer 6

Syllables typically move from lower-sonority sounds to higher sonority sounds back to lower ones (based on the sonority hierarchy)
the ‘s’ is a common exception cross-linguistically
English occasionally breaks the sonority sequencing principle (ex. ‘sixths’)
Syllables are made up of:
Minimally a nucleus (usually a vowel)
Can also have an onset (the Cs before the nucleus)
Can also have a coda (the Cs after the nucleus)
When dividing words into syllables, the MOP says to fill onsets as much as possible (as much as the phonotactics of the language allows)

Question 7

Possible syllable structures

Answer 7

4 types of syllables
V: nucleus only (include syllabic C, 2nd syllable of button)
CV: onset + nucleus 
CVC: onset + nucleus + coda
VC: nucleus + coda

Question 8

Moras

Answer 8

Mora = weight of a syllable  (represented by: μ)
Assigned to the rhyme (never the onset)
short vowels: 1 mora
coda: 1 mora
long vowel: 2 moras

Language differences in terms of the number of moras allowed or required

Question 9

Complex codas

Answer 9

Complex codas don’t carry additional weight- only get assigned a single mora
prints

Question 10

Does English allow 3 moras?

Answer 10

pr i: nz
Is it possible to have a long vowel + coda sequence?
yes, it is

Question 11

Does English allow mono moraic syllables?

Answer 11

[bɛt] but not *[bɛ]

no, it does not

Question 12

Ambisyllabicity

Answer 12

A consonant that belongs to 2 syllables
‘bunny’ [bʌni]
MOP: be an onset [bʌ.ni]
Stress falls on 1st syllable [‘bʌn.i] (stressed syllables should be heavy)

Question 13

Geminates

Answer 13

long consonants that occupy two ‘slots’
belong to two syllables
Italian: [fat:o] ‘fact’ vs. [fato] ‘fate’