Theories of Syllable formation and Syllable division. Это вместе

There are different points of view on syllable formation) which aге briefly the following.

“”The most ancient theory states that there are as many syllablies in a word as there are vowels. This theory is primitive and insufficient since it does not take into consideration consonants which also can form syllables in some languages, neither does it explain the boundary of syllables.

The expiratory theory states that there are as many syllables in я word as there arc expiration pulses. The borderline between thesyllables is, according to this theory, the moment of the weakest expiration. This theory is inconsistent because_it_ is quite possiblejo pronounce several syllables in one articulatory effort or expiration,e.g. seeing /’siiirj/.

The sonority theory stales that there are as many syllables in a word as there are peaks of prominence or sonority.

Speech sounds pronounced with uniform force, length and pitch, differ in inherent prominence or sonority. For example, when the Russian vowels /а, о, э, у, и/ are pronounced on one and the same level, their acoustic intensity, or sonority is different: the strongest is /a/, then go /о, э, у, и/.

O. Jespersen established the scale of sonority of sounds, that is, the scale of their inherent prominence. According to this scale the most sonorous are back vowels (low, mid, high), then go semi-vowels and sonorants, then - voiced and voiceless consonants.

А это по отдельности!

Theories of Syllable Formation

#1 Expiratory Theory (Pressure Theory)

It was introduced by R.H. Stetson. The theory is based on the fact that expiration in speech is a pulsating process. So, according to Stetson’s point of view there are as many syllables in a word as there are expiration pulses. The border line between two syllables is at the point of the weakest expiration. The theory proved to be inconsistent and was criticized by a number of linguists. It was pointed out that it is possible to pronounce several syllables, even a number of words or phrase with a single aspiration.

#2 Sonority Theory (Prominent Theory)

It was introduced by O. Jespersen and further developed by a number of western linguists. According to this theory there are as many syllables in a word as there are peaks of prominence according to the scale of sonority. By sonority we understand the acoustic property of speech sounds to carry power that determines the degree of their perceptibility. The most sonorous sounds are vowels, then sonorants, and consonants. Among vowels the most sonorous are open vowels. Among consonants voiced consonants are most sonorous. The most sonorous sounds tend to form the centre of the syllable.

The word “branch” - there the sequence passes from the least sonorous [b] through sonorant [r] to the maximum [ɑː], then sonority gradually decreases through [n] to [ʧ].

#3 The Theory of Muscular Tension

The theory was introduced by Щерба and then adopted by other linguists. According to it the syllable is like an arch of muscular tension with weak phonemes in the beginning and in the end, and a strong phoneme in the middle. So, the energy increases within the range of pre-vocalic consonants and gradually decreases within the range of post-vocalic consonants.

The theory was modified by Васильев, who stated that any syllable can be characterized by 3 features: 1. pitch, 2. intensity, 3. lengh. Within the syllables these features change from minimum to maximum and then to minimum again.

#4 Loudness Theory

It was introduced by Жинкин and seems to combine Васильев’s and Щерба’s points of view. According to this theory a syllable can be seen as the arc of loudness and the arc of articulatory effort due to the fact that the increase in muscular tension actually reinforces the loudness of the vowels.

The variety of theories proves that the syllable is a complicated phenomenon. We can approach the syllable from 2 points of view. We can regard it as a purely articulatory unit that doesn’t have any functional value; or we can see it as the minimal unit that reveals some linguistic functions.

Most linguists support the second point of view that can be proved by the following facts:

§ A syllable can be seen as a number of phonemes.

§ The syllable is based from the contrast between vowels and consonants.

§ The functions of the nuclear of the syllable is performed by vowels.

Minimally a syllable consists of a vowel or a sonorant, which is the nuclear or centre of the syllable. Sometimes a syllable may consist of a consonant (“Mm… “, “Shh…”). So, vowels are syllabic while consonants are not with the exception of consonants [m], [n], [l] which become syllabic if they occur in an unstressed final position before a noise consonant (people - [pipl]).

Traditionally 4 basic types of syllable are singled out:

1. Open syllable. There are syllables that have one or more consonants preceding the nuclear. They make up the syllable onset (“play”, “me”).

2. Closed syllable. These are syllables that have one or more consonants following the nuclear. They make up coda. (“am”)

3. Covered syllable. These are syllables that have both onset and coda. (“hunt”)

4. Uncovered syllable consists only of a nuclear. (“I”, “oh”)

Syllable Division

It’s one thing to count the number of syllables in the word and quite another to decide, where the boundaries between syllables should go. It’s quite clear that sounds of language can be grouped according to certain rules. The part of phonetics that deals with this problem is called phonotactics. In syllable division the following rules are important:

§ In the words of (C)V – CV type the syllable division is naturally before the intervocalic consonant if the first vowel is a long one or a diphthong ([ti:| ʧə], [ɑː|mi]). If the vowel is a short monophthong in a stressed position, it must be checked. Such a vowel may occur only in a closed syllable. It means that in this syllabic structure the syllabic division can go either within the consonant or after it. Most phoneticians consider the syllable division in those words to go within the intervocalic consonant: [letə].

§ Another problematic case of syllable division is connected with the words “agree”, “abrupt”, “admire”. The question is: where should the syllable boundary go, up to the first vowel or between the consonant? The phonological criteria is applied in these cases. In the words “agree” and “abrupt” the syllable boundary after the first vowel, because such initial clasters gr, br are possible in English words (“grow”). In “admire” the boundary goes after “d” because there are no English words which begin with dm.

§ There are cases when the suggested criteria may fail. That’s the case with the word “extra”. There are 3 possible variants of division: [ek | s | t | ra]. All of them are possible because initial cluster “str” exist in English. As D. Krystal points out there is no obvious way to solve this problem, so we should rely on the speaker’s intuition.

Definition of Intonation.

· "Intonation is the melody or music of a language. It refers to the way the voice rises and falls as we speak. How might we tell someone that it's raining?

It's raining, isn't it? (or 'innit,' perhaps)

In linguistics, intonation is variation of spoken pitch that is not used to distinguish words; instead it is used for a range of functions such as indicating the attitudes and emotions of the speaker, signalling the difference between statement and question, and between different types of question, focussing attention on important elements of the spoken message and also helping to regulate conversational interaction. It contrasts with tone, in which pitch variation in some languages does distinguish words, either lexically or grammatically.

Although intonation is primarily a matter of pitch variation, it is important to be aware that functions attributed to intonation such as the expression of attitudes and emotions, or highlighting aspects of grammatical structure, almost always involve concomitant variation in other prosodic features. Crystal^[1] for example says that "...intonation is not a single system of contours and levels, but the product of the interaction of features from different prosodic systems - tone, pitch-range,loudness, rhythmicality and tempo in particular."

Most transcription conventions have been devised for describing one particular accent or language, and the specific conventions therefore need to be explained in the context of what is being described. However, for general purposes the International Phonetic Alphabet offers the two intonation marks shown in the box at the head of this article. Global rising and falling intonation are marked with a diagonal arrow rising left-to-right [↗] and falling left-to-right [↘], respectively. These may be written as part of a syllable, or separated with a space when they have a broader scope:

He found it on the street?

[ hiː ˈfaʊnd ɪt | ɒn ðə ↗ˈˈstɹiːt ‖ ]

Here the rising pitch on street indicates that the question hinges on that word, on where he found it, not whether he found it.

Yes, he found it on the street.

[↘ˈjɛs ‖ hi ˈfaʊnd ɪt | ɒn ðə ↘ˈstɹiːt ‖ ]

How did you ever escape?

[↗ˈˈhaʊ dɪdjuː | ˈɛvɚ | ə↘ˈˈskeɪp ‖ ]

Here, as is common with wh- questions, there is a rising intonation on the question word, and a falling intonation at the end of the question.

In many descriptions of English, the following intonation patterns are distinguished:

· Rising Intonation means the pitch of the voice rises over time [↗];

· Falling Intonation means that the pitch falls with time [↘];

· Dipping or Fall-rise Intonation falls and then rises [↘↗];