Phonotactics and syllables

2. Reported by:
Michael Tiomico

3. Which of the following are
possible words in English?
ngall
slig
tlin
brud
boz
frake

4. - Rules that state which sound
sequence are possible in a
language and which are not.

5. Example:
/s/ at the beginning of a word
cannot precede voiced stops.
sbik sgip sdow

6. But /s/ can precede voiceless
stops.
speak skip stow

7. Syllable
→ a unit of linguistic structure
that consists of a syllabic
element and any segments that
are associated with it

8. *Syllables don’t serve any meaning-
signalling function in language; they exist
only to make speech easier for the brain to
process.
*A word consists of at least one syllable.
*A syllable consists of a central peak of
nucleus and the consonants cluster around
the central peak.

9. THREE SUB-SYLLABIC UNITS
Nucleus: a syllabic segment that forms the
core of a syllable.
Coda: segments that follow the nucleus in
the same syllabic.
Onset: the beginning segments of the
syllable; the ones preceding the nucleus.

10. i
spr nt
+ +
= sprint
rhyme

11. screens
strong