The phonetic aspect of the syllable

THE SYLLABLE. FUNCTIONS OF THE SYLLABLE.

If we slow down the tempo of utterance and articulate sounds distinctly we shall see that the smallest units, into which the speech continuum is divided, are syllables. When we pronounce syllable, the speech organs, producting a C, take all the positions necessary for the following V. The smallest pronusiation unit is syllable. The S can be defined and described as both a ph and phonological unit. As a ph unit S is defined in articulatory, auditory and acoustic terms with universal application foe all L. As a phonological unit the S can be defined and described only with reference to the structure of 1 particular L. Each L has its own rules of combining its phonemes into S. some of them are permissible in the L, others are not. As ancient Greek scholars said, the 2 main phonological types of sounds –V and C fulfil different functions in speech. The function of the V is to occupy the central position in certain combinations of sounds. So, phonologically, the syllable is a structural unit, which consists of a V alone or of a V surrounded by Cs in the numbers and arrangements permitted by a given L. The constitutive function manifests itself in the fact that the S forms higher-lvl units-words, accentual or rhythmic groups, utterances. The distinctive function is to differentiate words and word combinations. Syllable division is very important too in distinguishing words and utterances (a name- an aim).

One of the ph theories – the expiratory, or chest pulse theory - defines the S as a sound or a group of sounds that are pronounced in chest pulse, accompanied by increases in air pressure. According to this definition, there are so many Ss in a word as a there are chest pulses made during the utterance in the word. Each V S is pronounced with increased expiration. V are always syllabic. Boundaries between Ss are in the place where there occur changes in the air pressure. The relative sonority theory, or prominence theory, created bythe Danish phonetician O. Jaspersen, considers that Ss tend to group themselves according to their sonority. Pronounced with uniform force, length and pitch, SS differ in sonority. The most sonorous sounds are V, less sonorous are C (w,j,r,m,n) and the least sonorous are noise C. O. Jaspersen classifies sounds according to the degree of sonority in the following way: 1. Open V (); 2. Mid-open V (); 3.Close V (); 4.Sonants (); 5. Voiced fricatives (); 6. Voiced stops (); 7. Voiceless fricatives (); 8. Voiceless stops (). Sounds are grouped around the most sonorous ones. The distance between the 2 points of lower sonority is a syllable. The number of syllables is determined by the number of peaks of prominence. The most widespread among Soviet Linguists is the muscular tension theory. According to this theory a syllable is characterized by variations in muscular tension. The energy of art increases at the beginging of a syllable, reaches its maximum with the V and decreases towards the end of the syllable. So, a syllable is an arc of muscular tension. The boundaries between syllables are determined by the occurence of the lowest articulatory energy. C within a syllable are characterized by different distribution of muscular tension. In accordance with this L. Shcherba distinguished the following three types of C: 1. Initially strong C, in the art of which the beginging is stronger while the end is weaker. They occur at the end of a closed syllable; 2. Finally strong C, in the art of which the beginning is weak while the end is more energetic. They occur at the beginning of a syllable (sad); 3. Double-peaked C, in the art of which both the beginning and the end are energetic whereas the middle is weak. Acoustically they produce the impression of 2 C. These C occur at the junction of words or morphemes (midday). However the syllabic boundaries are not always well marked in connected speech whish leads to controversial views on syllable division.

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