Re: USAGE: syllables

Alexandre Lang wrote:
>
> I have a few questions to ask here:
>
> 1. Why is the vowel diagram shaped in a trapezoidal shape in the IPA
> chart?
Because, as a general rule, low vowels cannot be produced as far forward
in the mouth as high vowels.  It copies the shape of the mouth.

> 2. could a language exist wihout syllabic rules, do syllables have to
> exist in a language?
So far as I know, every spoken language has syllables.  I can't even
imagine how a language would be pronounced without some kind of
syllables.  I'm not sure if sign languages have an equivalent or not.  I
do know that they have phoneme-analogues, called, IIRC, "chyremes"

> 3. What's the difference between a syllable break ([.]) and any other
> break?
What other kind of breaks would there be?

> 4. Why isn't the onset part of the rhyme in a syllable?
> (http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsASyllable.htm)
Because the rhyme is defined as the part of the syllable that excludes
the onset.  The concept of rhyme is useful because in many languages the
coda functions as part of a unit with the vowel.  For example,
allophones often make reference to following consonants, e.g., vowels
may be nasalized when followed by a nasal consonant, such that /kan/ =
[ka~n] while /ka/ = [ka] or /kat/ = [kat].  However, it's not as common
for vowels to nasalize when *preceded* by a nasal consonant, such that
/na/ = [na~], and, as far as I know, there aren't any languages that
would nasalize vowels when following a nasal, but *not* when preceding a
nasal (unless, of course, there are no nasal codas in the first place).

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