Re: USAGE: syllables

Dirk Elzinga sikyal:

> (1)  Syllables are typically introduced by consonants.
> (2)  Sequences of consonants typically occur at the beginnings of
> syllables.
> (3)  The sonority of consonants introducing a syllable should increase.
I'll expand on Dirk's reply by defining "sonority", a term which it is
likely that you do not know. "Sonority" is in short a measure of how
vowel-like a segment is, or to what degree the flow of air out of the
mouth is restricted. Segments that are more vowel-like, or which have less
obstruction of airflow in the mouth, are more sonorous. And sonorous
segments are more likely to be vowels.

Maximally, there are 7 or so sonority classes in any language, though some
languages may distinguish more. In order from least to most sonorous,
these are:

1) Stops
2) Fricatives
3) Nasals
4) Liquids ([l], [r], and the like)
5) High vocoids ([i],[u],[j],[w], etc.)
6) Mid vocoids ([e],[o], etc.)
7) Low vocoids ([a])

However, languages can pick and choose which of these they actually
distinguish between. English, for example, uses the following classes:

1) Stops and fricatives
2) Nasals
3) Liquids and semivowels ([j] and [w])
4) All other vowels

This obviously combines several of the possible distinctions above. The
notion of sonority class also interacts with the idea of "minimum sonority
distance", which specifies how far apart segments at the beginning of a
syllable must be. In English, the minimum sonority distance is 2.
Therefore, [pl], [kr], and [tw] are valid ways to begin an English
syllable, but [pm] and [nl] are not since the sonority of those segments
is too close together.

Languages can make up their own groupings to a certain extent. I recently
discovered that Old Yivrian is best described with three sonority classes:

1) Stops, fricatives, nasals, and [l]
2) Liquids/semivowels ([r], [w], and [j])
3) Vowels

What's weird is that [l] patterns with the obstruents, adding to the list
of things about [l] that's funny in OY. I'm still puzzling over that one.


Jesse S. Bangs jaspax@u.washington.edu
http://students.washington.edu/jaspax/
http://students.washington.edu/jaspax/blog

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And they answered, "You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground
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