Syllabification
HOW ARE WORDS SYLLABIFIED? To syllabify a word, you need to understand the phonotactic constraints of English. The term “phonotactic constraints” refers to the “restrictions on the sequence of sounds that can occur in a given position in a syllable.” (Philip Carr, A Glossary of Phonology ) These are the most important phonotactic constraints in English: No word in English can end with the following vowels: /e, æ, ʌ, ɒ/. Therefore, you cannot end a syllable with any of these vowels. For example, the word “bottle” is transcribed and syllabified in this way: /ˈbɒt.əl/. These four vowels always need a coda. The vowels /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ can never occur in the final position of a syllable if the syllable is stressed. For example, the word “sister” is transcribed and syllabified in this manner: /ˈsɪs.tə/. Here, the sound /ɪ/ occurs in a stressed syllable. Therefore, it needs a coda. On the other hand, the word “oxygen” is transcribed and syllabified like this: /ˈɒk.sɪ.dʒən/. Since the vowel /...
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