English Phonetics & Phonology - Syllables

"A syllable can be defined very loosely as a unit larger than the phoneme but smaller than the word."

• TRUE

• FALSE

The main constituents within a syllable are:

• onset

• rhyme

• nucleus

• coda

• phoneme

Which are the elements in the rhyme?

• onset and coda

• nucleus and coda

• onset and nucleus

• only onset

Minimum syllable is the one that has...

• only a consonant.

• only a vowel.

• only the rhyme.

• only the onset.

Which sentences are true?

• Some syllables may have no onset but have a coda.

• Some syllables have both onset and coda.

• Some syllables have an onset but no coda.

• All syllables must have an onset and a coda.

• All syllables must have a nucleus.

Some syllables have no vowel in their nucleus.

• TRUE

• FALSE

When we have two or more consonants together we call them...

• a consonant cluster.

• a diphthong.

• onset.

• rhyme.

It's possible to have a syllable structure with:

• One vowel sound.

• Up to three consonants in the onset.

• Up to five consonants in the coda

• Up to four consonants in the onset.

• Up to three consonants in the coda

When dividing words into syllables, what should you think about?

• The vowel sounds in the word.

• The sonority scale.

• The number of letters.

• The maximal onsets principal.

• The number of consonants that can appear in the onset and the coda.

The maximal onsets principle states that...

• where two syllables are to be divided, any consonants between them should be attached to the right-hand syllable, not the left, as far as possible.

• where two syllables are to be divided, any consonants between them should be attached to the left-hand syllable, not the right, as far as possible.