Syllable Structure Research Articles

Syllabification in Optimality Theory

This paper examined syllabification in the Sokoto dialect of Fulfulde within the framework of Optimality Theory. The theory employed constraint-based rather than rule-based notations in the analysis of the grammar of languages. This study focused on the Sokoto dialect of Fulfulde in view of the number of dialects of the language spoken across West Africa. Using field-based data, the analysis revealed the salient syllabification requirements of Fulfulde. Findings showed that the syllables of the Sokoto dialect of Fulfulde require onsets and nuclei as obligatory elements. Syllable onsets in the dialect are maximally composed of a single consonant as complex onsets are prohibited. Codas are optional and may be simple or complex. A restriction placed on coda consonants is that except half of geminates, only sonorants are allowed, although in word-final positions, [ŋ], a sonorant, is not attested. These outcomes demonstrated the extent of conformity of Sokoto Fulfulde syllables with the markedness constraints governing syllable structure and the Syllable Contact Law. Further findings indicated that although syllabification in languages is grounded in the sonority of segments vis-à-vis the restrictions that languages place on phoneme combinations, the sonority scale, as presently designed does not adequately handle syllabification in this dialect; calling for an all-inclusive sonority scale.

The interaction of affix size, type and shape: a cross-linguistic study

Abstract This study explores the phonological structure of affixes based on different parameters. We begin by investigating the common but insufficiently supported claim that affixes tend to be monosyllabic, and we then take up the ideas that prefixes and suffixes differ in terms of size and in their proclivity for allomorphy. Our database consists of affix lists of 25 unrelated languages, which come from all six geographical macro-areas and yield a total of 1,454 affixes (403 prefixes, 1,051 suffixes). The results show that both prefixes and suffixes are most often monosyllabic, but prefixes are still significantly shorter than suffixes in terms of segments and syllables. There is no significant difference in terms of allomorphy. We argue that the monosyllabic tendency emerges as an artifact, given that a monosyllabic affix is long enough to be perceived, short enough to be economical, and compatible even with simple syllable structures. Meanwhile, prefixes are shorter than suffixes because they pose a challenge for comprehension and because syllable onsets in many languages allow more complexity than codas. The overall insight is that syllables are a prominent domain in morphology as well as phonology, even though various factors may undermine the overlap of affixes and syllables.

Examining negative transfer in Cantonese learners of English as a foreign language: an optimality theory approach to English syllable acquisition

Abstract The contrasting differences that exist in the English and Cantonese phonological systems result in divergent articulatory production between them. This article aims to investigate the negative transfer of Cantonese EFL learners in acquiring English consonant clusters and the constraint rankings of Cantonese and English syllable systems by comparing syllable structures and analyzing experimental statistics. The objective is to elucidate the reasons behind their negative transfer in English syllable acquisition. The research results demonstrated that Cantonese EFL learners found it easier to acquire consonant clusters in the onset position compared to the coda position. Additionally, an increase in consonants in the coda position posed greater difficulties for Cantonese EFL learners. The results also indicated that participants encountered the most problems with deletion, followed by substitution and epenthesis. The OT analysis reveals that the different rankings of faithfulness and markedness constraints in Cantonese and English led to transfer errors.

Phonological Process of Word-Final Consonant Sounds in Indonesian Learners by Japanese Speakers (Case Study of Japanesia Online Course Students)

This study aims to analyze the phonological processes and contributing factors affecting the pronunciation of final consonant sounds by native Japanese speakers learning Indonesian. The research employs the theory of generative transformational phonology, using distinctive features to address the research questions. A qualitative descriptive approach was adopted, utilizing data from the Japanesia course's online class videos on YouTube, collected through observation and note-taking techniques. The analysis identifies three main phonological processes in Japanese learners' pronunciation of Indonesian final consonants: sound substitution (e.g., [n] to [ŋ] and [l] to [r]), elision of [h], and addition of sounds such as [u] following [r] and [s], as well as aspirated [h] after [t] and [k]. These phonological adjustments reflect the absence of certain Indonesian sounds in Japanese, prompting learners to adapt pronunciations to their native phonological system. Furthermore, the Japanese language’s predominant open syllable structure (CVCV) generally excludes word-final consonants aside from nasals, contributing to these adaptations.

Elicitation tasks, language contact, and syllable structure in Budai Rukai

Abstract This target paper builds on previous literature in Budai Rukai to develop a nuanced framework for examining the syllable structure and the impact of Chinese language education on speakers’ judgments. It demonstrates new dimensions of overarching corroboration of intonational phonology and is a worthwhile endeavor. In this commentary, I address the issues of elicitation tasks and language contact by illustrating that the syllable structure of Budai Rukai is still undergoing age-related changes and remains to be discussed.

Native speakers and syllable structure

Abstract Benjamin Macaulay advises us not to diagnose syllable structure, more specifically the distinction between vowel + vowel clusters and diphthongs in the Taiwanese language Budai Rukai, on the basis of speaker judgements. I fully endorse his approach, since much of current work in phonology unwarrantedly takes syllabification for granted, without arguing for its necessity.

Causes and effects of misreported syllable structures

Abstract This commentary paper offers a discussion on the methodological, epistemological, and theoretical issues concerning the status of the syllable and mora, as well as the problems raised by their (mis)characterization. It first addresses some methodological biases that occur in the description and analysis of the phonological units of languages, the problem of the reliability of speaker intuitions, with an example taken from French verlan, as well as the influence of writing on phonological representations. Second, building on the Budai Rukai example and on one other case of misanalyzed syllable structure, that of Tokyo Japanese, it questions the status of the syllable as an indispensable, universal unit. In order to avoid some of the problems that stem from the mischaracterization of the syllable, it is proposed that the notion of prosodeme, instead of that of syllable, should be used as a pretheoretical notion when attempting to identify the basic prosodic unit of a language.

‘Direct’ elicitation and phonological argumentation

Abstract Linguistic elicitation is a kind of behavioral experiment. It remains an important source for phonological (and more generally, grammatical) argumentation even if it does not meet all the requirements for a proper behavioral experiment (in terms of the number of participants, for example). While the basic analysis proposed for Budai Rukai syllable structure is convincing, questions arise with regard to how the very basic notions syllable and stress are interpreted in the target article. Furthermore, one would wish for a more detailed argument regarding the analysis of echo vowels and phonetic glides.

The reality of Rukai Glides

Abstract Prosodic details offer valuable insight into the phonology of languages, but prosodically-grounded analysis alone does not reveal the whole picture. Benjamin Macaulay’s prosodic study into Rukai provides valuable insights into the syllable structure of the language, but phonological alternations, particularly the alternation of glides and fricatives, as well as the historical source of glides, suggests that glides still form an important part of Rukai’s phonology. Rather than doing away wtih glides, as Macaulay suggests, this study proposes a compromise position that acknowledges the utility of Macaulay’s prosodic analysis in many cases but keeps the glides [j] and [w] as part of the phonology of Rukai.

Issues in systematizing the elicitation and analysis of syllable structure

Abstract This reply explores issues with documenting prosodic structures given their unique relationship with metalinguistic knowledge. New evidence and perspectives are incorporated into a deeper investigation of Budai Rukai and the analytical decisions that underlie its reanalyzed prosodic system. This case study is then taken as a basis for discussion of a possible standardized protocol for the documentation of prosodic structures, in which diverse types of phonological evidence are integrated and contextualized.

Speech sound development of young Dutch children with a developmental language disorder: A complex matter.

Approximately 50% of all young children with a developmental language disorder (DLD) also have problems with speech production. Research on speech sound development and clinical diagnostics of speech production difficulties focuses mostly on accuracy; it relates children's phonological realizations to adult models. Contrarily to these relational analyses, independent analyses indicate the sounds and structures children produce irrespective of accuracy. Such analyses are likely to provide more insight into a child's phonological strengths and limitations, and may thus provide better leads for treatment. Ram (1) To contribute to a more comprehensive overview of the speech sound development of young Dutch children with DLD by including independent and relational analyses, (2) to develop an independent measure to assess these children's speech production capacities; and (3) to examine the relation between independent and relational speech production measures for children with DLD. We describe the syllable structures and sounds of words elicited in two picture-naming tasks of 82 children with DLD and speech production difficulties between ages 2;7 and 6;8. The children were divided into four age groups to examine developmental patterns in a cross-sectional manner. Overviews of the children's productions on both independent and relational measures are provided. We conducted a Spearman correlation analysis to examine the relation between accuracy and independent measures. The overviews show these children are able to produce a greater variety of syllable structures and consonants irrespective of target positions than they can produce correctly in targets. This is especially true for children below the age of 4;5. The data indicate that children with DLD have difficulty with the production of clusters, fricatives, liquids and the velar nasal (/ŋ/). Based on existing literature and our results, we designed a Dutch version of an independent measure of word complexity, originally designed for English (word complexity measure-WCM) in which word productions receive points for specific word, syllable and sound characteristics, irrespective of accuracy. We found a strong positive correlation between accuracy scores and scores on this independent measure. The results indicate that the use of independent measures, including the proposed WCM, complement traditional relational measures by indicating which sounds and syllable structures a child can produce (irrespective of correctness). Therefore, the proposed measure can be used to monitor the speech sound development of children with DLD and to better identify treatment goals, in combination with existing relational measures. What is already known on the subject Speech production skills can be assessed in different ways: (1) using analyses indicating the structures and sounds a child produces irrespective of accuracy, that is, performance analyses; and (2) using analyses indicating how the productions of a child relate to the adult targets, that is, accuracy analyses. In scientific research as well as in clinical practice the focus is most often on accuracy analyses. As a consequence, we do not know if children who do not improve in accuracy scores, improve in other phonological aspects that are not captured in these analyses, but can be captured by performance analyses. What this study adds to the existing knowledge The overviews show these children are able to produce a greater variety of syllable structures and consonants irrespective of target positions than they can produce correctly in targets. Consequently, adding performance analyses to existing accuracy analyses provides a more complete picture of a child's speech sound development. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? We propose a Dutch version of a WCM, originally designed for English, in which word productions receive points for word structures, syllable structures and sounds, irrespective of accuracy. This measure may be used by Dutch clinicians to monitor the speech sound development of children with DLD and to formulate better treatment goals, in addition to accuracy measures that are already used.

Linguocultural aspect of phraseological units (Guanyongyu) in modern Chinese language

Abstract The relevance of this study is primarily due to the constant influence of extra-linguistic factors (cultural, historical, and technological) on intralinguistic ones (plan of expression, semantics) in the modern Chinese phraseological picture of the world. The purpose of this study was to identify the main linguocultural features of Guanyongyu through the study of lexico-semantic and stylistic relations. The methods used in this study included analytical-synthetic, lexico-semantic, pragmatic, linguocultural, and statistical analyses. The key features of the group of Chinese phraseological units called Guanyongyu were indicated in the study: preservation of the connection between semantic components and the integral meaning of the phraseological unit, active structural transformations, use in everyday speech, 3 (rarely 4) syllable structure, high metaphoricity, and imagery. The study identified the following groups of “habitual expressions”: with somatic components, with metaphorical components, specifically with a zoonimic or botanical basis, as well as with key mythological or literary nominations. The study also considered different groups of phraseological units by stylistic colouring: negative, neutral, and positive. The analysis of phraseological units that emerged after the COVID-19 crisis showed that they usually had negative (more rarely positive) connotations and demonstrated the dominance of collective values over individual values. The following were identified as the main linguocultural features: negative connotations, satirical ridicule, use of somatic and zoonimic components, metaphorical transfers, dominance of the collective over the individual, connection with Chinese mythology, and literary images. In a further scientific perspective, this study can be used for comparative analysis of phraseological pictures of the world of different countries and nationalities and consideration of the basis of conceptualization through the analysis of cognitive aspects embedded in phraseological units.

Phonological Development in 3-6-Year-Old Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism, Developmental Delays, and Typical Development.

Research on the phonological development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has not yet reached consistent conclusions, and systematic studies from different language groups are needed. This study aimed to systematically investigate the characteristics of phonological development in 3-6year-old Mandarin-speaking children with ASD. We analyzed 10min speech samples from 21 children with ASD, 18 development level-matched children with developmental disorders (DD), and 15 chronological age-matched typically developing (TD) children during semi-structured parent-child free play based on Mandarin phonological features. The children with ASD had a significantly smaller inventory than those with TD on the initial and final inventories. The children with ASD had only a significantly smaller initial inventory than those with DD in Phases 2 and 4. Compared with TD children, children with ASD used a higher proportion of V1 and V1V2C and a smaller proportion of V1V2V3, CV1C, and CV1V2C. No significant differences existed between ASD and DD children in the proportion of any syllable structure, but V1V2V3, CV1, and CV1V2C numbers were significantly fewer than in DD children. Children with ASD were significantly greater than children with TD in the diversity of V1V2, CV1, and overall syllables. ASD children had significantly fewer different types of syllables in both V1V2C and CV1 than did DD children and significantly greater diversity in CV1 and overall syllables than did DD children. These preliminary data suggest that the gap between TD and ASD children's language abilities increased with age, and this gap was reflected in initial, final, and syllable complexity and diversity. Children with DD and ASD showed similar language abilities, and children with DD showed detailed differences from those with ASD regarding initial, syllable complexity and diversity.

Speaker judgments alone cannot diagnose syllable structure

Abstract The ease and consistency with which speakers of many languages provide direct judgments about syllable structure has been taken by scholars as evidence that these judgments are accurate and sufficient argumentation for an analysis of syllable structure in descriptive works. This paper questions whether the results of direct elicitation tasks reliably indicate a prosodic domain that is meaningful in the language’s phonology and provides alternative forms of evidence for syllable structure from intonation. This is done through a case study of Budai Rukai, a Formosan language whose contact relationship with Sinitic languages affects how speakers respond to syllable judgment tasks.

The interaction of tonal alignment with vowel length and syllable structure in Lebanese Arabic

Research on a variety of languages has shown that tonal alignment in pitch accents can be influenced by segmental factors such as syllable structure, onset type, and phonological vowel length (e.g., Ladd et al., 2000; Maddieson, 1997). However, the majority of work on these topics has been on European languages. The current study examines the interaction of these factors in the Beirut dialect of Lebanese Arabic. Disyllabic words with initial, stressed syllables that were either open or closed and contained either a long or a short vowel and had a simple or complex onset were examined when non-focused and in contrastive focus. Contrastive focus was associated with a wider f0 range. The focus pitch accent was H* or L+H*. In terms of segmental effects, neither vowel length nor syllable structure had a significant effect on tonal alignment. Timing of the f0 peak was found to be consistently about 45 msec from vowel onset. This study contributes to the literature on tonal alignment by examining a variety of Arabic that is understudied in terms of intonation.

Study on the Teaching Mode of Chinese International Education from the Perspective of Applied Linguistics

From the perspective of applied linguistics, taking modern Chinese as an example, this paper analyzes the teaching mode of "pronunciation", "vocabulary" and "grammar". Modern Chinese adopts the systematic and practical mode in the phonetic teaching. The basic units and syllable structure of Chinese pronunciation are introduced in detail through the phonetic symbol system, emphasizing the correlation between speech and semantics, and using phonetic training to help learners correctly understand and express the meaning of vocabulary and sentences. Through a new teaching perspective, it can help learners master the structure and rules of the language, promote the improvement of the practical language application ability, and ensure the high-quality sustainable development of international Chinese education.

Lhowa Phonology: A Typological Perspective

Lhowa exhibits a large inventory of forty-one consonant phonemes. In terms of points of articulation, it contains seven types of consonants, viz., labial, dental, alveolar, retroflex, palatal, velar and glottal. In terms of manner of articulation, it presents seven types of consonants, viz., stops, nasals, affricates, fricatives, trills, laterals and approximants. In terms of voicing, there are two types of consonant phonemes, viz., voiceless and voiced. Lhowa has voiceless unaspirated, voiceless aspirated, voiced murmured and voiceless murmured sounds. It exhibits a distinct consonant distribution. Lhowa has eight basic and two fronted vowels. There are four diphthongs. Lhowa displays a moderately complex syllable structure. It presents a canonical structure of the syllable in which V is obligatory and other constituents, (Ci, initial consonant), (X, voiced palatal approximant), and (Cf, final consonant) are optional. Lhowa permits only five types of syllable patterns. Each syllable is intrinsically high or low. It exhibits simple tone system. The high vs. low tone is distinguished only on the first syllable of a word. In Lhowa, like in Lhasa Tibetan, compound words demonstrate four types of tone melodies, viz., HH, LH, LL and HL.

The Relationship Between Language and The Creation of Ethnic Identities of Tai Loei in The Northeastern of Thailand

This research paper aims to study the relationship between language and the ethnic identity formation process of Tai Loei people in northeastern Thailand by applying the study of language and identity framework as the key concepts for analysing the language data of Tai Loei people used in daily communication and the Tai Loei language data contained in written documents. The study results showed that 1) the characteristics of the sound of Loei ethnic groups have syllable structures as follows: (1) CVT, 2) CVCT, 3) CV:T, 4) CV:CT, 5) CVVT, 6) CVVCT, and 7) CCV:CT.The phonemes of Tai Loei appear in 3 phonemes, which are consonant phonemes, vowel phonemes, and tone phonemes. However, the researcher found that the end of the word, according to Thai grammar, is an adverb such as “Na,” while Tai Loei uses the words “Ko” and “Unneaw”. As for the issue of the ethnic identity of the Tai Loei people, the history of the city is found in relation to the Tai Loei ethnic language, traditions, and cultures, which contain myths, tales, and stories. The ethnic identity of the Tai Loei people was found to be 1) the ethnic group name “Tai Loei,”The name of goods and services with the expression of the ethnic identity of Tai Loei people 3) The naming of the Red Cross Festival and the expression of ethnic identity of Tai Loei people. In terms of communication ethnography in the comedy show in Isan (speak Tai Loei), the communication events of ethnic groups in the social space are observed. The communication content and the sequence of the speech in terms of the presentation of Tai Loei representations in the cultural society from the traditions, language, and media interestingly show the dimension of the relationship between language and the establishment of the ethnic identity of Tai Loei people in the Thailand area.

대조언어학적 관점을 통한 베트남어권 한국어 학습자를 위한 비음화 오류양상 고찰과 시사점

Objectives The purpose of this study is to obtain educational implications by examining the patterns of nasalization errors (correct and incorrect answers) that appear in each environment among Vietnamese Korean language learners. Methods In order to proceed with this discussion, we first reviewed previous research and theoretical background, and then established standards to analyze the nasalization error rate by environment. After that, from January 30, 2023 to January 30, 2024, in Korea, 19 to 30-year-olds After a basic survey, 15 Vietnamese Korean language learners (5 men and 10 women each) met 1:1 via Zoom and were asked to utter pre-prepared words related to nasal pronunciation. Then, by determining whether the answer was incorrect or correct, more detailed error types and their characteristics according to the overall results and characteristics of each environment were extracted. Results As a result of the analysis, through a review of previous research related to contrastive linguistics, it was possible to understand the fundamental cause of nasalization through differences in syllable structure between the two languages, and through a basic survey, despite the high demand for nasalization education, there was no awareness due to lack of educational experience. I could see that it was lacking. In addition, the results of error patterns by environment showed that the highest rate was in the case of ‘nasalization after adding ‘ㄴ’ or ‘nasalization after consonant group simplification.’ It was found that this was caused by a lack of awareness of nasalization by environment among the nasalization rules of Korean, the standard language. In addition, the higher error rate at ‘word boundaries’ rather than ‘word interior’ showed that nasalization education should be done ‘by phrase’. Lastly, as a result of examining error patterns by region, grade, and gender in an environment that previously showed a high error rate, all grades showed similar difficulties in pronunciation of bar consonants, but by region, it was more common in the south than in the north and central regions, and by gender, more than in women. A high error rate was observed in men. Conclusions In this way, this study identified the actual status of nasalization errors (total error rate by environment and error rate by word interior/boundary) of Vietnamese learners in more diverse environments and, unlike existing previous studies, provided basic data and implications for preparing educational measures. It was a meaningful study in that it was able to obtain results.

An Optimality-Theoretic Analysis of Syllable Structure in Najdi Arabic

This paper provides a constraint-based analysis of the syllable structure of onset consonant sequences in Najdi Arabic, spoken in central Saudi Arabia. Unlike Classical or Standard Arabic, Najdi is believed to allow consonant clusters in the onset. The study tested two assumptions. The first is that Najdi onset clusters result from a vowel deletion process, leading to different kinds of clusters with distinct sonority hierarchies and that these form complex onsets. The second is that Najdi inputs are different from Classical or Standard Arabic, in which there is no vowel in the underlying representation and hence no deletion occurs, resulting in simplex onsets. The paper adopted optimality theory to analyze the data, considering a phenomenon that occurs in the speech of Najdi speakers. Following this framework, constraints were utilized to demonstrate the syllable structure of the onset clusters in Najdi according to the above assumptions. The results revealed consonant sequences rather than consonant clusters, meaning the consonants were not parsed in the same syllable, agreeing with previous acoustic research.