Syllables and Phonotactics

Towards ‘Phonotactics’
Key Fact:
Not every sequence of phones is a possible onset or
coda in English.
◮ Consider the following sequences of phones:
◮ [mba . ka]
◮ [Na . to]
◮ [tsA]
◮ [nukÙ]
◮ [tæg . nIsp]
◮ Suppose I said one of them was an obsolete word of
English most people don’t know. Which would it likely be?
◮ You probably said [tæg . nIsp]
◮ There’s good reason for this:
◮ Only [tæg . nIsp] ‘sounds’ like an English word.
◮ Even though it’s silly-sounding, it’s the only word
from this list that normal speakers of English can
pronounce.
Syllables and
Phonotactics
Supplementary
Readings
Introduction and
IPA Practice
The Basics of
Syllables
Syllables and
Phonotactics
The Structure of Syllables
Phonotactics
Syllabification Rule
Syllabic
Consonants
Onsets Over
Codas