Syllabic Consonants "l", "m", "n", and "ng'
A syllabic consonant is a phonetic element that normally patterns as a consonant, but may fill a vowel slot in a syllable.
In other words a syllabic consonant is a consonant that can form an entire syllable on its own, without any vowels.
Ususally, a sillable contains a vowel. However, "l", "m", "n", and "ng" sometimes functions as syllables by themselves, without any accompanying vowel, using the /ḷ/, /m/, /ṇ/, /ŋ/ sounds.
Syllabic /ḷ/ and /ṇ/ typically occur in an unstressed syllable immediately following the alveolar consonants, /t/, /s/, /z/, as well as /d/.
Examples:
bottle /ˈbɑ:tḷ/, cattle /ˈkætḷ/
cotton /ˈkɑ:tṇ;/, button /ˈbʌtṇ/.
listen /ˈlɪsṇ/, fasten /ˈfæsṇ/
risen /ˈrɪzṇ/, prison /ˈprɪzṇ/
saddle /ˈsædḷ/, poodle /ˈpu:dḷ/
sadden /ˈsædṇ/, burden /ˈbɚdṇ/
Syllabic /ḷ/ can also follow /st/ or plain /n/ or /nt/
Examples:
pistol /ˈpɪstḷ/
tunnel /ˈtʌnḷ/
mantle /ˈmæntḷ/
The symbol /ə/ preceding the consonant "m" does not itself represent a sound. It signifies instead that the following consonant ("m") is syllabic; that is, the consonant itself forms the nucleus of a syllable that does not contain a vowel.
Examples:
feudalism /ˈfju:dəˌlɪzəm/
heroism /ˈherəˌwɪzəm/
When the "–ING" suffix is added to a verb with a syllabic consonant, the syllabic consonant may either be retained as such or it simply becomes the initial consonant of the extra syllable.
Examples:
Listening /ˈlɪsṇɪŋ/
going /ˈgowɪŋ/
16 comments:
That's great! Thanks!
Grateful, this was helpful
nice piece..just what i needed for my exams
thank you so much it was a great listen ^^
Great!thanks
So much thanks that was very helpful
Thanks a lot!
Thank you so much this is really helpful
/ə/ can represent a vowel, and it especially does in phonetic transcription. However, in phonemic transcription, there are some cases where – say – [n̩] as an allophone is represented as the phoneme /ən/. (Of course, this is as aligned with phonology as a formal branch of linguistics, as well as with the International Phonetic Alphabet [IPA].)
Yh thx nyc thumbs up
Great
Really helpful thanks
Wow! that's great! The above notes really and fully equipped me with the confusing SC. Indeed I'm grateful for the insight!
Helpful explanation !Thanks!
ng sound I didn't understand it, why it's different from dictionary transcription?🤔
why ng sound's examples have a different transcription from that we have in dictionary? :)
Post a Comment
Thank you!