Phonetics and Phonology - Strong and Weak Syllables

Flashcards covering the properties of strong and weak syllables, including vowels and syllabic consonants.

Strong Syllable

Stressed syllable.

Weak Syllable

Unstressed syllable.

Vowels in Weak Syllables

Shorter, lower intensity, and different in quality compared to strong syllables.

Strong Syllable Centre

Any vowel phoneme except /ə/.

Weak Syllable Centre

Vowel /ə/ (schwa), close front vowel /i/, close back vowel /u/, or a syllabic consonant.

Schwa /ə/

The most frequent vowel in English, mid and central, and only found in weak syllables (e.g., attend).

Close Front Vowel /i/

Can be found in words like 'easy' (/ˈiːzi/ or /ˈɪzi/) and 'busy' (/ˈbɪzi/ or /ˈbɪzɪ/).

Close Back Vowel /u/

Found in words like 'you', 'to', 'into', 'do', 'through', and 'who'.

Syllabic Consonants

/l̩/, /r̩/, /n̩/, /m̩/, /ŋ/ which can form the nucleus of a syllable.

Syllabic /l̩/ - Lateral Release

Occurs in words like 'bottle' (/bɒtļ/), 'muddle' (/mʌdļ/), and 'tunnel' (/tʌnļ/).

Syllabic /n̩/ - Nasal Release

Occurs in words like 'threaten' (/ˈθrɛtņ/) and 'happen' (/ˈhæpņ/ or /ˈhæpən/).

Syllabic /m̩/ and /ŋ/

May occur in words like 'happen' (/ˈhæpm̩/) and 'thicken' (/ˈθɪkən/ or /ˈθɪkņ/ or /ˈθɪkŋ/).

Syllabic /r̩/

Occurs in words like 'preference' (/ˈprefŗəns/) and 'hungry' (/ˈhʌŋgri/ )