Functions of the syllable

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 2591.

The syllable as a phonological unit performs three functions: constitutive, distinctive, identificatory. They are closely connected.1. Constitutive FunctionSyllables constitute words, phrases and sentences through the com­bination of their prosodic features: loudness — stress, pitch — tone, duration — length and tempo. Syllables may be stressed, unstressed,, high, mid, low, rising, falling, long, short. All these prosodic fea­tures constitute the stress pattern of words, tonal and rhythmic struc­ture of an utterance, help to perform distinctive variations on the syllabic level.2. Distinctive and Differentiator^ FunctionIf we compare thewords: lightening освещение and lightning молния, we may observe that their syllabicity is the only min­imal, distinctive feature: /Uaitfltn vs. Uaitnm/.It is an example of the word-distinctive function of the syllab­icity of /n/.There are rather many combinations in English distinguished from each other by means of the difference in the place ol the syllabic boundary: a name—an aim, ice cream—/ scream, we loan—we'll own: /ataeim/—/an leim/, /iais'kri:m/—/ai iskrhm/, /wi- Uaun/— ,/wil isun/.3. Identificatory Function This function is conditioned by the pronunciation of the speaker. The listener can understand the exact meaning of the utterance only if he perceives the correct syllabic boundary — "syllabodisjuncture", e.g. pea stalks стеблу гороха—peace talks мирные переговоры; my train мой поезд — might rain возможен дождь.