Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-sd5qd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-06T13:25:21.263Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The syllable in phonological theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

Joan B. Hooper
Joan B. Hooper*
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The syllable is an important phonological unit that must be formally defined within generative phonology. Evidence from Spanish, German, and other languages shows that a syllable boundary is necessary to designate the domain of certain phonological rules. The syllable can be formally and universally defined by a rule which inserts such syllable boundaries between certain sequences of segments. This rule must apply persistently throughout the phonological component, changing the position of the syllable boundaries as the sequences of segments change.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 48 , Issue 3 , September 1972 , pp. 525 - 540
Copyright
Copyright © 1972 by Linguistic Society of America

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

*

The preparation of this paper has benefited greatly from the encouragement, suggestions, and examples provided by Theo Vennemann.

References

Cheng, R. L. 1966. Mandarin phonological structure. Journal of Linguistics 2.137–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chomsky, N., and Halle, M. 1968. The sound pattern of English. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Fromkin, V. 1968. Speculations on performance models. Journal of Linguistics 4.47–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fromkin, V. 1971. The non-anomalous nature of anomalous utterances. Lg. 47.27–52.Google Scholar
Fudge, E. 1969. Syllables. Journal of Linguistics 5.253–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harms, R. T. 1964. Finnish structural sketch. Bloomington: Indiana University.Google Scholar
Harris, J. W. 1969. Spanish phonology. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Hoard, J. E. 1971. Aspiration, tenseness, and syllabication in English. Lg. 47.133–140.Google Scholar
McCawley, J. 1968. The phonological component of a grammar of Japanese. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Navarro Tomás, T. 1926. Pronunciación española. Madrid: Publicaciones de la Revista de Filología Española.Google Scholar
Schachter, P., and Fromkin, V. 1968. A phonology of Akan. Los Angeles: University of California.Google Scholar
Vennemann, T. 1968. German phonology. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, UCLA.Google Scholar
Vennemann, T. 1971. The phonology of Gothic vowels. Lg. 47.90–132.Google Scholar
Wang, W. S-Y. 1967. Phonological features of tone. IJAL 33.93–105.Google Scholar