Syllable structure constitutes the component of phonological word division focused on pronounceable segments of words and how they are composed, divided, and distributed. Syllable structure is also a subdivision of the study of phonotactics, or the rules of sound distribution, the specific sequences of sound that occur in a language. And, third, the study of syllables in Arabic involves the analysis of lexical stress. Although syllables themselves are linear and segmental in nature, word stress (the loudness or emphasis placed on a syllable) is suprasegmental; that is, it occurs at the same time as the pronunciation of the segment, adding a dimension of complexity to the syllable itself. MSA has explicit structural restrictions on syllables, as well as predictable rule-based stress based on syllable strength. Although not a spontaneous spoken register of Arabic, MSA is nonetheless spoken on formal occasions (usually scripted) and in broadcast news and information formats, and adheres to established norms of stress placement. Recent published work on the stress system of MSA has largely been done within the theoretical framework of prosodic morphology. The discussion set forth here uses a basic descriptive approach similar to the one used in Ryding 2005 (36–39), Mitchell 1990 (19–21), and McCarus and Rammuny (1974: 7–8, 23).

Syllable structure

In general, the core of a syllable is a vowel; in addition to a vowel, a syllable has “margins” that consist of consonants – either prevocalic or postvocalic or both. The vowel core of a syllable is referred to as the syllable nucleus. In addition to the nucleus, a syllable has an onset or initial consonant, and may have a final consonant or consonants, termed the coda. Therefore in an Arabic word such as min ‘from’, the onset would be /m/, the nucleus /i/, and the coda /n/.