English Ambisyllabic Consonants and Half‐Closed Syllables in Language Teaching

Abstract

This study justifies increased attention to word and phrase-level syllabification in pronunciation instruction for students of English and for English foreign language students. The latter need to recognize what their native syllabification patterns actually are in order to combat interference arising from them in the L2. The apparent simplicity and automaticity of syllabification belies its complexity within and across languages and its importance not only to correct allophonic production but also to correct word-stress, rhythm, and intonation.The following pairs of English words reveal the importance of teaching students about half-closed syllables as well as the traditional open and closed syllables (brackets mark the single consonant sound shared by the two syllables, hence the term ambisyllabic): Mi-nos/mi[n]us, a-dore/a[d]o-ra[ti]on, co-mmune/co[mm]on, de-ssert/ de[s]ert, re-ply/re[p]licate. As the stress shifts from the first to the second syllable in these pairs of words, the syllabification of the first syllable changes from open to half-closed with an ambisyllabic consonant. Trying to produce a conversational pronunciation of the second word in Some aspects of this work were presented at

Language-specific realizations of syllable structure and vowel-to-vowel coarticulation

“…One possibility is that ambisyllabicity may have affected the English results. However, there is no consensus on the existence or definition of ambisyllabicity ͑e.g., see review in Fallows, 1981;Treiman and Danis, 1988;Trammell, 1992͒. The durational data in Section III C 1 also show that there is a significant difference between the duration of the intervocalic consonant as an onset and as a coda, with onset having a longer duration than coda.…”

The Role of Structural Position in L2 Phonological Acquisition: Evidence from English Learners of Spanish as L2

“…In this study, two sounds are considered to be acoustically identical or similar when they share the same spectral properties, i.e., when they have identical frequencies, duration, and overall sound energy Phonotactics refers to the set of constraints on the possible sequences of sounds within a word, morpheme, or syllable (Trask, 1996). However, the choice of these two languages was practical and had to do with subject availability on the campus where data were collected.…”

“…However, the choice of these two languages was practical and had to do with subject availability on the campus where data were collected. In this study, two sounds are considered to be acoustically identical or similar when they share the same spectral properties, i.e., when they have identical frequencies, duration, and overall sound energy Phonotactics refers to the set of constraints on the possible sequences of sounds within a word, morpheme, or syllable (Trask, 1996). In this study, the notions problem/problematic and difficult/difficulty mean that the acquisition of a particular pattern will be either significantly delayed or not acquired at all.…”

“…Bearing in mind that in the process of adult L2 phonological acquisition, the L1 definitely exerts an influence on the L2, it automatically follows that this type of learning, that is, learning of distributional patterns, will be affected by interference from the L1 as well. Indeed, some studies have suggested that L1 phonotactic constraints are carried over to the L2 and that such transfer influences the pronunciation of L2 sounds (Cebrian, 2004;Delattre, 1965;Rochet & Putnam Rochet, 1999;Sole, 1989;Tarone, 1987;Trammell, 1993 Some other studies have also shown that perceptual difficulty of a novel L2 phonemic contrast may vary according to structural position (James, 1988;Major, 1986;Pisoni & Lively, 1995;Sheldon & Strange, 1982;Wieden, 1990). For instance, Major found that native speakers of English were producing the Spanish tap [I-] more accurately in a word-medial position, as a result of the fact that the same phone appears in the same position (although as an allophone) in English.…”

The role of the syllable in foreign language learning: Improving oral production through dual-coded, sound-synchronised, typographic annotations

“…Laboratory tests in Toulouse suggest that the absence of syllable marks and the refusal to submit to the excessively abstract complexities of the International Phonetic Alphabet 6 4 A convincing case for teaching the notions of ambisyllabic consonants and half-closed syllables in teaching syllabification is made on articulatory, theoretical, instrumental, and psycholinguistic grounds by Trammell (1999). 5 Wells (1990) notes that consonants syllabify with the preceding rather than following vowel when the preceding vowel is the nucleus of a more salient syllable, with stressed syllables being the most salient, reduced syllables the least, and secondary stress/full unstressed vowels intermediate.…”