Editing Syllable (section)

== Components ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2018}} 
[[Image:Syllable.svg|thumb|Syllable components as a [[directed graph]]]]
[[Image:Syllable illustration 1.svg|thumb|Segmentation for ''cat'' and ''sing'']]

=== Onset-nucleus-rime segmentation ===

In this framework, the general structure of a syllable (σ) consists of three segments grouped into two components:

* [[#Onset|Onset]] (ω): A [[consonant]] or [[consonant cluster]], obligatory in some languages, optional or even restricted in others
* [[#Rime|Rime]] (ρ): Right branch, contrasts with onset, splits into nucleus and coda
** [[#Nucleus|Nucleus]] (ν): A [[vowel]] or [[syllabic consonant]], obligatory in most languages
** [[#Coda|Coda]] (κ): A consonant or consonant cluster, optional in some languages, highly restricted or prohibited in others

The syllable is usually considered right-branching, i.e. nucleus and coda are grouped together as a "rime" and are only distinguished at the second level.

The ''nucleus'' is usually the vowel in the middle of a syllable.{{sfn|Easterday|2019|p=10}} The ''onset'' is the sound or sounds occurring before the nucleus, and the ''coda'' (literally 'tail') is the sound or sounds that follow the nucleus. They are sometimes collectively known as the ''shell''. The term ''rime'' covers the nucleus plus coda. In the one-syllable English word ''cat'', the nucleus is ''a'' (the sound that can be shouted or sung on its own), the onset ''c'', the coda ''t'', and the rime ''at''. This syllable can be abstracted as a ''consonant-vowel-consonant'' syllable, abbreviated ''CVC''. Languages vary greatly in the restrictions on the sounds making up the onset, nucleus and coda of a syllable, according to what is termed a language's [[phonotactics]].

Although every syllable has supra-segmental features, these are usually ignored if not semantically relevant, e.g. in [[tonal language]]s.

=== <span class="anchor" id="initial"></span><span class="anchor" id="medial"></span><span class="anchor" id="final"></span><span class="anchor" id="rime"></span><span class="anchor" id="Chinese"></span>Chinese segmentation ===
{{see also|Fanqie}}
[[Image:Chinese syllable tree.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Traditional Chinese syllable structure]]

In the syllable structure of [[Sinitic languages]], the onset is replaced with an initial, and a semivowel or liquid forms another segment, called the medial. These four segments are grouped into two slightly different components:{{example needed |date=September 2017}}<!-- Example needed, like the examples of "cat" and "sing". -->

*[[#initial|Initial]] {{angbr|ι}}: Optional onset, excluding semivowels
* [[#final|Final]] {{angbr|φ}}: Medial, nucleus, and final consonant<ref>More generally, the letter φ indicates a prosodic [[foot (prosody)|foot]] of two syllables</ref>
** [[#medial|Medial]] {{angbr|μ}}: Optional semivowel or liquid<ref>More generally, the letter μ indicates a [[mora (linguistics)|mora]]</ref>
** [[#Nucleus|Nucleus]] {{angbr|ν}}: A [[vowel]] or syllabic consonant
** [[#Coda|Coda]] {{angbr|κ}}: Optional final consonant
* [[Tone (linguistics)|Tone]] {{angbr|τ}}: May be carried by the syllable as a whole or by the rime

In many languages of the [[Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area]], such as [[Chinese language|Chinese]], the syllable structure is expanded to include an additional, optional '''medial''' segment  located between the onset (often termed the ''initial'' in this context) and the rime. The medial is normally a [[semivowel]], but [[reconstructions of Old Chinese]] generally include [[liquid consonant|liquid]] medials ({{IPA|/r/}} in modern reconstructions, {{IPA|/l/}} in older versions), and many reconstructions of [[Middle Chinese]] include a medial contrast between {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/j/}}, where the {{IPA|/i/}} functions phonologically as a glide rather than as part of the nucleus. In addition, many reconstructions of both Old and Middle Chinese include complex medials such as {{IPA|/rj/}}, {{IPA|/ji/}}, {{IPA|/jw/}} and {{IPA|/jwi/}}. The medial groups phonologically with the rime rather than the onset, and the combination of medial and rime is collectively known as the '''final'''.

Some linguists, especially when discussing the modern Chinese varieties, use the terms "final" and "rime" interchangeably. In [[historical Chinese phonology]], however, the distinction between "final" (including the medial) and "rime" (not including the medial) is important in understanding the [[rime dictionaries]] and [[rime table]]s that form the primary sources for [[Middle Chinese]], and as a result most authors distinguish the two according to the above definition.

=== Grouping of components ===

[[Image:Syllable onset rhyme.svg|640px]]
[[Image:Syllable illustration 2.svg|thumb|Hierarchical model for ''cat'' and ''sing'']]

In some theories of phonology, syllable structures are displayed as [[Parse tree|tree diagrams]] (similar to the trees found in some types of syntax). Not all phonologists agree that syllables have internal structure; in fact, some phonologists doubt the existence of the syllable as a theoretical entity.<ref>For discussion of the theoretical existence of the syllable see {{cite web |title=CUNY Conference on the Syllable |url=http://www.cunyphonologyforum.net/syllable.php |website=CUNY Phonology Forum |publisher=CUNY Graduate Center |access-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923211920/http://www.cunyphonologyforum.net/syllable.php |archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref>

There are many arguments for a hierarchical relationship, rather than a linear one, between the syllable constituents. One hierarchical model groups the syllable nucleus and coda into an intermediate level, the ''rime''. The hierarchical model accounts for the role that the ''nucleus''+''coda'' constituent plays in [[Verse (poetry)|verse]] (i.e., [[Rhyme|rhyming]] words such as ''cat'' and ''bat'' are formed by matching both the nucleus and coda, or the entire rime), and for the [[Syllable weight|distinction between heavy and light syllables]], which plays a role in phonological processes such as, for example, [[sound change]] in [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|scipu}} and {{lang|ang|wordu}}, where in a process called high vowel deletion (HVD), the nominative/accusative plural of single light-syllable roots (like "*scip-") got a "u" ending in OE, whereas heavy syllable roots (like "*word-") would not, giving "scip-u" but "word-∅".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bermudez-otero.com/SHEL9.pdf|title=The life cycle of High Vowel Deletion in Old English: from prosody to stratification and loss|last=Bermúdez-Otero|first=Ricardo|year=2015|page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1=Fikkert|first1=Paula|last2=Dresher|first2=Elan|last3=Lahiri|first3=Aditi|year=2006|title=The Handbook of the History of English|url=https://www.ling-phil.ox.ac.uk/files/fikkert_dresher_lahiri_2006.pdf|chapter=Chapter 6, Prosodic Preferences: From Old English to Early Modern English|pages =134–135|isbn=9780470757048}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = A Prosodic Grammar of Chinese | last = Feng | first = Shengli | page = 3 | publisher = University of Kansas | year = 2003}}</ref>

==== Body ====
[[Image:Syllable body coda.svg|thumb|upright=2.5|Left-branching hierarchical model]]
In some traditional descriptions of certain languages such as [[Cree language|Cree]] and [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]], the syllable is considered left-branching, i.e. onset and nucleus group below a higher-level unit, called a "body" or "core". This contrasts with the coda.
<!-- (π) [not in diagram yet] --> <!-- July 1 2017 - left this comment (to the left) here, pretty sure the image to the right is a diagram of this? -->

==== Rime ====

The '''rime''' or '''rhyme''' of a syllable consists of a [[#Nucleus|nucleus]] and an optional [[#Coda|coda]]. It is the part of the syllable used in most [[Rhyme|poetic rhyme]]s, and the part that is lengthened or stressed when a person elongates or stresses a word in speech.

The rime is usually the portion of a syllable from the first [[vowel]] to the end. For example, {{IPA|/æt/}} is the rime of all of the words ''at'', ''sat'', and ''flat''. However, the nucleus does not necessarily need to be a vowel in some languages, such as English. For instance, the rime of the second syllables of the words ''bottle'' and ''fiddle'' is just {{IPA|/l/}}, a [[liquid consonant]].

Just as the rime branches into the nucleus and coda, the nucleus and coda may each branch into multiple [[phoneme]]s. The limit for the number of phonemes which may be contained in each varies by language. For example, [[Japanese language|Japanese]] and most [[Sino-Tibetan languages]] do not have consonant clusters at the beginning or end of syllables, whereas many Eastern European languages can have more than two consonants at the beginning or end of the syllable. In English, the onset may have up to three consonants, and the coda four.<ref name="Hultzén">{{Cite journal |last=Hultzén |first=Lee S. |date=1965 |title=Consonant Clusters in English |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/454173 |journal=American Speech |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=5–19 |doi=10.2307/454173 |jstor=454173 |issn=0003-1283|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

''Rime'' and ''rhyme'' are variants of the same word, but the rarer form ''rime'' is sometimes used to mean specifically ''syllable rime'' to differentiate it from the concept of poetic [[rhyme]]. This distinction is not made by some linguists and does not appear in most dictionaries.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Examples <br><small>C = consonant, V = vowel, optional components are in parentheses.</small>
! structure: !! syllable = !! onset !! + rhyme
|-
! C<sup>+</sup>V<sup>+</sup>C*:
| C<sub>1</sub>(C<sub>2</sub>)V<sub>1</sub>(V<sub>2</sub>)(C<sub>3</sub>)(C<sub>4</sub>) =
| C<sub>1</sub>(C<sub>2</sub>)
| + V<sub>1</sub>(V<sub>2</sub>)(C<sub>3</sub>)(C<sub>4</sub>)
|-
! V<sup>+</sup>C*:
| V<sub>1</sub>(V<sub>2</sub>)(C<sub>3</sub>)(C<sub>4</sub>) =
| Title="null"| ∅
| + V<sub>1</sub>(V<sub>2</sub>)(C<sub>3</sub>)(C<sub>4</sub>)
|}

==== Weight ====

[[Image:Syllable illustrations 3and4.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Branching nucleus for ''pout'' and branching coda for ''pond'']]

{{Main|Syllable weight}}

<!-- Cross-linguistically, there is evidence for a hierarchy of syllable weights according to syllable structure. -->
A '''heavy syllable''' is generally one with a ''branching rime'', i.e. it is either a ''closed syllable'' that ends in a consonant, or a syllable with a ''branching nucleus'', i.e. a long vowel or [[diphthong]]. The name is a metaphor, based on the nucleus or coda having lines that branch in a tree diagram.

In some languages, heavy syllables include both VV (branching nucleus) and VC (branching rime) syllables, contrasted with V, which is a '''light syllable'''.
In other languages, only VV syllables are considered heavy, while both VC and V syllables are light.
Some languages distinguish a third type of '''superheavy syllable''', which consists of VVC syllables (with both a branching nucleus and rime) or VCC syllables (with a coda consisting of two or more consonants) or both.

In [[mora (linguistics)|moraic theory]], heavy syllables are said to have two moras, while light syllables are said to have one and superheavy syllables are said to have three. [[Japanese phonology]] is generally described this way.

Many languages forbid superheavy syllables, while a significant number forbid any heavy syllable. Some languages strive for constant syllable weight; for example, in stressed, non-final syllables in [[Italian language|Italian]], short vowels co-occur with closed syllables while long vowels co-occur with open syllables, so that all such syllables are heavy (not light or superheavy).

The difference between heavy and light frequently determines which syllables receive [[stress (linguistics)|stress]] – this is the case in [[Latin]] and [[Arabic language|Arabic]], for example. The system of [[meter (poetry)|poetic meter]] in many classical languages, such as [[Classical Greek]], [[Classical Latin]], [[Tamil language|Old Tamil]] and [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]], is based on syllable weight rather than stress (so-called ''quantitative rhythm'' or ''quantitative meter'').