STRONG /WEAK SYLLABLES &

WEAK FORMS-

-Definitions: Strong/ Weak

-Schwa/ Close Front and Close Back Vowels
-Syllabic Consonants: Nasal/Lateral/ Flap
-Weak Forms: Functions Words-Rules about Use of
Strong Forms
 STRONG /WEAK SYLLABLES &
WEAK FORMS
• English syllables divided into two types, strong and
weak. This feature is not in English language
only but in many other languages.
• Strong and weak syllables in English can be
distinguished on the basis of vowel quality when we
compare weak syllable with strong syllable we find
that the vowel of a weak syllable tends to be shorter
of lower intensity and different in quality, is less loud
and has a vowel that can not occur in strong
syllables.
• eg. Father the second syllable which is weak is
shorter than the first. (Roach,2000,p81)
• Crystal (2004: 247) states that strong (or full) forms are used when the
word is said in isolation or is being emphasized.
• Weak forms are normal in connected speech: peripheral vowels
(those which are articulated towards the edge of the vowel area in the
mouth) are replaced by those of more central quality, and some
consonants may be elided.

• (Roach,2000,p82)defines a weak syllable as the one that can only have

four types of center:
1. the vowel"schwa"
2. A close front unrounded vowel in the general area of i: and i
3. A close back rounded vowel in the general area ofu: and u
4. A syllabic consonant
 WEAK FORMS

 The vowel in a weak form is usually the schwa (ə).

 Weak forms are pronounced more quickly and at
lower volume in comparison to the stressed
syllables.
 They are also not central to changes in intonation
STRONG FORMS

Strong forms are often found:

1. When they occur at the end of a word
2. When a word is contrasted with another word
3. When a word is stressed for emphasis
4. When a word is being quoted.
 FOUR TYPES OFCENTER
• The vowel (" shwa") better /betə/
• A close front unrounded vowel in the general area of i:
and i symbolized i /hæ pi/
• A close back rounded vowel in the general area of u:
and ʊ symbolized u
• A syllabic consonant
SCHWA

• Crystal(2003,p.407) states that The usual name for the

natural vowel [ə], heard in English at the begning of such
words a (ago, amaze, or in the middle of
afterward),sometimes called the indefinite vowel.
• It is particularly frequent vowel in English as it’s the one most
commonly heard when a stressed vowel becames
unstressed eg. Telegraph/teləgra:f/ becaming
telegrahpy/tə’legrəfi/
• Schwa in English is mainly found in unstressed positions, but
in some other languages occurs more frequently as a
stressed vowel.
CLOSE FRONT VOWELS

• Roach(2000,p.84) states that vowels are found in weak syllables( in

the general region of i: and I ).
• According to Crystal (2003,p.240) ,[i:] is produced when front of
tongue raised to slightly below and behind close front position; lips
spread; tongue tense side rims make firm contact with upper molars.
• [I ] is produce when part of tongue near centre than front raised to just
above have close position; lips loosely spread; tongue lax rims
make light contract with uppermolars.
• Eg. /i:zi:/ easy ,/bIzi:/ busy
CLOSE BACK VOWELS

• Roach(2000,p.84) states that vowels are found in weak

syllables. Close back rounded ( in the general region of
u: and U ).
• According to Crystal (2003,p.240) [u:] produced when
the back of tongue raised to just below close position;
lips closely rounded ; tongue tense , no firm contact
between rims and upper molars.
• [U] produced when the tongue is near centre than back
,raised to just above half-close position; lips closely but
loosely rounded tongue lax ; no firm contact between
rims and upper molars.
Syllabic Consonants: Syllabic l

There are two ‘liquid’ phonemes in English: /l/ as in look, and /r/ as
in run.
Syllabic-l
Examples of syllabic-l filling the vowel slot in unstressed syllables
include the following.
handle /ˈhændəl/ → [ˈhændl]
bottle /ˈbɒtəl/ → [ˈbɒtɬl]
bagel /ˈbeɪgəl/ → [ˈbeɪgɬl]
 Syllabic Consonants: Syllabic -n

• Consider the syllables that make up the following word.

• garden /gɑ(r)/ + /dən/ = /ˈgɑ(r) dən/ {1}
• The first syllable /gɑ/ consists of a CV sequence and the
second syllable /dən/ of a CVC arrangement. The first
syllable is said to be a stressed syllable , i.e. it is
given more weight, more emphasis, when spoken.
• The second syllable is an unstressed syllable . In
unstressed syllables that end in /n/ the immediately
preceding vowel is usually the neutral vowel /ə/.
• This results in the final /n/ taking on the full measure of the
syllable. This is known as syllabic- nand it is transcribed in
IPA as [n̩].
• Thus:
garden /ˈgɑ(r)dən/ → [ˈgɑ(ɹ)dn̩] {2}
• We see, therefore, that the second syllable no longer contains a
vowel. Further examples of syllabic-n include the following.
Frighten /ˈfraɪtən/ → [ˈfraɪtn̩] ,
button /ˈbʌtən/ → [ˈbʌtn̩]
 Syllaic-m

SYLLABIC-M

As well as the occurrence of syllabic-n in unstressed

syllables, syllabic- m can occur in similar environments. Examples of
syllabic-m, which similarly take the full measure of a syllable, i.e. taking
the nuclear vowel slot in the syllable, include the following.

rhythm /ˈrɪðəm/ → [ˈɹɪðm̩]

bottom /ˈbɒtəm/ → [ˈbɒtm̩]
blossom /ˈblɒsəm / → [ˈblɒsm̩]
 SYLLABIC-NG
• In certain environments, the third English nasal /ŋ/ may also occur
as a syllabic consonant.
• This assimilation is more likely to occur if the nasal consonant /n/
occurs between two velar consonants, as in the following example.
• broken key /ˈbrəʊkən ki/ → [ˈbɹəʊkŋ̩ ki]
 SYLLABIC-R

Rhotic accents are accents in which /r/ can occur before

consonants (e.g. as in park /pɑrk/, cart /kɑrt/, card /kɑrd/)
and before pauses (e.g. as in core /kɔr/, car /kɑr/, bar
/bɑr/).
The majority of American English accents are rhotic but
the Standard British English accent is non-rhotic.
Standard British English pronunciation of the
immediately prior examples would be: park /pɑk/, cart
/kɑt/, card /kɑd/,core /kɔ/, car /kɑ/, bar /bɑ/.
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