Syllabic consonants

Syllabic consonants are the consonants that make syllables without vowels. Such

consonants are /l, r, n, m, /:

Syllabic /l/

This sound can occur:

1. With alveolar consonant precediong: cattle /ktl/, bottle /botl/, muddle /mdl/,

tunnel /tnl/

2. With non- alveolar consonant preceding: couple /kpl/, trouble /trbl/, struggle

/strgl/, knuckle /nkl/. Such words usually lose their final letter (e) when a

syllable beginning with a vowel is attached, but /l/ remains syllabic:

bottle /botl/ , bottling /botli/.

Similar words not derived in this way do not have the syllabic /l/ consider the following

words:

Coddle /kodl/, coddling /kodli/ ( this is v ing and it has syllabic /l/.

Cod (n) + diminutive ling = codling /kodli/ ( /l/ is not syllabic).

Syllabic /l/ can be found in wordsspelt with one or more consonant letters followed by

al or el as in: panel /pnl/, petal /petl/, kernel /k:nl/, pedal /pedl/, papal/ peipl/, parcel

/pa:sl/, babel/ beibl/, ducal/dju:kl/.

Syllabic /n/

Syllabic /n/ can occur in final and medial weak syllables. threaten / retn/, threatening/

retni/. Syllabic /n/ is most common after alveolar plosives and fricatives: eaten /i:tn/.
Syllabic /n/ is not found after /l/, // and //:

Sullen /sln/, Christian /krisn/, pigeon /pin/. Syllabic /n/ after non alveolar

consonants is not so widespread. In words where the syllable following a velar consonant is

spelt an or on as in: toboggan / tbogn/, wagon /wgn/. After bilabial consonants both

syllabic and non syllabic consonants /n/ can occur:

happen / hpn/, /hpn/, /hpm/.

Happening /hpni/, /hpni/, /hpni/.

Ribbon /ribn/, /ribn/, /ribm/.

After velar consonants in words like thiken, waken, syllabic and non- syllabic /n/ can

occur: thicken /ikn/ /ikn/. waken /weikn/ /weikn/.

After /f/ or /v/, syllabic /n/ is commonly used:

Seven /sevn/, heaven /hevn/, often / ofn/. If n is preceded by /l/ and a plosive as in wilton,

the pronunciation /wiltn/ is possible, but / wiltn/ is also found regularly. If /s/ precedes /t/

as in boston, syllabic /n/ is less frequent. Clusters formed by nasal + plosive + syllabic

nasal are very unusual:

Thus, minton, lantern, London, abandon will have // in the last syllable and be

pronounced: /mintn/, /lntn/, /lndn/, /bndn/.

Syllabic /m/ and //

Syllabic /m/ can occur in words like happen which can be pronounced /hpm/, /hpn/,

/hpn/, uppermost/ pmust/, /pmust/.

// is found in thicken /ik/, /ikn/, /ikn/, broken key /bruk ki:/.

Syllabic /r/

There are a few pairs of words ( minimal pairs) in which a difference in meaning depends

on whether a particular /r/ is syllabic or not as in:

Hungary /hgri/, hungry /hgri/. Hungary can be pronounced /hgri/.

Combinations of syllabic consonants

It is possible to find two syllabic consonants together as in: national /nnl/, literal /litrl/,

visionary /vinri/, veteran /vetrn/.