Syllable joint
A syllable joint (also known as a joint ) or an ambisyllabic or ambisilbic consonant is a term introduced by Peter Eisenberg in German studies . It denotes consonants which, depending on how you look at it , can be counted either in the preceding or in the following syllable and serves as a synchronous explanation of the double spelling of such consonants.
German syllabification and syllable joint
Two rules of German syllabification, i.e. the division of words into syllables, play a role in explaining the syllable joint:
- On the one hand there is the rule that a syllable with a sharp syllable cut , i.e. with a short, stressed vowel, must always end with a consonant;
- on the other hand the rule that a simple consonant between two vowels is always counted to the syllable of the second vowel.
In a word like [ˈalə] ( all ) the consonant [l] must be counted according to the first rule to the preceding syllable, because this is sharply cut: [ˈal.ə]. According to the second rule, however, it must be counted to the following syllable because it is a single consonant between two vowels: [ˈa.lə]. Such a consonant, which is added to the preceding or following syllable depending on the syllabification rule, is what Eisenberg calls a syllable joint and identifies it by writing the point that marks the syllable boundary not before or after the consonant, but below it: [ˈaḷə] . Other examples are words like [ˈʃlɪṭən] ( sledge ), [ˈvaṣər] ( water ), [ˈkaʦ̣ə] ( cat ).
Meaning of the syllable joint
A doubled consonant letter corresponds to the spelling of the syllable joint. The word [ˈaḷə] is written all . The rules for word separation prescribe that such a doubled consonant letter is separated in the middle: al-le . In this way, the [l] in [ˈalə] belongs to both the preceding and the following syllable according to the spelling. It is important, however, that this [l] only represents a single sound despite its double spelling.
The syllable joint theory thus underpins both the doubling of the consonants and the separation rules in German spelling by explaining this with the syllabification. However, it is not a historical or diachronic explanation, because the historical origin of the doubling of consonants lies in an earlier long pronunciation ( gemination ).
criticism
The assumption of syllable joints in the German language is criticized because there is no difference between a consonant that forms a syllable joint and one that does not. The / t / in the words rat (syllable joint) and rate (no syllable joint) are pronounced the same.
Syllable hinge theory in other languages
The syllable joint theory is mainly used in German linguistics. The first rule of syllabification, according to which a sharply cut syllable must end with a consonant, also applies in other Germanic languages, such as English , but the second rule is not used in English linguistics, according to which a simple consonant must belong to the following syllable . Therefore, in English linguistics, the [l] in a word like alley is only counted to the preceding syllable: [ˈæl.i].
literature
- Peter Eisenberg among others: The sound and the sound structure of the word. In: Peter Eisenberg and others: Duden, grammar of contemporary German . 6th, revised edition. Dudenverlag, Mannheim et al. 1998, ISBN 3-411-04046-7 , ( Der Duden 4), pp. 17-53, 41.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Utz Maas : The connection correlation of German in the horizon of a typology of syllable structure (PDF; 1.8 MB). In: P. Auer u. a. (Ed.): Syllable cuts and tone accents. Niemeyer, Tübingen 2002, 11-34; P. 20
- ↑ JC Wells: syllabification and allophony . In: Susan Ramsaran (Ed.): Studies in the pronunciation of English . A commemorative volume in honor of AC Gimson . Routledge, London / New York 1990. pp. 76-86.