Syllable Structure as a Theoretical Construct: New Insights into Onset–Rime and Moraic Models

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17940991

Abstract

This study examines English syllable structure by critically comparing the onset–rime model and the moraic model, with a focus on their capacity to account for weight-sensitive phenomena such as stress assignment, syllable timing, and rhythmic patterns. The research utilises a systematically compiled dataset of English words, which were analysed for their onset, nucleus, coda, and moraic structure. Each syllable was evaluated under both models to determine how accurately they represent light, heavy, and superheavy syllables and to assess their predictive power for stress placement and prosodic behaviour. The findings indicate that the onset–rime model provides a clear and intuitive framework for structural segmentation, effectively describing phonotactic constraints, particularly in terms of permissible onset clusters and rime combinations. However, its binary treatment of weight limits its ability to capture the graded distinctions observed in English, especially in derivational and polysyllabic forms. The moraic model demonstrates greater precision in representing syllable weight by accounting for contributions of long vowels, diphthongs, and coda consonants, thereby offering a more reliable explanation for stress patterns, weight-sensitive behaviour, and rhythmic organisation. Overall, the study concludes that a complementary approach, which employs onset–rime structures for structural segmentation and moraic representations for prosodic analysis, provides the most comprehensive account of English syllable behaviour and highlights the nuanced interaction between segmental structure and prosody in the language.