science

Sonority sequencing principle

Sonority sequencing principle is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sonority sequencing principle rather than just read about it. In short: The sonority sequencing principle (SSP) or sonority sequencing constraint is a phonotactic principle that aims to explain or predict the structure of a syllable in terms of sonority. The SSP states that the syllable nucleus (syllable center), often a vowel, constitutes a sonority peak that is preceded and/or followed by a sequence of segments – consonants – with progressively decreasing sonority values (i.e., the so…

Key takeaways

Sonority sequencing principle belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sonority sequencing principle to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sonority sequencing principle from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The sonority sequencing principle (SSP) or sonority sequencing constraint is a phonotactic principle that aims to explain or predict the structure of a syllable in terms of sonority. The SSP states that the syllable nucleus (syllable center), often a vowel, constitutes a sonority peak that is preceded and/or followed by a sequence of segments – consonants – with progressively decreasing sonority values (i.e., the sonority has to fall toward both edges of the syllable). The sonority values of segments are determined by a sonority hierarchy, though these differ to some extent from language to language. Typically they are vowel > glide > liquid > nasal > obstruent (or > fricative > plosive > click). That is, the segment order in a syllable tends to be of the pattern Ʞ-P-F-N-L-G-V-G-L-N-F-P. The fricative–plosive and nasal–plosive rankings may be reversed. Wright (2004: 51–52) notes,

In a Sonority Sequencing Constraint that is based on perceptual robustness, a stranded consonant (one without a flanking vowel, liquid, or glide) is dispreferred unless it has sufficiently robust internal cues to survive in the absence of formant transitions. ... Segments that we expect to survive without the benefits of flanking vowels, and thus be found at syllable edges with intervening stops, are the sibilant fricatives, potentially other fricatives ... and nasals. A good example for the SSP in English is the one-syllable word trust: The first consonant in the syllable onset is t, which is a stop, the lowest on the sonority scale; next is r, a liquid which is more sonorous; then there is the vowel u – the sonority peak; next, in the syllable coda, is s, a sibilant, and last is another stop, t. The SSP explains why, for example, trend is a valid English word but *rtedn (flipping the order of consonants) is not. Language processing has also been shown experimentally to be sensitive to sonority violations. Some languages possess syllables that violate the SSP (Russian and dialectal Arabic, for example) while other languages strictly adhere to it, even requiring larger intervals on the sonority scale: In Italian for example, a syllable-initial stop must be followed by either a liquid, a glide or a vowel, but not by a fricative (except: [ps] borrowed words like: pseudonimo, psicologia). Some languages allow a sonority "plateau"; that is, two adjacent tautosyllabic consonants with the same sonority level. Modern Hebrew is an example of such language. A number of Indo-European languages that typically follow the SSP will violate it with /s/ + stop clusters. For example, in the English word string or Italian spago the more sonorous /s/ comes before a less sonorous sound in the onset. In native English words, no phoneme other than /s/ ever violates the SSP. Latin also was able to violate the principle in this way, however the Vulgar Latin dialects that evolved into the Western Romance languages lost this ability, causing the process of I-prosthesis to occur, whereby an /i/ was inserted at the beginning of such a word, to make the /s/ instead a coda consonant rather than an onset consonant. As a result, Western Romance languages like Spanish and French will have espada and épée (from espee) respectively where a non-Western Romance language like Italian has spada, and even has words such as sdraio 'deck-chair' (pronounced /'zdra.jo/). However, all of the sonority violations noted above occur at word edges, not word-internally. Therefore, some recent phonological accounts postulate that the segments outside of the sonority sequencing may be considered "extrasyllabic consonants", consonants occurring outside of any syllable, and licensed in their language by the word they are part of. English string, for example, would then contain a syllable [tring] with a preceding extrasyllabic s. Certain languages violate the SSP completely, such as Dorig. Examples in Dorig include rqa [rk͡pʷa] 'woman', m̄sar [ŋ͡mʷsar] 'poor', and wrēt [wrɪt] 'squid'.

Sources

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sonority sequencing principle

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sonority sequencing principle claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sonority sequencing principle before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sonority sequencing principle ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sonority sequencing principle

In research: Sonority sequencing principle appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sonority sequencing principle in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sonority sequencing principle is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Phonology, Phonology stubs, Phonotactics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sonority sequencing principle outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sonority sequencing principle in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sonority sequencing principle means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sonority sequencing principle out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sonority sequencing principle in simple terms?

Why does Sonority sequencing principle matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sonority sequencing principle?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sonority sequencing principle.