The Syllable as a Minimal Vocal Emission
The Syllable as a Minimal Vocal Emission

Summary/Abstract: In the terms of the complex relationship between the substance constraints and latitudes where a sonorous significant is articulated, vocal emission shows a hierarchical structure of functional units. These units consist in the energy resulting from exhaling which is assigned according to the rule of the intensity contrast. The minimal level in producing a perceivable vocal emission, be it homogenous or parasitic, is the syllable. Thus, any phoneme may be realised as either the nucleus or a peripheral, while an isolated utterance (preceded and followed by silence) can only be a syllable or a sequence of syllables.

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