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How is it known, about bottle, whether it has one or two syllables? According to the sonority sequencing principle, /l/ has a higher sonority than /t/ or a glot
by azangru 5y ago
How is it known, about bottle, whether it has one or two syllables? According to the sonority sequencing principle, /l/ has a higher sonority than /t/ or a glottal stop; so one would expect bottle to always have two syllables (this is reflected in transcriptions provided by Merriam-Webster's or Cambridge Advanced Learner's). When would this not be the case?
- hnbad 5y agoIt depends on the dialect but in many cases the /l/ is syllabic. The difference is mostly in whether the second syllable is just the /l/ or also contains a schwa. I don't think there are any dialects where the word is monosyllabic as that would probably require making the /t/ completely silent (not just a glottal stop).