Syllable coda

Syllable coda

In phonology, a syllable coda comprises the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the nucleus, which is usually a vowel. The combination of a nucleus and a coda is called a rime. Some syllables consist only of a nucleus with no coda. Some languages' phonotactics, like that of Japanese, limit syllable codas to a small group of single consonants, whereas others allow any consonant phoneme or even clusters of consonants.

Here are some single-syllable words that have both a nucleus and a coda (the codas are specified in the International Phonetic Alphabet):

  • an: coda = /n/
  • cup: coda = /p/
  • tall: coda = /l/
  • milk: coda = /lk/
  • tints: coda = /nts/
  • fifths: coda = /fθs/
  • sixths: coda = /ksθs/
  • twelfths: coda = /lfθs/

The following single-syllable words end in a nucleus and do not have a coda (phonologically):

  • glue
  • pie
  • though
  • boy

A list of examples of syllable codas in English is found at English phonology: Coda.

See also