The sound system of a language is has a very regular structure, consisting of sets of phonemes arranged in syllables in a limited number of ways.
For example, the syllables of English can be described in the following ways (the IPA phonetic symbols are coded in the typewriter-friendly SAMPA alphabet):
| Syllable type | SAMPA | orthography |
| V | /a:/, /u:/, /@U/, /aI/ | a, ooh, oh/owe, I/eye, ... |
| CV | ... | ... |
| CCV | ... | ... |
| CCCV | ... | ... |
| VC | ... | ... |
| VCC | ... | ... |
| VCCC | ... | ... |
| CVC | ... | ... |
| CCVCC | ... | ... |
| CCCVCCC | ... | ... |
Tasks:
You will notice that not all consonant sequences are possible.
Task:
The classes of similar phonemes which can occur in a particular position are paradigmatically related. Thus, paradigmatic relations are defined as relations of similarity.
The phonemes which co-occur in possible sequences are syntagmatically related. Thus, syntagmatic relations are defined as part-whole or part-part relations.
Paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations, taken together, constitute the phonological structure of a language.
