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Without syllable boundary:

ˈwʌt̚ ˈhæp ənd ||

With syllable boundary:

ˈwʌt̚ ˈhæp.ənd ||

However I have words that are two syllables and both syllables are stressed:

ˈsʌmˌθɪŋz‿ˈaʊt̚ ˈðɛəɹ ||

As you can see there is no full stop symbol between the syllables ˈsʌm and ˌθɪŋz. I'm wondering if adding a full stop is necessary, like so:

ˈsʌm.ˌθɪŋz‿ˈaʊt̚ ˈðɛəɹ ||

The same for ˈsʌmˌdeɪ and other words like ˈsɪksˈtin

I would like to include the full stops as syllable boundaries in all my transcriptions. For me it makes it easier to distinguish the syllables. Do you think including the full stops is a bad idea?

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  • To be clear, you're asking about putting a syllable boundary marker before the stress marker?
    – Draconis ♦
    Commented May 3, 2022 at 22:57
  • Yes. Is that necessary? or should I only put the full stops where there is no stress mark?
    – Zoltan King
    Commented May 3, 2022 at 23:14
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    The stop is used to mark syllable boundaries if it’s otherwise ambiguous where the boundary is. In English (and as far as I know, all other languages), stress is considered to be a property of the syllable, and since the stress mark is always placed immediately before the stress (i.e., the stress-bearing syllable), a stress marker in itself unambiguously marks where the syllable boundary is. If you want to also put in a stop to make it extra clear, no one’s stopping you – it’s not against any ‘rules’. But it’s entirely redundant if there’s a stress marker there already.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented May 3, 2022 at 23:15
  • What @Janus said.
    – Araucaria - him
    Commented May 3, 2022 at 23:24
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    To add, a space doesn't usually mean there's a syllable break there. It's just there to indicate where a word boundary in the orthographic form corresponds to in the transcription for ease of reading. (Unless of course spaces are used at all syllable boundaries, in which case [wʌt hæp ənd] is equivalent to [wʌt.hæp.ənd].)
    – Nardog
    Commented May 4, 2022 at 0:01

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