Syllable Structure 6.1. Syllables and phonotactics A syllable refers to a unit of speech made up of a vowel which can be preceded and/or followed by a consonant or a series of consonants. Vowel sounds are described as the nucleus or 'core' of the syllable, while consonants are described as the margins or boundaries of syllables An English syllable can have one or more than one consonant preceding or following the vowel sound. The syllable structure can be analyzed by phonotactics, the possible combination and ordering of sound segments within a syllable. As mentioned, the most essential element of a syllable is the vowel or so-called nucleus of the syllable. The vowel can be flanked by one the or more consonant sounds preceding(onse) or following(coda) the vowel sounds. For instance, the syllable structure of the word'top' can be CYC th one consonant and one coda consonant. on