Tautosyllabic

Two or more phonemes (segments) are tautosyllabic (with each other) if they occur in the same syllable. Take for instance the English word "cat". Since this word is monosyllabic, the three phonemes /k/, /æ/ and /t/ are tautosyllabic. They can also be described as sharing a 'tautosyllabic distribution'. However, in the French word "être" (meaning "to be", syllabified ê-tre), only the three last phones /t/ and /r/ are tautosyllabic, all members of the second syllable. (However, much of French usage involves single-syllable êtr or even êt) Phonemes which are not tautosyllabic are heterosyllabic. For example, in the English word "mustard", /m/ and /t/ are heterosyllabic, as they are members of different syllables.

See also

• Ambisyllabic