Coda

Coda is the name of a syllabic constituent, which contains the consonant(s) following the nucleus. The nucleus and the coda together make up the rhyme.

Example

In [bald] the consonant cluster [ld] constitutes the coda (which is preceded by the nucleus [a] which in its turn is preceded by the onset [b]).

Comments

Unlike the other two syllabic constituents, the onset and the nucleus, the coda is not universal: some languages (Hua, Cayuvava, Hawaiian (Blevins 1995, Piggott 1999)) do not have a coda at all, that is, all syllables are open, others (Yapese (Piggott 1999)) only have it word finally, yet others (Italian) only word medially, but not word finally.

References

• Blevins, Juliette. 1995. The syllable in phonological theory. In: John A. Goldsmith (ed.) The Handbook of Phonological Theory, Cambridge, Mass. & Oxford: Blackwell. 206–244.
• Piggott, Glyne L. 1999. At the right edge of words. The Linguistic Review 16: 143–185.

Other languages

German Koda