English Phonotactics Project (Received Pronunciation)

Overview

This is a small personal project that plays with English phonotactics.
It generates random phoneme sequences and simple syllables using Python.

The current version adds a basic Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP):

• onsets: sonority goes up towards the vowel
• codas: sonority goes down away from the vowel

It’s just a toy model, not a full description of RP.

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Features

• Generates random syllables with onset, nucleus, and coda
• Uses a simple sonority scale for English consonants
• Excludes impossible things like /ŋ/ in onset position
• Uses only Python’s built-in random module (no extra packages)

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Installation & Usage

1. Clone the repository or download the Python file:

   git clone https://github.com/7riangle/English-Phonotactics-Project.git
   cd English-Phonotactics-Project

2. Run the script (file name may be different depending on what you saved):

   python ssp_phonotactics.py

3. You should see random syllables printed in the terminal, for example:

   plɔːn
   trɪə
   frɑːm
   kwəʊ
   

   (Actual outputs will change every time.)

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Using it in another script

If you want to import the generator in your own code:

from ssp_phonotactics import phonotactics_sequence_with_constraints

print(phonotactics_sequence_with_constraints())

You can also call it with:

onset, nucleus, coda = phonotactics_sequence_with_constraints(return_parts=True)
print(onset, nucleus, coda)

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Notes

• Segment list and rules are simplified and hand-made.
• The goal is just to connect phonology ideas (like SSP) with simple Python code.