What is the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP)?

• A. Onsets should rise in sonority toward the vowel nucleus, and codas should fall in sonority away from the nucleus; this constrains permissible clusters.
• B. Onsets should rise in sonority toward the nucleus in the coda, but not during onset.
• C. Sonority does not constrain cluster formation.
• D. Vowel sonority governs consonant articulation.

Answer: (A)

The Sonority Sequencing Principle describes how consonants are arranged in a syllable according to their sonority. Sonority tends to rise as you move from the start of the syllable toward the vowel nucleus, peaking at the vowel, and then fall as you move from the nucleus into the coda. This is why onset clusters like bl, fr, or sl are common: each step toward the vowel increases sonority. In the coda, consonants tend to decrease in sonority as you move away from the nucleus.

The statement captures this by saying onsets should rise in sonority toward the nucleus, and codas should fall in sonority away from the nucleus, which constrains which consonant combinations are permissible in each position. Thinking with a sonority scale helps: assign lower values to stops, higher to fricatives, higher to nasals, higher to liquids, higher to glides, and highest to vowels; a typical onset shows a nondecreasing sequence up to the vowel, while a typical coda shows a nonincreasing sequence after the vowel.

Keep in mind that SSP describes a strong tendency across languages, but there are exceptions and language-specific rules that can alter which clusters are allowed.