N. V. Tatsenko introduction to theoretical phonetics of english

The division of a word into syllables is called syllabification. In Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (LPD) by J. C. Wells it is shown by spacing, e.g. playtime ['plei taim]. In English Pronouncing Dictionary (EPD) by Daniel Jones, Alfred Ch. Gimson, Peter Roach (15th edition 1997), syllable division is marked with a dot - [.] as recommended by the International Phonetic Association (the IPA), e. g. admirable ['^.тэгэ.Ы].
The issue of syllabification in English is controversial: different phoneticians hold different views about it. We will begin by looking at two words that are simple examples of the problem of dividing adjoining syllables. Most English speakers feel that the word 'morning' [mo:nig]) consists of two syllables, but we need a way of deciding whether the division into syllables should be [mo: and nig], or [mo:n and ig]. A more difficult case is the word 'extra' [ekstra]. One problem is that by some definitions the [s] in the middle, between [k] and [t], could be counted as a syllable, which most English speakers would reject. They feel that the word has two syllables. However, the more controversial issue relates to where the two syllables are to be divided; the possibilities are (using the symbol to signify a syllable boundary):

1. 
   [e.kstra];
   
2. 
   [ek.stra];
   
3. 
   [eks.tra];
   
4. 
   [ekst.ra];
   
5. 
   [ekstr.a].
   

How can we decide on the division? No single rule will tell us what to do without bringing up problems. It is generally agreed that phonetic syllable divisions must be such as to avoid (as far as possible) creating consonant clusters which are not found in words in isolation. Thus it may be argued that candy should be ['k^n.di] or ['k^nd. i] but not ['кж. ndi] since [nd] is not a possible initial consonant cluster in English. This principle is called the phonotactic constraint (фонотактичне обмеження) on syllabification.
One more accepted guideline is what is known as the maximal onsets principle. This principle states that where two syllables are to be divided, any consonants between them should be attached to the right-hand syllable, not the left, as far