A report of research on phonology consists of two parts. The first examines the direction in which syllables are "built"--whether the segment or the syllable came first. The first part looks at the effects that different forms of syllabification have on syllable structure, and explores which syllable structure accounts for most syllable-related phonological processes. Attention is given to patterns of child language acquisition and its effects on syllable structure. It is concluded that the solution lies in an analysis in which direction of syllabification has no role at all. The second part analyzes syllable structure in Sranan, a Surinam creole, in the context of the child language data in part I. Focus is on onset and rhyme structure and on patterns of initial /s/ in clusters when compared with Sranan's superstrate language, English. A strong parallel between creolization and first language acquisition patterns is theorized. Contains 53 references. (MSE)