Most syllable word in english

For 1, minimum : «I» 1
For 1, maximum : «I» 1

For 2, minimum : «It» 1
For 2, maximum : «Io» 2

For 3, minimum : «Don» 1
For 3, maximum : «Era» 2

For 4, minimum : «Done» 1
For 4, maximum : «Iota» 3

For 5, minimum : «Stone» «Schwa» 1
For 5, maximum : «Anion» 3

For 6, minimum : «Streak» 1
For 6, maximum : «Anonym» «Hawaii» 3

For 7, minimum : «Streaks» 1
For 7, maximum : «Anonymy» 4

For 8, minimum : «Strength» 1
For 8, maximum : «Ignominy» «Abacuses» «Honolulu» 4

For 9, minimum : «Strengths» 1
For 9, maximum : «Abrasions» 4

For 10, minimum : «Squirreled» 1 , thanks to Deusovi
For 10, maximum : «Abacterial» «Abiogenist» 5

For 11, minimum : «Broughammed» 1 , thanks to Emrakul
For 11, maximum : «Abecedarian» «Abiogeneses» «Aerobiology» «Alcyonarian» 6

For 12, minimum : «Schtroumpfed» 1 , thanks to Emrakul
For 12, maximum : «Unisexuality» 7

For 13, minimum : «Scratchboards» «Straightbreds» «Straightboard» «Straightforth» 2
For 13, maximum : «Unideological» «Unreliability» «Monosexuality» 7

For 14, minimum : «Straightboards» 2
For 14, maximum : «Stereoisomeric» «Supersexuality» «Unisexualities» 7

For 15, minimum : «Schlockmeisters» «Straightforthly» «Straightforward» 3
For 15, maximum : «Stereoisomerics» «Monosexualities» «Organomercurial» 7

For 16, minimum : «Straightforwards» 3
For 16, maximum : «Stereoisomerical» 8

For 17, minimum : «Straightforthness» 3
For 17, maximum : «Electroanalytical» «Electrophysiology» 8

For 18, minimum : «Forethoughtfulness» 4
For 18, maximum : «Universalizability» 9 , thanks to Nathaniel

For 19, minimum : «Straightforwardness» 4
For 19, maximum : «Extraterritoriality» 9

For 20, minimum : «Forethoughtfulnesses» 5
For 20, maximum : «Radioimmunoassayable» 10

WHEW

References:
http://www.morewords.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_longest_English_words_with_one_syllable

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of candidates for the longest English word of one syllable, i.e. monosyllables with the most letters. A list of 9,123 English monosyllables published in 1957 includes three ten-letter words: scraunched, scroonched, and squirreled.[1] Guinness World Records lists scraunched and strengthed.[2] Other sources include words as long or longer. Some candidates are questionable on grounds of spelling, pronunciation, or status as obsolete, nonstandard, proper noun, loanword, or nonce word. Thus, the definition of longest English word with one syllable is somewhat subjective, and there is no single unambiguously correct answer.

List[edit]

word pronunciation letters source notes
schtroumpfed 12 Eco[3] The original French name for smurf is schtroumpf, and this word is used as an all-purpose noun and verb by the titular characters. The form schtroumpfed is used in Alistair McEwen’s English translation of an essay by Umberto Eco: «Let us suppose that an English speaker of average culture hears a Schtroumpf poet reciting I schtroumpfed lonely as a schtroumpf.» This does not follow the conventions of English-language versions of The Smurfs, where one would instead encounter the word smurfed.[3]
broughammed 11 Sc.Am.[4] meaning «travelled by brougham», by analogy with bussed, biked, carted etc. Rhymes with fumed, zoomed. Suggested by poet William Harmon in a competition to find the longest monosyllable.
squirrelled 11 LPD;[5] MWOD[6] compressed American pronunciation of a word which in British RP always has two syllables /ˈskwɪrəld/. The monosyllabic pronunciation rhymes with world, curled. In the United States the given spelling is a variant of the more usual squirreled: see -led and -lled spellings.
broughamed 10 Shaw[7] a variant of broughammed, used by George Bernard Shaw in a piece of journalism.
quarrelled 10 OED[8] the more usual British spelling quarreled.
schmaltzed , , 10 OED[9] meaning «imparted a sentimental atmosphere to» e.g. of music; with a 1969 attestation for the past tense.
schnappsed 10 Sc.Am.[4] meaning «drank schnapps»; proposed by poet George Starbuck in the same competition won by his friend William Harmon.
schwartzed 10 [10] meaning «responded ‘Schwartz’ to a player without making eye-contact» in the game Zoom Schwartz Profigliano.
scraunched 10 W3NID;[11] Moser[1] a «chiefly dialect» word, meaning «crunched».
scroonched 10 W3NID;[11] Moser[1] variant of scrunched, meaning «squeezed».
scrootched 10 AHD[12] variant of scrooched, meaning «crouched»
squirreled 10 LPD;[5] MWOD;[6] Moser[1] the more usual American spelling of squirrelled.
strengthed 10 OED[13] an obsolete verb meaning «strengthen», «force», and «summon one’s strength». The latest citation is 1614 (1479 for strengthed), at which time the Early Modern English pronunciation would have been disyllabic.

Proper names[edit]

Some nine-letter proper names remain monosyllabic when adding a tenth letter and apostrophe to form the possessive:

  • Laugharne’s [5]
  • Scoughall’s [14]

Note that both use the ough tetragraph, which can represent a wide variety of sounds in English.

In his short story, «Strychnine in the Soup», P. G. Wodehouse had a character whose surname was «Mapledurham», pronounced «Mum». This is eleven letters, while «Mapledurham’s» is twelve.

It is productive in English to convert a (proper) noun into an eponymous verb or adjective:

  • A 2007–08 promotion in France used the slogan «Do you Schweppes?», implying a past tense Schweppesed (11 letters) for the putative verb.[15]
  • Schwartzed (10 letters) has been used to mean «(re)designed in the style of Martha Schwartz»[16]
  • Schwartzed has also been used to mean «crossed swords with Justice Alan R. Schwartz»[17]
  • Schmertzed (10 letters) has been used to mean «received undue largesse from New York City through the intervention of negotiator Eric Schmertz»[18]

Contrived endings[edit]

In a 1970 article in Word Ways, Ralph G. Beaman converts past participles ending -ed into nouns, allowing regular plurals with -s. He lists five verbs in Webster’s Third International generating 10-letter monosyllables scratcheds, screecheds, scroungeds, squelcheds, stretcheds; from the verb strength in Webster’s Second International he forms the 11-letter strengtheds.[19]

The past tense ending -ed and the archaic second person singular ending -st can be combined into -edst; for example «In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul» (Psalms 138:3). While this ending is usually pronounced as a separate syllable from the verb stem, it may be abbreviated -‘dst to indicate elision. Attested examples include scratch’dst[20] and stretch’dst,[21] each of which has one syllable spelled with ten letters plus apostrophe.

See also[edit]

  • Longest word in English

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d
    Moser, Henry M. (June 1957). Dreher, John J.; Oyer, Herbert J. (eds.). One-syllable words (Report). Technical report. Vol. no.53. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Research Foundation. OCLC 878346994.;
    cited in
    PMC (1978). Albert Ross Eckler (ed.). «Review: English monosyllables«. Word Ways. Indianapolis. 11–12: 118.
  2. ^ «Longest monosyllabic English words». Guinness World Records. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b
    Eco, Umberto (1999). «§4.7.2: Meaning and the text». Kant and the Platypus: Essays on Language and Cognition. translated by Alistair McEwen. Harcourt Brace. 277–8. ISBN 0-15-100447-1.
  4. ^ a b
    Gardner, Martin (April 1979). «Mathematical games». Scientific American. 240 (4): 18. Bibcode:1979SciAm.240e..18G. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0579-18.
  5. ^ a b c
    Wells, John C. (2000). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (2nd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-36467-7.
  6. ^ a b
    Spelling: «2squirrel». Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
    Pronunciation: «1squirrel». Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
  7. ^
    Shaw, George Bernard (1932). Our Theatres in the Nineties. London: Constable and Company. p. 205. ISBN 1-4067-4302-X. …horsed and broughamed, painted and decorated, furnished and upholstered…
  8. ^
    «strength, v.». Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). 1989.
  9. ^
    «schmaltz, v.». Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). 1989.
  10. ^
    Cullen, Ruth (2006). The Little Black Book of Party Games: The Essential Guide to Throwing the Best Bashes. Illustrated by Kerren Barbas. Peter Pauper Press. p. 14. ISBN 1-59359-919-6. If the first person has been schwartzed, he can either look at a new person and say «Zoom,» or send it right back to the second person by saying «Pifigiano»
  11. ^ a b
    Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. 1966. ISBN 0-7135-1038-2.
  12. ^ Joseph P. Pickett; et al., eds. (2000). «scrooch». The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-82517-2. Archived from the original on 2007-08-24. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
  13. ^
    «strength, v.». Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). 1989.
  14. ^
    «Scoughall». Scripture Union Holidays. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2009-01-15. Scoughall (pronounced «skole») is in East Lothian, not far from North Berwick.
  15. ^
    «Do you Schweppes» (in French). Orangina Schweppes. December 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  16. ^
    Diesenhouse, Susan (June 26, 2004). «Landscapes of the mind». Boston Globe. archinect. Retrieved 2009-01-15. So distinctive is her style that her name has become a Euro design verb, as in Barclays at Canary Wharf is being ‘Schwartzed’ .
  17. ^
    Mandel, Roberta G. (Spring 2005). «The End of an Era at the Third District Court of Appeal: The Retirement of Judge Robert L. Shevin, Judge Mario P. Goderich and Chief Judge Alan R. Schwartz» (PDF). The Record. Tallahassee: Florida Bar, Appellate Section. XI (1): 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-14. there is no other jurist who has inspired the formation of a new terminology:»to be Schwartzed» or «to get Schwartzed» or «passing the Schwartz test.»
  18. ^ Barbanel, Josh (October 23, 1990). «Negotiator’s Quiet Style Elicits Loud Protest». The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-15. I have now turned Schmertz into a verb and a noun,» the former Mayor said. «If you have been abused, we say you have been Schmertzed. If you get an unwarranted and undeserved payment from the City of New York, you say, ‘Thank you Mr. Mayor, for the Schmertz.’
  19. ^ Beaman, Ralph G. (1970). «Syllabilities». Word Ways (4): 79. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  20. ^ Woolbert, Charles Henry (1922). Better Speech: A Textbook of Speech Training for Secondary Schools. p. 103.
  21. ^ Shoemaker, Rachel Walter Hinkle (1898). Advanced elocution. p. 129. ISBN 0-89609-169-4.

External links[edit]

  • askoxford.com: What is the longest one-syllable English word?
  • rec-puzzles.org: What words have an exceptional number of letters per syllable?

Ready to take your Scrabble skills to the next level? This list of the longest words in the English language could score you major points on your next game — if you can remember how to spell them.

Some of the words that qualify for the title take hours to pronounce, like the 189,819-letter word for the  protein Titin. Additionally, many of the longest words are medical terms, so we have excluded some of them to allow for more variety. The end result is a list of fascinatingly lengthy words that will make your vocabulary downright sesquipedalian.

Antidisestablishmentarianism

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England

Origins: While the word originated in 19th century Britain, it is now used to refer to any opposition to a government withdrawing support from a religious organization. Though rarely used in casual conversation, the word was featured in the Duke Ellington song, “You’re Just an Old Antidisestablishmentarianist.”  

Floccinaucinihilipilification

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: the act of defining or estimating something as worthless

Origins: This word stems from the combination of four Latin words, all of which signify that something has little value: flocci, nauci, nihili, pilifi. This style of word creation was popular in Britain in the 1700s. 

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: an invented word said to mean a lung disease caused by inhaling a fine dust

Origins: This word emerged in the late 1930s, and was said to be invented by Everett K. Smith, president of the National Puzzlers’ League, in an imitation of very long medical terms. It is not found in real medical usage.

Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: an inherited disorder similar to pseudohypoparathyroidism

Origins: This genetic disorder causes “short stature, round face and short hand bones,” according to the National Institutes of Health. Despite having a similar name, it is not the same as pseudohypoparathyroidism.

Psychoneuroendocrinological

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: of or related to to the branch of science concerned with the relationships between psychology, the nervous system, and the endocrine system 

Origins: This term was first seen in the 1970s in Journal of Neurological Science, a medical journal. 

Sesquipedalian

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: having many syllables or characterized by the use of long words

Origins: The Roman poet Horace used this term to caution young poets against relying on words that used a large number of letters. It was adopted in the 17th century by poets to ridicule their peers who used lengthy words.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: fear of long words

Fun Fact: This word is most often used in humorous contexts. It is an extension of the word sesquipedalophobia, which has the same meaning and is more often used in a formal context.  

Incomprehensibilities

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: things that are impossible to understand or comprehend

Fun Fact: In the 1990s, this word was named the longest word in common usage.

Uncopyrightable

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: not able or allowed to be protected by copyright

Fun Fact: This word is one of the longest isograms (a word that does not repeat letters) in the English language.

Dermatoglyphics

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: the scientific study of hands, including fingerprints, lines, mounts, and shapes

Fun Fact: Unlike palmistry, this study is based in science and is often used in criminology as a way to identify both perpetrators and victims.

Euouae

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: a type of cadence in medieval music

Fun Fact: While this word might not look as impressive as others on this list, it’s the longest word in the English language to be composed entirely of vowels. (It’s also the word with the longest string of vowels.)

Psychophysicotherapeutics

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: a therapeutic approach that integrates both the mind and body

Fun Fact: While the Oxford Dictionary does not provide an official definition of this word, it is included on their list of the longest words in the English language. 

Otorhinolaryngological

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: of or relating to the medical specialization involving the ear, nose, and throat

Fun Fact: This medical specialization is more commonly known by its acronym, ENT. 

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Syllable

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Ah, the humble syllable. Such a small part of language, yet syllables make up all the words we say across all languages. So, what are they all about? And how can we identify them?

This article is all about syllables and will give a definition for syllable definition, cover the types of syllables in English, and provide some syllable examples. We’ll also cover syllable division – in other words, how to divide a word into its constituent syllables.

Syllable: definition

Before we dive into the intricacies of syllables, let’s begin with our syllable definition. You might already have a good idea of what a syllable is but just in case:

A syllable is a unit of pronunciation that can join other syllables to form longer words or be a word in and of itself. Syllables must contain a singular vowel sound and may or may not have consonants before, after, or surrounding the vowel sound.

To illustrate this, here are some brief examples of what a syllable can look like:

  • The indefinite article «a» is a syllable (one vowel sound, with no consonants).
  • The word «oven» has two syllables because it has two vowel sounds – «ov» /-ʌv/ + «en» /-ən/ (each of these syllables includes a vowel sound and a consonant).
  • Many words consist of only one syllable, such as «run,» «fruit,» «bath,» and «large.» Each of these comprises a combination of one vowel sound and various consonants.

Syllables, playmobil figurines, StudySmarterFig 1. Whenever we speak, we use syllables.

Types of syllables in English

Since you’re an English Language student, we’ll be focusing on the types of syllables in English rather than looking at syllables on a more global level.

There are six key types of syllables in English:

  • Closed syllable: syllables that end in a consonant and have a short vowel sound (e.g., In «picture,» the first syllable, «pic» /pɪk/ ends in a consonant, and the /ɪ/ sound is short).

  • Open syllable: syllables that end in a vowel and have a long vowel sound (e.g., In «zero,» the last syllable «ro» /roʊ/ ends with the vowel sound /oʊ/, which is long).

  • Vowel-consonant-e syllable: syllables that end with a long vowel, a consonant, and a silent -e (e.g., «Fate» is a one-syllable word which ends with a long -a /eɪ/, a consonant (t), and a silent -e).

  • Diphthong (vowel team) syllable: syllables that include two consecutive vowels making a singular sound (e.g., in «shouting,» the first syllable «shout» (ʃaʊt) includes an -o and a -u together that makes one sound — the diphthong /aʊ/).

  • R-controlled syllable: syllables that end in at least one vowel followed by -r (e.g., In the name Peter, the end syllable «er» /ər/ consists of an -e followed by an -r.)

R-controlled syllables are specific to rhotic accents, that is, accents where the -r is pronounced wherever it appears. In Standard American English, the -r at the end of r-controlled syllables is a rhotic /r/, which means it is more pronounced than the non-rhotic /r/ of Standard British English.

In Standard British English, the -r at the end of most words and syllables ending in -r would make a schwa sound (ə) instead of a strong, rhotic /r/ sound. Therefore, non-rhotic British English (and other non-rhotic accents) does not include r-controlled syllables.

There are some British accents that are rhotic, however, such as the Cornish and Devon accents, and there are a couple of American accents which are non-rhotic, such as the Chicago or Upstate New York accents.

  • Consonant-le syllable: syllables that end with a consonant followed by -le (e.g., In «syllable,» the last syllable «ble» /bəl/ ends with the consonant -b followed by -le.)

Each of these syllable types follows the rule of having a singular vowel sound and either no consonants or a range of consonants before, after, or surrounding the vowel sound.

Syllable: examples

An example of a syllable is the word ‘hello’, which has two syllables: «hel» and «lo». To ensure each of these syllable types is cemented in our minds, let’s look at a few more syllable examples for each type:

Closed Syllables

  • cat (/kæt/)
  • napkin – nap(/næp/) + kin (/kɪn/)
  • spin (/spɪn/)
  • doughnut – dough + nut (/nʌt/)

In all of these examples, the underlined syllables end with a consonant and have a short vowel sound.

This is generally the first kind of syllable that children are taught to read; many early reading words follow the consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pattern («cat,» «mat,» «pin,» «dip,» «dog,» etc.)

Open Syllables

  • go (/goʊ/)
  • sky (/skaɪ/)
  • we (/wi/)
  • mosquito – mos + qui + to (/toʊ/)

In all of these examples, the underlined syllables end in a vowel that has a long vowel sound.

Vowel-Consonant-e Syllables

  • plate (/pleɪt/)
  • tame (/teɪm/)
  • mite (/maɪt/)
  • bone (/boʊn/)

In all of these examples, the syllables underlined consist of a vowel, followed by a consonant, followed by a silent (or «magic») -e. The -e in each syllable elongates the sound of the vowels.

Diphthong Syllables

  • sky (skaɪ)
  • trail (/treɪl/)
  • spoiled — spoi (/spɔɪ/) + led

In all of these examples, the underlined syllables include two vowels together that make a singular vowel sound.

R-Controlled Syllables

  • fir (/fɜːr/)
  • burr (/bɜːr/
  • plumber – plumb + er (/ər/)
  • corridor – cor + ri + dor (/dər/)

In all of these examples, the underlined syllables are made up of a vowel followed by an — r. To reiterate, r-controlled syllables are specific to rhotic accents. Non-rhotic accents do not have r-controlled syllables.

Consonant-le Syllables

  • turtle — tur + tle (/təl/)
  • hurdle — hur + dle (/dəl/)
  • maple — ma + ple (/pəl/)

In all of these examples, the underlined syllables are formed by placing -le after a consonant.

Syllables, letter dice, StudySmarterFig 2. Every syllable must have one vowel sound and can have a variety of consonants

Syllable division

If you aren’t used to doing it, syllable division can sometimes be a bit tricky. What do we mean by ‘syllable division’?

Syllable division simply refers to the process of dividing a word into its constituent syllables.

There are several ways to divide words into syllables, and these ways depend on the composition of the word. There are seven rules you can learn to make syllable division easier.

Syllable rules

The seven syllable rules mentioned above are as follows:

  • A syllable can only have one vowel sound. Using this logic, you can divide words into syllables by looking at the vowel sounds.

Vowels and vowel sounds are two different things.

  • a vowel is one of the letters: a, e, i, o, u (and sometimes y)
  • a vowel sound is the sound made by the vowel or vowels in a word

The number of vowels in a word does not always equal the number of vowel sounds. For instance, words with a silent «-e,» such as «rate» have two vowels (a and e) but only one vowel sound (eɪ).

The word «plant» only has one vowel sound, so the word itself is only one syllable. The word «coriander,» however, has four vowel sounds and is therefore divided into four syllables – «co» + «ri» + «an» + «der,» where each syllable has a vowel sound.

  • Dividing between two of the same consonant. If a word has two of the same consonant (e.g., «mopping»), you can divide the word into syllables between them (e.g., «mopping» becomes «mop» + «ping»). For this rule to work, the double consonant must have a vowel on either side. In the «mopping» example, there is an «-o» on one side of the double -p and an «-i» on the other.

  • Divide according to the length of the vowel sound. Some vowel sounds are short, some are long, and some words include both. You can figure out where to divide a word into syllables depending on the kind of vowel sounds in that word.

If the first vowel sound in a word is long, then the divide should come after the first vowel. For instance, in the word «deepen,» the first vowel sound is the long -e, so the division into syllables would look like: «dee» + «pen.» In this case, the middle consonant becomes attached to the second vowel sound.

If the first vowel sound in a word is short, then the divide should come before the second vowel sound in the word. In the word «figure,» the first vowel sound is the short -i, so the division into syllables would look like: «fig» + «ure». In this case, the middle consonant attaches to the first vowel sound.

  • Divide between two vowels if they make different sounds. If a word has two vowels next to each other that produce two different sounds, then you should divide between these two vowels (e.g., «diet» becomes «di» + «et», and «diaspora» becomes «di» + «as» + «por» + «a»).

  • Affixes become separate syllables. If a word has been inflected to include a prefix, suffix, or both, then these affixes become their own syllables (e.g., «endless» becomes «end» + «less» and «reread» becomes «re» + «read»).

  • Compound words are always divided between the two words. If a word is made up of two or more other words, then there should be syllable divisions between them.

«Cupcake»: «cup» + «cake»

«Something»: «some» + «thing»

«Sunflower»: «sun» + «flow» + «er» (here, «flower» is split into two syllables because it includes two different vowel sounds — ˈfl + ər ).

  • Divide before consonant-le structures. If a word ends with a consonant followed by -le, then you should divide the word before the consonant preceding the -le (e.g., «needle» becomes «nee» + «dle» and «turtle» becomes «tur» + «tle»).

By following these seven rules, you should be able to identify where a word should be divided into syllables.

Syllables, t-rex skeleton, StudySmarterFig 3. «Tyrannosaurus Rex» has six syllables! Typically, the longer the word, the more syllables it has.

Names with two syllables

For a bit of fun, we’ll end this article by looking at some names with two syllables.

This table shows the two-syllable names and how they can be divided into their constituent syllables in IPA (international phonetic alphabet).

Name Syllables
Harvey -hɑr + -vi
Shannon -ʃæ + -nən
Michael -maɪ + -kəl
Gertrude -gɜr + -trud
Sarah -sɛ + -rə

Syllable — Key takeaways

  • A syllable is a unit of pronunciation that can either be its own word or can come together with other syllables to make longer words.
  • Each syllable can only have one vowel sound in it and may or may not have a variety of consonants around the vowel sound.
  • There are six key types of syllables in English: closed, open, vowel-consonant-e, diphthong, r-controlled, and consonant-le.
  • Syllable division refers to how words are broken down into their constituent syllables.
  • There are seven rules for syllable division.

Frequently Asked Questions about Syllable

A syllable is a unit of pronunciation that can either come together with other syllables to form longer words or be a word in and of itself. Syllables contain a singular vowel sound and may or may not have consonants before, after, or surrounding the vowel sound. 

An example of a syllable is the word «English». The syllables are «Eng» and «lish». 

There are six types of syllables in English, and knowing these types can help you to identify them in a word. They are: 

  • open
  • closed
  • vowel-consonant-e
  • diphthong
  • r-controlled
  • consonant-le

Once you understand what each of the syllable types consists of, you can identify these types in words. 

These are some examples of two-syllable words: 

  • English: Eng + lish
  • exact: ex + act
  • mother: mo + ther
  • classroom: class + room
  • begin: be + gin

There are seven rules of syllable division which are as follows: 

  • A syllable can only have one vowel sound. 
  • Dividing between two of the same consonant. 
  • Divide according to the length of the vowel sound. 
  • Divide between two vowels if they make different sounds. 
  • Affixes become separate syllables. 
  • Compound words are always divided between the two words. 
  • Divide before consonant-le structures. 

Every syllable needs to include one vowel sound. Syllables can either be a vowel on their own, or can have consonants attached to the vowel sound.

Final Syllable Quiz

Syllable Quiz — Teste dein Wissen

Question

Briefly describe what a syllable is. 

Show answer

Answer

A syllable is a unit of pronunciation that can either come together with other syllables to form longer words, or it can be a word in and of itself. Syllables contain a singular vowel sound and may or may not have consonants before, after, or surrounding the vowel sound. 

Show question

Question

True or false, a syllable can have more than one vowel sound in it.

Show answer

Question

True or false, syllables can sometimes include consonants, but don’t always. 

Show answer

Question

List the six kinds of syllable in English.

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Answer

  • closed
  • open
  • vowel-consonant-e
  • diphthong
  • r-controlled
  • consonant-le

Show question

Question

How many syllable division rules are there in English?

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Question

What is «syllable division»?

Show answer

Answer

When a word is divided into its constituent syllables. 

Show question

Question

Using this rule, divide the word «pineapple» into syllables: 

A syllable can only have one vowel sound. 

Show answer

Question

Using this rule, divide the word «rabbit» into syllables: 

Dividing between two of the same consonant. 

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Question

Using this rule, divide the word «feature» into syllables: 

Divide according to the length of the vowel sound. 

Show answer

Question

Using this rule, divide the word «dieting» into syllables: 

Divide between two vowels if they make different sounds.  

Show answer

Question

True or false, affixes become their own syllables. 

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Question

Where should you divide a compound word during syllable division?

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Answer

Compound words should always be divided between their constituent words, as well as following the other syllable division rules. 

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Question

Which of these words has the most syllables?

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Question

Divide the word «plumber» into syllables. 

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Question

Briefly describe each of the six syllable types. 

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Answer

  • Closed syllable: syllables that end in a consonant and have a short vowel sound 

  • Open syllable: syllables that end in a vowel and have a long vowel sound 

  • Vowel-consonant-e syllable: syllables that end with a long vowel, a consonant, and a silent -e 

  • Diphthong (vowel team) syllable: syllables that include two consecutive vowels making a singular sound

  • R-controlled syllable: syllables that end in at least one vowel followed by -r 

  • Consonant-le syllable: syllables that end with a consonant followed by -le 

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3

The
Syllabic Structure of English Words

Phonemes
are rarely pronounced in isolation, they usually occur in sequences.
Sound sequences are broken up into smaller units known as syllables,
which are the minimal units of sounding speech.

A
syllable may consist of one or a number of phonemes, i.e. it may be
formed by any vowel (alone or in combination with consonants) or by a
word-final sonorant preceded by a consonant. A speech sound which is
capable of forming a syllable is called syllabic. It is the most
sonorous sound in the syllable and makes up the peak of prominence
(the centre of the syllable, the nucleus). Speech sounds which are
not capable of forming syllables are called non-syllabic. The
consonants which precede the peak are called the onset and those
which follow it are called the coda. J.Kenyon defines the syllable as
“one or more speech sounds forming a single uninterrupted unit of
utterance, which may be a word (e.g. man), or a commonly recognized
subdivision of a word (e.g. [ɪƞ-glɪʃ]) or wordform (e.g.
[leɪ-tǝ].”

The
syllabic structure of words may be graphically represented by the
letter V standing for a vowel and the letter C standing for a
consonant. The syllabic sonorant is represented by S.

Every
syllable has a definite structure. A syllable which begins in a
consonant is called covered, a syllable which begins in a vowel is
called uncovered. A syllable which ends in a consonant is called
closed, a syllable which ends in a vowel is called open. There are
four
main types of syllables
:

V
– uncovered, open, or fully open, e.g. or [o:], I [aɪ];

VC
– uncovered, closed, e.g. it [ɪt], add [æd];

CV
– covered, closed, e.g. see [si:], no[nou];

CVC
– covered, closed, or fully closed, e.g. catch [kæʧ], pit [pɪt].

In
English the typical and the most fundamental syllabic structure is of
CVC type, in Russian CV types are more common than VC types.

There
are a great number of variants in the syllabic structure which are
formed by increasing the number of consonants in the initial and
final positions, as in:

VCC
(and, eggs, oaks), VCCC (ends, acts), CCV (blue, grow), CCCV (spray,
stray), CVCC (cats, bolt), CVCCC (facts, minds), CCVC (sleep,
shrewd), CCVCC (stoves, flex), CCVCCC (clasps, sphinx), CCCVC
(street, splash), CCCVCC (splint, splashed), CCCVCCC (splints).

English
and Russian have almost an equal number of syllabic models: 23 vs 21.
Though the same structures are used in both languages, their
frequency of occurrence is different. Some of them are extremely rare
in Russian, while in English they are in common use. A specific
English feature is that /l,m,n,r/ may become syllabic after a
consonant. The types of syllabic structures formed by sonorants: S:
[æp-l], [bʌt-n]; CS: [teɪ-bl], [ga:-dn]; CSC: [neɪ-ʃnz],
[ou-pnz], SC: [dɪd-nt], [plez-nt]. In Russian sonorants are
non-syllabic.

As
to the number of consonants before the peak of the syllable, the
maximum number in English is three: /s/+/p,t,k/+/r,l,w,j/, e.g.
street, squash, splash.

Russian
enjoys greater freedom of combinability in initial three-consonant
clusters, while in a four-consonant cluster the first sound must be
/в/: встряхнуть, всплакнуть вскрикнуть.
Initial consonant clusters in Russian represent grammatical prefixes.

Final
clusters in English are more complex than initial ones, they express
different grammatical meanings: plurality, tense, number, e.g. texts,
mixed, glimpsed. In Russian there can be no more than three
consonants at the end of the syllable ( монстр

an exception).

An
important point of difference in syllable formation is that in
Russian there is a close contact between the onset consonants and the
following vowels (CV), which affects the quality of vowels:
palatalized consonants make the following vowels closer( compare the
quality of the vowel [э] in the words жест and мел). In
English, like in all Germanic languages, there is a close contact
between the vowel and the coda consonants (VC), which affects the
length of vowels (positional length).

There
are several theories
which try to explain the mechanism of syllable formation and syllable
division.

The
oldest theory is the
so-called expiratory
theory

byR.H.Stetson, according to which each syllable corresponds to one
expiration. A word consists of as many syllables as there are such
expirations made when the word is uttered. The point where a new
expiration starts indicates the syllabic boundary of the word.

The
expiratory theory is strongly criticized in Russia and abroad.
According to the experimental data more than ten syllables can easily
be pronounced during one expiration.

The
sonority theory

propounded by Otto Jespersen is widespread among foreign linguists.
The term ‘sonority’ is understood by Otto Jespersen as ‘the
degree of perceptibility’.

All
speech sounds have different inherent sonority. The most sonorous are
open back vowels, the least sonorous are the voiceless stops. Otto
Jespersen classified all speech sounds according to seven levels of
sonority:

(1)
vowels;

(2)
semi-vowels /j,w,/;

(3)
sonorants /l,r,m,n,ƞ/;

(4)voiced
fricatives /v, z,ʒ,/;

(5)
voiced stops /b,d,g/;

(6)
voiceless fricatives /f,ѳ,s,ʃ,h/;

(7)
voiceless stops /p,t,k/.

In
any sequence the most sonorous sounds tend to form the peak of the
syllable. For example, the word “popular” consists of three
peaks, that is why it has three syllables.

The
sonority theory is also criticized because it cannot explain the
mechanism of syllable formation and syllable division. Besides this
theory is helpless in determining the number of syllables in such
words as “going”, “highest”, “speak”, etc. According to
the sonority theory the words “going” and “highest” consist
of one syllable, because there is only one peak (or rather plateau)
of prominence. But in reality the words have two syllables.

The
words “speak” and “star” have two peaks of prominence, hence,
there should be two syllables in them, but that is wrong because
fricatives are non-syllabic in English.

Prof.
L.V.Shcherba put forward another theory of syllable formation and
syllable division, which was further developed by his followers and
at present is known as the
theory of muscular tension
.

According
to this theory a syllable is an arc of muscular tension, which is
weak in the beginning and in the end and strong in the middle. If a
syllable consists of a vowel, its strength increases in the
beginning, reaches the maximum at the peak and then gradually
decreases.

Consonants
within a syllable are characterized by different distribution of
muscular tension. Prof. Shcherba distinguishes the following types of
consonants:

1)
initially strong and finally weak, as in it,
on,
us;

2)
finally strong and initially weak, as in may,
tea,
no;

3)
double consonants (two similar sounds) which are strong at both ends
and weak in the middle, as in good
day,
misspell,
etc.

The
most energetic part of a consonant is attached to a vowel. For
instance, in the word “ten” there are two consonants: /t/ and
/n/. The consonant /t/ is finally strong, because its end is attached
to the vowel. The consonant /n/ is initially strong, because the
vowel is attached to its beginning. The syllable /ten/ may be
represented graphically as an arc, called an arc of muscular tension.
At the beginning /t/ is weak, at the end it gets stronger. The
muscular tension increases until it reaches its climax produced by
the vowel /e/. Then the muscular tension begins to decrease. The
sound /n/ is still strong at the beginning but gets quite weak at the
end. There are as many syllables in a word as there are arcs of
muscular tension.

The
syllabic boundary lies at a point where the consonant is the weakest.
Initially weak consonants constitute the beginning of a syllable.
Finally weak consonants constitute the end of a syllable.
Double-peaked consonants may only occur at the juncture of two
syllables, as in /gud-deɪ/, /mɪs-spel/, /ʌn-noun/, etc.

Prof.
N.I.Zhinkin’s investigation of the mechanism of syllable formation
and syllable division in Russian may serve as a basis for a general
theory of syllables. By using different complicated techniques Prof.
Zhinkin found out which speech organ causes a syllable to be formed.
This organ is the pharyngeal cavity. When the walls of the pharynx
are contracted, the passage through the pharyngeal cavity gets
narrower. This process increases the actual loudness of the sound and
this produces an arc of loudness. The peak of the syllable is louder
and higher in pitch than the onset and the coda. This theory
combines the level of production and the level of perception.

Prof.
Zhinkin has proved that the arc of loudness is due to the complex
work of all the speech organs. That is why Prof. Vassilyev suggests
that it would be more precise to call a syllable an “arc of
articulatory effort”. A syllable begins at a point where a new
articulatory effort starts and ends at a point where the articulatory
effort ends. So a syllable is a phonetic unit which is pronounced by
one articulatory effort accompanied by one muscular contraction,
which results acoustically and auditorily in one uninterrupted arc of
loudness.

Each
language has its own peculiarities in its syllabic structure. There
are a nmber of factors determining the rules for syllable division in
English. Syllable division in English is closely connected with the
checked or free character of the vowel in a stressed position. The
Sequence of CVCV may have different types of syllables depending on
the character of the vowel. In this case the syllable division is
governed by the following rules:

1)
The sequence of /’CVCV/ may include two open syllables if the
stressed vowel is a long monophthong or a diphthong, e.g. /si:-lɪƞ/,
/ʃu:-tǝ/, /meɪ-kǝ/, /nɪǝ-rǝ/. The syllable division in Russian
fully coincides with this pattern, as in both the languages the
consonants are strong at the end.

2)
The sequence of /’CVCV/ has a closed syllable and an open one
/CVC-V/ if the stressed vowel is a short monophthong, e.g. /pɪt-ɪ/,
/mer-ɪ/, /æp-l/, /ful-ɪ/.The first syllable remains closed because
short stressed vowels are checked, i.e. they should be immediately
followed by consonants. The results of instrumental analysis show
that the point of syllable division is inside the intervocalic
consonant. Syllables of this kind present a great difficulty to
Russian students because in similar Russian words there are two open
syllables. In English the intervocalic consonants of this type are
initially strong while in Russian they are finally strong. Cf.: Ма-ня
— /mʌn-ɪ/, Си-ти — /sɪt-ɪ/.

3)
Short and long monophthongs and diphthongs make for an open type of
syllable if they are unstressed and are separated from the
neighbouring vowels by only one consonant, e.g. /ri:-ækt/, /bɪ-gɪn/,
/mju:-zɪǝm/, /a:-tɪstɪk/.

Phonetic
and orthographic syllables should not be confused. Sometimes they
coincide (ear-ly — /ǝ:-lɪ/, late-ly — /leɪt-lɪ/), sometimes they
do not (art-ist-ic — /a:-tɪs-tɪk/, driv-er — /draɪ-vǝ/, lat-er —
/leɪ-tǝ/. Division of words into syllables in writing is based on
morphological principles. The part of a word which is separated
should be either a prefix, or a suffix, or a root.

The
syllabic structure of English performs three main functions:

1)
constitutive, 2) distinctive, 3) recognitive. The
constitutive function

consists in the fact that syllables constitute the material forms of
all the words, phrases and sentences.

The
distinctive function

of the syllabic structure includes differences in both syllable
formation and syllable division. Presence or absence of a syllable in
one and the same position, as well as different syllabic boundaries
may differentiate one word (or phrase, or sentence) from another word
(or phrase, or sentence). Here are some phonological oppositions of
presence vs absence of a syllable in the same position in a minimal
pair: /bet/ — /betǝ/, /dri:m/ — /dri:mɪ/, /sli:p/ — /ǝ’sli:p/.

The
word-distinctive function of syllable division may be illustrated by
the example /naɪ-treɪt/ — /naɪt-reɪt/ (nitrate – night-rate).
The number of combinations of words distinguished from each other by
different syllabic boundaries is rather considerable: a name – an
aim, I scream – ice-cream, a nice house – an ice house, I saw her
eyes – I saw her rise, that’s tough – that stuff, confined –
can find, a notion – an ocean, I saw th meat, I saw them eat, etc.

The
recognitive function

of the syllabic structure manifests itself in the fact that the right
syllabic boundary makes it easier to recognize words, phrases and
sentences. Compare the following:

Correct
pronunciation Wrong pronunciation

happy
/hæp-ɪ/ /hæ-pɪ/

Stand
up! /stænd-ʌp/ /stæn-dʌp/

an
apple /ǝn-æpl/ /ǝ-næpl/

at
eight /ǝt-eɪt/ /ǝ-teɪt/

The
violation of the recognitive function results in the following:

1)
wrong syllable division produces a strong foreign accent;

2)
it produces a comic impression on native speakers;

3)
it hampers the process of communication.

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