Syllables
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. It
usually has one vowel or diphthong sound surrounded (before and after)
by one or more consonants. Syllables are often considered the
phonological "building blocks" of words.
In English there are:
1- A monosyllabic word which contains at least one syllable.
2- A disyllabic word (bisyllabic word) which has two syllables
3- A trisyllabic word is composed of three syllables
4- A polysyllabic word which may refer either to a word of more
than three syllables or to any word of more than one syllable
Structure of a syllable
A syllable can be divided into three segments. These segments are
onset and rhyme; within the rhyme we find the nucleus and coda. Not all
syllables have all parts; the smallest possible syllable contains a nucleus
only. A syllable may or may not have an onset and /
or a coda.
1- Onset : (optional)
Consonant(s) preceding the nucleus. Except for /ŋ/, all consonants in
English can appear as onsets. examples the onsets are in bald type: fat,
speak, string.
If the first syllable of a word begins with a vowel, this syllable has a zero
onset, as in ‘apply’, ‘open’
2- Nucleus : (obligatory)
It is the core(body) or essential part. It is the vowel, which is obligatory.
Example : ‘mad’ /æ/, ‘mate’ /eɪ/, ‘start’ /a:/
3- Coda : (optional)
Is usually one or more consonant. The coda may or may not exist in
some syllables. For example: ‘mean’ /n/, ‘fight’ /t/, ‘red’ /d/
The syllable is usually considered right-branching, i.e. nucleus and coda
are grouped together as a "rime" (rhyme) and are only distinguished at
the second level. However, in some traditional descriptions of certain
languages, the syllable is considered left-branching, i.e. onset and
nucleus group below a higher-level unit, called a "body" or "core":
1- Rime (Rhyme)
It is the right part, contrasts with onset, splits into nucleus and coda i.e
Nucleus + Coda
2- Body or core
It is the left part, contrasts with coda, splits into onset and nucleus i.e
Onset + Nucleus
Dividing words into syllables
There are many exceptions in English because of the vastness of the
language and the many
languages from which it has borrowed. The rules do work however, in
the majority of the
words.
1- Every syllable in every word must have a vowel (or a syllabic
consonant).
English is a "vocal" language; Every word must have a vowel.
2- Divide between two middle consonants.
Split up words that have two middle consonants.
Example: hap/pen, bas/ket, let/ter, sup/per, din/ner, and den/nis.
The only exceptions are the consonant digraphs. Never split
up consonant digraphs as they really represent only one sound. The
exceptions are "th", "sh","ph", "th", "ch", and "wh".
3- Usually divide before a single middle consonant.
When there is only one syllable, you usually divide in front of it, as in:
"o/pen", "i/tem", "e/vil", and "re/port". The only exceptions are those
times when the first syllable has an obvious short sound, as in "cab/in".
4- Divide before the consonant before an "-le" syllable.
When you have a word that has the old-style spelling in which the "-le"
sounds like "-el", divide before the consonant before the "-le". Example:
"a/ble", "fum/ble", "rub/ble", "mum/ble" and "this/tle". The only
exception to this is "ckle" words like "tick/le".
5- Divide off any compound words, prefixes, suffixes and roots
which have vowel sounds.
Split off the parts of compound words like "sports/car" and
"house/boat". Divide off prefixes such as "un/happy", "pre/paid", or
"re/write". Also divide off suffixes as in the words "farm/er", "teach/er",
"hope/less" and "care/ful". In the word "stop/ping", the suffix is
actually "-ping" because this word follows the rule that when you add "-
ing" to a word with one syllable, you double the last consonant and add
the "-ing".
Mr Belghobsi