Syllable

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Syllable

A Syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. It is typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) and optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "building blocks" of words. They can influence the rhythm of a language, its prosody, its poetic meter, its stress patterns, and its phonotactics.

Structure[edit | edit source]

The general structure of a syllable consists of the following segments:

  • Onset
  • Rime
  • Nucleus
  • Coda

The onset is the initial consonant or consonant cluster of the syllable, the rime is the part of the syllable that follows the onset, the nucleus is typically a vowel, and the coda consists of any consonants that follow the nucleus.

Syllable structure in different languages[edit | edit source]

Different languages have different restrictions on the structure of syllables, affecting the distribution of phonemes throughout a word. Some languages like Japanese and Finnish have a relatively simple syllable structure, while others, like English and Russian, have a more complex structure.

Syllable count[edit | edit source]

The number of syllables in a word is a piece of information that can be useful for various purposes, such as composing poetry or song lyrics, or helping with pronunciation in language learning.

See also[edit | edit source]

Syllable Resources
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