Vowels and consonants combine into SYLLABLES. A syllable is a cluster of phonemes that make up larger sound units in words. Words can have:

one syllable--dog
two syllables--pen.cil
three syllables--po.ta.to
four syllables--in.for.ma.tion
five syllables--re.frig.er.a.tor
or more--su.per.cal.i.frag.il.is.tic.ex.pi.al.a.do.cious

Our language has FIVE TYPES OF SYLLABLES

Open syllables (CV) end in a vowel sound that is usually long.

EXAMPLE:    e.vil    mo.tel

Closed syllables (VC) have one vowel and end in a consonant sound.

EXAMPLE:    e.vil    mo.tel

Silent e syllables (VC-e) have a vowel, followed by a consonant, followed by a silent e.

EXAMPLE:    mis.take    en.close

Consonant –le syllables (C-le) have occur at the end of words that end in –le.

EXAMPLE:    ta.ble    bu.gle

Double Vowel syllables (VV), which are divided between two vowels, are rare in English.

EXAMPLE:    di.et    li.on

ALL SYLLABLES MUST HAVE A VOWEL. A vowel is the nucleus of the syllable. A syllable can be a vowel alone (e.vil) or a vowel with surrounding consonants (e.vil). The vowel is the heart of the syllable, but consonants carry more phonetic information.

EXAMPLE:	Compare the vowels and consonants in the word computer:
	*o**u*e* (vowels) vs. c*mpt**r (consonants).

Syllables also have ACCENT. Accent (or stress) is the relative force with which the syllable is pronounced. The primary accent is the one that receives the strongest and heaviest emphasis. Unstressed syllables receive the weakest emphasis.

Single-syllable words receive primary stress.

EXAMPLE:    pen

In two-syllable words, one syllable receives primary stress and one receives weak stress.

EXAMPLE:    pen.cil

In multisyllable words, stress patterns vary.

Accent can sometimes determine what a word is. Compare, for example, the words content and content in these sentences:

The teacher was impressed with the content of the student’s paper.
The student was content with the grade he received.

Syllables also consist of ONSETS and RIMES.

The onset is the part of the syllable that comes before the vowel.

EXAMPLE:    c in cat, bl in blue, str in string

The rime is the vowel and any consonants that follow it in a syllable.

EXAMPLE:    at in cat, ue in blue, ing in string