What is Syllable?
A '''syllable''' is a unit of [[pronunciation]] uttered without interruption,<ref>''The concise Oxford dictionary''</ref> loosely, a single sound.<ref>Crystal, David 1995. ''The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language''. Cambridge. p246</ref> All [[word]]s are made from at least one syllable. ''Monosyllables'' are words that have only one [[vowel]] sound; ''polysyllables'' have more than one. If a syllable ends with a [[consonant]], it is called a ''closed syllable''. If a syllable ends with a vowel, it is called an ''open syllable''. Patterns of syllables can be shown with C and V (C for 'consonant', V for 'vowel'). Closed syllables are often shown as ''CVC'' (such as ''got''), and open syllables as ''CV'' (such as ''go''). Some languages like [[English language|English]] have many kinds of closed syllables. Other languages, like [[Japanese language|Japanese]], have few kinds of closed syllables. Other languages still, like [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] and [[Swahili language|Swahili]], have no closed syllables. Notice that the consonant (C) and vowel (V) notation does NOT match the letters of English spelling in a one-to-one relationship (e.g. 'th' is one sound), but rather individual sounds. There are many words in English that have only one syllable. IPA has been added in slashes. * He /hi/ (CV) - open * The /ði/ /ðə/ CV) - open * Like /laɪk (CVC) - closed * Run /ɹʌn/ (CVC) - closed * Cat /kæt/ (CVC) - closed * House /haʊs/ (CVC) - closed * It (VC) /ɪt/ - closed * On (VC) /ɑn/ - closed However, in several languages, such as English, syllables can have [[Consonant|consonant clusters]] (having multiple consonants next to each other), which easily allow for words to have much more complicated syllables, such as: * Crow /cɹoʊ/ (CCV) - open * Through /θru/ (CCV) - open * Spray /spɹeɪ/ (CCCV) - open * Ports /pɔɹts/ (CVCCC) - closed * Sports /spɔɹts/ (CCVCCC) - closed * Trip /tɹɪp/ (CCVC) - closed * Dent /dεnt/ (CVCC) - closed * Plant /plænt/ (CCVCC) - closed * Sprint /spɹɪnt/ (CCCVCC) - closed * Spli