View source for Syllable (definition)

A '''syllable''' is a unit of speech composed of at least a vowel. This vowel  may or not be surrounded by one or more consonants. The vowel is referred to as the ''nucleus'' of the syllable; the consonantal material preceding the nucleus is known as the ''onset'' while the consonantal material following the nucleus is known as the ''coda''. In addition, the nucleus and the coda together form the ''rhyme''. Hence for instance, in the monosyllabic word ''cat'' [kæt], the vowel [æ] is the nucleus of the syllable, [k] is the onset, [t] is the coda and [æt] is the rhyme. A syllable without a coda is understood to be an ''open syllable'', while ''closed syllables'' have codas.

Syllables can be stressed or unstressed depending on their location in a word and the patterns of a language. More often than not, unstressed syllables manifest reduced or centralized vowels like schwa ([ə]); such reduction can result in the neutralization of vowel contrasts made obvious in stressed positions. See the page on [[Stress (definition)|stress]] for more detail.

==See Also==
*[[Coda (definition)]]
*[[Rhyme (definition)]]
*[[Onset (definition)]]
*[[Mora (definition)]]
*[[Stress (definition)]]

==External Links==
*http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsASyllable.htm
The link below takes you away from the Gaelic Wiki to Wikipedia. Since wikipedia pages can be edited by anyone, they often contain inaccurate information. So be careful!
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syllable

==References==
*Crystal, D. (2008) ''Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics''. 6th Edition. Wiley-Blackwell.
*Matthews, P. H. (1997) ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

[[Category: Technical Definitions]]
[[Category: Phonology]]