Syllable (definition)

A syllable is a unit of speech composed of a vowel which may or not be surrounded by one or more consonants. In phonological/prosodic theory, 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, and [t] is the coda.