Glossary: syllable

Explanation

A syllable sounds like a beat in a word. Syllables consist of at least one vowel, and possibly one or more consonants.

  • Cat has one syllable.
  • Fairy has two syllables.
  • Hippopotamus has five syllables.

Letters and sounds

We often tend to think about English in terms of the written language, because of its importance in our society and in our education system. However, spoken language is really much more basic to us as human beings:

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