Hello, dear friends! Today I will tell you about the types of syllables in English language. Some readers will now close the article and say that they do not want to go so deep into learning the language. There's no need to rush. Only at first glance it seems that the English read completely differently from how they write. In fact, there is logic everywhere. Once you know it, you can learn to read with confidence. So let's figure it out.
Why is transcription needed?
Many people no longer teach it at school and you don’t have to memorize these incomprehensible symbols, but there is one secret. It is important to learn division into syllables.
The rule is:
If a stressed vowel is followed by a consonant (except r), then we give it to the next, unstressed one. As in the word stu/dent. When pronouncing, you emphasize u more clearly. The emphasis falls on it. Therefore d goes into the second part. If there are two or more consonants after a stressed word, the first is taken by the stressed part of the word, and the second by the unstressed part (pat/tern).
Do you have any doubts? Open your dictionary. The upper comma in the transcription indicates emphasis.
Open and shut
Now you need to know how to determine the type of syllable. Many of you learned at school, but few will confidently say what an open syllable means. This is the one that ends with a vowel.
Why is the letter r special?
Because she does not obey general rules, but dictates her own. In the third type, it comes after the letter under stress and makes it long. Pay attention to fur (fёёё), fork (fook), serve (syoev). Syllable type 4 is similar to type 3, but after the r there is also the letter e. As in care, mere, more.
Let's put all the information in a table:
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In this lesson:
Alphabet for letter A
Open and closed syllable
There are many reading rules in the English language, but the most, most, most “basic” are the rules for reading vowels in open and closed syllables.
There is NO need to “learn the rules” of reading separately. You need to learn quite a lot of words - examples of this rule. By memorizing the rules, you remember patterns, which you then notice in unfamiliar words.
Let's go through the dictionary
Once upon a time, it seems like a long time ago, there was no electronic dictionaries. Why, back then there were no computers. The translation of unfamiliar words had to be looked for by leafing through a thick, solid book DICTIONARY. Probably, even now every student of English has a large or not very large English-Russian dictionary, which is called “hardcover”.
It is, of course, easier to look for a translation of a word in the electronic version of the dictionary, but when you hold a book in your hands, you see more words, it is easier to find words in which the vowel means a certain sound. So, let's go through the dictionary and look for patterns.
"Alphabet" for the letter "A"
| [x] | |
| ant - ant act act apple - apple |
able ace ace |
| bad - bad bag - bag |
baby ["beIbi] child bake bacon ["beIkn] bacon bait bait |
| camp - camp cat - cat |
cable cable cake |
| daddy - dad dam - dam |
date date, date day day daisy ["deIzI] daisy danger ["deInGq] danger |
| enamel enamel embarrass to embarrass |
enable promote embrace |
| fan - fan, fan fact fact fax fax |
face face fame fake - fake, counterfeit |
| gas - gas ganster - ganster |
game game gate |
| hat - hat hand - hand | hate |
| jam ["Gxm] - jam, jam jaguar ["Gxgjq] jaguar |
Jane -Jane jail ["GeIl] prison |
| lamp - lamp | lady ["leIdI] - lady, lady |
| mad - crazy | make - do, produce |
| narrow ["nxrqV] narrow | name - name, call |
| pack pack, flock | pale - pale |
| rat - rat | radio ["reIdiqV] radio |
| sad - sad | safe safe |
| tank tank | take |
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Open and closed syllable
This table does not contain words for all letters of the alphabet, but this is enough. As you can see, there are a lot of things in English short words type
hat is a closed syllable - after the letter a there is one consonant and nothing else.
hate is an open syllable - after the letter a there is one consonant and a “silent” letter e (it is not pronounced).
Using such examples, the rules for reading vowels in open and closed (stressed!) syllables are the easiest to remember. So,
In an open stressed syllable, vowels are read in the same way as they are called (as in the alphabet), i.e. This is alphabetical reading.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Even this “simple” rule does not apply to all words. To read a vowel letter it is important what letters exactly? stand in front of her and behind her. Therefore, the letter a can also be read as [L] or [R]. But more on that in the next lesson.
In the meantime, try to remember the words from the table above and
transcription signs [x] and .
More:
Closed syllable. In a closed syllable, a stressed vowel is followed by one or more consonants (except r); a vowel in a closed syllable conveys a short sound.
Example words with open type syllables
- pen - [ pen ] - feather
- cat - [ kæt ] - cat
There are four types of syllables in English, more on that. Types of syllables
Rules for reading vowels in open and closed syllables.
The most common rules for reading English vowels are the rules for reading them in four syllable types.
The vowels i and y are, as it were, duplicating each other (in the sense of the rules for reading them). The letter y is found mainly at the end of words, and the letter i is found in the middle of words and almost never at the end.
1 Alphabetical reading, i.e. The pronunciation corresponding to the name of the letter in the alphabet has vowels only in the second type of syllable, which is also called open, since it ends with a vowel.
2 A syllable becomes closed if a vowel is followed by one or more consonants.
3 In polysyllabic words, according to the rules of English syllable division, one consonant, being on the border of syllables between the readable vowels, goes to the next syllable. For example, in the word lad [ læd] guy, the consonant d refers to the first and only syllable, “closing” it. In the word lady [ ˈleɪdi] Lady the same consonant belongs to the second syllable, while the first remains open.
4 If there are two or more consonants at the boundary of syllables, then at least one of them necessarily goes to the previous syllable, making it closed: splendid [ ˈsplɛndɪd ] magnificent, luxurious.
This also applies to cases where combinations of consonants produce only one sound: funny [ ˈfʌni ] funny, amusing ticket [ ˈtɪkɪt ] ticket, coupon
The syllable boundary then passes directly along this sound. The preceding syllable becomes closed, although the sound itself belongs to the following syllable.
5 The letter x conveying two sounds is considered as two consonants boxer [ ˈbɒksə ] boxer
6 The final silent vowel e serves to indicate the openness of syllables ending with the consonants made [ ˈmeɪd ] made . The letter e at the end of a word is read only when it is the only vowel: be [ bi] be .
7 Sound [ (j) u: ] after sibilants, consonants [ r] and combinations of consonants ending in [ l ], pronounced [ u: ]
- rule [ ruːl ] rule, rule, power
- blue [ bluː ] blue, light blue
- shoot [ ʃuːt ] shoot, shoot.
In other cases, [ juː ]
- few [ fjuː ] little, a little
- use [ ˈjuːs] benefit, use, application
In American English the sound [ juː ] occurs much less frequently than in British, which in the following transcriptions is designated as [ (j) u: ].
8 Syllables closed with a consonant r or letter combinations r + consonant are distinguished into a separate, third type of syllable, with special reading rules. In disyllabic words, with several consonants starting with r at the boundary of syllables, r goes to the preceding syllable, the rest to the subsequent one (including cases of rr):
- [German] ˈdʒəːmən ] German
- porridge [ ˈpɒrɪdʒ ] porridge .
9 Finally, if immediately after the r, which closes the syllable, there is again a vowel, an open syllable of the fourth type is formed. If one letter r stands on a syllable boundary in two-syllable words, then general rule syllable division it goes to the subsequent syllable, but at the same time it is an indicator of reading the preceding vowel according to the rules of syllables of the fourth type:
staring [ ˈsteərɪŋ ] bright .
10 The rules for reading open syllables of types 2 and 4 have quite a few exceptions regarding polysyllabic words in which the vowels in the indicated syllables are read according to the rules of closed syllables.
11 The consonant r after vowels in syllables of the third and fourth type is not readable in British English. However, if the next word begins with a vowel, the final silent -r or -re ceases to be silent:
to take care of [ təˈ teɪk ker əv ] take care . In the American version, the consonant r is always pronounced.
12 The vowels e, i, y and u in syllables of the third type produce the same sound [ ə: ] , and their reading in syllables of the fourth type is easily obtained from the alphabetic by adding the sound [ ə ] .
13 The vowel o in syllables of the third and fourth types is read the same [ ɔː ]
14 Letter combinations -er -re at the end of words that produce the same vowel sound [ ə ] , are considered as the vowel opening the previous syllable: metre [ ˈmiːtə ] meter The letter combination -le at the end of words has a similar property: table [ ˈteɪbl] table . Sonorant consonant [ l ]. similar in sound characteristics to vowels, acts in such cases as a syllabic vowel.
Before we begin to understand what an open and closed syllable is, I would like to warn you right away - in the English language, the reading rules have so many exceptions that it is better to just remember to read as many words as possible, and read the rest by analogy.
But at school they teach the rules and give grades... To apply the rules correctly, let’s first understand the syllables.
In English, just like in Russian, words are divided into syllables. Very often, in order to correctly read a vowel in a syllable, it is necessary to determine the type of syllable - an open or closed syllable.
Let's take the ordinary Russian word " book"let's divide it into syllables: BOOK. Both syllables end in a vowel sound, which means both syllables OPEN.
Let's take the word " trap", divide into syllables: TRAP. In this example, both syllables end in a consonant, which means both CLOSED.
But define the syllable English syllable not as simple as in Russian. Typical English word contains 2, maximum 3 syllables, so finding a syllable is not difficult.
If you take the floor name, then you might think that it has 2 syllables, but we all know that it is read, that is, there is one syllable. Let's take a closer look at why everything is so.
Open syllable
1. If there is no consonant after a vowel in a syllable.
For example: go, no, ago, my, hi, be, me.
2. If after a vowel there is immediately an “e” at the end of the word
For example: pie, lie, toe, blue, bye, dye.
3. If there is a consonant, but it is immediately followed by a “silent” vowel “e”, which is not readable.
For example: name, blade, take, these, mine, time, type.
3. After a stressed vowel - consonant+le
For example: table, noble.
Remember!!! In an open syllable, vowels are read Also, as they are called in .
Closed syllable
If a syllable contains one or more consonant letters after a vowel (except for the letter r).
For example: bad, cat, vet, strip, stop, camp, battle, end, center, pink.
But in English there are “tricky” vowels and consonants. They can be read differently depending on how they are located in the word.
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