Syllables

[Unknown]

Hello.
I was wondering on how to break the words into syllables.
I am talking about the rules and not the stuff that to do it how u hear it.
Where can i get these rules +exception for the syllable break down.?
Thx alot.

[Pete]

Hello.
I was wondering on how to break the words into syllables.
I am talking about the rules and not the stuff that to do it how u hear it.
Where can i get these rules +exception for the syllable break down.?
Thx alot.
I searched for a while but could not find a site with a comprehensive answer to your question. At
> http://www.paikeday.net/php/userguide2.html
I found:
SYLLABLE DIVISION: As a general rule, a syllable division is made: (1) after the vowel if the vowel is long, diphthongized, or unstressed, the resulting syllable being called an "open" syllable; (2) after the consonant if the vowel is short and carries a stress, which results in a "closed" syllable. Examples: a.back, ab.a.cus, ab.ra.ca.dab.ra ... ze.ro, Zo.ro.as.tri.an, in which the underlined syllables are closed, the others being open. This is only the most general of the rules of syllabication, but it is useful to know it explicitly.

Of course things are much more complicated than that. Use a dictionary
-- I usually use the on-line one at
> http://m-w.com
if you are at all unsure.

An example of the complications is that the division into syllables for pronunciation can be different from the division into syllables for breaking at the end of a line. An extreme example is the pair of words spelled "founder"; these are a noun and a verb, and both pronounced exactly the same, but if you break it into syllables for line division, the noun is "found-er" and the verb is "foun-der".

I did find a reference to a real book of about 100 pages that is supposed to give these rules (among other rules of English pronunciation). The title is:
Handy English Encoder Decoder
All the Spelling and Phonics Rules You Could Ever Want to Know
The author is Harvey Bluedorn.

I have never seen it and cannot say how useful it might be. See more about it at:
http://www.triviumpursuit.com/catalog/encoder_decoder.htm