Six Syllable Types

Without a strategy for chunkingA decoding strategy for breaking words into manageable parts. longer words into manageable parts, students may look at a longer word and simply resort to guessing what it is — or altogether skipping it. Familiarity with syllableA word or word part that contains one vowel sound. -spelling conventions helps readers know whether a vowel is long, short, a diphthongA combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable — sometimes called a “gliding vowel. , r-controlled, or whether endings have been added. Familiarity with syllable patterns helps students to read longer words accurately and fluently and to solve spelling problems — although knowledge of syllables alone is not sufficient for being a good speller.

Say these word pairs aloud and listen to where the syllableA word or word part that contains one vowel sound. breaks occur:

Spoken syllables are organized around a vowel sound. Each word above has two syllables. The jaw drops open when a vowel in a syllable is spoken. Syllables can be counted by putting your hand under your chin and feeling the number of times the jaw drops for a vowel sound.

Spoken syllable divisions often do not coincide with or give the rationale for the conventions of written syllables. In the first word pair above, you may naturally divide the spoken syllables of bridle between bri and dle and the spoken syllables of riddle between ri and ddle. Nevertheless, the syllable rid is “closed” because it has a short vowel; therefore, it must end with consonant. The first syllable bri is “open,” because the syllable ends with a long vowel sound. The result of the syllable-combining process leaves a double d in riddle (a closed syllableA ‘short’ vowel that is followed by one or more consonants. plus consonant-le) but not in bridle (open syllableA syllable that ends in a single vowel that is typically a long vowel sound. plus consonant-le). These spelling conventions are among many that were invented to help readers decide how to pronounce and spell a printed word.

The hourglass illustrates the chronology or sequence in which students learn about both spoken and written syllables. SegmentingSeparating a word into smaller units, such as syllables, onset-rimes, or individual phonemes. and blendingTo combine the units of sound (syllables, onsets and rimes, phonemes) to form a word. spoken syllables is an early phonological awarenessA group of skills related to the ability to recognize the parts of spoken words. skill; reading syllable patterns is a more advanced decodingThe ability to translate a word from print to speech by using your knowledge of sound–symbol (letter) correspondences. skill, reliant on student mastery of phoneme awareness and phoneme-graphemeA letter or letter combination that represent a sound (phoneme) in a syllable or word. correspondences.

Figure 5.1. Hourglass Depiction of the Relationship Between Awareness in Oral LanguageCommunication through speaking and listening. and Written Syllable Decoding
(Contributed by Carol Tolman, and used with permission.)

The closed syllableA ‘short’ vowel that is followed by one or more consonants. is the most common spelling unit in English; it accounts for just under 50 percent of the syllables in running text. When the vowel of a syllable is short, the syllable will be closed off by one or more consonants. Therefore, if a closed syllable is connected to another syllable that begins with a consonant, two consonant letters will come between the syllables (com-mon, but-ter).

Two or more consonant letters often follow short vowels in closed syllables (dodge, stretch, back, stuff, doll, mess, jazz). This is a spelling convention; the extra letters do not represent extra sounds. Each of these example words has only one consonant phoneme at the end of the word. The letters give the short vowel extra protection against the unwanted influence of vowel suffixes (backing; stuffed; messy).

Also known as “magic e” syllableA word or word part that contains one vowel sound. patterns, VCe syllables contain long vowels spelled with a single letter, followed by a single consonant, and a silent e. Examples of VCe syllables are found in wake, whale, while, yoke, yore, rude, and hare. Every long vowel can be spelled with a VCe pattern, although spelling “long e” with VCe is unusual.

If a syllableA word or word part that contains one vowel sound. is open, it will end with a long vowel sound spelled with one vowel letter; there will be no consonant to close it and protect the vowel (to-tal, ri-val, bi-ble, mo-tor). Therefore, when syllables are combined, there will be no doubled consonant between an open syllableA syllable that ends in a single vowel that is typically a long vowel sound. and one that follows.

A few single-syllable words in English are also open syllables. They include me, she, he and no, so, go. In Romance languages — especially Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian — open syllables predominate.

A vowel team may be two, three, or four letters; thus, the term vowel digraph is not used. A vowel team can represent a long, short, or diphthongA combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable — sometimes called a “gliding vowel. vowel sound. Vowel teams occur most often in old Anglo-Saxon words whose pronunciations have changed over hundreds of years. They must be learned gradually through word sorting and systematic practice. Examples of vowel teams are found in thief, boil, hay, suit, boat, and straw.

Sometimes, consonant letters are used in vowel teams. The letter y is found in ey, ay, oy, and uy, and the letter w is found in ew, aw, and ow. It is not accurate to say that “w can be a vowel,” because the letter is working as part of a vowel team to represent a single vowel sound. Other vowel teams that use consonant letters are -augh, -ough, -igh, and the silent -al spelling for /aw/, as in walk.

We have chosen the term “vowel-r” over “r-controlled” because the sequence of letters in this type of syllableA word or word part that contains one vowel sound. is a vowel followed by r (er, ir, ur, ar, or). Vowel-r syllables are numerous, variable, and difficult for students to master; they require continuous review. The /r/ phoneme is elusive for students whose phonological awarenessA group of skills related to the ability to recognize the parts of spoken words. is underdeveloped. Examples of vowel-r syllables are found in perform, ardor, mirror, further, worth, and wart.

Also known as the stable final syllableA word or word part that contains one vowel sound. , C-le combinations are found only at the ends of words. If a C-le syllable is combined with an open syllableA syllable that ends in a single vowel that is typically a long vowel sound. — as in cable, bugle, or title — there is no doubled consonant. If one is combined with a closed syllableA ‘short’ vowel that is followed by one or more consonants. — as in dabble, topple, or little — a double consonant results.

Not every consonant is found in a C-le syllable. These are the ones that are used in English:

Closed, open, vowel team, vowel-r, and VCe syllables can be either simple or complex. A complex syllableA word or word part that contains one vowel sound. is any syllable containing a consonant cluster (i.e., a sequence of two or three consonant phonemesThe smallest parts of spoken language that combine to form words. ) spelled with a consonant blendTwo or more consecutive consonants which retain their individual sounds. before and/or after the vowel. Simple syllables have no consonant clusters.

Complex syllables are more difficult for students than simple syllables. Introduce complex syllables after students can handle simple syllables.