CHAPTER 1

Syllables

Clear and careful pronunciation is of immense value when one is faced with a spelling problem.

Breaking a word into its component syllables is the best approach to clear pronunciation, which brings us
to the question, just what is the correct way to divide a word into syllables?
Most dictionaries, texts, and guides are quite useless, as there are both complete confusion and
numerous contradictions. If we look up a word in three different guides, we will probably get three
different choices, sometimes four. This is unfortunate because correct syllabification is a great help to
both correct pronunciation and correct spelling.
Words are merely sounds strung together to form recognizable combinations. The heart of each sound is
a vowel or diphthong. The vowel sound will be either short or long, and each syllable must contain the
vowel or diphthong plus the consonants that give it that particular sound. Let us look at the short vowel
sound first.

Spelling rule #1: Closed syllables consist of a vowel followed by a consonant. They are almost always
short vowels.

(^) In a closed syllable the vowel may be followed by two or more consonants and still retain the short
vowel sound.
(^) Note that these blends or digraphs form an essential part of the syllable and must remain with the
vowel.
With double consonants, the division is between the two consonants unless they are at the end of the
word. Never split a blend or digraph.
(^) When the letter y is in a closed syllable it should have the short i sound. When it is in an open syllable,
it should have the long e or long i sound.
(^) When the r follows the vowel, it creates a unique sound which is very rarely a short vowel sound. This
sometimes occurs with the letters w and l.
(^) Spelling rule #1: Closed syllables consist of a vowel followed by a consonant.
Vowel diphthongs are almost always long vowels and are often in closed syllables, especially in single
syllable words.