Hello dear friends! Today I will tell you about the types of syllables in English. Some readers will now close the article and say that they do not want to go so deep into learning the language. No need to rush. Only at first glance it seems that the British read completely differently than they write. In fact, there is logic everywhere. Knowing it, you can learn to read confidently. So let's figure it out.

Why is transcription necessary?

Many people don’t teach it at school anymore and you don’t have to memorize these obscure symbols at all, but there is one secret. It is important to learn the division into syllables.

The rule is:

If there is a consonant behind the stressed vowel (except for 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 her. Therefore, d goes to the second part. If there are two or more consonants after the stressed one, the stressed part of the word takes the first, and the unstressed part (pat / tern) takes the second.

Doubt? Open a dictionary. The upper comma in transcription indicates stress.

open and shut

Now you need to know how to determine the type of syllable. Many of you were taught at school, but few will say for sure what an open syllable means. It's the one that ends in a vowel.

Why is the letter r special?

Because she does not obey the 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 (shoev). Syllable type 4 is similar to type 3, but there is an e after the r. As in care, mere, more.

Let's put all the information in a table:

Therefore, I recommend subscribing to my blog and get acquainted with other articles. You will also receive as a gift, completely free of charge, an excellent basic phrasebook in three languages, English, German and French. Its main advantage is that there is a Russian transcription, therefore, even without knowing the language, you can easily master colloquial phrases.

The English vowel system at first glance seems very confusing. Of course, because there are only 6 letters in the alphabet, and 20 sounds! But everything is subject to certain rules, which are not so difficult to understand. The whole secret is in the syllables into which each word is divided.

Learning to read is impossible without knowing the basics of syllable division, which consists in the number of vowels in a word. So, for example, a syllable is: a-tom, i-tem. The letter l + e and r + e, where “e” is not pronounced, is also a separate part of the word: ta-ble, ti-tle.

Types of syllables in English divided into shock and unstressed.

Drums are formed into specific groups:

1st. Open

First of all, we mentally divide the word into syllables, then look at which letter it ends with:

- the vowel at the end indicates an open syllable, which means it is pronounced as in the alphabet (“a” - hey, “o” - oh): see, go, he.

- if the word ends with “e”, it is called dumb e, then the syllable is also open: pale, sake, like.

2nd. Closed

Almost all English syllables ending in a consonant can be classified as closed (with the exception of the letter “r”): bag, fun, plan.

3rd. Syllable with letter “r”

If after the stressed vowel there is an “r”, which is not pronounced, then the vowel becomes long: firm, sport, car.

4th. Syllable with the letter “r” + “e”

The letter “e” is silent, it is not pronounced, just like “r”. It is these letter combinations that are called diphthongs and triphthongs: parents, fire, pure.

Each vowel, depending on the open or closed syllable, is pronounced differently. All of them must be learned by heart and practiced through various phonetic exercises.

1st: Aa - - correspond to the Russian "hey", Ee - - is similar to the extended Russian "and", Yy - - to "ai", Ii - - "ai", Uu - - to the extended "yu", Oo - - pronounced like " OU" .

Aa - make, Ee - we, Ii - time, Yy - type, Uu - tube, Oo - note.

2nd: Aa - [æ] - the average of the sound of Russian letters "e and a", Ee - [e] - "e", Yy - [i] - "and", Ii - [i] - "and", -Uu - [ʌ] - "a", Oo - [ɔ] - reads like Russian "o".

Aa - cat, Ee - bed, Ii - sit, Yy - system, Uu - cup, Oo - not.

3rd: Aa - - correspond to the extended Russian "a", Ee - [e] - "e", Yy - [ə:] resembles something in between Russian "e and o", a little sound "e", Ii - [ə: ] - a mixture of “e and o”, a little from the sound “e”, Uu - [ə:] - “e and o”, Oo - [ɔ:] - extended “o”.

Aa - car, Eee - her, Ii - girl, uu - cure, Oo - more.

4th:: Aa - [ɛə] - sounds like Russian "ea", Ee - - "ie", Yy - - "th", Ii - - "ay", Uu - - "yue", Oo - [ɔ :] - long "o".

Aa - share, Ee - here, Ii - fire, Yy - tyrant, Oo - more.

Another type of syllable in English is unstressed syllable.

From the name it is clear that this is a syllable that does not fall under stress. Without stress, English vowels are read especially. So let's see:

Aa, oo, uu- read as sound [ə]: a gain, s o ntrol, diffic u lt.
Ee, Ii, Yy- read as sound [i]: b e come, d e cide, cit y.

But:
- e + n + consonant = [ə] student
- e + l, n at the end = [-] (disappears, not pronounced) seven
- i + final l \u003d [-] (disappears, not pronounced) pupil
- o + final n \u003d [-] (disappears, not pronounced): lesson

A lot of? Yes? Training and more training. Gradually, you will easily notice open and closed syllables, develop phonetic intuition.

In almost any English textbook you will come across such words. What syllables are is more or less clear. Why are they open and closed? And why do you even need to know?

open syllables end in a vowel (e.g. ma-ma). Closed , respectively, into a consonant (for example, portfolio). For reading in Russian, it does not matter what type of syllable. But in English, it will depend on this how to read the word correctly.

So. percussion vowel read in open syllable same way, what is the name of in alphabetical order ( Attention: not any vowel, but only stressed!). Except a letter Yy (wow) which is easy to read (ay).

aa			Oh
ee			Uu
II			Yy

It happens three variants of an open syllable:

1)C G SG - the stressed vowel is separated from the next vowel in the word by only one consonant. It does not matter if there are any further consonants. For example:

i=ai l i ke-[l aI k] ( like - like)

a=hey K a te[k eI t] (Kate)

u = u p u pil[p ju pl] (puple - student)

By the way: letter Her (AND) at the end of a word it is not readable if there are other vowels besides it.

2) C G- the only vowel at the end of a word. For example:

i =ayh i[ h aI ] (hi - hello)

e = and: h e[ h J ] (hee - he)

y =ay m y[ m aI ] (May is mine)

3) C G G - two vowels stand side by side. Then the first (stressed) vowel is in an open syllable, and the second is not readable at all. For example:

o= oy c o at ( coat - coat)

e = and: s e e[s J ] (si - to see)

a= hey p a int ( paint - dye)

AT closed syllable (that is, one that ends in a consonant - one (and immediately after it there is no vowel) or several at once)vowels are read like this :

aa	[x] (uh)		Oh	[O] (oh)
ee	[e] (e)		Uu	[A] (a)
II	[I] (and)		Yy	[I] (and)

That is, each letter has its own sound, except for letters II- Ayi Yy- Wye who read the same- (and).

For example:

aa		(hat) - hat (feng)- fan Mouth opens wide, sound "big"
ee		(ed) -red (ten) - ten The mouth opens slightly, the sound is pronounced on a half smile. Consonants are not softened!
II		(pig) - pig (sit) - to sit
Oh	stop	(dog) - dog (stop) - stop
Uu		(run) - run (cat) - cut
Yy	system symbols	(systems) - system (symbol) - symbol

What happens?

1. 1) There are syllables open(end in a vowel or immediately followed by a vowel) and closed(end in a consonant).

2. 2) B open we read the stressed vowel in a syllable like this, what is it called in the alphabet. AT closed syllable vowels denote brief sounds.

Letter	called	read
		in open syllable	in closed syllable
	Hey	hey	uh (wide)
		and	e (narrow)
	Ai	ah	and
	OU	OU	about
		Yu	a
	Wye	ah	and

3. 3) Letters II-ay and Yy-Wye are read equally: in an open syllable - (ay), in a closed one - (and).

:) If it does not become clearer - please ask questions!

Trainer for reading English vowels in open and closed syllables. For children who are just starting to learn English letters, it is very difficult to learn English sounds.

The simulator is used to practice open and closed syllables and is designed for 2nd grade students. According to the teaching staff of Biboletova (4th quarter). According to UMK Vereshchagina (the end of the second quarter - the beginning of the second quarter). According to UMK Starlight (end of September). This simulator will help not only memorize vowels and sounds, but also help to distinguish in what position the letter is read in an open or closed syllable.

aa
cake, Kate, name, plane, plate, snake, take, Jane, sale
hat, cat, bat, fat, Sam, cap, bad, parrot, carrot, rat, ant, many, black, map, can
a black cat, a bad snake, many parrots, a fat rat, a black rat and a fat cat, a cake and a plate, a black bat hat
Take a cat. Take a plate. Take a black rat and a fat cat. Take a map.
Take a cake, Kate. Jane, take a parrot and a carrot. Take a fat cat and a black hat, Sam.
What's your name? How many plates has Jane got? Has Sam got a map?

[əʊ] no, rose, stone, open, home, go, globe

[ͻ] on, not, hot, dog, frog, doll, hop, robot, box, clock

Rose, doll, frog, home, robot, dog, stone, box

No, go, globe, hop, hot, doll, doll, home

go home, a big dog, a big doll, a big box, a small clock, a box and a dog

go home. A big dog has a big clock. A small frog has a big box.

Open box. A frog opens a small box. I have at a doll at home.

Have they got a doll at home? - No, they haven't. They have got a robot at home.

Kite, mice, bike, hi, Mike, nice, fine, like, white, nine

[i] Tim, Bill, pink, kitten, big, little, pig, milk, it, his, with

a little kite, a little cat, a little pig, a little hat, little mice

a nice bike, a nice cat, a nice pet, nice mice

a big kitten, a big pink kitten, a big fat cat, a big plane

I like my bike. I like my cat. I like my big fat cat. I like my nice little pink pig. I am fine.

I like my little nice mice. I like my nice pink kite. I like it.

I like to play with my nice little kitten. Let's play with his big bike.

ee
see, be, Pete, he, beet, she, bee, keep, we, green, sweet,
Ned, pet, let "s, hen, ten, pen, desk, red, bed, Bet, lemon,

Pete, bed, Ted, let, green, pen, bee

Peg, desk, see, keep, red, hen, beet

Green pen, red desk, Pete and a bee, Ted and his pet,

A black desk, a big red hen on the little black desk

See a red beet. Take a pen. Take a hen. Keep a green pen. See a black desk.

Take a pen, Pete. His pen is bad. His desk is big. Ted, see a big bee.

Let's play with a pet, Pete. What green toys has Peg got?

Computer, pupil, tube, due, student, tulip, music

Up, cup, bus, cut, sun, sunny, plus, puppy, funny

Computer, bus, cup, pupil, plus, student

Up, puppy, tube, student, pupil, sun, cut

A sunny day, a sunny smile, a big bus and a little cup,

A big funny puppy, a funny puppy and a sunny smile

Get up, puppy. Let's listen to the music. students are funny.

Let's play computer games with the students. They are funny.

My, fly, why, try, cry, type

Funny, puppy, sunny, system, myth, baby

Funny, why, cry, funny, try, fly, system, myth

A big fly, my big fly, a big fat funny fly, a big thin funny puppy

Don't cry. Don't try. Don't fly. Fly my little kite.

Try to cry, my baby. I want you to cry. Why do you cry?

Why don't you try to cry? Fly! Fly a kite. Fly my little funny kite.

See the full text of the material Simulator for reading English vowels in open and closed syllables in the downloaded file.
The page contains a snippet.

The pronunciation of words, in any language, is largely determined by the rules of syllable division. Having understood the basic provisions, you will not only learn the rules of competent transfer, but also begin to understand the language better.

The practical necessity of syllable division

A syllable is a phonetic-phonological unit. Simply put, it stands out only during pronunciation, but does not play any role in semantic word formation. Therefore, this unit is called pronunciation.

The easiest way for native Russian speakers to understand the rules for dividing words in English is with the help of an analogy. The fact is that the norms for highlighting syllables in both languages ​​are similar. The main similarity of syllable division is the leading role of vowels, they are called syllable-forming.

A simple way to divide words is told in elementary school. The hand is brought to the chin, after which the word is pronounced. The number of touches of the chin of the hand determines the number of syllables.

Rules for syllable division in English

Depending on the sound the word ends with, open and closed syllables are distinguished. Open ones always end in vowels. In addition, when a syllable is formed by a long stressed vowel or diphthong, it will also be open.

Closed syllables always end in a consonant. If the syllable is formed by a short vowel, it will also be closed.

The main feature of syllable division is the need to separate the word not from the beginning, but from the end. The rules of syllable division of the English language become more understandable when studying specific examples.

1. As a rule, the number of syllables depends on the vowels used: po-ta-to.

2. The presence of already one vowel forms a syllable: a-bo-ut.

3. Two consonants on the border of a syllable are the basis for division into parts: po-et.

4. A word that has several vowels formed by a diphthong, i.e. one sound, has only one syllable: like, it cannot be divided into parts.

5. The appearance of a consonant at the syllable boundary leads to its separation into the second syllable: i-ma-gine, if several consonants appear at the junction, then the first one is attributed to one syllable, and the rest to another: ab-sent.

6. Syllables are formed by the combination -er, located after w: flow-er.

7. The appearance of the letter l on the border of syllables refers it to the next syllable, together with the adjacent consonant: ta-ble.

8. The consonant combinations ld and nd draw a syllable boundary in front of them: mi-ld, ki-nd.

Syllabification and its role:

1. Norms of correct transfer. It is thanks to the knowledge of the provisions of syllable division that one can competently divide words into parts that need to be highlighted in writing when transferring between lines.

2. Criteria for dividing a word into components. In English, there is no single norm for syllable division, therefore, morphological, phonetic or spelling principles of division can be used.

3. Language development. The ongoing processes of correlation of syllogomorphism set new parameters for dividing words.

We have outlined the basic rules for the syllable division of the English language. In general, they are quite simple and do not present any particular difficulties for mastering. Although, everyone who seeks to improve their language and write correctly, it is necessary not only to learn them, but also to understand them.

A short and clear course on syllable division