Re: USAGE: syllables

Alexandre Lang wrote:
>
> let's say you have a word "barusto", you could divide this word into
> syllables in many different ways depending on the language, but if you say
> it fast, it still sounds the same right? so are syllables really important?
> are there languages that don't take note of syllables?
Syllables can influence how other sounds are pronounced.  For example,
in English, the voiceless stops are aspirated when they're at the
beginning of a syllable, and not preceded by /s/.  In (at least some
dialects of Spanish), /e/ and /o/ are pronounced [E] and [O] when in
closed syllables, that is, when the syllable ends in a consonant, for
example her-ma-no = [Er'mAno], but her-ma-nos = [Er'manOs].  In Latin,
the stress rules make reference to whether the penultimate syllable is
closed or open (IIRC, in words of 3 or more syllables, the penultimate
[next-to-last] syllable is stressed if it's closed, otherwise the
antepenultimate is, but I may be misremembering)

Syllables are also important in any language for determining how foreign
words are borrowed.  If it has a cluster that the language does not
allow (that is, there's one or more consonants that can't be parsed into
a syllable), then you'll have to do something to adjust it.  Some
languages will add vowels, others will take consonants out, or change
consonants or flip them around.

--
"There's no such thing as 'cool'.  Everyone's just a big dork or nerd,
you just have to find people who are dorky the same way you are." -
overheard
ICQ: 18656696
AIM Screen-Name: NikTaylor42