We know the letters are forming the word. Every single word will create different sounds when pronouncing it. The syllable rules will tell us how to spell the word and split it while pronouncing them. We have a topic called “closed syllable versus open syllable” to discuss today. Before going to the topic, we will see something need to know before that. Let us start with, what is a syllable?
What Is A Syllable?
A syllable is a word or part of a word with at least one vowel sound. We know that the words a, e, i, o, u are vowels. This vowel sound can form with one or more vowels. For example, the word ‘cat’ has one vowel sound with one vowel, and the word ‘boat’ creates a vowel sound with more vowels ending with a consonant. Sometimes the letter y creates a vowel sound. The word ‘try’ is an example of this.
Types Of Syllables In English
A word may consist of one or two syllables or three or more syllables. The number of vowels sounds equals the number of syllables. A single syllables word is called monosyllable, the two syllables a called disyllable. Similarly, the three syllables word called trisyllable and polysyllable has more than three syllables in it.
How many syllables in English? There are six syllables types and they are
- Closed
- Open
- Vowel-consonant-e or VCE
- Vowel team
- R-controlled
- Consonant-le
- Closed Syllables- A syllable that ends in a consonant is called a closed syllable. The vowel sound in a closed syllable is short. Examples of closed syllables are bat, cat, and went.
- Open Syllables- In open syllables, the syllable ends in a vowel. It has a long vowel sound. Examples are me, go, baby, and token.
- Vowel-Consonant-E or VCE Syllables- It has a vowel sound at the end of the word. It has silent e at the end with the consonant just it. Another thing is silent e at the end makes the previous vowel sound long. Examples for VCE are name, home, and fine. In these examples, the vowels ‘a’ in name, ‘o’ in word home, ‘i’ in fine have long sounds.VCE syllable is also called in many terms such as silent e, magic e, and sneaky e.
- Vowel Team Syllables- In the vowel team syllables, the two vowels come close to each other and give a new sound. Some examples are eight, fight, meet, and mean. This syllable is also known as the diphthong syllable. Sometimes the consonants y and w also join the team vowel to give a single vowel sound. For example, the words play has y and straw has w consonants in a vowel team syllable.
- R-Controlled Syllables- In this syllable, you will have a vowel followed by r. For example, ur, ir, er, and or. R sound is stronger than the vowel sound in this syllable type. Some of the examples for R-controlled syllables are her, bird, perform, and further.
- Consonant-le Syllables- This consonant-le syllable is also known as the stable final syllable. It has silent e at the end, in that the combination of consonant and l is only pronounced. This C-le syllable can combine either with an open syllables or closed syllables. When combined with the open syllable, it has no double consonant, for example, cable, title, and circle. When combined with closed syllables, it will have double consonants. Examples of double consonants include topple, little, settle, and dabble.
Here we had seen the types of syllables. Next, we will see the key differences between open and closed syllables.
Top 5 Key Difference Between Open And Closed Syllables
- Open syllables end in a vowel, whereas closed syllables end in a consonant.
- The Open syllables have a long vowel sound, whereas the closed syllables have a short sound.
- In open syllables, the vowel is not followed by any consonant. In closed syllables, the vowel is followed by a consonant.
- It ends with the sound of a vowel in an open syllable. But in the closed syllables, it does not sound like the name of the letters.
- Examples of open syllables are he, me, able, baby. Examples of closed syllables are men, pen, hen, bat, happen, rabbit and contact. Source
By knowing the different syllable rules, the students can develop their spelling and reading skills. Try to explore more words and decode them into syllables.
Also Read: 10 Ways to Teach wh Words for Kids Lesson Plan
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | Pinterest
Tinydale is on YouTube, Click here to subscribe for the latest videos and updates.