syllabic

Everyday

1. Syllabic means about syllables, the beats or sound parts that words are divided into: "hap-py" has two syllables. tree →
2. A syllabic writing system (a syllabary) uses one symbol for each syllable, like Japanese kana or the Cherokee syllabary. tree →
3. (phonetics) A syllabic sound, like the "n" in "button" or "l" in "bottle", makes a syllable on its own without a vowel. tree →

In the lessons

In English and phonics lessons pupils clap syllables to read and spell longer words; in poetry, syllable counts matter for haiku (5-7-5) and for rhythm. In language lessons, children learn that some scripts are syllabic, some alphabetic (one letter per sound), and Chinese is mostly logographic. Phrases: "syllabic script", "syllabic structure", "syllabic verse".

Examples

• Japanese hiragana is a syllabic script. tree →
• We clapped the syllabic beats of our names. tree →
• A haiku has a strict syllabic pattern: 5, 7, 5. tree →
• The Cherokee leader Sequoyah invented a syllabic writing system. tree →
• In "bottle", the final l is syllabic. tree →
• Syllabic poems count syllables, not stresses. tree →
• Breaking a long word into syllabic parts helps you spell it. tree →

Note

Pronounced "si-LAB-ik". Noun: syllable; plural syllables. An alphabet (like English) is not syllabic: each letter stands for a sound, not a whole syllable.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: The author of Mordell's study says Sefer Yetzirah praises the alphabet as better than writing systems using pictures or syllables. In the primary lessons: In English and phonics lessons pupils clap syllables to read and spell longer words; in poetry, syllable counts matter for haiku (5-7-5) and for rhythm. In language lessons, children learn that some scripts are syllabic, some alphabetic (one letter per sound), and Chinese is mostly logographic. Phrases: "syllabic script", "syllabic structure", "syllabic verse".

Examples

• The purpose of the author was to e ..pliiisizc the superiority of alphabetic writing over the non-alphabetic writing (ideographic and syllabic) used by all the nations of antiquity, and even now by a great portion of mankind. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →

Note

Pronounced "si-LAB-ik". Noun: syllable; plural syllables. An alphabet (like English) is not syllabic: each letter stands for a sound, not a whole syllable.