ABSTRACT
It is generally easy to say how many syllables a word contains, but not so easy to define what a syllable is, nor to say exactly where one syllable ends and another begins. The essence of a syllable is that one sound stands out from the neighbouring sounds that are it has greater prominence. More than one factor may contribute to this prominence, the most important one being the sonority of the sound compared with that of its neighbours. The most sonorous sounds are the vowels. It follows, that the vowel generally forms the syllabic element. Englishmen and Germans are used to the occurrence of syllabic sounds and syllabic nasal consonants in positions such as those illustrated above, although they are often unaware of the fact. But in African languages syllabic nasal consonants occur in positions which are unfamiliar to Europeans.
