DROPPED SYLLABLES

DROPPED SYLLABLES

The number of vowels = number the syllables

 But sometimes vowels disappear giving as consequence a reduction in the number of syllables. Examples:

 

 PRACTICE 

  

INVESTIGATION 

Dropped Syllables

“Consonant Vowel” syllables (those consisting of a consonant sound consonant + a vowel sound vowel) are usually spoken distinctly in English. However, in some words in which a Consonant Vowel (CV) syllables, the vowel may be dropped or moved to a following syllable. When this happens, the word loses a syllable. Here are some examples: 

The linguistic term for the loss of a syllable in spoken word is syncope, but I simply refer to it as dropped syllables.

Dropping syllables occurs mostly on high-frequency words, and dictionaries are pretty good about showing both options when two choices of pronunciation are available.

The syllable that can be dropped, not surprisingly, follows a pattern. The syllables before or after a stressed syllable in a word are often unstressed. (This is opposed to a secondary stress that can occur two syllables apart from a stressed syllable.) Only the vowel sounds of unstressed syllables can get dropped, and usually the original word needed to have at least three syllables to begin with.