What is a “word”?

My layman’s basic definition of “word” is that it is a combination of letters that have meaning. Sometimes the meaning changes depending on context but I’m gonna glide by that snake pit. The words I’m talking about are listed in the dictionary or they are slang words everybody understands.

Remember that the English alphabet has 26 letters called vowels and consonants. There are five vowels: a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y. The rest are consonants. You learned how to pronounce each letter before reaching puberty.

A word is composed of one or more syllables that can be pronounced.

I read somewhere that a simple way to count the number of syllables in a word is to feel your chin and count the number of times it drops. A more accurate way is to just use a good dictionary.

A syllable is a single, unbroken sound unit within a word that contains at least one vowel sound.

My goal is to develop a procedure for breaking a word down into syllables and spell those syllables like they sound using only letters of the alphabet or single syllables available on a standard keyboard. A secondary goal is to create a ChuckLyn dictionary containing at least 300 of the most used words in the English language.

The first part is trivial. Just use a dictionary to see how it divides the word into syllables.

There is software available that enables you type in a word and hear how it sounds with an American accent.

Posts similar to “Sounds of e” are designed to help spell a high percentage of syllables, efficiently reducing the number of letters used.

Stay tuned.