Identifying syllables

Hey!
Could you help me with this? When I am reading sometimes I would like to identify the amount of syllables that a word can have. In spite of knowing a bit of english language, sometimes I get confused about how many syllables a word could have. So, are there any trick, you might know, about counting syllables? Let me know them! Please…

Thank you!

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If you cannot count them yourself by saying the word aloud slowly and clearly, then you must go to the dictionary, where the syllablification is marked.
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Ok. Thanks for your concern. Although, I think my interest’s not answered 'cause if you noticed I am not a native English speaker. So, for me it’s quite different to count syllables aloud due to my native language (Spanish).Besides, one not always count on a dictionary near at hand to look words up.
Then, if anyone could help me with this, I’d really appreciate it (at least one trick to count syllables guys,please help me out!)

Thanks in advance! :slight_smile:

Ok…Is there anyone here that can give me at least a hint to count syllables?

Thanks!

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To be honest, Sergio, I think Mr Mic’s advice was pretty darn good and I can’t think of anything better. Maybe you could try singing the word and counting the beats. (seriously)

When I count syllables, I do it by saying the word slowly and clearly and counting on my fingers as each syllable comes out of my mouth. This naturally works best for words that have 10 syllables or less (Oops! I think I should have said fewer…;))

Even native speakers sometimes come across unknown words while reading that they don’t know how to pronounce. That’s one of the difficulties of English. It’s not always obvious how to pronounce words.

Maybe if you posted a few of the words where you think it’s difficult to count the number of syllables, someone might have another idea for you.

Amy

The book Clear Speech by Judy B. Gilbert can train you to recognize syllables more correctly, though not infallibly. To get good at this, you need speaking and listening training.