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Hey guys, I've got a question:

The biggest syllable in English is CCCVCCCC. Now for example we have the word "unutterable". My dictionary says the phonetic transcription of this word is ʌnʌt. ə r.ə.bl 

In the first syllable(ʌnʌt.) there are 2 vowels. Something like this:VCVC.
How is it possible to have two vowels in one syllable. As far as I know there could be clusters of consonants in one syllable but only one vowel.

Appreciate your help.

Clayton wrote:In the first syllable(ʌnʌt.) there are 2 vowels.

That is not correct "unut" is 2 syllables.

The whole word unutterable has 5 syllables:

un | ut | ter | a | ble

Clayton wrote:How is it possible to have two vowels in one syllable. As far as I know there could be clusters of consonants in one syllable but only one vowel.

It's important to distinguish between vowels and vowel SOUNDS. The word "seat", for example, is one syllable with two vowels, but only one vowel sound.

Here is the definition of "syllable" from the Apple Dictionary:

syllable (noun): a unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole or a part of a word; e.g., there are two syllables in water and three in inferno.

This page about understanding syllables may also help.

Thanks man. Yeah ,if it's considered 2 syllables there won't be any problem. I use Cambridge Advanced Learner dictionary which shows 4 syllables for this word and the first of which is "unut". I've got no idea about it

Hey men, I just tried to count syllables in the word 'onomatopoeia'. Do you think 6 is correct

love one is the word which has two vowel in one syllable

reindeer wrote: ↑Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:48 pm Hey men, I just tried to count syllables in the word 'onomatopoeia'. Do you think 6 is correct

Yes, six syllables: on-o-ma-to-poei-a /ˌɒnəmatəˈpiːə/