nonsyllabic

Describes a sound or letter that does not form a syllable nucleus; often used in phonetics and linguistics.

• 🇩🇪Beschreibt einen Laut oder Buchstaben, der keine Silbe bildet bzw. nicht den Silbenkern ausmacht; wird vor allem in Phonetik und Linguistik verwendet.

1. Not forming a syllable nucleus C2 formal

   Describes a speech sound that does not form the core of a syllable, often a consonant or a vowel that is subordinate to another vowel in the same syllable.

   • In the diphthong /aɪ/, the second vowel is nonsyllabic.
   • The 'y' in 'boy' is a nonsyllabic vowel sound.
   • Linguists analyze nonsyllabic consonants in complex clusters.

   🇩🇪Nicht silbenbildend

   Antonyme: syllabic

2. Incapable of being a syllable nucleus C2 formal

   Refers to speech sounds that cannot function as the central, most sonorous part of a syllable.

   • Obstruent consonants are typically nonsyllabic in most languages.
   • The sound /s/ is usually nonsyllabic in English.
   • Nonsyllabic sounds often appear in consonant clusters.

   🇩🇪Nicht silbenbildend

   Synonyme: unsyllabic

   Antonyme: syllabic

• more nonsyllabic comparative form
• most nonsyllabic superlative form