Syllaben

Syllaben is the German plural form of Syllabe, the term used in linguistics to refer to syllables—the units of pronunciation that typically contain a nucleus (usually a vowel) and optional onset and coda. In German linguistic usage, Syllaben are analyzed to describe word structure, rhythm, and prosody.

Etymology: The word Syllabe derives from Latin syllaba, itself from Greek syllabē. In German, the term was adopted as Syllabe, with the plural Syllaben, reflecting standard German plural formation.

Structure: In most languages, including German, a syllable is organized around a nucleus; onset, nucleus, and coda are its possible components. The onset consists of consonants before the vowel, the nucleus is the central vowel or syllabic consonant, and the coda comprises consonants after the nucleus. German allows a range of onset and coda clusters; open syllables end in a vowel, while closed syllables end in a consonant.

Orthography and pedagogy: Syllaben determine hyphenation points in printed text and play a central role in teaching reading and pronunciation. Hyphenation rules typically place breaks at syllable boundaries, with considerations for line breaks and word morphology. In German, lexical stress often falls on the first syllable of the word or stem, though there are many exceptions due to prefixes, suffixes, and loanwords.

Examples: The word Schule has two Syllaben: Schu-le. The word Syllaben itself has three syllables: Syl-la-ben.

See also: Syllable, Hyphenation, German phonology.