<p>Like most of language, we have an innate ability to learn by exposure, with the rules remaining subconscious until someone forces us to explain them.</p>

<p>Syllables are based on phonemes, so we need to know the rules of spelling if we don't already know the word by sound.  Each syllable consists of an <strong>onset</strong> and a <strong>rime</strong>.<br>
The onset is a cluster of consonants (or it is null, at the beginning of some words).<br>
The rime is a cluster of vowels {or diphthongs...}, plus an optional cluster of consonants {typically at the end of a word}.</p>

<p>Thus: cushion: [c] (u) + [sh] (io[n]) = 2 syllables</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-04T10:17:03.877Z
Interesting and likely relevant, however, this answer does not directly address the question _"how do humans learn this skill without being taught?"_.
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-28T23:26:24.810Z
2016-01-28T23:26:24.810Z
AmI
<p>When I was young, I was told that to count syllables in a word, you could clap them. One clap for each syllable.</p>

<p>You would say it aloud like this: cu-shion.</p>

<p>I was not taught rules about how to pick out each syllable from a word. I just figured it out.</p>

<p>The funky thing with this is that syllables have no defined length, and some words are only one syllable while others are a few.</p>

<p>Learning how to count syllables is unlike math because in math, one can't do something until they have learned all the rules for how it should be done properly. I was never taught rules like this for counting syllables, I just figured it out.</p>

<p>My question: how do humans learn this skill without being taught? Is it like learning to walk?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-13T18:47:59.930Z
This question belongs on the linguistics stackexchange. (For some reason I can't flag it as such?)
jona
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-14T01:26:12.253Z
@jona I was not aware there was a linguistics stackexchange...
Seanny123
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-14T02:38:25.457Z
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it belongs on linguistics.stackexchange.com
Seanny123
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-15T00:44:16.360Z
it's really not about linguistics at all.  its about language learning, which is very very on topic.
honi
<cognitive-psychology><linguistics>
How do we learn to count syllables?
NuffsaidM8
# How do we learn to count syllables?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-13)

When I was young, I was told that to count syllables in a word, you could clap them. One clap for each syllable.

You would say it aloud like this: cu-shion.

I was not taught rules about how to pick out each syllable from a word. I just figured it out.

The funky thing with this is that syllables have no defined length, and some words are only one syllable while others are a few.

Learning how to count syllables is unlike math because in math, one can't do something until they have learned all the rules for how it should be done properly. I was never taught rules like this for counting syllables, I just figured it out.

My question: how do humans learn this skill without being taught? Is it like learning to walk?

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology, linguistics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This question belongs on the linguistics stackexchange. (For some reason I can't flag it as such?)  
> **username_2**: @username_1 I was not aware there was a linguistics stackexchange...  
> **username_2**: I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it belongs on linguistics.stackexchange.com  
> **username_3**: it's really not about linguistics at all.  its about language learning, which is very very on topic.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-01-28. Score: 1

Like most of language, we have an innate ability to learn by exposure, with the rules remaining subconscious until someone forces us to explain them.

Syllables are based on phonemes, so we need to know the rules of spelling if we don't already know the word by sound. Each syllable consists of an **onset** and a **rime**.  
The onset is a cluster of consonants (or it is null, at the beginning of some words).  
The rime is a cluster of vowels {or diphthongs...}, plus an optional cluster of consonants {typically at the end of a word}.

Thus: cushion: [c] (u) + [sh] (io[n]) = 2 syllables

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Interesting and likely relevant, however, this answer does not directly address the question _"how do humans learn this skill without being taught?"_.  

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