# 1.3 音节（Syllables）

**英文的词汇由至少一个音节构成**。英文中出现频率最高的几个词，*a/an*, *the*, *of*, *to*, *for*... 等等都是单音节词汇。有的词汇可能很长，由很多音节构成。在英文词典中能找到的最长词汇总计由 19 个音节，45 个字母构成：

**In English, every word is made up of at least one syllable.** The several most commonly used words in the language such as *a/an*, *the*, *of*, *to*, *for*, and others are all monosyllabic. Some words might be quite lengthy containing many syllables. In fact, if you were to flip through an English dictionary, the longest loggerhead you'd find consists whoppingly of 19 syllables with a grand total of forty-five letters:

> *[Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis)* <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/En-us-pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.ogg.mp3"></span>
>
> `/ˌnumənəʊˌəltrəˌmaɪkrəˌskɑpɪkˌsɪləkəʊvɑlˌkeɪnəʊˌkəʊniˈəʊsəs/`

英文的音节构成大抵上有以下几种形式（其中，`c` 代表辅音，`v` 代表元音）：

In general, there are the following few forms of syllable composition in English (where `c` stands for consonant and `v` means vowel):

* `v`： *awe* `/ɔː/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/awe-us.mp3"></span>
* `vc`： *add* `/æd/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/add-us.mp3"></span>
* `cv`： *the* `/ðə/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/the-us.mp3"></span>
* `cvc`： *dog* `/dɔg/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/dog-us.mp3"></span>
* `ccv`： *flee* `/fliː/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/flee-us.mp3"></span>
* `vcc`： *east* `/iːst/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/east-us.mp3"></span>
* `cvcc`： *task* `/tæsk/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/task-us.mp3"></span>
* `ccvc`： *speed* `/spiːd/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/speed-us.mp3"></span>
* `ccvcc`： *thrust* `/θrʌst/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/thrust-us.mp3"></span>
* `cvccc`： *text* `/tekst/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/text-us.mp3"></span>
* `ccvccc`： *flexed* `/flekst/` <span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-us="/audios/flexed-us.mp3"></span>

如果一个单词由多个音节构成的话，那么为了能够读得顺畅、清晰且易于识别，那么其中可能会有某个音节是**重音**；如果音节数量更多，可能还会有某个或某些音节是**次重音**。一般来说，**一个词汇只有一个重音**，**但有可能存在多个次重音**。比如 *serendipity* `/ˌserənˈdɪpɪti/`<span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-uk="/audios/us/serendipity-us-jen.mp3"></span>。之前的那个 *19* 个音节构成的词汇，其中有 *7* 个**次重音**，*1* 个**重音**。

When a word is composed of multiple syllables, for smooth and clear pronunciation that's easily recognizable, one syllable may be stressed -- these are called *primary stresses*. If the word has many syllables, it could also have some *secondary stress*. Normally, **a single primary stress exists in each word**, **but there might be several secondary ones** - take the word *serendipity* `/ˌserənˈdɪpɪti/`<span class="speak-word-inline" data-audio-uk="/audios/us/serendipity-us-jen.mp3"></span>as an example. That whopping 19-syllable-long leviathan we examined before had 7 instances of secondary stressing to accompany its lone instance of primary stressing.








creature

various

reality

coexist

evaluate

poetic

diode

Sequoia

Video

Vienna

Continuation

Aerobics