Counting Syllables In A Word

Question

I\'m looking for a fully accurate statement of an algorithm to count syllables in words. What I\'m finding when I research is inconsistent or what I know to generate incorr

Answer 1

I'm looking for a fully accurate statement of an algorithm to count syllables in words

There isn't one. Period. Whatever algorithm you invent, I promise to find a counterexample. In certain languages(Armenian and Russian come to mind) the algorithm is pretty straightforward - count the number of vowels. In other languages, such as German, it's not as straightforward but still doable. In English, I am afraid, the transduction between letters and sounds is absolutely irregular.

For example,

coincidence. oi is to be counted as two syllables. But in boil it's only one syllable. Also, not counting the final vowel is not always accurate. Consider the name Penelope or Hermione. Or banana

Another curious case is when the syllable exists without a printed vowel. For example, table is a bisyllabic word but the second syllable is generated by the invisible sound between b and l. Also, don't forget about words originated from greek, which can have a lot of consecutive vowels. E.g. onomatopoeia.

So, there is no accurate algorithm. The only way you can go is to try to find an algorithm which works in many (I am avoiding the word most) cases. But in this case you should redefine your requirements.