In
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
, a monosyllable is a
word
A word is a basic element of language that carries semantics, meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consensus among linguist ...
or
utterance
In spoken language analysis, an utterance is a continuous piece of speech, by one person, before or after which there is silence on the part of the person. In the case of oral language, spoken languages, it is generally, but not always, bounded ...
of only one
syllable
A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''margins'', which are ...
. It is most commonly studied in the fields of
phonology
Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...
and
morphology. The word has originated from the
Greek language
Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...
.
"Yes", "no", "jump", "buy", "heat", "sure", "cough", and "and" are examples of monosyllables. Some of the longest monosyllabic words in the English language, all containing nine letters each, are "screeched," "schlepped," "scratched," "scrounged," "scrunched," "stretched," "straights," and "strengths".
See also
*
Monosyllabic language
References
External links
* {{wiktionary-inline
*
Little Frank and other tales: Chiefly in words of one syllable' (1838)
Linguistic units
Phonotactics
Types of verses