In this video we are going to have a look at syllabic consonants. Usually, a syllable is made up of a nucleus (= the peak or core), always consisting of exactly one vowel sound, as well as some consonants before (= the onset) and possibly after (= the coda).

However, in some circumstances when the vowel sound in the nucleus is an unstressed schwa sound, the syllable can undergo a transformation: the schwa becomes so short it virtually disappears and what is left is a consonant with the quality of a vowel sound = a syllabic consonant. In English only the three nasals /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/ as well as the two liquids /l/ and /r/ can become syllabic consonants.

We are going to have a look over example words for each sound and at the end I even show you a few words with several syllabic consonants! They are much more common than you think! And why do they appear … well, as always: it’s down to fast natural speech and the fact that English is a stress-timed language.