Meaning & use
nonsense syllable
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A short unit of sound that can be read aloud but has no meaning in any language, used in memory and language tests.
Grammar: Countable: one nonsense syllable, several nonsense syllables.
Patterns
- a nonsense syllable such as ...
- list of nonsense syllables
- remember nonsense syllables
In the classic memory experiment, participants learned a list of nonsense syllables such as 'zab' and 'pif'.
Because a nonsense syllable carries no meaning, it cannot be stored by linking it to a known word.
The researcher read each nonsense syllable aloud and asked the students to repeat it immediately.
nouncountabletechnical
A meaningless string of letters or sounds that resembles a real word but is not one.
Grammar: Countable; often used to describe invented words in reading tests for children.
Patterns
- read a nonsense syllable
- a nonsense syllable test
- pronounce a nonsense syllable
The reading test includes nonsense syllables to check whether a child can decode unfamiliar letter patterns.
If a student can read 'flum' easily, they are handling a nonsense syllable without needing a dictionary meaning.
A nonsense syllable like 'trok' follows English spelling rules even though no such word exists.
Word forms
| plural | nonsense syllables |
|---|
Common combinations
- learn nonsense syllables
- Psychologists once asked students to learn nonsense syllables to study pure memory.
- a list of nonsense syllables
- She recited a list of nonsense syllables and then tried to recall them in order.
- nonsense syllable test
- The nonsense syllable test shows whether a reader can sound out new words.
- meaningless string of sounds
- A nonsense syllable is basically a meaningless string of sounds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nonword
- A broader term for any string of letters that is not a real word, including items that are not pronounceable as syllables.
- pseudoword
- Similar, but often used for invented words that follow the normal spelling and sound rules of a language.
Opposites
Word family
- nonsense noun
- Speech or writing that has no meaning or makes no sense.
- syllable noun
- A unit of pronunciation containing one vowel sound, such as 'cat' or 'ba'.
- nonsensical adjective
- Making no sense; ridiculous or impossible to understand.
Commonly confused: nonsense syllable or nonsense word?
nonsense syllable vs nonsense word
Often used in the same way, but 'nonsense word' is the everyday term, while 'nonsense syllable' is the more technical label used in experiments.
Practice
In a memory experiment, participants were asked to memorize a list of ______ such as 'dak', 'rof', and 'lem'.
Choose one answer.
'Nonsense syllables' fits because the items are short pronounceable units with no meaning, which is exactly what memory experiments use. 'Nonsense words' is close, but the technical term for these syllable-like items is 'nonsense syllables'; 'meaningless sentences' and 'random numbers' do not describe single syllable units.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nonsense syllable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.