Syllable Transcription

Rainian Phonetica uses an apostrophe (') to separate syllables.

The apostrophe does not represent a sound. Instead, it marks the boundary between two syllables.

Example

The English word giant has two syllables:

gi-ant

Its Rainian Phonetica transcription is:

jī'ėnt

The apostrophe separates:

jī + ėnt

Why Use a Syllable Separator?

The syllable separator makes the structure of a word explicit. This is especially useful when a word contains multiple vowel sounds or when the boundaries between syllables are not obvious from its spelling.

The apostrophe should therefore be treated as a structural character rather than a phonetic character.