Counting Syllables page + disagreement

[ljkjp2]

Are there really 5 syllables in "Television"? According to your quiz on "counting syllables", there are. I've tried many times but can only count 4. Can someone please explain?

I can see that, in the same quiz, some people may agree that "Italian" has only 3 syllables but others may feel that 4 is ok, too. (The word "comfortable" may also be pronounced as a 3 or as a 4 syllable word.)

I recommended this website to some students but find they are a little confused by these examples. Would it not be better to choose less confusing examples for simple quizzes or to provide some justification for your choice of "correct" answer.

I write to you because these things seem to be important to learners of English.

Regards,

[Tdol]

Thanks for the heads-up; I will go and sort it out.

[Spagman63]

If you break up the suffix "sion" you can make "zi un" and that would create the other syllable. The whole thing would then be "tel uh vi zee un" thus making five syllables. However, this is not a recognized pronunciation.