Syllabic Consonant ???

[j4mes_bond25]

I wonder if there's anyone around who could enlighten me a little about the use of "Syllabic Consonant".

As far as I know it's usually syllabic N (as in button), syllabic M (as in bottom) & syllabic L (as in bottle) are the ONLY 3 syllabic consonant. Is there any other than I'm yet missing.

Additionally, what I really wonder is WHY does the syllabic N occurs in "button" (pronounced "but.n") but NOT in London (which is pronounced "lun.dan", as opposed to "lun.dn"). The same goes for Hampton & Wanton, for example. If name such as "Gordon" (pronounced "gor.dn") "Jordon" (pronounced "jor.dn") has syllabic "N" then why not names like "London", "Hampton" & "Wanton" ???

[rewboss]

Have you actually tried pronouncing the last syllable of "London" as a syllabic consonant? I just did and I nearly swallowed my tongue.

[j4mes_bond25]

Originally Posted by rewboss

Have you actually tried pronouncing the last syllable of "London" as a syllabic consonant? I just did and I nearly swallowed my tongue.

I've tried it quite a few times, however, I must say it isn't quite as comfy for my tender tongue as "but.n", but I guess, if my tongue can pronounce "gor.dn" perfectly well, then getting used to with "Lun.dn" shouldn't be too hard ;) (since presently, it's used to with "lun.dan")

[Tdol]

J4mes, you should try Khmer- they have all sorts of glottals, including p & k, and can have a syllbic m at the start of a word, which takes a bit of practice.