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From: grass@uiuccsb.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: What is a vowel, anyway? - (nf)
Message-ID: <3452@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 26-Oct-83 20:41:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.3452
Posted: Wed Oct 26 20:41:04 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 28-Oct-83 07:45:27 EDT
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#R:uiuccsb:10500008:uiuccsb:10500010:000:583
uiuccsb!grass    Oct 26 10:33:00 1983


Easy, 'm' and other nasals ('n', 'ng') are called 'vocalics' eg. there
is only partial stoppage of air flow, and so they can be pronounced and held,
and even have harmonic structures just like vowels.  Consider these 
voweless English words: "Mmmm!" and "hmm".  So, yes there are two
syllables in "schism", no problem.

By the by.. The linguistic definition of vowel is 1) any sound produced
with an open vocal chamber, 2) voiced and 3) showing harmonic structure
on a sonograph.
              -- Judy
p.s. I may have forgotten a technical detail or two, but that's the gist
of it.