One reason the grade schooler is taught this is so he doesn't misapply the rule about doubling the final consonant in one syllable words when adding -ed or -ing. For instance, <hit> to <hitting>, but not <flaw> to <flawwed>. I don't know any words a schoolboy might know with w as the vowel of a syllable.
Scott Woods
--- On Mon, 11/17/08, Veit, Richard <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Veit, Richard <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: "...and sometimes w"
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Monday, November 17, 2008, 3:32 PM
A student asked me a question that I couldn’t immediately answer. In grade school he learned the adage that “the vowels are the letters a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y and sometimes w.” He was fine with y, which occurs as the lone vowel in syllables in words such as by, psych, hysteria, and silly. But what about w? Are there any English words in which w is the sole vowel in a syllable? Or does this adage merely refer to the use of w in combination with other vowels, such as in words like growth, flaw, and few?
________________________________
Richard Veit
Department of English
University of North Carolina Wilmington
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