In linguistics, syllable weight is the concept that syllables pattern together according to the number and/or duration of segments in the rime. Broadly conceived, linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and a linguist is someone who engages in this study. ... The term segment can refer to: in geometry a line segment a circle segment a market segment as defined in marketing a memory segment in computer architecture an image segment in computer vision an orange segment in horticulture a PDU of the transport layer in computing This is a disambiguation... In the study of phonology in linguistics, the rime or rhyme of a syllable consists of a nucleus and an optional coda. ...

A heavy syllable is a syllable with a branching nucleus or a branching rime. A branching nucleus generally means the syllable has a long vowel or a diphthong; this type of syllable is abbreviated CVV. A syllable with a branching rime is a closed syllable, that is, one with a coda (one or more consonants at the end of the syllable); this type of syllable is abbreviated CVC. In some languages, both CVV and CVC syllables are heavy, while a syllable with a short vowel as the nucleus and no coda (a CV syllable) is a light syllable. In other languages, only CVV syllables are heavy, while CVC and CV syllables are light. Some languages distinguish a third type, CVVC syllables (with both a branching nucleus and a coda) and/or CVCC syllables (with a coda consisting of two or more consonants) as superheavy syllables. A syllable (ancient Greek: συλλαβή) is a unit of speech that is made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with one or more optional phones (single sounds or phonetic segments). Syllables are often considered the phonological building blocks of words. ... In phonetics and phonology, the nucleus is the central part of the syllable, mostly commonly a vowel. ... In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by an open configuration of the vocal tract, in contrast to consonants, which are characterized by a constriction or closure at one or more points along the vocal tract. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds) is a vowel combination usually involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ...

In moraic theory, heavy syllables are analyzed as containing two moras, light syllables one, and superheavy syllables three. Mora is a unit of sound used in phonology that determines stress in some languages. ...

The distinction between heavy and light syllables plays an important role in the phonology of some languages, especially with regards to the assignment of stress. Phonology (Greek phone = voice/sound and logos = word/speech), or phonemics, is a subfield of linguistics closely associated with phonetics. ... In linguistics, stress is the emphasis given to some syllables (often no more than one in each word, but in many languages, long words have a secondary stress a few syllables away from the primary stress, as in the words cóunterfòil or còunterintélligence). ...