Which term describes the initial consonant(s) in a syllable?

• A. Rime
• B. Morpheme
• C. Onset
• D. Phoneme

Answer: (C)

The initial consonant sound or cluster that begins a syllable is called the onset. It comes before the vowel, while the rest of the syllable—the vowel and any following consonants—forms the rime. For example, in a word like stop, the onset is the /st/ cluster. In a word like at, there is no onset because the syllable starts with a vowel; the rime would be the vowel sound plus any following consonants.

Phoneme is the smallest sound that can change meaning, and morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning, so they describe different ideas. The rime specifically refers to the part of the syllable after the onset (vowel plus any following consonants), not the initial consonants.