Dear friend, glides are sounds produced with little or no obstruction of the airstream that are preceded or followed by a vowel. If they are followed by vowels, they are called on-glides , as in woo, where /w/ is an on-glide. If these sounds are

syllable Segment of speech usually consisting of a vowel with or without accompanying consonant sounds (e.g., a , I , out , too , cap , snap , check ). A syllabic consonant, like the final n sound in button and widen , also constitutes a syllable.

I can say this much: I would feel deeply insulted if anyone thought I spoke like Steve Irwin. The most distinctive feature I've noticed in Steve Irwin's speech (compared to other Australians I've known and heard) is that his /a/ sound

( . . . ) My ears can't detect any difference between the vowels of Bob's "call" and "Bob". I don't (yet) have formant-analysis software on my computer, so without knowing whether the vowels actually are objectively