what is the simplest way to have text show if a tableview section is empty?

Preferably without looking like a cell. I would li开发者_C百科ke to display "tap edit in the upper right to add syllables"

Your best bet would probably be to implement the tableView:titleForFooterInSection: method in the class that implements UITableViewDataSource.

Adding a sub view to your tableView with the same bounds should do it.