Novel is by all contributors initially referring to language unit (8)

I believe the answer is:

syllabic

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'referring to language unit' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'novel is by all contributors initially' is the wordplay.
'novel' indicates an anagram (letters in a new or novel order).
'initially' says to take the initial letters.
The first letter of 'contributors' is 'c'.
'is'+'by'+'all'='isbyall'
'isbyall' is an anagram of 'syllabi'.
'syllabi'+'c'='SYLLABIC'

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(Another definition for syllabic that I've seen is " concerning pronunciation unit".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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