-
The English alphabet is a set
of 26 letters, each of which roughly
represents a
phoneme
. The word
alpha
and
beta
,
the first
two letters of the Greek alphabet.
The
26 letters of the alphabet are: A, B, C, D, E, F,
G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, R, S,
T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. Each comes in both an
upper and
lower case. The letters of
the alphabet in lower case are a, b, c, d, e, f,
g, h,
i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s,
t, u, v, w, x, y, and z.
Of these 26
letters, there are two kinds:
consonants
and vowels. The
consonants of the alphabet are:
b
,
c
,
d
,
f
,
g
,
h
,
j
,
k
,
l
,
m
,
n
,
p
,
q
,
r
,
s
,
t
,
v
,
w
,
x
,
y
,
and
z
. The vowels are
a
,
e
,
i
,
o
,
and
u
. Note that the letter
y
is
classified
as a consonant, but sometimes acts like a vowel.
Each letter is like an animal. Each has
a name, but also makes a certain
sound
. For example, a cat
says
phonemes.
Consonant Sounds
Consonants
are the letters which stop or limit the flow of
air from the
throat in speech. These
are the sounds, or phonemes, of single consonants:
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
/b/ sound as in
bonfire
,
black
,
bathtub
, and
balcony
/d/ sound
as in dry, draw, design, and duet
/f/
sound as in fossil, fail, frame, and fingerprint
/g/ sound as in greeting, grill, goose,
and grapefruit
/h/ sound as in hail,
hieroglyphics, hostage, and hit
/j/
sound as in magician, syringe, jeep, and message
/k/ sound as in key, knock, kangaroo,
and kayak
/l/ sound as in lizard,
learn, lamp, and library
/m/ sound as
in mug, money, maze, and mechanical
/n/
sound as in night, newspaper, nightmare, and
noodle
/p/ sound as in panda, pie, pen,
and potato
/r/ sound as in rose,
restaurant, run, and reporter
/s/ sound
as in safe, sunset, sand, and seat
?
?
?
?
?
/t/ sound as in
tile, thermometer, tongue, and toy
/v/
sound as in violin, volcano, vaccination, and vote
/w/ sound as in waterfall, wagon,
windmill, and watch
/y/ sound as in
yoke, yawn, yacht, and yoga
/z/ sound
as in zebra, zoo, and zipper
Sometimes
the vowel
u
takes upon
itself the consonant sound of
w
, as in
quick
or
suave
. This is usually the
case when
q
is followed by
u
, as in
quiet
and
quaint
.
Vowel
Sounds
A vowel is a sound made by the
relatively free movement of air through
the mouth, usually forming the main
sound of a syllable. The vowels are
a
,
e
,
i
,
o
,
and
u
.
Each vowel
has two sounds: a
long sound
and a
short sound
. The long
sound is the same as its name. Every
vowel also makes a third sound: the
schwa
. This is the sound of
a vowel that is unstressed in an unstressed
syllable. There are also some more
advanced vowel sounds besides the
long,
short, and schwa. For instance, the a in
father
is different than the
a
in
cat
.
When a single vowel letter is in the
middle of a word (or syllable), it
usually says its short sound (e.g.,
got
,
bed
.) But there are many
exceptions to this rule, such as
irregular vowels. When a single vowel
letter is in the end of a word (or
syllable), it usually says its long sound
(or its name), as in
go
and
be
. When two vowels go hand
in hand in the
same word (or syllable),
the first vowel is usually long, and the second
vowel is usually silent. e.g.,
bake
makes the ay sound
(long a) and the e is
silent;
goal
makes the oh sound
(long o) and the a is silent. But there are
many exceptions to this rule, such as
irregular vowels.
The following is a
list of vowel sounds, shown along with their
diacritical
marks
:
?
?
?
?
?
Long a (ā)
sound as in
ape
,
snail
,
ache
,
explain
, and
reindeer
Long e
(ē) sound as in
eat
,
agony
,
needle
,
pianist
, and
electricity
Long
i (ī) sound as in
eye
,
cry
,
tightrope
,
tile
, and
violin
Long o
(ō)
sound as in
oh
,
domino
,
ghost
,
pillow
, and
stethoscope
Long
u (ū) sound as in
you
,
salute
,
toothbrush
,
goose
,
boot
, and
costume
?
?
?
?
?
?
Short a (?) sound as in
at
,
taxi
,
anniversary
,
laboratory
, and
tackle
Short e
(?) sound as in
elm
,
elevator
,
jellyfish
,
pentagon
, and
dentist
Short i
(?) sound as in
it
,
gift
,
inflate
,
spinach
, and
cereal
Short o
(?) sound as in
hop
,
camouflage
,
garage
,
chop
,
father
,
paw
, and
binoculars
Short
u (?) sound as in
up
,
cut
and
subtract
Schwa
(?) sound as in
about
,
item
,
gallop
, and
circus
The letter
y
sometimes substitutes for
i
and is a vowel when it
does so.
Likewise, the vowel
w
sometimes substitutes for
u
and is considered a
vowel when it does so. However,
y
sometimes appears as the
only vowel
in a syllable, such as in
gym
and
why
, whereas
w
never appears as a
vowel all by itself. When
w
acts as a vowel, it always
follows
a
(as in
paw
),
e
(as in
new
), or
o
(as in
grow
).
Consonants are letters that
are not vowels. Specifically, consonants are
speech sounds
(
phonemes
) made by partially
or completely blocking the
vocal air
stream, and letters
(
graphemes
) that represents
such sounds.
When
y
is not acting as a vowel,
it is a consonant. Most consonants have
only one sound, but a few have multiple
sounds. For instance,
c
can
make
both the /k/ and the /s/ sound.
A comprehensive list of consonant
sounds follows:
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
b
makes the /b/ sound as in
bat
; also, when
b
follows
m
in the same
syllable, it is silent as in
lamb
.
c
makes the /k/ sound as in
cat
and the /s/ sound as in
cease
—
see
Spelling With
C
and
G
.
d
makes the /d/ sound as in
dog
.
f
makes the /f/ sound as in
fat
.
g
makes the /g/ sound as in
get
, and the /j/ sound as in
gem
—
see
Spelling With
C
and
G
.
h
makes the /h/ sound as in
hat
; also, sometimes
h
is silent, as in
honesty
.
j
makes the /j/ sound as in
jam
.
k
makes the /k/ sound as in
kite
.
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
l
makes the /l/ sound as in
lap
, and the /l?/ sound as
in
glad
and
cycle
.
m
makes the /m/ sound as in
mad
.
n
makes the /n/ sound as in
nap
.
p
makes the /p/ sound as in
park
.
r
makes the /r/ sound as in
race
. When
r
follows a vowel, it makes
a special sound: see
R-Controlled Vowels
.
s
makes the /s/ sound as in
sit
, and the /z/ sound as in
has
.
t
makes the /t/ sound as in
tap
; also, sometimes
t
is silent, as in
whistle
.
v
makes the /v/ sound as in
van
.
w
makes the /w/ sound as in
wet
.
w
placed before a single vowel
will
usually modify its sound, as in
wash
.
x
makes the /ks/ sound as in
box
, the /gs/ sound as in
exact
, and the
/z/ sound as in
xylophone
.
y
makes the /y/ sound as in
yet
.
y
can also
act as a vowel
.
z
makes the /z/ sound as in
zip
.
Note that
the consonant
q
is almost
always followed by the vowel
u
. The
u
in this case takes on the
/w/ sound, so
qu
together
make the /kw/ sound.
In some French-
derived words, -que makes the /k/ sound as in
torque
and
plaque
.
When a vowel is
followed by a consonant, the vowel is
short
. The
diacritical mark
for a short vowel is called a breve
(?), which is in the
shape of a
downturned arc.
A vowel is usually
short when there is only one vowel in a word or
syllable, as in
cat
,
bed
, and
hot
. However, there are
exceptions to this rule,
such as with
irregular vowels
.
There is both a long and short sound to
“oo”. The short sound appears as
in the
words
book
,
booth
, and
took
.
The
following is a list of short vowel sounds, shown
along with their
diacritical marks:
?
?
?
?
?
Short a (?)
sound as in
at
,
taxi
,
anniversary
,
laboratory
, and
tackle
Short e
(?) sound as in
elm
,
elevator
,
jellyfish
,
pentagon
, and
dentist
Short i
(?) sound as in
it
,
gift
,
inflate
,
spinach
, and
cereal
Short o
(?) sound as in
hop
,
camouflage
,
garage
,
chop
,
father
,
paw
,
and
binoculars
Short
u (?) sound as in
up
,
cut
and
subtract
For a
complete list of long, short, and other sounds,
see
letter sounds
.
A
long
vowel sound is the same
as its name. The
diacritical
mark
for a
long vowel is
called a macron (?
), which is in the
shape of a line above
the vowel.
When a single vowel letter is in the
end of a word (or syllable), it usually
says its long sound (or its name), as
in
go
and
be
. When two vowels go
hand in hand in the same word (or
syllable), the first vowel is usually
long, and the second vowel is usually
silent. e.g.,
bake
makes the
/ay/
sound (long a) and the
e
is silent; goal makes the
/oh/ sound (long o) and
the
a
is silent. However, there
are many exceptions to this rule, such as
with
irregular
vowels
.
When there are two
adjacent vowels in a word, the first one is long
and
the second one is silent. The first
vowel is marked with a long line and
second one is crossed out. Examples of
this rule are in
coat
,
ride
, and
read
.
There is
both a long and short so
und to “oo”.
The long sound appears as
in the words
boo
,
food
,
smooth
, and
moose
.
The
following is a list of long vowel sounds, shown
along with their
diacritical marks:
?
?
?
?
?
Long a (ā)
sound as in
ape
,
snail
,
ache
,
explain
, and
reindeer
Long e
(ē) sound as in
eat
,
agony
,
needle
,
pianist
, and
electricity
Long
i (ī) sound as in
eye
,
cry
,
tightrope
,
tile
, and
violin
Long o (ō)
sound as in
oh
,
domino
,
ghost
,
pillow
, and
stethoscope
Long
u (ū) sound as in
you
,
salute
,
toothbrush
,
goose
,
boot
, and
costume
For a
complete list of long, short, and other sounds,
see
letter sounds
.
A
digraph
is a single sound,
or
phoneme
, which is
represented by two
letters. A
trigraph
is a phoneme which
consists of three letters. However,
many people will simply use the term
'digraph' generally to describe both
combinations. In digraphs, consonants
join together to form a kind of
consonant team, which makes a special
sound. For instance,
p
and
h
combine to form
ph
, which makes the /f/
sound as in
phonemic
.
When two or more letters appear
together and you hear each sound that
each consonant would normally make, the
combination is called a
blend
.
For
instance, the word
blend
has
two consonant blends:
bl
,
for which you
hear the sounds for both
b
and
l
, and
nd
, for which you hear the
sounds
for both
n
and
d
.
Two-Letter
Blends
?
?
?
?
?
?
bl
,
which blends the /b/ and the /l/ sounds together
to make
the /bl/ sound as in
blend
and
blight
br
, which blends the /b/ and
the /r/ sounds together to make
the
/br/ sound as in
break
and
brown
cl
, which blends the /c/ and
the /l/ sounds together to make
the
/cl/ sound as in
cluster
and
class
cr
, which blends the /c/ and
the /r/ sounds together to make
the
/cr/ sound as in
crash
and
cross
dr
, which blends the /d/ and
the /r/ sounds together to make
the
/dr/ sound as in
drive
and
drab
fl
, which blends the /f/ and
the /l/ sounds together to make the
/fl/ sound as in
flu
and
flake
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
fr
,
which blends the /f/ and the /r/ sounds together
to make
the /fr/ sound as in
freedom
and
frost
gl
, which blends the /g/ and
the /l/ sounds together to make
the
/gl/ sound as in
glad
and
glory
gr
, which blends the /g/ and
the /r/ sounds together to make
the
/gr/ sound as in
green
and
gravy
nd
, which blends the /n/ and
the /d/ sounds together to make
the
/nd/ sound as in
blend
and
send
pl
, which blends the /p/ and
the /l/ sounds together to make
the
/pl/ sound as in
play
and
plow
pr
, which blends the /p/ and
the /r/ sounds together to make
the
/pr/ sound as in
prime
and
prowl
sl
, which blends the /s/ and
the /l/ sounds together to make
the
/sl/ sound as in
slogan
and
sloppy
sm
, which blends the /s/ and
the /m/ sounds together to make
the
/sm/ sound as in
small
and
smart
sn
, which blends the /s/ and
the /n/ sounds together to make
the
/sn/ sound as in
snail
and
snore
sp
, which blends the /s/ and
the /p/ sounds together to make
the
/sp/ sound as in
special
and
spackel
st
, which blends the /s/ and
the /t/ sounds together to make
the
/st/ sound as in
stop
and
start
Three-
Letter Blends
?
?
?
?
?
?
shr
,
which blends the /sh/ digraph and the /r/ sound
together
to make the /shr/ sound as in
shroud
spl
, which blends the /sp/
blend and the /l/ sound together to
make the /spl/ sound as in
splash
and
splendid
spr
, which blends the /sp/
blend and the /r/ sound together to
make the /spr/ sound as in
spring
and
spray
squ
, which blends the /s/
sound and the /sq/ digraph together
to
make the /squ/ sound as in
squid
and
squelch
str
, which blends the /st/
blend and the /r/ sound together to
make the /str/ sound as in
struggle
and
strap
thr
, which blends the /th/
digraph and the /r/ sound together
to
make the /thr/ sound as in
throw
When two or more consonants appear
together and you hear each sound
that
each consonant would normally make, the consonant
team is called a
consonant
blend
. For instance, the word
blend
has two consonant
blends:
bl
, for which you
hear the sounds for both
b
and
l
, and
nd
, for which you
hear the sounds for both
n
and
d
.
Digraphs
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
ch
,
which makes the /ch/ sound as in
watch
,
chick
,
chimpanzee
,
and
champion
ck
, which makes the /k/
sound as in
chick
ff
, which makes the /f/
sound as in
cliff
gh
, which makes the /g/
sound as in
ghost
and
ghastly
gn
, which makes the /n/
sound as in
gnome
and
gnarled
kn
, which makes the /n/
sound as in
knife
and
knight
ll
, which makes the /l/
sound as in
wall
mb
, which makes the /m/
sound as in
lamb
and
thumb
ng
, which makes the /ng/
sound as in
fang
,
boomerang
, and
fingerprint
nk
, which makes the /nk/
sound as in
ink
,
sink
and
rink
ph
, which makes the /f/
sound as in
digraph
,
phone
, and
phonics
qu
, which makes the /kw/
sound as in
quick
sh
, which makes the /sh/
sound as in
shore
,
shipwreck
,
shark
,
and
shield
ss
, which makes the /s/
sound as in
floss
th
, which makes the /th/
sound as in
athlete
,
toothbrush
,
bathtub
,
thin
, and
thunderstorm
th
, which makes the /th/
sound as in
this
,
there
, and
that
wh
, which makes the /hw/
sound as in
where
and
which
wr
, which makes the /wr/
sound as in
write
zz
, which makes the /z/
sound as in
fuzz
and
buzz
Trigraphs
?
?
?
chr
,
which makes the /chr/ sound as in
chrome
and
chromosome
dge
, which makes the /g/
sound as in
dodge
and
partridge
tch
, which makes the /tch/
sound as in
catch
,
match
Besides long
vowel sounds, short vowel sounds, and the schwa
sound,
there are some other special
sounds in English that are represented by
vowels. They are as follows:
?
?
?
?
/aw/ sound as in
awful
and
awe
/oi/ sound as
in
boil
,
poison
,
toilet
, and
annoy
/ou/ sound
as in
lighthouse
,
cow
,
flower
, and
fountain
/oo/
(
?
) sound as in
took
,
pulley
,
platypus
,
pull
, and
football
Note
that
?
sound as in
hook
, or the ū sound as in
boot
.
When a vowel is followed by
an
r
, it makes a special
sound. These are
called r-controlled
vowels, or r-colored vowels. These phonemes are as
follows:
?
?
?
?
?
?
/ar/ sound as
in
car
,
guitar
,
Arthur
/?
r/ sound as in
care
,
bear
,
mare
,
scare
,
aquarium
/?
r/ sound as in
pier
/ir/ sound
as in
turnip
,
spider
,
certificate
, and
beaver
/or/ sound
as in
manor
,
observatory
,
author
,
brought
, and
orchard
/er/
sound as in
butter
,
cutter
, and
mother
Usually,
/ar/ always sounds like the
ar
in
car
, and /or/ always sounds
like
the
or
in
for
. The
ir
,
er
, and
ur
, sound the same as in
bird
,
her
, and
fur
.
These all
make a /
?
r/ sound.
Sometimes, the
basic rules of phonics do not apply. Each of these
instances must be memorized. Common
examples include, but are not
limited,
to:
?
?
?
IGH as in
-NG as in
OST as in
instead of the
normal short sound.
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
OW has two different sounds as in
and
ED has three different
sounds as in
OI does not follow the two
vowels rule, e.g.,
Double O has two
different sounds, as in
OUS as in
AU as in
-SION, -TION, and
-CION are all pronounced
OUGH has at
least seven different sounds, as in
A
word
consists of a series of
letters. Every word must have at least one
vowel in it. Each syllable is made by
blending the sounds of each
component,
that is, reading the word by adding one sound at a
time, as in
-e, -ed, bed. The following
are some rules for spelling and pronouncing
words.
1.
c
followed by
e
,
i
or
y
usually has the soft
sound of
s
. Examples:
cyst
,
central
, and
city
.
2.
Example:
3.
When two
consonants a joined together and form one new
sound,
they are a consonant digraph.
They count as one sound and one
letter
and are never separated. Examples:
4.
When a
syllable ends in a consonant and has only one
vowel, that
vowel is short. Examples:
5.
When a
syllable ends in a silent
the vowel in
front of it is long. Examples:
and
use
6.
When a
syllable has two vowels together, the first vowel
is usually
long and the second is
silent. Examples:
say,
grow
Diphthongs
don't follow
this rule.
7.
When a syllable ends in any vowel and
is the only vowel, that
vowel is
usually long. Examples:
my
8.
When a vowel is followed by an
vowel is
fir,
fur, far, for, su/gar, or/der
Words may
have
prefixes or suffixes
added to them, which will modify
their
meaning. For example, the root word
use
and the suffix
-able
combine to
create the word
usable
.
Sometimes, the
letter
y
is a
consonant
, and other times
it is a vowel. The
rule for telling the
two apart is simple:
The letter
y
is a consonant when
it is the first letter of a syllable
that has more than one letter. If
y
is
anywhere
else in the syllable, it is a vowel.
Examples of
Y
as
a Consonant
?
?
?
?
?
yes
yam
yell
yellow
yogurt
Examples
of
Y
as a Vowel
?
?
?
?
?
?
gym
my
cycle
baby
hairy
sky
A
vowel combination
is a
combination of two or three vowels, or of a vowel
and at least one
consonant, that is
associated with one or more specific single
sounds. For example,
ea
has
the sounds
/long e/ and /long a/;
ay
has the sound /long a/,
and
igh
has the sound /long
i/. These vowel
combinations are
sometimes called
digraphs
,
diphthongs
,
trigraphs
, and
triphthongs
.
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