Basic information about Phonics, Pronunciation, and Syllabication

Basic information about Phonics, Pronunciation, and Syllabication Phonics phonics/f:-n ks/ noun [noncount] : a method of teaching people to read and pronounce words by learning the sounds of letters, letter groups, and syllables Phonics is a system for pronouncing written symbols that represent the way words sound. It is both a reading and spelling tool. There are 26 letters in the English alphabet but 40 sounds in the English language (15 sounds for the 5 vowels). Phonics, pronunciation, and syllabication go handin-hand since most people try to sound out unfamiliar words by saying them syllable-by-syllable. When they write or spell words, they usually break them into syllables. Vowels, Consonants, and Pronunciation vowel /va-wl/ noun plural vowels [count] 1: a speech sound made with your mouth open and your tongue in the middle of your mouth not touching your teeth, lips, etc. 2: a letter (such as a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y in English) that represents a vowel compare consonant consonant /k:n-s-nnt/ noun plural consonants [count] 1: a speech sound (such as /p/, /d/, or /s/) that is made by partly or completely stopping the flow of air breathed out from the mouth 2: a letter that represents a consonant ; especially: any letter of the English alphabet except a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y compare vowel pronunciation /pr-nn-si-e -n/ noun plural pronunciations [count] : the way in which a word or name is pronounced diphthong /d f:/ noun plural diphthongs [count] linguistics: two vowel sounds joined in one syllable to form one speech sound The sounds of ou in out and of oy in boy are diphthongs. First, though, a quick review. The alphabet consists of 26 letters. Letters are divided into two general categories: vowels (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y) and consonants (the remaining letters). Depending on the word, the letter y can be a vowel or a consonant. You can remember the vowels

if you remember this joke: A student asks the teacher, Is there a word in the English language that uses all the vowels including y? The teacher replies Unquestionably! (The word unquestionably include all the vowels and y.) Vowels are important because every word has at least one vowel sound. Vowels can have long or short sounds: Long vowels sound like the name of the letter itself, as in the first sound in the words ape, eagle, ice, open, and use. In dictionary pronunciations, long vowel sounds are indicated by a long mark or macron. A macron is a bar written over the letter (for example, the // in the word ape). The Long "i" () sound is the diphthong /a /. Short vowels sound like the first sound in the words apple, egg, it, ox, andup. In the dictionary, short vowel sounds are indicated by breve, a curved mark above the vowel (for example, the // in apple). There is also a long oo and a short oo (double "oo") sound. The long double "oo" (/u:/) sounds the way it does in moon, choose, food, boot, and scoop. The short double "oo" (//) sounds the way it does in took, good, foot, andhood. The schwa (/w:/), whose dictionary symbol (//) resembles an upside-down "e", represents an unstressed vowel. All five vowels can have the schwa sound, which sounds like [uh], as in the words about, item, edible, gallop, andcircus. The diphthongs /a/ and /o / (diphthong /a / is the long "i" () sound) are complex vowel sounds the way it does in cow, fountain; and boil, annoy. Pronunciation of Vowels in Open and Closed Syllables Syllables can be open or closed. This affects the sound of the vowel in the syllable. Open syllables end in a vowel, and the vowel has a long sound (as in be, or the last syllable of halo). Closed syllables contain (enclose) a vowel between two consonants, and a vowel in a closed syllable has a short sound (as in pat, pet, pit, pot, and put). Another way of saying this is that in words that consist of a vowel between two consonants, the vowel is short (hat, leg, tip, dog, hum). Two Other Helpful Pronunciation Rules Silente rule: In words that end with a vowel + consonant + silent "e", the vowel usually has a long sound. Examples: behave, scene, time, whole, huge Two-vowels-together rule: When two vowels are next to each other in a word, the first vowel is usually long and the second is silent (not pronounced). You might remember the rhyme from elementary school that sums it up, When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking. Examples: restrain, team, die, throat, pay

Consonants Consonants are the rest of the alphabet letters other than a, e, i, o, and u. Fifteen consonants have only a single sound. Some consonants (c, g, d, q, s, and x) have more than one sound when they are combined with other letters. Consonant combinations can be digraphs or blends: Consonant digraphs are pairs of letters that together create a new sound. Think, for example of "ph" that sounds like an /f/ (photo), "gh" that sounds like an /f/ (cough), and the three sounds of "ch" /t/, //, and /k/ (cheer, chef,choir). Consonant blends are what the name suggests: combinations that blend the sounds of individual consonants. Common blends involve the consonants "s" (smile, snoop, speak, squeal, spring, stream, sweet), "l" (blur, clothes, flip,glass, please), and "r" (breath, cream, drip, free, grape, praise, trail). The letter "y" can be a vowel or a consonant; it depends on where it appears in a word. When it occurs at the beginning of a word, it is a consonant and sounds /j/ (as in yes, youth, year). It is a vowel when it occurs within a word or ends a word. As a vowel, it will sound like a long or short "i" (as in my ormyth) or like a long "e" (as in the last sound in happy). The letter "w" is usually a consonant (as in wish), but also appears in vowel combinations (as in jaw,tower, row). Hard and Soft Sounds of C and G The consonants "c" and "g" can each be pronounced two ways: hard or soft. When they are followed by e, i, or y, they have the soft sound. Knowing that e, i, or y changes their pronunciation to the soft sound will help you spell more words correctly. C sounds like /k/ (hard sound) or /s/ (soft sound). (The alphabet contains both of those letters, but have the letter c anyway!) It sounds softlike /s/when it is followed by e, i, or y. Examples: In cage, country, comb, and cube, the "c" sounds like /k/ (the hard sound). In cement, city, and cycle, the "c" sounds like /s/ (the soft sound). "G" has a hard sound /g/ (as in gate), but when followed by e, i, or y, it's the soft sound of [j] //. Examples: In game, go, and gum, the "g" has a hard sound. In germ, giant, and gym, the "g" sounds like [j] // (the soft sound). Syllabication syllabication /s-l-bl-ke -n/ noun : the act, process, or method of forming or dividing words into syllables

syllable /s -l-bl/ noun plural syllables [count] : any one of the parts into which a word is naturally divided when it is pronounced A syllable is a unit of sound (spoken language) that has one vowel sound. A word can consist of only one syllable (I, go, try, stay) or it can have several syllables (dictionary). It is also used to describe one or more written letters or phonetic symbols that represent a spoken syllable. Syllabication refers to dividing written words into syllables. Syllabication is useful to know: when you are writing and a word is too long to fit on a line, you must divide the word correctly. Words should always be divided between syllables. Knowledge of syllabication is also helpful in pronouncing words. Dictionaries show words divided into syllables, but you wont always have a dictionary or computer at hand. Therefore, knowing a few basic rules of syllabication will help you greatly. Basic Syllabication Rules Here are a few basic syllabication rules. In these rules, "V" stands for vowel, and "C" stands for consonant. The slanted line shows where the word is likely to be divided. Each syllable has one and only one vowel sound, regardless of how many actual vowels appear in the syllable. For example, the word beauty has four vowels (e, a, u, and y), but only two vowel sounds (the long u and the y, which sounds like /bju:-ti/). Therefore, the word has two syllables. 1. Affixes Affixes are word parts that are added to a root, a base word that has a meaning of its own. Prefixes and suffixes are affixes. A prefix is word part attached to the beginning of a word that adds its meaning to that base word. A suffix is a word part that is attached to the end of a root word. For example, the word unhelpful contains the prefix is "un", the base or root word "help", and the suffix "ful". There are a few syllabication rules regarding affixes. Prefixes are always separate syllables (prescribe, return, display, subtract). Suffixes are usually separate syllables (handful, kindness, statement). The suffix "ed" is a separate syllable when the base word ends in d or t (landed, hunted). The suffix "y", along with the consonant that precedes it, usually forms a separate syllable (lately, nosy). 2. Compound words Compound words are made of two other words. Divide them between those words (mailbox; laptop). 3. V/CV When there is a consonant between two vowels, the consonant usually goes with the second syllable (nature, deny, below, ago, spoken, evil, above). Notice that the first syllable is open and has a long vowel sound. The exception is if the consonant is an r; it usually stays with the first vowel (peril, baritone). 4. VC/CV When two consonants appear together, you will usually divide between them (common, mixture, hunger, picnic).

5. Two vowel sounds: Divide words between two vowel sounds (area, reliable, fiasco). Remember, though, that often two or more vowels together make only one sound (beauty, courageous). 6. VC/CCV When there are three consonants between two vowels, divide between the first consonant and the blend or digraph that follows it (sparkler, strangled, castle, northern, hamster). 7. Final "le" If a word ends in a consonant followed by "le", those three letters form the last syllable (table, angle, bundle). Pronunciation Tips With regard to pronunciation, keep in mind this general information, much of which was just presented: Vowels in closed syllables are short. That is, when a vowel is followed (closed in) by one or more consonants, that vowel is usually short. Examples: pat, pet, pit, pot, put If a words ends in a vowel + a consonant + e, the vowel is long and the e is silent (not pronounced): VCe. Examples: ate, delete, kite, rope, and mute An open syllable (a single vowel at the end of a word a syllable) usually has a long sound. Examples: she, my, hero, label When two vowels appear together, the first one is usually long and the second one is silent. Vowels followed by r may not sound long or short. Instead, they have a sound that is neither long nor short. Such vowels are sometimes referred to as r-controlled vowels. In dictionary pronunciation keys, the have a special mark above them that looks like a roof (). Examples: morning, murder, refer, heard, rare, word, perfect

The sounds of English and the International Phonetic Alphabet This chart contains all the sounds (phonemes) used in the English language. For each sound, it gives: The symbol from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), as used in phonetic transcriptions in modern dictionaries for English learners that is, in A. C. Gimsons phonemic system with a few additional symbols. The chart represents British and American phonemes with one symbol. One symbol can mean two different phonemes in American and British English. See the footnotes for British-only and American-only symbols. Two English words which use the sound. The underline shows where the sound is heard. The links labeled Amer and Brit play sound recordings (Flash is required) where the words are pronounced in American and British English. The British version is given only where it is very different from the American version. Vowels ask, bat, glad : cot, bomb, caught, paw bet, fed (1) about, banana, collide (2) i very, any, thirty i: eat, bead, bee u: id, bid, pit foot, should, put boot, two, coo under, putt, bud merge, bird, further (2)

e eight, wade, bay a ice, bite, tie a out, gown, plow o oyster, coil, boy o oat, own, zone, blow (6) car, heart, bizarre e bare, fair, wear (1) (7) i near, deer, mere, pier (7) o boar, port, door, shore (7) u boor, tour, insure (7) British cot, bomb (3) British caught, paw, port (4) (5) : British merge, bird British oat, own, zone, blow British near, deer British bare, fair British boor, tour Consonants Consonants

b baby, labor, cab d day, kid just, badger, fudge then, either, bathe f foe, tough, buff g go, dagger, bag h hot, ahead j yes, vineyard k lacquer, flock, skin k cat, keep, account l law, hollow pedal, battle, final pool, boil m mat, hemp, hammer, rim n new, tent, tenor, run button, satin, kitten rung, hang, swinger p lapse, top, lip, speed p pay, pet, appear r rope, arrive (8) s sad, mist, kiss shoe, mission, slush t mat, stick, late (9) t toe, attack later, catty, riddle t batch, nature t choose, chin, achieve thin, ether, bath v vat, never, cave w wet, software z zoo, easy, buzz vision, azure, beige button, kitten, satin (glottal stop) Other Symbols high stress: penmanship low stress: penmanship indicates British pronunciation variant

(1) Almost all dictionaries use the /e/ symbol for the vowel in bed. The problem with this convention is that /e/ in the IPA does not stand for the vowel in bed; it stands for a different vowel that is heard, for example, in the German wordSeele, or at the beginning of the /e / sound in English. The proper symbol for the bed vowel is // (do not confuse with /:/). The same goes for /e/ vs. //. (2) In / / and /: /, the / / is not pronounced in BrE, unless the sound comes before a vowel (as in answering, answer it). In AmE, the / / is always pronounced, and the sounds are sometimes written as // and //. (3) In AmE, /:/ and // are one vowel, so calm and cot have the same vowel. In American transcriptions, hot is written as /h:t/. (4) About 40% of Americans pronounce /:/ the same way as /:/, so thatcaught and cot have the

same vowel. It's a phonemic merger called "cot-caught merger". (5) In American transcriptions, /:/ is often written as /:/ (e.g. law = /l:/), unless it is followed by "r", in which case it remains an // or /:/ as in car. (6) In British transcriptions, /o/ is usually represented as //. For some BrE speakers, /o/ is more appropriate (they use a rounded vowel) for others, the proper symbol is //. For American speakers, /o/ is usually more accurate. (7) In /e /, / /, and / /, the / / is not pronounced in BrE, unless the sound comes before a vowel (as in dearest, dear Ann). In AmE, the / / is always pronounced, and the sounds are often written as /e/, /i/, /u/. (8) All dictionaries use the /r/ symbol for the first sound in red. The problem with this convention is that /r/ in the IPA does not stand for the British or American /r/; it stands for the hard /r/ that is heard, for example, in the Spanish word rey or Italian vero. The proper symbol for the red consonant is //. (9) In American English, /t/ is often pronounced as a "flap /t/", which sounds like /d/ or (more accurately) like the quick, hard /r/ heard e.g. in the Spanish word pero. For example: letter. Some dictionaries use the // or // symbol for the "flap /t/". Special Symbols // - The vertical line (//) is used to show word stress. It is placed before the stressed syllable in a word. For example, the word contract as noun is pronounced /k:ntrkt/, and as verb is pronounced /kntrkt/. / / - The sound / / is not a sound it is a short way of saying that an "r" is pronounced only in American English. For example, if you write that the pronunciation of bar is /b: /, you mean that it is /b/ in American English, and /b:/ in British English. However, in BrE, "r" will be heard if / / is followed by a vowel. For example, far gone is pronounced /f: gn/ in BrE, but far outis pronounced /f: rat/. /i/ - The sound /i/ is usually pronounced like a shorter version of /i:/, but sometimes (especially in an old-fashioned British accent) it can sound like / /. Examples: very /veri/, create /krie t/, previous /pri:vis/, ability /b l ti/. /l/ - The Sound /l/ means that the consonant "l" is pronounced as a separate syllable (the syllabic /l/, which sounds like a vowel), or that there is a short // sound before it. Examples: little /l tl/, uncle /kl/. Instead of the /l/ symbol, some dictionaries use an /l/ with a small vertical line underneath (//), or simply /l/, as in /l t/ or /l tl/. /n/ - The sound /n/ means that the consonant "n" is pronounced as a separate syllable (the syllabic /n/, which sounds like a vowel), or that there is a short // sound before it. Examples: written /r tn/, listen /l sn/. Instead of the /n/ symbol, some dictionaries use an /n/ with a small vertical line underneath (//), or simply /n/, as in /r t/ or /r tn/. Does this chart list all the sounds that you can hear in British and American English? No. This page contains symbols used in phonetic transcriptions in modern dictionaries for English learners. It does not list all the possible sounds in American or British English. For example, the dixtionaries do not list the regular /t/ and the "flap t: // with separate symbols. It groups them under a single symbol: /t/. (In other words, it groups a number of similar sounds under a single phoneme, for simplicity)

So the dictionaries actually list phonemes (groups of sounds), not individual sounds. Each symbol in the chart can correspond to many different (but similar) sounds, depending on the word and the speakers accent. Take the phoneme /p/ in the above chart. It occurs in the phonemic transcriptions of pin /p n/ and spin /sp n/. In pin, this phoneme is pronounced with aspiration (breathing). This aspirated p sound has its own special symbol in the IPA:/p/. In spin, the phoneme is pronounced normally; this normal p sound is represented by /p/ in the IPA. So the "p phoneme" represents two sounds: /p/ and /p/. (This can be confusing, because "p" can mean both the "p phoneme" and the "p sound")

Vowel Sounds
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. You need to understand the basic conceptual separation of letters and sounds in English. The letter vowels are: a, e, i, o, and u. Many languages have pure vowels, when the tongue and lips are relatively stationary while these vowels are being pronounced. But many of the vowels in English are not pure. This means they are lengthened and spoken with the tongue moving from one sound into another sound. There are 15 vowels sounds in English: 1. /i:/ eat, bead, bee 2. / / id, bid, pit 3. /e / eight, wade, bay 4. // bet, fed 5. // ask, bat, glad 6. // under, putt, bud 7. /:/ cot, bomb 8. /u:/ boot, two, tube 9. // foot, should, put 10. /o/ oat, own, zone, blow 11. // caught, paw, port 12. // merge, bird, further Diptongs: 13. /a / ice, bite, tie 14. /a/ out, gown, plow 15. /o / oyster, coil, boy All 12 main vowel sounds in English and the three diphthongs are organized and described in terms of the following characteristics: The American English vowel sounds are described in terms of (front, central, back); height (open, mid, close); lip position (spread, unrounded, rounded); length (short, long); jaw-dropping, and tenseness (tense, lax). 1- HEIGHT: Tongue Position in the mouth:

High (/i:/, / /, //, /u:/, //) Middle (/e /, //, //, //, /o/) Low (//, /:/, //) 2- BACKNESS: Far front or back the tongue is in the mouth: Front (/i:/, / /, /e /, //, //) Central (//, //, //, /:/) Back. (/u:/, //, /o/, //) 3- LIP POSITION: Whether the lips are rounded (O-shape) or spread (no rounding) when the sound is being made: Unrounded (/i:/, / /, /e /, //, //, //, //, //, /:/ Rounded (/u:/, //, /o/, //) 4- LENGTH: Represents vowel sound has one or two parts: Short (/ /, //, //, //, /:/) Long (/i:/, /e /, /ju/, /o/, and the diphthong /a /) Complex (/u:/, //, //, and the diphthongs /a/, /o /) 5- TENSENESS: Refers to the amount of muscular tension around the mouth when creating vowel sounds: Lax ( /i/ and /u/ *, / /, //, //, //, /:/, //) Tense (/i:/, /e /, //, /u:/, //, /o/, and the diphthongs /a /, /a/, /o /) */i/ and /u/ weak sounds Other terms: Monophthongs: A monophthong consists of only one vowel sound that does not change during its articulation; i.e., it starts and ends in the same quality, and the speech organs do not change their position during its pronunciation. Monophthongs are also called simple vowels, pure vowels, or stable vowels. American linguists list from 9 to 12 monophthongs in American English monophthongs: /:/, //, /i:/, /i/, //, /u:/, /u/, //, //.

Vowel Chart

This chart show the height, backness, and tenseness of the vowels:

VOWELS Tense/Lax FRONT CENTRAL BACK Tense HIGH Lax Tense MIDDLE Lax Tense LOW Lax (*) ( ) e o i: u:

(*) Not in all dialects. In this website, the // vowel sound is changed by the /:/ vowel sound because it was decided not to indicate the contrast between words like tot /t:t/ and taught /t:t/, since this contrast isnt made by a large number of American native speakers, and isnt necessary for non-native speakers to learn, using as reference the Merriam-Webster's Learner Dictionary. The neutral vowel sound

Transcription symbols that are generally used to represent the neutral sound are // - vowel No. 6 (caret symbol) in stressed syllables as in gun /gn/, son /sn/, undone /ndn/ and vowel sound // (schwa symbol) in unstressed syllables as in away /we /, article /t kl/, minus /ma ns/. In American ESL materials, the schwa symbol // is very often used for the neutral sound in both stressed and unstressed syllables: gun /gn/, son /sn/, undone /ndn/, away /we /, article /t kl/, minus //ma ns/. For your information, the caret looks like a triangle without a base (or turned v), and the schwa looks like inverted "e". Diphthongs

The Diphthongs vowels in English (/a /, /a/, and /o /) are double sounds made up of two distict parts, that is, two different sounds:

DIPHTHONGS FRONT CENTER BACK HIGH MIDDLE LOW a a

* We use the /a/ symbol in the diphthongs above but it is the same /:/ vowel sound but weak: //, forming the combination /a /. As you can see in the diphthongs chart: The /a / vowel sound begins with the LOW/CENTRAl sound // and ends with a HIGH/FRONT sound / /.

The /a/ vowel sound begins with the LOW/CENTRAL sound // and ends with a HIGH/BACK sound //. The /o / vowel sound begins with the LOW/BACK sound // and ends with a HIGH/FRONT sound / /. Diphthongs refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, the diphthongs are double vowels that have the most tongue movement. The diphthongs move through the vowel chart as they are pronounced: they start at one vowel-position, and move towards another. In the other hand, some Tense vowels are also written with two letters because they also have some diphthong-like tongue and face movement, but they are not diphthongs because they begin and end in the same vowel position: The following vowel sounds are not diphthongs: The /e / vowel sound begins and ends with a MIDDLE/FRONT sound. The /o/ vowel sound begins and ends with a MIDDLE/BACK sound. Long, Short, and Complex Vowels The long vowel sounds are not pronounced for longer time than short vowel sounds. The terms "long", "short", and "complex" are not describing the length of time a vowel sound is said. These archaic terms are still in popular use in American classrooms and online. They are used to simply give a name to a vowel sound so when the sound is discussed, the name and not the sound is used. 1- Long Vowels A long vowel sound is the same as its name. Some dictionaries use the diacritical mark for a long vowel and it 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 /a / sound (long a) and the "e" is silent; goal makes the /o/ 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, read.

There is both a long and short sound to oo. The long sound appears as in the words boo, food, smooth, and moose. The following is a list of the 5 long vowel sounds in American English: 12345Long Long Long Long Long "a" () sound /e / as in ape, snail, ache, explain, reindeer "e" () sound /i:/as in eat, agony, needle, pianist, and electricity "i" () sound /a / as in eye, cry, tightrope, tile, violin "o" () sound /o/ as in oh, domino, ghost, pillow, stethoscope "u" () sound /ju/ as in you, few, use, cute

2- Short Vowels When a vowel is followed by a consonant, the vowel is short. Some dictionaries use the diacritical mark for a short vowel and it 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 incat, bed, hot. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as withirregular 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 the 5 short vowel sounds in American English: 12345Short Short Short Short Short "a" () sound // as in at, taxi, anniversary, laboratory, tackle "e" () sound // as in elm, elevator, jellyfish, pentagon, dentist "i" () sound / / as in it, gift, inflate, spinach, ink "o" () sound /:/as in hop, camouflage, garage, chop, father, paw "u" () sound // as in up, cut, cup

3- Complex Vowels 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: 12345Complex Complex Complex Complex Complex "oo" sound // as in put, pull, book, good, should "oo" sound /u:/ as in salute, toothbrush, goose, boot, costume "aw" sound // (*) as in awful, dog "oi" sound /o /as in boil, poison, toilet, annoy "ow" sound /a/ as in lighthouse, cow, flower, fountain

Lax and Tense Sound We already said that the vowels can be short or long, and Lax or Tense. But also there is an unstressed vowels called Schwa sound:

1- Lax Sound: Lax vowels are shorter in sound than Tense vowels. // ask, bat, glad // cot, bomb, caught, paw // under, putt, bud // bet, fed /i/ very, any, thirty (*) / / id, bid, pit // foot, should, put (*) The /i/ is a Lax sound and /i:/ is a Tense sound but they are pronouced in the same tongue vowel position. The /i/ sound is pronounced in words that have final y. 2- Tense Sound: Tense vowels are longer in sound than Lax vowels. /i:/ eat, bead, bee /u:/ boot, two, coo // merge, bird, further /e / eight, wade, bay /o/ oat, own, zone, blow In the Tense sound are included the Diphthongs: /a / ice, bite, tie /a/ out, gown, plow /o / oyster, coil, boy 3- Schwa Sound. When you are speaking American English the vowel within the stressed syllables is longer, louder and higher in pitch. The vowel within the unstressed syllable is reduced and become a neutral, short vowel called Schwa and is pronounced with the tongue in the neutral or rest position. The symbol used is //. It can be spelled with a, e, i, o, or u. All of the five vowels can sound the same if they are part of a reduced syllable. As you can see, it is more important to know which syllabe is stressed than how the word is spelled. If people don't understand a particular word you are saying chances are you stressing the wrong syllable. The combination of stressed syllables with long clear vowel sounds and reduced syllables with the Schwa vowel sound create a distinctly American English speech rhythm. // about, banana, collid

Consonant Sounds
Consonant Sounds A consonant letter usually represents one consonant sound. Some consonant letters, for example, c, g, s, can represent two different consonant sounds.

Letters Sounds Examples b [b] baby, best, buy, bring, blind, absent, about, number, labor, robber, tub

[s] [k]

center, cellar, cigarette, cinema, agency, notice; cake, come, cucumber, clean, cry, scratch, act, panic
day, dear, die, door, duty, admire, hidden, lady, kind, ride, ended fast, female, five, forest, fund, fry, flight, often, deaf, cuff

d f

[d] [f]

[g] [j] [zh]

game, gap, get, go, gun, great, global, giggle, ago, begin, dog, egg; general, gin, giant, agent, suggest, Egypt, energy, huge, manage; mirage, garage, beige, rouge

[h] [-]

hair, help, history, home, hotel, hunt, behind, inherit; hour, honor, honest, heir, vehicle, Sarah
jam, Jane, jet, jelly, Jim, jingle, joke, John, June, just Kate, kind, kill, kilogram, sky, blanket, break, take, look late, let, live, alone, close, slim, please, old, nicely, table, file, all make, men, mind, mother, must, my, common, summer, name, form, team napkin, never, night, no, nuclear, funny, student, kindness, ton, sun

j k l m n

[j] [k] [l] [m] [n]

[p]

paper, person, pick, pour, public, repair, apple, keep, top, crisp

q (qu)

[kw] [k]

quality, question, quite, quote, equal, require; unique, technique, antique, grotesque
rain, red, rise, brief, grow, scream, truck, arrive, hurry, turn, more, car

[r]

[s] [z]

send, simple, song, system, street, lost, kiss, release; cause, present, reason, realism, advise, always, is, was
task, tell, time, tone, tune, hotel, attentive, student, boat, rest vast, vein, vivid, voice, even, review, invest, give, move, active wall, war, way, west, wind, word, would, swear, swim, twenty, twist

t v w

[t] [v] [w]

[ks] [gz] [z]

exercise, exchange, expect, ex-wife, axis, fix, relax; exam, exact, executive, exert, exist, exit, exult; Xenon, Xerox, xenophobia, xylophone

[z] [ts]

zero, zoo, horizon, puzzle, crazy, organize, quiz, jazz; pizza, Mozart, Nazi, waltz

Note 1: The letter Y The letter Y can function as a vowel or as a consonant. As a vowel, Y has the vowel sounds [i], [ai]. As a consonant, Y has the consonant sound [y] (i.e., a semivowel sound), usually at the beginning of the word and only in the syllable before a vowel. [i]: baby, hurry, lyrics, mystery;

[ai]: by, try, rely, nylon, type; [y]: yacht, yard, year, yes, yet, yield, you, young, Yukon.

Note 2: The letter W The letter W represents the vowel sound [u:] in the diphthongs [au] and [ou]: now, how, owl, brown; low, own, bowl.

The -s/es ending of nouns and verbs After a voiceless consonant: [s] After a voiced consonant or vowel: [z] After the letters s, z, x, ch, tch, ge, dge, sh: [iz]

[s] tapes [teips], streets [stri:ts], parks [pa:rks], chiefs [chi:fs], myths [mis] (he) grips [grips], writes [raits], takes [teiks], sniffs [snifs]

[z] ribs [ribz], kids [kidz], legs [legz], leaves [li:vz], clothes [klouz], girls, games, cars, boys, pies [paiz], cows [kauz], cities ['sitiz]

[iz] pieces ['pi:siz], roses ['rouziz], prizes ['praiziz], boxes ['boksiz], coaches ['kouchiz], bridges ['brijiz], dishes ['dishiz]

(he) robs [robz], reads [ri:dz], digs (he) kisses ['kisiz], loses ['lu:ziz], [digz], saves [seivz], falls, plans, swims, relaxes, catches, judges, manages, offers, plays, cries, goes [gouz], copies flashes, washes, rouges ['kopiz] Chris's ['krisiz], Tess's ['tesiz], Rose's ['rouziz], Liz's ['liziz], Rex's ['reksiz], George's ['jo:rjiz]

Pip's [pips], Kate's Abe's [eibz], Fred's [fredz], Meg's [keits], Mike's [maiks], [megz], Olive's ['olivz], Ben's [benz], Jeff's [jefs], Seth's [ses] Molly's ['moliz], Anna's

The -ed ending of verbs After a voiceless consonant: [t] After the letters t, d:

[t] stopped [stopt], liked [laikt], coughed [ko:ft], crossed [cro:st], released [ri'li:st], reached [ri:cht], washed [wosht]

[d] robbed [robd], saved [seivd], seized [si:zd], called [ko:ld], planned, occurred, bathed [beid], managed, played, tried, studied

[id] wanted ['wontid], hated ['heitid], counted ['kauntid], started, needed [ni:did], loaded ['loudid], folded, added

Consonant combinations

Letters

Sounds Examples

cc

[ks] [k]
[ch]

accent, accept, access, eccentric, accident; accommodate, account, accuse, occur, acclaim

ch tch

chain, check, chief, choose, teacher, much, church; kitchen, catch, match, watch, pitch, stretch

ch (Latin, Greek) [k] ch (French)

ck dge gh

character, chemical, Chris, archive, mechanic, technical, ache; champagne, charlatan, chef, chic, machine, cache
black, pack, deck, kick, pick, cracker, pocket, rocket bridge, edge, judge, knowledge, budget, badger

[sh]
[k] [j]

[g] [f] [-]

gu

ghost, ghastly, Ghana, ghetto; cough, enough, rough, tough, laugh; though, through, weigh, neighbor, bought, daughter

[g] [gw]

guard, guess, guest, guide, guitar, dialogue; language, linguistics, Guatemala, Nicaragua

ng

[ ]

king, sing, singer, singing, bang, long, wrong, tongue;

[]+[g] finger, anger, angry, longer, longest, single

ph [f] phone, photograph, phrase, phenomenon, biography

qu

[kw] [k]

quality, question, quite, quote, equal, require; unique, technique, antique, grotesque

sc

[s] [sk]

science, scissors, scene, scent, scythe; scan, scandal, scare, score, Scotch, scuba

sch

[sk] [sh]

school, scholar, scheme, schedule; schnauzer, schedule

share, she, shine, shoe, fish, cash, push, punish

sh

[sh]

th

[] []

thank, thick, think, thought, thunder, author, breath, bath; this, that, then, though, father, brother, breathe, bathe

wh

[w] [h]

what, when, where, which, while, why, whale, wheel, white; who, whom, whose, whole

xh

[ks]

exhibition;

[ks]+[h] exhumation, exhume, exhale; [g]+[z] exhaust, exhibit, exhilarate, exhort, exhume, exhale
With silent letters Sounds Examples bt, pt kn, gn, pn mb, lm ps rh wr [t] [n] [m] [s] [r] [r] doubt, debt, subtle; receipt, pterodactyl knee, knife, know; gnome, sign, foreign; pneumonia, pneumatic lamb, climb, bomb, comb, tomb; calm, palm, salmon psalm, pseudonym, psychologist, psychiatrist rhapsody, rhetoric, rheumatism, rhythm, rhyme wrap, wreck, wrestle, wrinkle, wrist, write, wrong

Letters in the suffix Sounds Examples ti, ci, si, su si, su [sh] [zh] nation, patient, special, vicious, pension, Asia, sensual, pressure vision, fusion, Asia, usual, visual, measure, pleasure

Insertions: /j/, /w/, and intrusives /r/

Insertions: /j/, /w/, and intrusives /r/ Americans often change the sounds of words in order to speak with more rhythm and musicality in their speech. One way they do this is to insert [y] and [w] sounds between consonants and vowels, so that the pronunciation can glide through the mouth. Example If we pronounce the word regular as its spelled, we would say [REG ew lar]. Inserting the [y] sound allows us to say the word with greater musicality, speed, and stress. [RE gy l] Notice the [y] sound that we insert into the pronunciation of the following words. Listen and Repeat particular [p TI ky l] vocabulary [v K by ley riy] interview [IN tr vyew] usual [YEW Ew wl] beautiful [BYEW t fl] popular [PA py l] regular [R gy l] united [y NAI t d] figure [F gy] computer [km PYEW t] university [YEW n V s tiy] opinion [ PIN nyn] useful [YEWS fl] articulate [ar TI ky l t] Remember, even though the letter y does not appear in these words, you must ensure to insert the [y] sound in your pronunciation in order to be clearly understood.

When a word ends in /i:/, or a diphthong which finishes with / /, speakers often introduce /j/ to ease the transition to a following vowel sound: /j/ is inserted after high front vowels /i:/, / /, /e/ /, a/ /, o //, such asseeing /si:j /. When a word ends in /u:/ and //, or a diphthong which finishes with //, speakers often introduce /w/ to ease the transition to a following vowel sound: /w/ is inserted after high back vowels /u:/, /o/, /a/, such as doing /du:w /.

The insertion of glides /j/ and /w/ occurs because they are the least marked epenthetic consonants in hiatus position. In other words, glides are generally considered to have the same featural make-up as vowels, i.e. they agree in both backness and roundness with the preceding vowel, such that /w/ occurs after /u:/, // and /j/ occurs after /i:/, / / Moreover, this apportioning of the vowel space is based on the fact that vowels which trigger [r]-insertion never trigger [j]-insertion or [w]insertion. Each glide has its own domain, although the domains exempt all lax front and lax high vowels, which never occur word-finally in English. If you learn to do this, your English will sound smooth and natural. Intrusive /r/ also involves the pronunciation of an /r/ sound, but this time there is no justification from the spelling as the words spelling does not end inor . Again this relates to non-rhotic accents; rhotic accents do not have intrusive r. Thus, link a final // or even /:/ to an initial vowel in the same sense group by inserting an rsound even if there is no "r" in the spelling. The /r/ added in this way is known as Intrusive /r/, such as The idea of it /i_a d _v_ t/ > /i_a d _r_v_ t/ When the following vowel sound symbols occurs immediately before another vowel in the same syllable, the vowel sound symbol change. /i:/ and / / change to /ij/ /u:/ and // change to /uw/ /e / changes to /ej/ /a / changs to /aj/ /a/ changes to /aw/ /o/ changes to /ow/ // changes to /r/ or /r/ // changes to /r/ /e/ changes to /er/ /i/ changes to /ir/ /o/ changes to /or/ Rules: 1- If you have a high/middle front vowels (/i:/, / /, and /e /) or the low/middle center/back vowel diphthongs (/a / and /o /), and another vowel following, there will be /j/-change. Examples: high /ha / higher, hire /haj/ 2- If you have a high/middle back vowel (/u:/, //, and /o/) or the low center vowel diphthong (/a/), and another vowel following, you're going to have /w/-change.

Examples: cow /ka/ coward /kawd/ toe /to/ toe-er /tow/ 3- If you have the high central vowel // before a stressed vowel, there will be /r/-adition. This sound is usually voiceless when it follows a voiceless stop. The letter "r" is not pronounced or is pronounced as // after a vowel in the same syllable. Examples: terror /ter/ terrorize /tera z/ terrorist /terr st/ score /sko/, scorn /skon/ scorer /skor/ Rules in linking words: 1- If you have a high front vowel, like /i/ and / /, and another vowel following, there will be /j/insertion. Example: I need the key and licence. /.._ki:_j_n../ 2- If you have a high back vowel, like /u/, and another vowel following, you're going to have /w/insertion. Example: Let's have a Q&A session. /..v_a_kju:_w__ne ../ 3- If you have a mid/low vowel, like (numerous ones mentioned), then that's where /r/-insertion happens. Example: Karma applies to everyone. /..k:m_r_pla z../

Letter "x" Pronunciation

Letter "x" Pronunciation: The letter "x" is always pronounced with the more commonly known /k/ sound + /s/ sound pronunciation. In English, the "x" spelling has two possible pronunciations: - /k/ sound + /s/ sound as in box (/b:ks/) - /g/ sound + /z/ sound as in exact (/ gzkt/) "x" = /s/ sound + /k/ sound The letter "x" will be pronounced as the /k/ sound + /s/ sound when both of the following are not true: - The word's stressed syllable begins immediately after the letter "x" - The "x" is followed by a vowel sound Also, the letter "x" will be pronounced as the /k/ sound + /s/ sound when it is the final letter of the word. Note: Inflectional suffixes such as -es and -ed can be added to words ending in the letter "x" without changing the pronunciation from the /k/ sound + /s/ sound (examples include the words fixes and fixed). Examples: box /b:ks/ toxic /t:ks k/ explain / ksple n/ galaxy /glksi/ "x" = /g/ sound + /z/ sound The pronunciation of the letter "x" will be that of the /g/ sound + /z/ sound when both of the following are true: - The word's stressed syllable begins immediately after the letter "x" - The "x" is followed by a vowel sound Examples: exact / gzkt/ example / gzmpl/ existence / gz stns/ anxiety /zajti/

Exceptions There are a few exceptions to the letter "x" pronunication patterns. The following words are pronounced as /gz/ or /ks/ sounds. Examples: exit /gzt, kst/ exile /gzajl, ksajl/

Schwa Sound
Schwa, the most important weak vowel sound When you are speaking American English the vowel within the stressed syllables is longer, louder and higher in pitch. The vowel within the unstressed syllable is reduced and become a neutral, short vowel called Schwa and is pronounced with the tongue in the neutral or rest position. The symbol used is //. It can be spelled with a, e, i, o, or u. All of the five vowels can sound the same if they are part of a reduced syllable. As you can see, it is more important to know which syllabe is stressed than how the word is spelled. If people don't understand a particular word you are saying chances are you stressing the wrong syllable. The combination of stressed syllables with long clear vowel sounds and reduced syllables with the Schwa vowel sound create a distinctly American English speech rhythm. Exemples: // about, banana, collide Schwa is weak, unstressed vowel sound. It most frequently occurs adjacent to stressed syllables, and its pronunciation is very, very close to that of a short "u" sound: //. Schwa is transcribed in pretty much every dictionary as an upside-down letter "e": //. This, at least is consistent. However, some dictionaries will also use the schwa symbol (//) for the short "u" sound: //. If your dictionary does this, you should understand that schwa and short "u" are very nearly identical in pronunciation; you can assume that whenever you see an upside-down e (//), you will use the vowel sound of the word sun, (short "u" - //). On the other hand, you will see the upside-down "v" (//) in the transcription of the word sun in other dictionaries. This distinction is important. An understanding of schwa as a weak vowel is so important for two reasons: - it allows non-native speakers to better predict the pronunciation of a word from its spelling - the rhythm of English relies on unstressed syllables as much as stressed syllables Over-pronouncing unstressed syllables leads to choppy speech and it can fatigue your listeners because they'll be forced to adjust what they're hearing to what they expected to hear. If you pronounce words with a strong and stressed vowel sounds instead of an unstressed vowel sound, it becomes very difficult to distinguish which syllable is stressed. As listeners, we rely on syllable stress for comprehension; it is a major clue as to which word we are hearing.

Syllabication Rules
Syllabication Rules and end-of-line divisions Syllabication is the art of forming or dividing words into syllables. Syllables are single speech parts

that are made up of a vowel sound with or without a closely combined consonant sound. In some languages, the spoken syllables are also the basis of Syllabication in writing. However, possibly due to the weak correspondence between sounds and letters in the spelling of modern English, written Syllabication in English is based mostly on etymological or morphological instead of phonetic principles. English written Syllabication therefore deals with a concept of "syllable" that doesn't correspond to the linguistic concept or a phonetic (as opposed to morphological) unit. As a result, even most native English speakers are unable to syllabify words accurately without consulting a dictionary or using a word processor. The process is, in fact, so complicated that even schools usually do not provide much more advice on the topic than to consult a dictionary. In addition, there are differences between British and US Syllabication and even between dictionaries of the same English variety. The centered dots () in the example words below in each rule indicate potential end-of-line division points and not necessary syllabication. These division points are determined by considerations of both morphology and pronunciation, among others. Here a consistent approach has been pursued, both toward word division based on traditional formulas and toward syllabication based on phonetic principles. When you hyphenate a word hyphenate between syllables. Hyphens (-) are used to separate syllables in pronunciation transcriptions. In actual speech, of course, there is no pause between the syllables of a word. The placement of hyphens is based on phonetic principles, such as vowel length, nasalization, variation due to the position of a consonant in a syllable, and other nuances of the spoken word. The syllable breaks shown in this text reflect the careful pronunciation of a single word out of context. Syllabication tends to change in rapid or running speech: a consonant at the end of a syllable may shift into a following syllable, and unstressed vowels may be elided. The numerous variations in pronunciation that a word may have in running speech are of interest to phoneticians but are well outside the scope of us. As a result, the hyphens (-) indicating syllable breaks and the centered dots () indicating end-ofline division often do not fall in the same places. Rule#1 Every syllable has one vowel sound. Rule#2 The number of vowel sounds in a word equals the number of syllables. home /hom/ = 1 subject /sb- kt/ = 2 publishing /p-bl - / = 3 Rule #3 A one syllable word is never divided. stop /st:p/

feet /fi:t/ bell /bl/ Rule#4 Consonant blends and digraphs are never separated. resting /rs-t / * bushel /b-l/ * reaching /ri:-t / * * In speech the words above, the /t/, //, /t/ are properly pronounced in the second syllable. Rule #5 When a word has a "ck" or an "x" in it, the word is usually divided after the "ck" or "x". nickel /n -kl/ * taxis /tk-siz/ ** * In speech the word nickel has the in the second syllable. ** The letter "x" in the word taxi has two sounds: /ks/. In speech the word taxihas the sound /ks/ with /k/ in the first syllable and /s/ in the second syllable. Rule #6 A compound word is divided between the two words that make the compound word. inside / n-sa d/ or / n-sa d/ football /ft-b:l/ toothbrush /tu:-br/ Rule #7 When two or more consonants come between two vowels in a word, it is usually divided between the first two consonants. sister /s s-t/ butter /b-t/ hungry /h-gri/ Rule #8 When a single consonant comes between two vowels in a word, it is usually divided after the consonant if the vowel is short. dragon /dr-gn/ * canister /k-ns-t/ * habit /h-bt/ * * In speech the above words have the consonant sounds /g/, /n/, and /b/ in the second syllable. Rule #9 When a single consonant comes between two vowels in a word, it is usually divided before the

consonant if the vowel is long. basin /be -s .n/ fever /fi:-v/ major /me -/ Rule #10 When two vowels come together in a word, and are sounded separately, divided the word between the two vowels. diaspora /da -s-p-r/ diet /daj-t/ pronunciation /pr-nn-si-e -n/ Rule #11 When a vowel is sound alone in a word, it forms a syllable itself. graduate /gr--we t/ * education /--ke -n/ * hiatus /ha -e -ts/ * In speech the words graduate and education, has the consonant "d" sound (//) in the second syllable with the vowel "u". Rule #12 A word that has a prefix is divided between the root word and the prefix. discount /d s-kant/ misfit /m s-f t/ untie /n-ta / Rule #13 When be, de, ex and re are at the beginning of a word, they make a syllable of their ownn. become /b -km/ defend /d -fnd/ exhale /eks-he l/ remain /r -me n/ Rule #14 A world that has a suffix is divided between the root word and the suffix. kindness /ka nd-ns/ thankful /k-fl/ stuffing /st-f / * * In speech the word stuffing has the consonant sounds /f/ in the second syllable. Rule #15 When a word ends in le, preceded by a consonant, the word is divided before that consonant. purple /p-pl/

fumble /fm-bl/ middle /m -d .l/ Rule #16 When -ed comes at the end of a word, it forms a syllable only when preceded by "d" or "t". funded /fn-dd/ * started /st-td/ * * In speech the above words have the consonant sounds /d/ and /t/ in the second syllable with -ed. Rule#17 When a word or syllable ends in al or el, these letters usually form the last syllable. usual /ju:--wl/ or /ju:l/ or /ju:-wl/ * level /l-vl/ * * In speech the above words have the consonant sounds // and /v/ in the second syllable. Rule #18 When ture and tion are at the end of a word, they make their own syllable. posture /p:s-t/ lotion /lo-n/ Rule #19 When a word ends in ly, divide the word before the ending. especially / s-p--li/ roughly /r-fli/ * * In speech the word roughly has the consonant sounds /f/ in the second syllable. Rule #20 When a word ends in the noun suffix ant preceded by a consonant or digraph, divide the word before that consonant or digraph. assistant /-s s-tnt/ * attendant /-tn-dnt/ * immigrant / -m-grnt/ * * In speech the words above have silent the first consonant sounds /s/, /t/, and /m/ in the first syllable.

The American T The American T is influenced very strongly by intonation and its position in a word or phrase. It can be a little tricky if you try to base your pronunciation on spelling alone. There are, however, 4 basic rules: [T is T], [T is D] , [T is Silent], [T is Held].

1 The beginning of the word [T is T]

If the T is at the beginning of a word it is a strong, clear T sound.
1. In the beginning of a word: table, take, tomorrow, teach, ten, turn Thomas tried two times. 2. With a stressed T and ST, TS, TR, CT, LT and sometimes NT combinations: They control the contents. 3. In the past tense, D sounds like T, after an unvoiced consonant sound f, k, p, s, ch, sh, th (but not T).

picked [pikt], hoped [houpt], raced [rast], watched [wcht], washed [wsht] It took Tim ten times to try the telephone.

2 Middle of the word [T is D]

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If the T is in the middle of the word, intonation changes the sound to a soft D. Letter sounds like [ledder]. Water, daughter, bought a, caught a, lot of, got a, later, meeting, better Practice these sentences: What a good idea. [w'd' gdi deey'] Put it in a bottle. [p di di n' bd'l] Get a better water heater. [gedda bedder wder heeder] Put all the data in the computer. [pdall the dayd' in the k'mpyuder] Patty ought to write a better letter. [pdy d' ride a bedder ledder]

3 [T is Silent]
T and N are so close in the mouth that the [t] can disappear. interview [innerview] international [innernational] advantage [dvn'j] percentage [percen'j] If the T is at the end of a word, you almost don't hear it at all. put, what, lot, set, hot, sit, shot, brought. That's quite right, isn't it?

4 End of the word [T is Held]

With -tain, -tten and some TN combinations, the T is held. The "held T" is, strictly speaking, not really a T at all. Remember, [t] and [n] are very close in the mouth. If you have [n] immediately after [t], you don't pop the [t]the tongue is in the [t] position, but your release the air for the [n] not the [t]. An important point to remember is that you need a sharp upward sliding intonation up to the "held T," then a quick drop for the N. Written, certain, forgotten, sentence: He's forgotten the carton of satin mittens. She's certain that he has written it. Martin has gotten a kitten.