It is believed that reading English language is a rather difficult skill for the simple reason that English does not have a rigid system of reading rules and letters, in particular vowels, can be read differently depending on their position in a word or in a syllable. In this publication, I will cover the rules for reading vowels in English with examples.
English vowels and reading features
Total in English alphabet there are 6 vowels. But the sounds they transmit are many times larger - there are 20 of them in total (including long vowels).
Vowels:
- A - hey
- E - and
- I - ai
- O - oh
- U - yu
- Y - wye
The English language is characterized by the presence of diphthongs.
diphthongs- these are sounds, during the pronunciation of which one vowel sound passes into another, that is, in fact, they are pronounced as two sounds.
For example, word for word home vowel o reads like " OU", that is, essentially forms two sounds [əʊ]. The same with the word house, where the letter combination « ou" reads like "ay" and gives a double sound.
Do not confuse diphthongs with two letter combinations. For example, in the word head there are two vowels in a row, but the letter combination « ea" reads like "e" that is, we get a single sound [e].
Thus, vowels in English can be read both as in the alphabet and convey whole line other sounds.
Rules for reading English vowels and vowel combinations
For convenience, I will give tables for each letter with examples, descriptions and readings in Russian. In Russian, of course, it is impossible to convey the exact reading of this or that sound, but I will write approximately.
For a correct reading, it is important to know such concepts as closed and open syllables.
Closed syllable in English, this is the syllable that ends in a consonant letter. For example, ma p, pe n,ba g, bea d and so on.
open syllable- a syllable that ends in a vowel letter. For example, so e, pa y, bik e and so on.
Please note that the syllable must end with a vowel or consonant, not a sound. That is, if in English at the end of a word is e mute, then the syllable is considered open.
Letter A
Letter E
| Sound in transcription and its reading in Russian | Examples |
| In a closed syllable - [ e] - e | Red, vet, set, tell |
| In an open syllable - - and long | Meter, complete |
| At the end of words e in English is not readable, but affects the reading of the word | Table, plate, take For example, the words cap and cape - in the first case we read “cap”, since the syllable is closed, in the second case “cape”, since the syllable is open |
| In short monosyllabic words, these are mainly service parts of speech, e at the end of a word is read if it is the only vowel in the word and gives that is and long | He, she, we, me, be |
| In an open syllable followed by r is a diphthong - ia | Here, sphere, sev er e |
Letter I
Letter O
Letter U
Letter Y
These are the basic rules for reading vowels in English. But do not forget that there are a large number of exceptions to each of these rules.
In subsequent publications, I will cover the rules for reading consonants and combinations of vowels and consonants.
Digraphs in English are a pair of letters used to represent a single phoneme in the written form of a language. The following article provides definitions and information, as well as ideas for learning letter combinations in English. This article is suitable for both children and adults, as it is written plain language. In addition, you can listen to audio and listen to how words and digraphs are read in English. Let's start learning the rules for reading letter combinations in English.
How to learn digraphs
Letter combinations in English are very common and therefore it is necessary to study them at the first stage of learning, both for adults and children. Many sites write that even an adult finds it difficult to understand how digraphs are read. We do not agree with this. Remember, everyone can learn a language, you just need to try hard and pull yourself together. Therefore, we want you to believe in yourself and forget such words as: "I am not able to learn a language, because I am not inclined towards foreign languages."
The first thing you need is to read our article to the end. Second, learn a few consonant digraphs and practice them by reading words and short stories. In this article, you will only get acquainted with consonant letter combinations in order to gradually learn each digraph, and in the next article we will introduce you to vowel combinations.
Definition of digraphs
What are digraphs?
Digraphs or in English digraphs are two letters that have one sound. Digraphs can consist of vowels or consonants. Digraphs are different from blends. While a blend is a group of letters where each letter represents an individual sound such as b-l in the word bloom or s-t-r in the word street. What are digraphs?
Reading and pronunciation of letter combinations in English
In this section, you will learn how to read letter combinations in English.
The letters in brackets are the sounds written in the International Phonetic Alphabet. First, listen to the audio and pay attention to the transcription and memorize the combination of letters.
The combination of consonants in English:
- sh [w] [ʃ] —
Examples:
1. Sh ed [ʃed] [shed] - Barn
2. Shelf [ʃelf] [shelf] - Shelf
3. Brush [brush] - Brush
- th [SS] [θ]
Listen carefully to how the combination th is read in English.
This sound needs to be given great attention, as there is no such sound in our native language. This phoneme is called interdental [SS]. You need to put your tongue between your teeth and pronounce a deaf in English transcription she looks like this [θ] .
Examples:
- Th ick [θɪk] [SSik] - Thick
- Th rust [θrʌst] [SS (p) ast] - Throw
- Th ug [θʌɡ] [SSag] - Hooligan
- th [ЗЗ] [ð]- letter combination th in English it is pronounced like the previous one, but it is voiced.
Examples:
- Th is [ðɪs] [ZZis] - This is
- Th ey [ðeɪ] [ZZey] - They
- Weath er [ˈweðə] - Weather
- th-[t]- Sometimes this combination of letters is pronounced as [t]:
- Th ailand [ˈtaɪ.lænd] [thailand] - Thailand
th the combination in English may seem complicated, since there is no such phoneme in Russian, but in fact our organs, in this case the language, can learn to pronounce such phonemes. You need to listen to foreign speech more. For example, British Radio. Go to the BBC radio 4 Extra website and there you will find a lot of interesting stories from comedy to horror. Listen and practice English speech.
- ch [h]
The combination ch in English has several variants, so remember the pronunciation of words that are written with this digraph.
Examples:
1. Ch ess [chess] - Chess
2. Bench [bench] - Bench
3. Rich [rich] - Rich
- ch - [k] [K]- This combination of letters in English is sometimes pronounced with the sound [K], as in the word [Cat]
Examples:
- Chorus [ˈkɔːrəs] [koores] - Choir
- Ach e [eik] - Pain
- Ch ristmas [ˈkrɪsməs] [crismas] - Christmas
- ch - [ʃ] [w]- In some cases, the same letter combination is read as [w].
- Mach ine [machines] - Mechanism, machine
- Mach ete [mesheti] - Machete
- Ch icago [ʃɪˈkɑ.ɡoʊ] [chicago] - Chicago
- ph [f] [f]
- Neph ew [ˈnefjuː] [nef] - Nephew
- Dolph in [ˈdɒlfɪn] [dolphin] - Dolphin
- Ph onetics [phonetics] - Phonetics
- wh [ў] [w]
Examples:
- Wh ack [ўek] - Hit
- Wh eel [ўil] - Wheel
- White [ўayt] - White
- If for a combination of letters wh followed by a letter o, then the letter w unreadable:
- Wh o - Who
- letter combination ck-[k]- reads like [k]
- Truck [truck] - Truck
- Neck [neck] - Neck
- Puck [pack] - Washer
- dg - [j] [j]
Example:
- Grudg e [ɡrʌdʒ] [grudge] - Resentment, anger
- Budg et [ˈbʌdʒɪt] [bajit] - Budget
- gh - [f] [f]
In English, the digraph gh is read as [f] in the following words:
- Cough [coffee] - Cough
- Laugh [laugh] - Laughter
- Rough [raf] - Difficult
- gh – [g] [g]- the same letter combination has a second sound [G]
- Gh ost [ɡəʊst] - Casting
- gn - [n] [n]
- Gnome - Dwarf
- Gn at - Moshka
- Gn aw - gnaw
- kn - [n] [n] letter combination or digraph kn used in the following words:
- Kn ife [naif] - Knife
- Kn ight [night] - Knight
- Kn ot [notes] - Knot
* Compare: kn ight - n ight [night] - pronounced the same, spelled differently and translated differently. Night - night.
- lk - [k] [k]- letter L not pronounced.
- Walk [walk] - Walk
- Talk [current] - Talk
In these examples, we see another letter combination al before a letter k reads like sound [ɔː] , that is, a long sound [about].
- Chalk - Chalk
- Mn – [m] [m]
Mb [m] [m]
Words that end in (mn, mb) the last letter in this combination is not pronounced.
In combination mn, 'n' not pronounced.
In combination mb, 'b' not pronounced.
Look at examples:
- Autumn [ˈɔːtəm] [ootem] - Autumn
- Column [ˈkɒləm] [kolam] - Column
- Hymn [him] - Anthem
- Read now examples with letters mb :
- Climb [climb] - Climb
- Thumb [θʌm] [SSam] - Thumb
- ng–[ŋ]
The letter combination ng at the end of the word is read as [ŋ] , but this sound is not pronounced as [n], / ŋ / is a nasal sound made in the same position as / k/ and / g/, so the tongue rises behind, touching the soft palate, and the noise is emitted through the nose. Try again!
Example:
- Thing [θɪŋ] [SSin] - Thing
- King [kin] - King
- letter combination nk reads like a sound [ŋk], for example:
- Ink [ɪŋk] [ink] - Ink
- wr - [r] [(p)]
Letter W at the beginning of a word before a letter R unreadable:
- Write [right] - Write
- Wr ap [rap] - Wrap up
- Rh etoric [ˈretərɪk] - Rhetoric
- Rh ino [ˈraɪnəʊ] - Rhinoceros
Letter combination table in English
After carefully studying the combination of English letters, you can save yourself a table and use it as a mini-hint.
Reading English letter combinations of vowels with consonants
- igh - [ah] qu-
- Qu een [Queen] - Queen
- Qu ick [quick] - Quick
- ew - [yu]
Letter combination with vowel and consonant ew in most words it is read as a sound combination .
- New [new] - New
- View [view] - Opinion, look
Consonant combinations in English are an important topic, because if you want to be able to read in English, you definitely need to know how to read a word that has two letters, but is read as one.
In the next topic, we will explore vowel combinations or digraphs. In the meantime, we suggest downloading a document with sentences that have consonant digraphs in English. Read them carefully several times. At first slowly, pronouncing each word as clearly and clearly as possible, pay attention to pronunciation, if you do not know how a word is read, look at the transcription in the dictionary, then after you have learned how to pronounce the words, read them faster.
The combination of sounds in English with transcription
In this section, we will analyze important sound combinations in English.
First sound combination:
- [pl]- Before a stressed vowel, it is pronounced together. This sound is pronounced very energetically, that the sound [l] [l] partially stunned:
- Pl ease [pliz] - Please
- Pl ane [plane] - Airplane
- [cl]- Pronounce this sound combination in the same way as , before the stressed vowel is pronounced together and the sound [l] partially stunned:
- Clean [wedge] - Clean
- - When pronouncing these sounds, it is necessary to maintain the quality of pronunciation.
—
—
- Sound combinations [t] [d] [n] [l] with sounds [θ] [ð] . Alveolar sounds [t] [d] [n] [l] before the interdental, they become either dental or interdental, as they lose their alveolarity.
- At this [æt ðɪs]
— Read this
- Sound combinations [θr] .
Combined sound r with the preceding consonant, both sounds are almost pronounced the same:
- Bright - Bright
- In sound combinations the tip of the tongue is not on the alveoli, but behind them.
—Try
— Dr.y
Exercises for letter combinations in English
Run your eyes over the table, and then take the test for English digraphs.
Before starting the study of reading rules, you need to learn about the concepts of open and closing syllables.
An open syllable is a syllable ending in a vowel, such as city. The first syllable is open, since the last letter "o" is a vowel.
A closed syllable is a syllable that ends in a consonant. The same example of the city. The second syllable is closed, as it ends in the consonant "d".
Reading single vowels of the English language. Depending on the type of syllable:
- Vowel BUT
- Open syllable. Letter "a" reads like sound
, example:
- Closed syllable. Letter "a" reads like sound [æ]
, example:
- Open syllable. Letter "e" reads like sound
, example:
- Open syllable. Letter "i" reads like sound
, example:
- Open syllable. Letter "o" reads like sound [əʊ]
, example:
- Open syllable. Letter "u" reads like sound
, example:
But after consonants [r] and , letter "u" reads like :
- Open syllable. Letter "y" reads like sound
, example:
- If the letter "y" is at the end, and before it is a consonant, then it is read as a sound [i]:
- If the letter "y" is in front of a vowel, then it is read as a short sound [i] in diphthong:
- Vowel a transmits sound
:
- Vowels i, u, e, y transmits sound [ε:]
:
American speakers, pronouncing the sound [r], skip slurred [ə] : doctor ["dɒkt r] and there [ðe r]
For clarity, we present these rules in the table:
| Place in word | Sound | |||||
| Letter "A" | Letter "E" | Letter "I" | Letter "O" | Letter "U" | Letter "Y" | |
| open syllable | face | scene | like | [əʊ] go | ["h ju: mən] |
type |
| closed syllable | [æ] happy ["h æ pi] | [e] less | [i] think[θ iŋk] | [ɒ] job | [ʌ] sun | [i] myth |
| before r | star | [ε:] service ["s ε: (r)vis] | [ε:] girl | [ɔ:] force | [ε:] return | [ε:] myrtle |
| before r(re) in end of word | [ə] year | [ə] number ["nmb ə (r)] | [ə] hair | [ə] actor ["ækt ə (r)] | [ə] hours | [ə] byre |
Basic rules for reading consonants:
"PH"
| what [ wɒt]-what |
"CK"
"au"
"oo"
"oi","oy"
"ou"
"oa"
In addition to the cases discussed above, there are a number of rules in English:
"ow"
"qu"
"wo"
Well, in the end, consider the silent (unpronounceable) consonants in English:
- Consonant "w" not read before letter "r", example:
- Consonants "k", "g" not read before letter "n" at the beginning and end of a word, example:
- Consonant "p" not readable in letters "pn", "ps"(usually at the beginning of a word), example:
psych - psycho pneumonia - pneumonia
That's probably all the basic rules of reading. However, it must be remembered that modern English has a huge number of words that are included in the exceptions, so it is better to check each new word with a dictionary. But knowing the rules makes memorizing words easier.
So let's continue learning the rules of reading in English. And let's start reading the English vowel O. As you remember, there are 6 vowels in total. Here they are: A, E, I, O, U, Y. Bold color indicates vowels whose reading rules you have already learned. So, the letter O is the fourth vowel in the English alphabet. In an open syllable, it is read as in the alphabet, that is, [əu]. It remains to remember how it is read in other types of syllables.
So, from lesson number 24 you will learn:
- how the English vowel Oo is read depending on the type of syllable;
- and repeat the pronunciation of the sounds [əu] and [ɔ].
Reading the English letter O in four types of syllable
As you already know, there are 4 types of syllables in English and, accordingly, there are 4 ways to read vowels. But with a letter O everyone is lucky, since its reading in the third and fourth type of syllable is the same. Below are phrases that you need to learn and repeat several times a day in order to remember how to read vowel O in the corresponding syllable type.
By the way, Transcription icons vary slightly in different dictionaries. For example,
[ɔ] = [ɒ]
Check the pronunciation of a word by clicking on it with the mouse!
Reading the letter O in 4 types of syllable. Tongue Twisters
1. [əu]: I go home. - I'll go home.
2. [ɔ]: Hot dogs and coffee cost a lot. Hot dogs and coffee are expensive.
3. [ɔ:]: It's important to play sports. - It is important to play sports.
4. [ɔ:]: What a bore! - What a bore!
Remember! After the letter W, the vowel O reads - [ə:].
- Words at work. - Words at work.
- The world of words. - The world of words.
Phonetic exercises for practicing the rules for reading the vowel O in open and closed syllables
O(I, II):
Home, open, clock, those, over, frog, sorry, moment, pose, ago, cone, frost, doe, toe, noble, spot, shoddy, shock, roe, role, poker, pony, otter
Exceptions: gone - - went; one - - one; once
Phonetic exercises for practicing the rules for reading the vowel O in the third and fourth types of syllables:
O(III,IV):
fork, sore, score, born, more, corn, formal, store, door, snore, horse, force, port, orbit, horn
Exceptions:
come, love, mother, company, some, money, honey, month, front, son, comfortable, London, become, other, nothing, cover, above, brother, none, colour, comfort, done
3) In some words o read . They need to be remembered:
- to - auxiliary particle of the indefinite form of the verb
- do - do
- who - who
- whom - whom
- whose - whose
- move - move
- prove - to prove
- lose - to lose
- shoe [ʃu:] - shoe
- and some others
In an unstressed syllable, the vowel O is read as [ə]:
fact or[`fæktə], li o n [`laiən], vi o lin [`vaiəlin], c o llect
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Each English word is a cohesive yet unique mosaic that has been assembled from separate, tiny pieces called syllables. A syllable can be a letter, and sometimes a whole group of consonants and vowels, which the English pronounce differently. But, despite the varied reading, there are only four main types of syllables in English: open and closed, syllables like “vowel + r” and “vowel + r + vowel”. Well, let's discuss them in more detail. Let's do this!
Open syllable in English (type I)
Peculiarities:
- Only one vowel is used in an open syllable.
- The vowel is pronounced the same as in the alphabet.
- A vowel is the last letter in a syllable.
- Open syllables have at most one consonant between the open syllable and the next vowel.
Examples of reading vowels in an open syllable:
Letter " A» [ eɪ] - fame - glory, baby ["beɪbɪ] - child, female ["fi: meɪl] - female.
Letter " O» [ əu] - note - note, zero ["zɪərəu] - zero, frozen ["frəuz (ə) n] - frozen.
Letter " E» [ ɪ ] - we - we, behind - behind, uneven [ʌn "i: v (ə) n] - unbalanced.
Letter " I» [ aɪ] - icy ["aɪsɪ] - icy, iris ["aɪərɪs] - iris (eyes), ivory ["aɪv (ə) rɪ] - ivory or cocaine.
Letter " Y» [ aɪ] - wry - curve, apply [ə "plaɪ] - make a request, descry - consider.
Letter " U» [ ju:] - funeral ["fju: n (ə) rəl] - funeral, museum - museum, universe [" ju: nɪvɜ: s] - the universe.
Closed syllable in English (type II)
Peculiarities:
- Only one vowel is used in a closed syllable.
- If the word consists of only two letters, then it must necessarily end in a consonant.
- If there are only three letters in a word, then in a closed syllable one consonant is before and one (or more) are after the vowel.
- In the event that the word has two closed syllables following each other, there will be consonants between the vowels.
- All sounds are short/short.
Examples of reading vowels in a closed syllable:
Letter " A» [ æ ] - tomcat ["tɔmkæt] - cat, wombat ["wɔmbæt] - wombat, snatch - robbery.
Letter " O» [ ɔ ] - clot - lump, pol - politician, common ["kɔmən] - universal.
Letter " E» [ e] - gen - information, businessmen ["bɪznɪsmən] - entrepreneurs, nest - nest.
Letter " I» [ ɪ ] - chit - note, splinter ["splɪntə] - splinter, miff - quarrel.
Letter " Y» [ ɪ ] - mythology - mythology, system ["sɪstəm] - system, mystify ["mɪstɪfaɪ] - to mystify.
Letter " U» [ ʌ ] - make-up ["meɪkʌp] - makeup, rummer ["rʌmə] - large glass, blush - blush.
Syllable of the form "vowel + r" (III type)
Peculiarities:
- The last letters of the syllable are: (consonant) + vowel + "r".
- In this type of English syllable, all sounds are long and in transcription have a special designation in the form of ":".
Examples of reading the third type:
Letter " A» [ ɑ: ] - barge - a barge, bazar - a masquerade fair for an oriental bazaar, guitar - a guitar.
Letter " O» [ ɔ: ] - pork - pork, torque - twisted metal necklace, orc [ɔ: k] - orc.
Letter " E» [ ɜ: ] - erne [ɜ: n] - white-tailed eagle, therm [θɜ: m] - unit of heat, fern - fern.
Letter " I» [ ɜ: ] - pirn - coil, smirch - dirty spot, kirn - harvest festival.
Letter " Y» [ ɜ: ] - myrrh - aromatic resin, myrtle ["mɜ: tl] - myrtle, Mr. Byrd - Mr. Byrd.
Letter " U» [ ɜ: ] - spur - spur (on shoes), blur - spot, concur - occur simultaneously.
Syllable of the form "vowel + "r" + vowel" (IV type)
Peculiarities:
- Some vowels become triphthongs or diphthongs.
- Diphthong ( diphthong) - a sound formed by a combination of two vowels in one syllable, in which the sound is first pronounced as one vowel, but then smoothly flows into another.
- triphthong ( triphthong) is a combination of three letters or sounds.
Examples of reading the fourth type:
Letter " A» [ ɛə ] - Maryland ["mɛərɪlænd] - Maryland, wary ["wɛərɪ] - careful, canary - canary.
Letter " O» [ ɔ: ] - shore [ʃɔ:] - coast, more - more numerous, swore - swore.
Letter " E» [ ɪə ] - sphere - ball, here - here, revere - read.
Letter " I» [ aɪə] - mire ["maɪə] - quagmire, crossfire ["krɔsfaɪə] - crossfire, retirement - retirement.
Letter " Y» [ aɪə] - tyre ["taɪə] - tire, lyre ["laɪə] - lyre, gyre ["dʒaɪə] - circular rotation.
Letter " U» [ juə] - purely ["pjuəlɪ] - without impurities, cureless ["kjuələs] - incurable, demure - modest.
Silent vowel "E"
- A voiceless syllable or a syllable with a silent "e" vowel at the end.
- Consists of a vowel followed by a consonant, and then the letter "e", which is just not pronounced.
- As a rule, this is the final syllable in the root part of the word.
Reading examples: fake - fake, centime ["sɑ: nti: m] - centime, commune [" kɔmju: n] - community etc.
NOTA BENE: In English, silent vowels at the end of words are considered an indication that syllables are open. Accordingly, vowels are read in exactly the same way.
How to become an English pronunciation guru
- Record your speech on a voice recorder to identify problematic aspects of pronunciation that should be worked on in the future.
- Take your time and watch your breathing, as the speed of speech is not always an indicator of fluency and clear pronunciation.
- Close your eyes and visualize the process of creating sound as you speak.
- Pronunciation is a physical skill, since while speaking in foreign language you are using different facial muscles. For this reason, always practice sounds that don't come out.
- Good pronunciation is not just mastering individual sounds. Make time for intonation and stress.
- Practice in front of a mirror, paying attention to the position of your mouth and tongue.
- Listen to English-language podcasts, watch movies and repeat after native speakers.
- Pronunciation problems persist because we are afraid of making mistakes. Do not be afraid.
- Practice the language when you are alone in a comfortable environment.
- Find a language learning buddy and exchange opinions. A little outside criticism is a good thing.
- Sing your favorite songs in English, feel the rhythm and intonation accents.
- And finally, be sure to read to be sure to become a master of phonetics.
Conclusion
Although learning the types of syllables in English will take some time, simple reading rules will subsequently help improve not only phonetics, but also spelling. In addition, this will allow you to expand your vocabulary and use new knowledge during live communication with natives.
Speak English right and be awesome ;)
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