The sounds that represent are 44 English phonemes, which are divided into two categories: consonants and vowels. Since sounds cannot be written down, graphemes (letters or combinations of letters) are used to convey sounds in writing.

English alphabet

There are 26 letters in English. The standard one starts with the letter a and ends with the letter z.

When classifying alphabetic characters, they distinguish:

• 5 pure vowels: a, e, i, o, u;
• 19 pure consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, z;
• 2 semivowels: y, w.

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Features of English consonants

A consonant combination is a set of two or three consonant letters that retain their original sound when pronounced. Such sets occur either at the beginning or at the end of a word. For example, the word brave, in which both "b" and "r" are pronounced, is the initial combination. In the word bank "-nk" is the final combination.

Classification:

1. Initial combinations are classified into sets with "l", "r", and "s". In "l" the combination ends with "l". An example would be the letters "bl" in the word blind. Similarly, the final sound in "r" in combination with "r" when "br" and "cr", for example, in the words bridge, crane. On the contrary, in "s" it starts with s, "st" and "sn" - stap, snail.
2. The final combinations are grouped into sets with "s", "l" and "n": -st, -sk, -ld, -nd, -nk. Examples, first, desk, gold, sand, sink.

Digraphs

Consonant digraphs refer to a set of consonants that form one sound. Some digraphs are both at the beginning and at the end of the word - "sh", "ch" and "th". There are also strict initial and final digraphs - "kn-" and "-ck".

Examples of digraphs:

Ch-	-ch
Kn-	— ck
Ph-	-sh
Sh-	-ss
Th-	-th
wh-	-tch
Wr-

Features of digraphs:

Table of pronunciation of English consonants

b	b	bag, band, cab	bag, band, cab
d	d	dad, did, lady, odd [ɒd]	dead, did, lady, od
f	f, ph, sometimes gh	fable , fact , if [ɪf], off [ɒf], photo , glyph	fable, fact, if, of, foutow, glyph
	g	give , flag	givew, flag
	h	hold, ham	hold, ham
j	usually represented by y, but sometimes by other vowels	yellow, yes, young, neuron, cube	Yelow, ies, yang, n (b) yueron, k (b) yu: b - the sound j is similar to the vowel sound i:.
k	k, c, q, que, ck, sometimes ch	cat, kill, queen, skin, thick [θɪk], chaos	kat, kil, qui:n, sik, keyos
l	l	lane, clip, bell, milk, sould	lane, clip, bel, milk, sould - has two sound options: pure /l/ before a vowel, “darkened” /ɫ/ before a consonant or at the end of a word
m	m	man, them [ðem], moon	man, zem, mu:n
n	n	nest, sun	nest, san
ŋ	ng	ring, sing, finger [ŋ] is sometimes followed by the sound [g]. [ŋ] if "ng" is at the end of a word or a related word (sing, singer, thing), to "-ing", which translates verbs into participles or gerunds. [ŋg], if "ng" is not at the end of a word or in related words, also in comparative degrees (longer, longest).	/ring/, /sing/, /finge/
p	p	pen, spin, tip, happy	pen, spin, type, happy
r	r	rat, reply, rainbow,	rat, ripple, rainbow - movement of the tongue close to the alveolar ridge, but without touching it
s	s, sometimes c	see, city, pass, lesson	si:, pa: s, forest
ʃ	sh, si, ti, sometimes s	she [ʃi:], crash , sheep [ʃi:p], sure [ʃʊə], session , emotion [ɪməʊʃn], leash	shi:, crash, shi:p, shue, session, imashn, li:sh
t	t	taste, sting	test, sting
tʃ	ch, sometimes t	chair [ʧɛə], nature teach beach	t che e, ney t che, ti: t h, bi: t h
θ	th	thing [θɪŋ], teeth, Athens [æθɪnz[	t sing, ti: t s, et sinz - voiceless fricative
ð	th	this [ðɪs], mother	d sis, ma d ze - voiced fricative
v	v, sometimes f	voice, five, of [ɔv]	voice, five, ov
w	w, sometimes u	wet, window, queen	y in em, y in indeu, ku in i: n - [w] is similar to
z	z	zoo, lazy	zu: lazy
ʒ	g, si, z, sometimes s	genre [ʒɑːŋr], pleasure, beige, seizure, vision	genre e, plezhe, beizh, b:zhe, vision
dʒ	j, sometimes g, dg, d	gin [ʤɪn], joy [ʤɔɪ], edge	gin, joy, edge

English vowels

Each English vowel is pronounced in three ways:

1. like a long sound;
2. like a short sound;
3. as a neutral vowel (schwa).

In the English alphabet, there are 5 vowels, but sometimes y becomes a vowel and is pronounced like i, and w replaces u, for example, in the digraph ow.

Rules for reading vowels

Short vowels, which are characterized by a "short" sound, appear when there is one vowel in a word, either at the beginning of a word or between two consonants. For example, if, elk, hop, fan. A typical short vowel pattern is consonant+vowel+consonant (CHS).

Words are taught as families that represent groups of words with a common pattern, such as in the pattern "-ag" - bag, wag, tag or "-at" - cat, bat, hat.

vowels:

Sound	Letter	Examples
[æ]	a	rag, sag, ram, jam, gap, sap mat
[ɛ]	e	hen, pen, wet, bet, let
[ɪ]	i	pig, wig, dig, pin, win, tin, tin, bit
[ɒ]	o	hop, pop, top, hot, pot, lot
[ʌ]	u	bug, lug, tug, hut, but, cut

vowels:

Sound	Writing	Examples
A	ai, ay, a+consonant+e	name, mail, gray, ace
E	e, ee, ea, y, ie ,ei, i+consonant+e	he, deep, beast, dandy, thief, receive, elite
I	i, i+gn, igh, y, i+ld, i+nd	mine, sign, high, sky, wild, kind
O	o+consonant +e, oa, ow, o+ll, ld	tone, road, note, know, roll, bold
U	ew, ue, u+consonant+e	few, due, tune

The vowel sound in unstressed syllables is expressed by the abbreviated neutral sound ("schwa"), the phonemic symbol /ə/, especially if syllabic consonants are not used.

For example:

• a in about, around, approve, above [ə bʌv];
• e in accident, mother, taken, camera ;
• i c, family, lentil, officer pencil ;
• o in memory, common, freedom, purpose, London;
• u in supply, industry, suggest, difficult, succeed, minimum ;
• and even y in sibyl;
• schwa appears in function words: to, from, are.

Features of vowel sounds in English

Vowels are divided into monophthongs, diphthongs or triphthongs. A monophthong is when there is one vowel in a syllable, a diphthong is when there are two vowels in a syllable.

Let's take a closer look:

1. Monophthongs are pure and stable vowels., whose acoustic characteristics (timbre) do not change during the time they are pronounced.
2. - a sound formed by a combination of two adjacent vowels in one syllable. Technically, the tongue (or other parts of the speech apparatus) moves when a vowel is pronounced - the first position is stronger than the second. In the transcription of a diphthong, the first character is the starting point of the body of the language, the second character is the direction of movement. For example, you should know that in /aj/ the body of the tongue is in the lower center position represented by /a/ and immediately starts moving up and forward to the position for /i/.
3. Diphthongs are often formed when separate vowels work together in rapid conversation.. Usually (in the speaker's speech) the body of the tongue does not have time to get to the position /i/. Therefore, the diphthong often ends closer to /ɪ/ or even to /e/. In the diphthong /aw/, the body of the tongue moves from the lower center position /a/, then moves up and back to the position /u/. Although single diphthongs are also distinguished, which are heard as separate vowel sounds (phonemes).
4. English also has triphthongs.(combinations of three adjacent vowels), including three sound types, for example, fire /fʌɪə/, flower /flaʊər/. But in any case, all diphthongs and triphthongs are formed from monophthongs.

Table of pronunciation of simple English vowels

All vowels are formed from only 12 monophthongs. Each, regardless of spelling, is pronounced using some combination of these sounds.

The table shows examples of simple English vowels with Russian pronunciation:

[ɪ]	pit, kiss, busy	pete, kitty, beezy
[e]	egg, let, red	eg, years, red
[æ]	apple, travel, mad	apple, travel, mead
[ɒ]	not, rock, copy	music, rock, copy
[ʌ]	cup, son, money	cap, san, mani
[ʊ]	look, foot, could	bow, foot, cool
[ə]	away, away	hey, hey
	be, meet, read	bi:, mi:t, ri:d
[ɑ:]	arm, car, father	a:m, ka:, fa:dze
[ɔ:]	door, saw, pause	to:, from:, to: from
[ɜ:]	turn, girl, learn	cho:n, gyo:l, le:n
	blue, food, too	blu:, foo:d, tu:

Diphthong pronunciation table

	day, pain, rein	dei, pein, rein
	cow, know	kou, know
	wise, island	visa, island
	now, trout	naw, trout
[ɔɪ]	noise, coins	noiz, coin
[ɪə]	near, hear	nee, hie
[ɛə]	where, air	uh uh uh
[ʊə]	pure, tourist	p (b) yue, tu e rist

Learn the transcription of English words

Consider some features of English transcription:

There are a large number of videos online on the Internet to listen to, and you can also practice using exercises.

”, transcription is used by everyone, sometimes even unconsciously. First, let's refresh our memory, what does the phrase "English transcription" mean?

English transcription is a sequence of phonetic symbols that helps us understand how to read a particular sound, word. Often students are faced with transcription at the beginning of language learningwhen it is still quite difficult to read even fairly simple words, and then they simply do not pay attention to it. However, it won't be like this forever.

As soon as a student begins to skillfully use complex grammatical constructions, and develops a good vocabulary for free communication, then there is a desire to speak beautifully, like a native speaker, that is, to improve his pronunciation of English words. This is where we remember the good old transcription.

In order not to have to remember the well-forgotten old, we suggest returning to repetition from time to time. Of course, ideally, transcription should be done together with the teacher, because writing does not convey all the subtleties of pronunciation, but if you are reading this article now, the foundation for beautiful pronunciation and correct reading has already been laid, and you will definitely achieve your desired goal.

Transcription of vowels

There are two types of vowels - single sounds and diphthongs.

[ ʌ ] - [a] - short;
[a:]- [a] - deep;
[i]- [ and ] - short;
[i:]- [and] - long;
[o]- [o] - short;
[o:]- [o] - deep;
[u]- [y] - short;
[u:]- [y] - long;
[e]- as in the word "plaid";
[ ɜ: ] - as in the word "honey".

English diphthongs

A diphthong is a sound that consists of two sounds. Most often, a diphthong can be divided into two sounds, however, this cannot be conveyed in writing. Often, diphthongs are indicated not by a combination of several characters, but by their own sign.

[əu]- [ OU ];
[au]- [ay];
[ei]- [ hey ];
[oi]- [ oh ];
[ai]- [ay].

Vowel pronunciation rules in English

• Sound " a"has four varieties:
  [ ʌ ] - a short sound, as in the words "duck", "cut";
  [ æ ] - soft sound. It has no analogue in Russian. It is read as in the word in the word "cat";
  [a:]- a long sound that is read, as in the word "car";
  [ ɔ ] - a short sound that sounds like both "o" and "a" at the same time. In British pronunciation, it's more of an 'o', as in 'hot' or 'not'.

• Sound " e" can be read in three ways:
  [e]- for example, as in the word "let";
  [ ə: ] - this sound is a bit like the Russian letter "ё", only it is read a little softer. For example, "bird", "fur";
  [ ə ] - one of the most common sounds in English transcription. In sound, this sound is similar to the Russian sound "e". It occurs only in unstressed syllables and is almost inaudible or indistinguishable, for example, ["letə], "letter" - a letter.

• Sound " i» can be long and short:
  [I]- a short sound, for example, as in the word "film";
  [i:]- a long sound, for example, as in "sheep".

• Sound " about” also has 2 options - long and short:
  [ ɔ ] - a short sound, as in the word "bond";
  [ ɔ: ] - a long sound, as in the word "more".

• Sound " u" can also be pronounced in two ways. It can be long or short:
  [u]- a short sound, as in the word "put";
  [u:]- a long sound, as in the word "blue".

Transcription of consonants

In the transcription of consonants, everything is quite simple. Basically they sound like Russian. It is enough to take a thoughtful look at the above letter combinations a couple of times, and they will remain in your memory.

Consonants
[b]- [b];
[d]- [d];
[f]- [f];
[ 3 ] - [zh];
[dʒ]- [j];
[g]- [ G ];
[h]- [ X ];
[k]- [ to ];
[l]- [l];
[m]- [m];
[n]- [n];
[p]- [ P ];
[s]- [ with ];
[t]- [ t ];
[v]- [ in ];
[z]- [h];
[t∫]- [h];
[ ∫ ] - [w];
[r]- soft [p], as in the word Russian;
[ about ]- a sign of softness, as in the Russian letter "ё" (Christmas tree).

English consonants that are not in Russian and their pronunciation:
[ θ ] - soft letter "c", the tongue is between the front teeth of the upper and lower jaw;
[ æ ] - like "e", only more sharply;
[ ð ] - like "θ", only with the addition of a voice, like a soft letter "z";
[ ŋ ] - nasal, in the French manner, sound [ n ];
[ ə ] - neutral sound;
[w]-like "in" and "y" together, soft pronunciation.

Features of English transcription

In order to make it easier to navigate in reading words, it is important to know the main features of transcription:

• Feature 1. Transcription is always in square brackets
• Feature 2. In order not to get confused where to stress in a word, it is worth considering that it is always placed before the stressed syllable. ["neim] is a transcription of the word name.
• Feature 3. It is important to understand that transcription is not the English letters and sounds that make up the word. Transcription is the sound of words.
• Feature 4. In English, transcription consists of vowels, diphthongs and consonants.
• Feature 5. To show that a sound is long, a colon is used in transcription.

Of course, knowing only character sets, it is quite difficult to read everything correctly, because there are many exceptions. In order to read correctly, it is necessary to understand that there are closed syllables and open ones. open syllable ends with a vowel (game, sunshine), closed- into a consonant (ball, dog). Some sounds of the English language can be pronounced differently, depending on the type of syllable.

Conclusion

It is worth remembering that in any business the main thing is practice (by the way, you can start practicing English remotely right now). Transcription of sounds in English will be easy for you if you work hard at it. Reading the rules once is not enough. It is important to return to them, work through and repeat regularly until they are worked out to automatism. In the end, transcription will allow you to put the correct pronunciation of sounds in English.

Memorizing English with transcription and the correct pronunciation of English letters and words will be greatly facilitated by dictionaries. You can use both English online dictionaries and the good old printed editions. The main thing is not to give up!

Inspiration to you and success in your studies. May the knowledge be with you!

Big and friendly family EnglishDom

This article is for those who learning to read english. The twenty-first lesson is devoted to the topic "English alphabet", and to remember it better, a video is attached to the alphabet (classic British version).

There are two ways to teach reading: from sound to letter and from letter to sound. The first twenty lessons of the cycle were based on the methodology from sound to letter and now that we're through all english sounds, you can safely go to another level. Therefore, in the next five lessons we will go "from letter to sound" and today it's time to learn English alphabet.

In Lesson 21 you will learn that

• there are only 6 vowels in English;
• what is an open syllable;
• how vowels are read in an open syllable.

Let's start with the English alphabet. Listen to the song "ABC", watch the video and learn how to pronounce the letters in English. Total in English 6 vowels and 20 consonants.

English Alphabet Video ABC Song

(classic british version)

learned English alphabet? Then let's move on. Here's what the alphabet looks like in writing: Rules for reading vowels in English

REMEMBER:

1. in English only 6 vowels:

aa —

ee —

II —

Oh —

Uu —

Yy —

1. the stressed vowel is read in 4 ways, depending on what type of syllable it is in. There are 24 sounds in total.

Types of syllable in English

Rule (main). In an open syllable, the vowel is read as in the alphabet.

f a mouse = f a-mous

c u cumber = c u-cumber

In English there is also conditionally open syllable. These are monosyllabic words with an "e" at the end. EXAMPLES. P e te, l a te, c o ke.

Letter e at the end of a word unreadable and called " e - mute". It shows that the root vowel should be read as in the alphabet. There are many such words in English.

How to divide a word into syllables? (repetition)

How to divide a word into syllables? Take, for example, the word CUCUMBER (cucumber) and divide it into syllables.

The general rule is: how many vowels, so many syllables.

C U C U MB E R is three vowels, hence three syllables: C U-C U M-B E R

1. The first syllable ends in a vowel => he open
2. The second syllable ends in a consonant => he closed
3. The third syllable ends in a consonant => he too closed

Parsing:

BER: the letter combination ER at the end of a word reads like [ə]

But don't bother yourself with this just yet, the most important thing to remember is that vowels in English in OPEN syllable they are read as in the alphabet. Therefore, if you have learned the English alphabet (the video, of course, will speed up this process), then you can already read the words with open syllable.

Now let's get to repeating the rules for reading vowels. I remind you that there are only 6 of them. Let's take the first letter of the alphabet. It reads "Hey". It's easy to remember if you look at the picture. " Hey, who eats nuts? Find a sound and listen to how it is pronounced -

So, let's move on to reading the first vowel of the English alphabet. Letter A in stressed syllable means 4 sounds. See TABLE below. Besides, if letter A stands in an unstressed syllable, it is read [ə] .

So before you start reading the first vowel of the English alphabet, summarize:

• in the first (open) type of syllable (I) all stressed vowels are read as in the alphabet
• and in the second (II), third (III) and fourth (IV) - according to the table

Reading the English letter A in four types of syllable

So, let's start reading. Here in front of you 4 types of syllable (I - open, II-closed, III, IV). Square brackets indicate how to pronounce the letter Aa in this type of syllable UNDER ACCENT. Phrases are tongue twisters that need to be repeated many times in order to remember reading the letter A in the corresponding syllable type.

For those who have just joined. A dictionary is connected to the site, click on the word and you will hear its correct pronunciation. To listen to the pronunciation of the sound indicated in [square brackets], look it up in the phonemic table.

Reading the vowel Aa in 4 types of syllable. Tongue Twisters

1. - This l a ke is a f a mouspl a ce in W a les. (See Lesson #20)

2. [æ] - A bl a ck c a t s a t on a m a t and a te a f a r a t. (See Lesson #3)

3. - The p ar ks, g ar dens and f ar ms are l ar ge and ch ar ming. (Lesson #6)

4. - My p are nts* take c are of r are h are s. (See Lesson #18)

LISTEN to how the sounds , [æ], , — are pronounced

*parents - [`peərənts]

Pronunciation is important! For you author's pronunciation lessons:

Phonetic exercises for reading the letter A in an open and closed syllable

A(I,II):

lake, jam, apple, famous, name, fan, trade, lamp, maze, batman, gate, stand, to behave, matter, skate, as, cable, take, rabbit, amazing , to decamp, to debate, Danish, raffish, rally, slake, snake, slalom, slam, fate, place, blame, can, rage, frank, splash, spade, damp, African, admiral, age, and, to arrange, to attack;

to is a feature of the verb. Most verbs are stressed on the second syllable.

Phonetic exercises for reading the letter A in the third and fourth type of syllable

A(III,IV):

car, large, care, rare, cart, hare, chart, card, stare, dark, market, bare, yard, star, glare, far, bar, apartment, parents, spare, scare, lark, mare, bare, dare, carpet, particle, barefoot, March, larch, square.

Exceptions:
1 - have, vase
2 - any , many [`meni], ate

In an unstressed syllable, A reads like [ə]:
a bout, a round, a cross, to a ttack, alpha bet, Africa, to a dvise, to a ddress

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Phonetic exercises for practicing reading the letter A with audio recording and answers (closed content)

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Title: Phonetic exercises with audio recording

Description: Access to restricted content *Repeat the rules of reading in English*

So let's sum up the results of the twenty-first lesson on learning to read in English and pronunciation at the same time:

• you learned the English alphabet;
• you learned what an open syllable is in English;
• do you know how to read a vowel Ah in an open syllable;
• you fixed the pronunciation of the English sounds , [æ], , .

The first thing a person who starts learning English faces is the difficulty in reading most words. On this score, there are many jokes even among the native speakers of this language, to say nothing of those for whom it is not native. One Dutch linguist even wrote a poem containing the most difficult and controversial cases of English phonetics - it is difficult to read it without errors even for someone who knows the language well.

But jokes are jokes, but you need to learn how to pronounce words correctly. The rules for reading in English help with this. For beginners, they will be a little difficult, but this is only out of habit. Having understood them and well fixed the theory with examples, you will see how much they will make your life easier.

What are these rules for?

Without knowing them, it will be difficult to learn to read. Of course, you can memorize the transcription of those words that you come across. But in this case, your ability to read will be very limited. And if there is a word with a familiar root, but a suffix or prefix that is incomprehensible for reading? Or In such cases, mistakes are inevitable if you do not know the rules for reading in English. For beginners, they are especially important, because they allow you to feel and understand the logic of building a language at all levels, starting with phonetics.

Reading consonants

• always firmly pronounced;
• voiced sounds are not deafened at the ends of words;
• after the sounds there is aspiration, because the lips open faster than in pronunciation in Russian;
• the sound [w] is pronounced with two lips;
• when pronouncing the sound [v], on the contrary, only the lower lip is involved;
• many sounds are pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the alveoli, and not the teeth (as in Russian pronunciation).

Reading vowels: 4 types of syllable

We continue to analyze the rules of reading in English. For beginners with examples, it is better to submit material. Then it will be clearer how to pronounce this or that sound.

There are only six in the English alphabet, but the difficulty in reading them is due to the presence of four different types of syllables:

• open;
• closed;
• vowel + r;
• vowel + r + vowel.

Let's consider them all in order, not forgetting about the examples.

In an open syllable, the vowel is read as it is called in the alphabet: O is read as “ou (eu)”, U is read as a long “yu”, etc. The only exception is the letter Y, which is pronounced as “ay”. How can you tell if a syllable is open? It must end in a vowel, which can be:

• at the end of a monosyllabic word (me, go);
• at the beginning or middle (game, time, music);
• next to another vowel (suit).

In a closed syllable that ends in a consonant (sometimes doubled), the vowels are truncated:

• Aa [æ] turns into a cross between Russian sounds [a] and [e], for example: cat, apple.
• Uu [ʌ] is similar to the Russian sound [a], for example: rubber, jump.
• Ii is read as a short Russian sound [and], for example: sit, finger.
• Ee [e] is read with the sound [e], for example: pen, egg.
• Oo [ɔ] is read with a short sound [o], for example: shop, fox.
• Yy [i] under stress must be read as a short sound [and], for example: mystery, myth.

This is the minimum that the rules for reading in English for beginners include. With exercises for all 4 types, it is better not to rush, but first, it is good to learn the differences between closed and open syllables. Then you can move on to more complex cases.

The type of syllable "vowel + r" reads as follows:

• -ar pronounce with a long sound [aaa];
• -or reads like a long [ooh];
• -ur, -ir, -er are similar to the sound [o], but only pronounced by the throat.

The type of syllable "vowel + r + vowel" turns the sound into a special two-part phenomenon of English phonetics - a diphthong:

• Aa reads [ɛə], example: dare.
• Ee is read, example: mere.
• Ii is read, example: fire.
• Uu is read, example: cure.
• Yy is read, example: tire.

The exception is the letter Oo, which in the fourth type of syllable is not read as a diphthong, but simply as a long [ɔ:]. For example: more.

Reading letter combinations

Reading rules in English (for beginners and continuing students) cannot do without an explanation of the various combinations of consonants and vowels. Let's start with the first.

The combination of wr at the beginning of a word: the sound [w] is not pronounced. Examples: write, wrist, wrong.

The combination of wh at the beginning of a word: the sound [h] is not pronounced. Examples: why, what, white. But there is an exception here: if -wh is followed by the letter -o, then the sound [w] “falls out” when reading. This is how the words sound: who, whole, whose and others.

In letter combinations kn and gn at the beginning of a word: only the sound [n] is read. Examples: knot, gnat.

The combination ng at the end of the word sounds like the sound [ŋ] pronounced through the nose (going), and in the middle of the word - just [ŋg], for example: hungry, singer.

The combination ch reads like a Russian sound [h ’], soft. For example: cheese, coach.

The combination of sh gives the sound [ʃ], similar to Russian [sh] in a soft pronunciation. For example: she, push.

The combination of letters qu is read, for example: queen, quite.

The unstressed combination -our reads [ə]: colour, favourite.

The combination of letters -sion after a consonant is pronounced [ʃn], for example: mission. And then there is a voicing to [ʒn], example: decision.

Before the letters e, i, y: the consonant C is pronounced with the sound [s], G is pronounced. In other cases, it reads like this: C - [k], G - [g]. Compare: cell - cat, gym - game.

Vowel combinations: -ee, as well as -ea give a long sound, the combination -ai is read, the combination -oo conveys a long sound. For example: bee, seal, moon.

True, there are sometimes exceptions. For example, blood: in this word, the double O is read as the sound [ʌ]. But there are few such cases. They are easy to remember and do not over complicate the rules of reading in English.

For beginners

For children and adults, the explanation of the rules will be different. Young "English" will learn knowledge well if they are presented with elements of a game and a fairy tale. For example, one can explain types 1 and 2 of reading as “open” and “closed” doors, where in the first case the letters feel free and shout their name (from the alphabet) loudly, and in the second they are almost inaudible. In a similar way, you can compose a kind of grammatical fairy tale and tell it to your child. An interactive element can be a task: to “disenchant” the words by reading them correctly. It is much easier and more interesting to memorize the rules of reading in English.

For elementary school

The little table below includes the rules for reading vowels in two types of syllables. For the convenience of a child who is not familiar with transcription, next to the sound is placed approximately his reading, written in Russian letters. In any case, the table must be read aloud together with an adult who knows the language: you need to pay attention to how the same letter behaves in different types of syllables, and understand the suggested word examples.

Students are often asked to learn transcription icons at home. You can make a set of cards and work out like this: you read a short word where there is a certain sound, and the child shows a card with its designation. In group work, everyone should have their own set.

Read without hesitation

How can I quickly and better remember the rules of reading in English? For beginners, exercises will be the best option. It is great if you can combine 2 types of activities: listening to samples and reading on your own. However, this approach can soon get boring, so it would be nice to include elements of the game and competition. For example, take two different lists of words for different rules - one for you, the other for a friend - and check who will read faster and with fewer errors. The game option can be as follows: using mixed cards with individual words and transcription icons, find and lay out matches.

Who needs reading rules in English? For beginners to study it (it goes without saying), for those who continue - to test themselves, and for those who have forgotten - to remember knowledge that has not been used for a long time.

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 in simple 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 [CC]. You need to put your tongue between your teeth and pronounce a deaf in English transcription it 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. Check out the BBC radio 4 Extra website for 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 [ph] [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]

letter combination igh reads like [ah] for example, in these words:

- 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 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.