Spelling Pronunciation

How do you pronounce that combination of letters?!

English pronunciation is notoriously difficult, largely due to the many influences of the language; mostly Latin, French, Germanic, Greek, and others.

The inspiration for this post came from the Fidel Chart, which is a language-teaching method created by Caleb Gattegno that makes extensive use of silence as a teaching method (Wikipedia).

As both a teacher and a student, I am not a fan of the Silent Way method of teaching, but the Fidel Chart does have value in learning.

However, I noticed that the Fidel Chart was missing two key details: the target sound in the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), and examples of words that contain the target sound!

I have generally arranged the sounds according to the IPA and separated them into two groups: vowels and diphthongs, which are the most tricky; and consonants and glides.

Note that silent letters are grouped in where most appropriate, and that pronunciation changes from region to region. The pronunciation we use here is Standard Canadian English, which is spoken mostly across central and western Canada, or Pacific Northwest English, which includes British Columbia, Washington State, Oregon, and some of California and Idaho.

If I have missed any letter/sound combination, please let me know and I will add it 🙂

 

Vowels and Diphthongs

	/i/						/u/
	e	me					ew	new
	ee	meet					o	to
	ea	each					oo	too
	ei	receipt					oe	shoe
	eo	people					eu	maneuver
	ey	monkey					ou	you
	i	ski					ough	through
	ie	piece					oup	coup
	y	only					u	student
							ue	blue
							ueue	queue
							ui	juice
	/ɪ/						/ʊ/
	a	purchase					oo	took
	ai	captain					ou	would
	ee	breeches
	ei	forfeit
	i	sit
	ie	sieve
	u	busy
	ui	guitar
	y	hypocrite
	/ei/			/ɘ/			/ow/			/oi/
	a	alien		a	another		au	mauve		oi	voice
	ai	mail		e	enough		eau	plateau		oy	boy
	au	gauge		i	cigar		ew	sew
	ay	day		o	together		o	no
	e	there					oo	brooch
	ee	fiancé(e)					oe	toe
	ea	break					ol	folk
	et	ballet					ou	soul
	ey	they					ough	dough
	ei	eight					ow	low
	/ɛ/			/ʌ/
	e	bed		o	mother
	ea	heaven		oo	blood
	eo	leopard		ou	touch
	ai	said		u	but
	ay	says
	u	bury
	ei	friend
	/æ/			/aɪ/			/aw/			/ɒ/
	a	and		ai	aisle		ou	about		a	father
	au	laughter		ei	neither		ough	plough		al	palm
				eye	eye		ow	how		aw	dawn
				i	bite					au	daughter
				ic	indict					e	entrée
				ie	die					ea	Sean
				is	island					o	not
				uy	buy					oi	reservoir
				y	my					ou	cough
				ye	bye					ow	knowledge

 

Consonants and Glides

/p/			/b/			/m/
p	pen		b	big		m	more
pp	happy		bb	bubble		mm	hammer
						mb	thumb
/t/	/t/		/d/			/n/
t	top		d	door		n	new
tt	butts		dd	middle		gn	sign
ght	night		t (ɾ)	thirty		kn	knew
pt	pterodactyl		tt (ɾ)	better		pn	pneumonia
						nt	winter
/k/	/c/		/g/			ʔ
c	cup		g	good		t before n	button
ch	choir		gg	bigger
k	key		gh	ghost
ck	back		gu	guest
qu	quiet
/m/	/m/		/n/			/ŋ/
m	me		n	no		ing	sing
mm	hammer		nn	running
mn	autumn
/f/	/f/		/v/
f	fun		v	van
ff	stuff		vv	divvy
gh	laugh
ph	photo
/θ/	/θ/		/ð/
th	think		th	the
			th	breathe
/s/			/z/
ci	cider		es	goes
s	sun		se	please
ss	pass		z	zoo
ps	psychologist		zz	buzz
sc	science
/ʃ/			/ʒ/			/h/
ch	machine		su	usually		h	house
ci	special		si	vision
ss	mission
se	Sean
sh	ship
su	sugar
ti	station
/d͡ʒ/			/t͡ʃ/
dge	bridge		ch	chat
g	general		tu	nature
j	just
/l/			/ɫ/
l	like		milk
/w/			/j/
w	wet		y	yes
wh	white		u	use
/ɹ/			ɚ
r	run		er	her
rr	berry		ir	shirt
			ur	turn

 

 

“The Chaos”, by Gerard Nolst Trenité, transcribed by Present Simple ESL

 

A student reminded me of this poem by Gerard Nolst Trenité, called “The Chaos”, so I decided to transcribe it!

I chose to do fairly detailed transcriptions, instead of general ones, so that learners can get a more accurate idea of the pronunciation and become more familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). I have included a link, at the end of the poem, to an interactive IPA chart where you can click on the various symbols and hear the sounds they make! Keep in mind that this is an international chart, so it includes all the sounds of all the languages, not just English or your first language. This is a super fun and useful tool for studying languages.

• According to the IPA, the “ɹ” symbol represents the North American r sound in words such as right. The IPA “r” is a trilled r found in other languages, so there is actually a very big difference between the two symbols.
• The “ʔ” is not a question mark! Nope, it is a sound called a glottal stop, and you can make this sound by saying “uh-oh”.
• The “ɾ” is called a flap, and it’s the d sound that the t makes in words like better [bɛ.ɾəɹ]
• The period [.] in the transcriptions marks a syllable break
• The apostrophe [ˈ] marks syllable stress when there are two or more syllables. If the word is only one syllable, I don’t mark it.
• I should point out that there are different ways of transcribing, so you may be used to different symbols than I have used here. For example, “əɹ”, “ər” and “ɚ” are three different symbols used to represent the same sound.

Dearest creature [ˈkri.tʃər] in creation [kri.ˈeɪ.ʃən]

Study English pronunciation [pɹə.ˈnʌn.si.eɪ.ʃən]

 

I will teach you in my verse [vəɹs]

Sounds like corpse [kɔɹps], corps [kɔɹ], horse [hɔɹs], and worse [wǝɹs].

 

I will keep you Suzy [ˈsu.zi], busy [ˈbɪ.zi],

Make your head [hɛd] with heat [hit] grow dizzy [ˈdɪ.zi].

 

Tear [tiɹ] in eye, your dress will tear [teɪɹ]

So shall I [ai]! Oh hear [hiɹ] my prayer [pɹeɪɹ].

 

Just compare heart [hart], beard [biɹd], and heard [hərd],

Dies [daɪz] and diet [ˈdaɪ. ɛt], lord [lɔrd] and word [wəɹd],

 

Sword [sɔɹd]and sward [swaɹd], retain [ɹɛ.ˈtaɪn] and Britain [ˈbɹɪ.ʔ]

Mind the latter [ˈlæ.ɾəɹ], how it’s written [ˈɹɪ.ʔ]

 

Now I surely will not plague [plaɪg] you,

With such words as plaque [plæk] and ague [ˈaɪ.gu].

 

Be careful how you speak [spik]:

Say break [bɹeɪk] and steak [steɪk], but bleak [blik] and streak [stɹik]

Cloven [ˈklow.vɛn], oven [ˈʌ.vən], how [haʊ] and low [loʊ],

Script [skɹɪpt], receipt [ɹə.ˈsit], show [ʃoʊ], poem [ˈpoʊ.əm], and toe [toʊ].

 

Hear me say devoid of trickery [ˈtɹɪ.kəɹ.i],

Daughter [ˈdɑ.ɾəɹ], laughter[ˈlæf.təɹ], and Terpsichore [tɜrp.ˈsɪ.kəɹ.i].

 

Typhoid [ˈtaɪ.fɔɪd], measles [ˈmi.zəlz], topsails [ˈtɑp.seɪlz], and aisles [ˈaɪ.əlz],

Exiles[ɛk.ˈsaɪ.əlz], similes [ˈsɪ.mə.liz], and reviles [ɹɪˈvaɪ.əlz];

 

Scholar [ˈskɑ.ləɹ], vicar [ˈvɪ.kəɹ], and cigar [səˈɡɑɹ]

Solar [ˈsoʊ.ləɹ], mica [ˈmaɪ.kə], war [ˈwɔɹ], and far [faɹ];

 

One [wʌn], anemone [əˈnɛ.mə.ni], balmoral [bælˈmɔɹ.əl],

Kitchen [ˈkɪ.tʃən], lichen [ˈlaɪ.kən], laundry[ˈlan.dɹi], laurel [ˈlɔɹ.əl];

 

Gertrude [ˈgeɹ.tɹud], German [ˈdʒəɹ.mən], wind [wɪnd/waɪnd], mind [maɪnd],

Scene [sin], Melpomene [mɛlˈpɑ.mə.ni], mankind [mænˈkaɪnd].

 

Billet [ˈbɪl.ət] does not rhyme with ballet [bæ.ˈleɪ],

Bouquet [boʊ.ˈkeɪ], wallet [ˈwa.lɛt], mallet [ˈmæ.lɛt], chalet [ʃæˈleɪ].

 

Blood [blʌd] and flood [flʌd] are not like food [fud],

Nor is mould [moʊld] like should [ʃʊd] and would [wʊd].

 

Viscous [ˈvɪs.kəs], viscount [ˈvaɪ.kaʊnt] , load [loʊd] and broad [bɹɑd],

Toward [tə.ˈwɔɹd], forward [ˈfɔɹ.wəɹd], reward [ɹə.ˈwɔɹd]

 

And your pronunciation’s OK [oʊ.ˈkeɪ],

When you correctly say croquet [kɹoʊ.ˈkeɪ].

 

Rounded [ˈɹaʊnd.əd], wounded [ˈwund.əd], grieve [ɡɹiv] and sieve [sɪv]

Friend [fɹɛnd] and fiend [find], alive [ə.ˈlaɪv] and live [lɪv],

 

Ivy [ˈaɪ.vi], privy [ˈpɹɪ.vi], famous [ˈfeɪ.məs]; clamour [ˈklæ.məɹ]

And enamour [ə.ˈnæ.məɹ] rhyme with hammer [ˈhæ.məɹ]

 

River [ˈɹɪ.vəɹ], rival [ˈɹaɪ.vəl], tomb [tum], bomb [bɑm], comb [koʊm],

Doll [dɑl] and roll [ɹoʊl] and some [sʌm] and home [hoʊm].

 

Stranger [ˈstɹeɪn.dʒəɹ] does not rhyme with anger [ˈæŋ.ɡəɹ],

Neither does devour [dəˈvaʊ.əɹ] with clangour [ˈklæŋ.əɹ].

 

Souls [soʊlz] but foul [faʊəl], haunt [hɑnt] but aunt [ænt],

Font [fɑnt], front [fɹʌnt], wont [wɑnt], want [wɑnt], grand [ɡɹænd], and grant [ɡɹænt],

 

Shoes [ʃuz], goes [ɡoʊz], does [dʌz]. Now say finger [ˈfɪŋ.ɡəɹ],

And then singer [ˈsɪŋ.əɹ], ginger [ˈdʒɪn.dʒəɹ], linger [ˈlɪŋ.ɡəɹ]

 

Real [ɹil], zeal [zil], mauve [moʊv], gauze [ɡɑz], gouge [ɡaʊdʒ], and gauge [ɡeɪdʒ],

Marriage [ˈmɛɹ.ɪdʒ], foliage [ˈfoʊ.li.ɪdʒ], mirage [məˈɹɑʒ], and age [eɪdʒ].

 

Query [ˈkwiɹ.i] does not rhyme with very [ˈvɛ.rɪ],

Nor does fury [ˈfjʊ.rɪ] sound like bury [ˈbɛ.rɪ]

 

Dost [dʌst], lost [lɑst], post [poʊst] and doth [dʌθ], cloth [klɑθ], loth [loʊθ].

Job [dʒɑb], nob [nɑb], bosom [ˈbʊ.zəm], transom [ˈtɹæn.səm], oath [oʊθ].

 

Though the difference seems little [ˈlɪ.təl]

We say actual [ˈæk.tʃə.wəl] but victual [ˈvɪ.təl]

 

Refer [ɹɪ.ˈfɜɹ] does not rhyme with deafer [ˈdɛ.fəɹ].

Feoffer [ˈfɛ.fəɹ] does and zephyr [ˈzɛ.fəɹ] and heifer [ˈhɛ.fəɹ].

 

Mint [mɪnt], pint [paɪnt], senate [ˈsɛn.ət], sedate [sɪ.ˈdeɪt],

Dull [dʌl], bull [bʊl], and George are late [leɪt].

 

Scenic [ˈsi.nɪk], Arabic [ˈeɪɹ.ə.bɪk], Pacific [pə.ˈsɪ.fɪk],

Science [ˈsaɪ.əns], conscience [ˈkɑn.ʃəns], scientific [saɪ.ən.ˈtɪ.fɪk].

 

Liberty [ˈlɪ.bəɹ.ti], library [ˈlaɪ.bɹɛɹ.i], heave [hiv] and heaven [ˈhɛ.vən],

Rachel [ˈɹeɪ.tʃ.əl], ache [eɪk], moustache [ˈmʌ.stæʃ], eleven [ə.ˈlɛ.vən].

 

We say hallowed [ˈhæ.loʊd], but allowed [ə.ˈlaʊd],

People [ˈpi.pəl], leopard [ˈlɛ.pəɹd], towed [toʊd], but vowed [vaʊd].

 

Mark the difference, moreover [mɔrˈoʊvəɹ],

Between, mover [ˈmu.vəɹ], cover [ˈkʌ.vəɹ], clover [ˈkloʊ.vəɹ];

 

Leeches [ˈli.tʃəz], breeches [ˈbɹɪ.tʃəz], wise [waɪz], precise [pɹə.ˈsaɪs],

Chalice [ˈtʃæ.ləs], but police [pəˈlis] and lice [laɪs];

 

Camel [ˈkæ.məl], constable [ˈkɑn.stə.bəl], unstable [ʌn.ˈsteɪ.bəl],

Principle [ˈpɹɪn.sə.pəl], disciple [də.ˈsaɪ.pəl], label [ˈleɪ.bəl].

 

Petal [ˈpɛ.ɾəl], panel [ˈpæ.n̩əl], canal [kəˈnæl],

Wait [weɪt], surprise [sə.ˈpɹaɪz], plait [pleɪt], promise [ˈpɹɑ.məs], pal [pæl].

 

Worm [wəɹm] and storm [stɔrm], chaise [ʃeɪz], chaos [ˈkeɪ.ɑs], chair [tʃeɪɹ],

Senator [ˈsɛ.nə.ɾəɹ], spectator [ˈspɛk.teɪ.ɾəɹ], mayor [ˈmeɪ.jəɹ].

 

Tour [tʊɹ], but our [aʊɹ] and succour [ˈsʌk.əɹ], four [fɔɹ].

Gas [gæs], alas [ə.ˈlæs], and Arkansas [ˈɑɹ.kən.sɑ].

 

Sea [si], idea [aɪ.ˈdi.ə], Korea [kəɹ.ˈi.ə], area [ˈeɪɹ.i.ə],

Psalm [sɑm], Maria [mə.ˈɹi.ə], but malaria [mə.ˈleɪɹ.i.ə].

 

Youth [juθ], south [saʊθ], southern [ˈsʌ.ðəɹn], cleanse [klɛnz] and clean [klin].

Doctrine [ˈdɑk.tɹən], turpentine [ˈtəɹ.pən.taɪn], marine [mə.ˈɹin].

 

Compare alien [ˈeɪ.li.ən] with Italian [ɪ.ˈtæl.i.ən],

Dandelion [ˈdæn.də.laɪ.ən] and battalion [bə.ˈtæl.i.ən].

 

Sally [ˈsæl.i] with ally [ˈæ.laɪ], yea [jeɪ], ye [ji],

Eye [aɪ], I [aɪ], ay [aɪ], aye [aɪ], whey [weɪ], and key [ki].

 

Say aver [əˈvəɹ], but ever [ˈɛ.vəɹ], fever [ˈfi.vəɹ],

Neither [ˈni.ðəɹ], leisure [ˈli.ʒəɹ], skein [skeɪn], deceiver də.ˈsi.vəɹ].

 

Heron [ˈheɪɹ.ən], granary [ˈɡɹeɪn.ə.ɹi], canary [kə.ˈneɪɹ.i].

Crevice [ˈkɹɛ.vəs] and device [də.ˈvaɪs], aerie [eɪɹ.i]

 

Face [ˈfeɪs]but preface [ˈpɹɛ.fəs], not efface [ə.ˈfeɪs].

Phlegm [flɛm], phlegmatic [flɛɡ.ˈmæ.ɾɪk], ass [æs], glass [glæs], bass [beɪs]

 

Large [lɑɹdʒ], but target [ˈtɑɹ.ɡət], gin [dʒɪn], give [ɡɪv], verging [ˈvəɹ.dʒɪŋ],

Ought [ɑt], out [aʊt], joust [dʒaʊst] and scour [skaʊɹ], scourging [ˈskəɹ.dʒɪŋ].

 

Ear [iɹ], but earn [əɹn], and wear [waɪɹ] and tear [taɪɹ]

Do not rhyme with here [hiɹ] but ere [aɪɹ].

 

Seven [ˈsɛ.vən] is right, but so is even [ˈi.vən],

Hyphen [ˈhaɪ.fən], roughen [ˈɹʌ.fən], nephew [ˈnɛ.fju], Stephen [ˈsti.vən],

 

Monkey [ˈmʌŋ.ki], donkey [ˈdɑŋ.ki], Turk [təɹk] and jerk [dʒəɹk],

Ask [æsk], grasp [gɹæsp], wasp [wɑsp] and cork [kɔrk] and work [wəɹk].

 

Pronunciation (think of phyche! [ˈsaɪ.ki])

Is a paling [ˈpeɪ.lɪŋ] stout [staʊt] and spikey [ˈspaɪ.ki]?

 

Won’t make you lose your wits [wɪts],

Writing groats [ɡɹoʊts] and saying grits [ɡɹɪts]?

 

It’s a dark abyss [əˈbɪs] or tunnel [ˈtʌ.nəl]:

Strewn [stɹun] with stones [stoʊnz], stowed [stoʊd], solace [ˈsɑ.ləs], gunwale [ˈɡʌ.nəl],

 

Islington [ˈɪz.lɪŋ.tən] and Isle [ˈaɪ.əl] of Wight [waɪt],

Housewife [ˈhaʊs.waɪf], verdict [ˈvəɹ.dɪkt], indict [ɪnˈdaɪt].

 

Finally, which rhymes with enough [ə.ˈnʌf],

Though [ðoʊ], through [θɹu], plough [plaʊ], or dough [doʊ] or cough [kɑf]?

 

Hiccough [ˈhɪ.kʌp] has the sound of cup [kʌp],

My advice is to give up!

How to Pronounce “the”

There are two ways to pronounce “the” and it’s important to know that the pronunciation changes based on the first sound in the following word.  What we say is important, not what we read or write.

When “the” comes before a consonant sound, it’s pronounced “thuh”.  When it comes before a vowel sound, it’s pronounced “thee”.

Consonant Sounds:

• Thuh Canadian
• Thuh dog
• Thuh man
• Thuh school

Vowel Sounds:

• Thee American
• Thee energy
• Thee information
• Thee office
• Thee ugly dog

The tricky part is that the letter “h” can sometimes be silent, and the letter “u” can take either a consonant or a vowel pronunciation, depending on the word.

• Thuh house  – hæʊs, consonant sound
• Thuh honey  – həniː, consonant sound
• Thee hour  – æʊr, silent h, vowel sound
• Thee honest man  – ɑnəst, silent h, vowel sound

• Thuh university  – ˌjuːnəˈvərsətiː, consonant sound
• Thuh unique antique  – jʊˈniːk, consonant sound
• Thee umpire  – əmˌpaɪr, vowel sound
• Thee umbrella  – əmˈbrelə, vowel sound

Also, when pronouncing initials, it depends how you pronounce the first letter, not what you see.

• Thuh CBC  – siː, consonant sound
• Thuh WWF – dəbəljuː, consonant sound
• Thee NBA – en, vowel sound
• Thee SPCA  – es, vowel sound

When we want to emphasize a specific word, we use “thee” no matter what sound follows.

• He’s THEE best boyfriend ever!
• I just met THEE president!
•  I had THEE time of my life last night!

“ough” Pronunciation

The “ough” letter sequence has the most random pronunciation. It can be pronounced six different ways in North America, and over ten ways in British English.

We’re going to keep it simple for now, and just look at the six North American pronunciations.

ʌf	tough, rough, enough	Stuff, suffer
ɒf	cough, trough	Off, offer
aʊ	bough, plough, draught	How, flower
oʊ	dough, though, thorough	Toe, know
ɒ	thought, bought, taught	Not, saw.  Usually used before /t/, except in drought /draʊt/
uː	through	Too, knew