ENGLISH ALPHABET PHONETIC SOUNDS

First Step

Understanding the phonetic sounds of the English alphabet is a fundamental step in mastering the language. Phonetics bridge the gap between written and spoken English, making pronunciation clearer and learning more effective. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your skills, grasping these sounds will enhance your reading, writing, and speaking abilities.

To learn the English language, you will first need to know and understand the alphabet, how to pronounce each letter, and the sounds each letter makes. 

That is what is known as the English alphabet phonetic sounds.  Some of the letters make more than one sound, based on the letters around them and what the word is.

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The alphabet is as follows:

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz.

Upper case (CAPITAL) letters are the larger letters. Lower case (lower case) letters are the smaller letters.  The sounds letters make are unaffected by CAPITAL or lowercase.

The letters Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, and Uu are called vowels.  Vowels change their sounds depending on the letters around them.  Nearly all English words contain at least one vowel.  The letter Yy is also sometimes a vowel.

The remaining letters are called consonants.  Most of them make only one sound, regardless of the letters around them. 

A little about consonants

However, some consonants do change their sounds depending on the letters around them.  For example, the letters Cc, Gg, Hh, and Ww do make different sounds depending on the words that surround them.  Furthermore, there are times that sometimes letters make no sound at all and are completely silent.

Consonant sounds form the backbone of English pronunciation. Here are detailed explanations and tips:

• B: /b/ as in ‘bat’. Ensure your lips close before producing the sound.
• D: /d/ as in ‘dog’. Feel the tongue touch the ridge behind the upper teeth.
• G: /g/ as in ‘go’. Contrast with /k/ as in ‘cat’ to practice voiced vs. voiceless.
• L: /l/ as in ‘log’. The tip of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth.
• R: /r/ as in ‘red’. Curl your tongue slightly without touching the roof of your mouth. Regularly practicing these sounds in different words can significantly improve your pronunciation.

Before we go forward, please understand that English derives from other languages and has incorporated a variety of pronunciations, also known as exceptions.  It’s what makes English such a difficult language to learn.

A little about vowels

Vowels are the letters that most often change the sounds they make and their pronunciations, depending on the letters that surround them. All vowels have at least two pronunciations and make at least two distinct different sounds. 

When they say their own names, they are called long vowels.  When they do not say their own names, they are called short vowels. However there are several exceptions where vowels are neither long nor short vowels.  Unfortunately, this is one part of English that you will have to learn and simply memorize.  There are too many to mention.

Long vowels, that say their own name, at least much of the time, is when they are in words that end with the letter e.  For example, the word made is pronounced with the letter a saying its own name.  It is a long a.  The word mad, without the e at the end, the letter a does not say its own name.  The a is a short a. In the word site, the i says its own name.  It is a long i.  In the word sit, there is no e at the end, so the i is a short i and does not say its own name.

We will discuss other exceptions and variations about how letters are pronounced and when they change their pronunciations in a later lesson.

Vowel sounds in English can be particularly tricky due to their variability. Here’s a deeper dive into each vowel sound with practical tips:

• A: /æ/ as in ‘cat’ and /eɪ/ as in ‘cake’. Practice by repeating pairs of words: ‘bat’ vs. ‘bait’.
• E: /e/ as in ‘bed’ and /iː/ as in ‘beet’. Compare ‘let’ and ‘leet’ to hear the difference.
• I: /ɪ/ as in ‘bit’ and /aɪ/ as in ‘bite’. Notice the tongue’s position in ‘sit’ vs. ‘site’.
• O: /ɒ/ as in ‘cot’ and /oʊ/ as in ‘coat’. Practice with ‘pot’ vs. ‘poet’.
• U: /ʌ/ as in ‘cup’ and /juː/ as in ‘cube’. Try ‘but’ and ‘beauty’ to differentiate. Incorporate these exercises into your daily practice to master these vowel sounds.

Numbers Are Important Too

To learn English, you also need know how to pronounce the numbers.  Following is the proper spelling of numbers that will provide a basis for how to pronounce them. 

Some of the numbers are examples of how letters make different sounds depending on the letters that surround them.

They are:  One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen.

The numbers in increments of ten are as follows:  Twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety.

Large numbers are as follows:  Hundred, thousand, million, billion, trillion, and more.

Once you know how to pronounce the numbers I hope you will recognize them in numerical form, rather than in written form.

There are two kinds of numbers

Above, I explained what are called cardinal numbers.  The other kind of numbers are called cardinal numbers.  Cardinal numbers indicate sequence and the order of things.

For example, the heading above is “first step”, because it was the number one thing written about in this article.  One (1) is first (1st), two (2) is second (2nd), three (3) is third (3rd), four (4) is fourth (4th), five (5) is fifth (5th), six is sixth, seven is seventh, eight is eighth, nine is ninth, ten is tenth, eleven is eleventh, twelve is twelfth, thirteen is thirteenth, fourteen is fourteenth, fifteen is fifteenth, sixteen is sixteenth, seventeen is seventeenth, eighteen is eighteenth, nineteen is nineteenth, and twenty (20) is twentieth (20th).

From there, it is the same process for numbers into infinity.  For example, 21 is 21st, 32 is 32nd, 43 is 43rd, 100 is 100th etc.

To solidify your understanding of phonetic sounds, try these exercises:

1. Minimal Pairs Practice: Write down pairs of words that differ by one sound (e.g., ‘bit’ vs. ‘beat’, ‘pat’ vs. ‘bat’) and practice them daily.
2. Phonetic Transcription: Transcribe short sentences phonetically to understand sound patterns.
3. Recording and Playback: Record yourself reading a list of words and playback to self-assess your pronunciation. Use phonetic apps to compare.
4. Interactive Quizzes: Use online tools and quizzes focused on phonetics to test your knowledge regularly

Review

The first step in understanding English is to understand the alphabet and the numbers, and how they are pronounced.  Going forward, you will learn that there are countless exceptions to the rules of pronunciation.  It’s just the way it is.  By understanding the general rules, you will be able to move forward much more easily than if you don’t understand.

Mastering the phonetic sounds of the English alphabet is a journey that significantly enhances your language skills. By integrating these sounds into your daily practice, you’ll find your reading, writing, and speaking abilities improve remarkably. Keep practicing, stay curious, and don’t hesitate to revisit this guide for reference. Happy learning!

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