Vowels and consonants in English. Sounds in English and their pronunciation. How to pronounce vowels in English

Due to the fact that English consonants are more numerous than vowels, it becomes necessary to consider what exactly the rules for reading English consonants are, since some of them have dual principles of pronunciation. It should be noted that the letter will not always be pronounced the same way as in the alphabet, so it is necessary to describe the main variants of consonants and determine what features of the consonant letters of the English language should be taken into account. First of all, you need to determine the basic principles that should be taken into account when pronouncing consonants.

Key features of consonant pronunciation

If we give a peculiar classification of English consonants, it is worth clarifying that there are two main types of consonants: those that have only one principle of pronunciation and are read the same regardless of the situation, and those that can have two phonetic principles of reading. You can learn the principles of pronunciation of both groups not only through memorization. The main way is to take into account neighboring vowels, which directly affect the reading of consonants and can sometimes change pronunciation.

The rules for reading consonants in English may not be as complex as the rules for reading vowels, but some features are unique, and many students have difficulty with phonics until they learn how to read English consonants and division principles. in accordance with the rules of pronunciation.

Consonants with one reading rule

The English alphabet has 20 consonant letters, that is, the predominant number. Most of them have one reading principle; this means that they do not have two pronunciations, and regardless of other neighboring letters, these consonants will not change and their transcription will be the same. Here are the letters that belong to this type:

• b- the pronunciation of the English letter b will be the same - [b];
• l- the English letter l is always read the same way - [l];
• m always reads like [m];
• n- the English letter n has a standard pronunciation principle - [n];
• d- the English letter d has an absolutely normal reading rule - [d];
• q will read as ;
• k sounds the same regardless of the situation - [k];
• p- the letter p is usually not read other than [p];
• t- the version of reading alveolar t is always the same - [t];
• f will read as [f];
• h- the letter h is usually pronounced like [h];
• z will not be pronounced except [z];
• v will have a transcription [v];
• j- you need to pay attention to how j is read - .

Despite the rather strict rules, there are some exceptions. For example, f can sometimes sound like [v] (in the word of). In addition, there are speech constructions in which some consonants may not be pronounced at all, for example, ballet, psychology, etc. From the point of view of pronunciation features, in English there is such a thing as an assimilable sound, when the consonant standing before the interdental [θ, ð] slightly changes its position for the convenience of pronouncing subsequent sounds: on the table, at the station, etc.

Consonants with two reading rules

When wondering how to pronounce English consonants, it is important to clarify that some of them may sound different, and the main criterion that determines the pronunciation option of a particular consonant is the adjacent vowel sound. Here are some options worth considering:

• g- the sound of the English letter g will look like before vowels i, e, y : gym, ginger; in all other cases it reads as [g]: gossip, game, etc.;
• c may have variant pronunciation [s] before vows i, e, y : cinema, cycle. Before other vowels it is read as [k]: cat, corn, etc.;
• s- the letter s can sound standard - [s]– either at the beginning of a word, or in the middle next to another consonant: son, course. In addition, voiceless consonants adjacent to [s] are also taken into account: cats, shops. However, s may have another sound option - [z]. This is how it will be read if it is worth between two vowels (cease, please) or at the end of a word after voiced consonants (beds, boys);
• x- The consonant x is special because it can be pronounced in two ways. Before a stressed vowel she will look like : exotic, auxiliary, etc. In all other cases, you need to speak using sound : Fox, Texas;
• r— the English letter r also has its own specific features. At the beginning of the word it always reads like [r]: raccoon, risk. However at the end of a word after vowels it will not be read: bear, clear.

Note: r in English has dual reading rules only in the British version. In American English, the reading principle will always be the same – [r].

Semivowel letters

A separate position is occupied by the so-called semivowels - w and y.

• w- The way w is read does not cause difficulties, since the sound will always be the same - [w].
• Y has two pronunciation options: [j] at the beginning of a word and represents the consonant sound (youth, yet) and [i] V the end of a word in an unstressed syllable as a vowel (skinny, ready).

The corresponding table will help illustrate the pronunciation options for consonants:

All these features of English consonants allow us to conclude that phonetic norms largely depend on the structure of a particular word and the vowels that are adjacent to the consonants. Following these rules will allow you to pronounce words correctly and not violate the basic conditions for pronunciation of letters. Particular attention must be paid to consonants with two pronunciation rules and to avoid misreading. Otherwise, errors in speech will be inevitable, since there are significantly more consonants in the language than vowels, and failure to comply with the above-described norms will be fraught with constant violations of the phonetic laws of the English language and misunderstanding on the part of the interlocutors.

The English language is becoming more widespread every day. Today it is spoken by most of the world's population, which automatically makes it an international language of communication. In addition to the American continents, it is studied in Europe and Asia. Australia, being part of the former British Empire, has long recognized English as its official language. If in Western Europe American and British English are studied by children from a very early age, then in Russia, Ukraine and other CIS countries they treat it very mediocrely. The school curriculum briefly goes over the most common words, but the rules for their use are not properly explained to children. All this forces people to learn on their own, which is much more difficult. Today we will look at how the vowels of the English alphabet are used in words. They influence the quality of pronunciation and perception of the language.

The consonants of the English alphabet are the basis of all words. The total number of letters is 26, of which there are 20 consonants, and there are only 6 vowels in English. Despite such a meager number, they can take different forms of pronunciation, as a result, about 20-24 sounds are obtained from 6 letters. All vowels and consonants are listed in the table below:

As you can see in the picture, the vowel letters in the English alphabet are highlighted in yellow. Next to each letter there is a transcription, thanks to which you can learn to correctly pronounce a particular letter. There has always been a need for transcription due to the fact that it is simply impossible to explain correct pronunciation using the example of the Russian language. If in Russian one letter is equal to one sound, then most of the vowels in the English alphabet are pronounced using a combination of two phonemes.

The final letter "Yy" can be a vowel or a consonant depending on the type of syllable. This should be taken into account when reading and morphemic analysis of words. Which sound will be determined by a particular letter depends on its position in the word and syllable.

Types of syllables of the English alphabet

In Russian language lessons, everyone learned an unshakable rule: the number of vowels in a word, the number of syllables in it. This also applies to the English language, which makes learning it much easier. For example, let’s take the word “octopus”, which means “octopus”. Oc-to-pus – three vowels and three syllables. The example is remarkable because it has everything we need: open and closed syllables.

Open syllable

This concept means a syllable that ends with a vowel or consists of one vowel letter:

1. A [ey] - the indefinite article, consisting of one letter, is an open syllable. Therefore, the article is read as indicated in the transcription.
2. Rules (rules) - consists of two syllables, but only the first is open. Therefore, “u” is read as in transcription, and “e” practically disappears from the word when pronounced.
3. Far (far) – the syllable is closed. Therefore, instead of [hey], a long [a] is pronounced.

Consonants and their combinations often change the phonetic meaning of vowel letters in the English alphabet, forming different types of syllables.

Closed syllable

Book, cook, root, meet, flat and other words where a consonant closes a syllable are words with closed syllables. In the examples listed above, “oo” is read as Russian “u”, “a” instead of [ey] is read as Russian “a”.

Vowel letters of the English alphabet: reading features

You already know that there are much fewer vowel letters in the English alphabet than their sounds. What else can affect the quality of phoneme pronunciation besides the type of syllable in a word? We will look at a few basic rules that will help you start pronouncing words correctly and improve your reading success in a foreign language.

1. The presence of the letter “R” in a word. If a letter is present in an open syllable, it is practically unreadable and merges with the adjacent vowel. This produces a sound similar to the Russian “e”. If the letter is in a closed syllable, then it affects the duration of the vowel pronunciation: long sounds become short and vice versa.
2. Emphasis. If the emphasis falls on the letters “a”, “o” or “u”, then their pronunciation is practically not performed. They are read casually; the duration of emphasis on these sounds is extremely short. The result is again a sound similar to the Russian “e”. For example, the combination sofa-bed (sofa-bed) is pronounced together, its transcription looks like [‘soufǝbǝd]. If the emphasis falls on “i”, “e” or “y”, they are pronounced like the Russian “i”. For example: city, enemy.
3. Pronunciation speed. When speaking quickly, it may happen that the stress in the word is not recognized at all. This results in the fact that a long vowel sound shortens the length of its pronunciation or disappears from the word altogether. All pronouns in English are pronounced with short vowels, although according to the rules it is necessary to speak with long sounding phonemes.
4. Weak and strong forms. Short vowels are automatically considered weak because they cannot take on stress, but when combined with other letters they can form new sounds. Weak short forms are mainly expressed in particles, articles and pronouns. In full-fledged words, strong long phonemes are much more common.

The most incomprehensible thing for a Russian-speaking person in learning the vowels of the English alphabet is the analysis of diphthongs. The combination of two sounds to pronounce one letter is new to the Russian language. For a general understanding, it is worth noting that all diphthongs are pronounced briefly, but their position in the word relative to the consonants and the type of consonants themselves matter. Before voiceless sounds like “f”, “h”, “s”, “t” and others, diphthongs practically disappear from the sound pronunciation and become very short.

There are 26 letters in the English language. All letters can be divided into vowels (vowels): a, e, i, o, u, y and consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, z.

In this case, consonants are divided into voiceless sounds (voiceless sounds) and voiced sounds (voiced sounds). Depending on how we use our speech apparatus (i.e. the position of the tongue in the mouth, etc.), sounds are divided into occlusive/plosive, nasal, fricative/ occlusive-frictional, labial-labial/labial-dental, dental/ alveolar. All these divisions of sounds are vast, separate topics that linguists need to know in detail. For an ordinary person who wants to read and pronounce English words correctly, first of all, it is necessary to know how certain letters are read in specific cases. And it is not at all necessary to know the detailed classification of sounds.

We tried to combine all the rules for reading English vowels and consonants in one table. We really hope that this will be useful to you.

But first, let's clear some concepts:

A closed syllable is a syllable that ends with a consonant (met, tent, bad, hat, etc.).

An open syllable is a syllable that ends with a vowel (be, he, fee, etc.). Open syllables also include those syllables that end with the “silent” letter “e” (pete, hate, lake).

In an open syllable, the letter usually has a long sound, i.e. the sound that it has in the alphabet, in a closed syllable the letter has a short sound.

Watch the length of the pronounced vowel sounds! In English, you cannot change the length of a sound at your discretion, as you can in Russian. For example, in Russian you can say: “Drink,” or say plaintively, “pi-i-it.” In English, this may change the meaning of the word. For example: “bin” is a hopper, and “bean” is a bean.

Also watch the consonants: a voiced sound should always remain voiced, and a voiceless sound should always remain voiceless, i.e. Only in Russian can you pronounce the word “cold” as “holot” and the meaning of the word will not change. In English you cannot do this: “led” (ice) means to lead, and “let” (years) means to allow; “bad” (bad) – bad, “bat” (bat) – bat; “ned” (ned) – redneck/bully, “net” (net) – network.

As for stress in English words, it can fall on any syllable, but most often the stressed syllable is the first syllable of the word.

If you want to consolidate the material you have covered, hone your oral skills, or demonstrate to others your correct English pronunciation, then the best way to do this is in conversation clubs.

There are 26 letters in the English language. In different combinations and positions they represent 44 sounds.
In the English language, there are 24 consonant sounds, and they are represented in writing by 20 letters: Bb; Cc; Dd; Ff; Gg ; Hh; Jj; Kk; LI; mm; Nn; Pp; Qq; Rr; Ss; Tt; Vv; Ww; Xx; Zz.
In the English language, there are 12 vowel sounds and 8 diphthongs, and they are represented in writing by 6 letters: Aa; Ee; li; Oo; Uu; Yy.

Video:

[English language. Beginner course. Maria Rarenko. First educational channel.]

Transcription and stress

Phonetic transcription is an international system of symbols used to show exactly how words should be pronounced. Each sound is shown with a separate icon. These icons are always written in square brackets.
The transcription indicates verbal stress (which syllable in the word the stress falls on). Accent mark [‘] placed before the stressed syllable.

English consonants

Features of English consonants
1. English consonants expressed by letters b, f, g, m, s, v, z, are close in pronunciation to the corresponding Russian consonants, but should sound more energetic and intense.
2. English consonants are not softened.
3. Voiced consonants are never deafened - neither before voiceless consonants, nor at the end of a word.
4. Double consonants, that is, two identical consonants next to each other, are always pronounced as one sound.
5. Some English consonants are pronounced aspirated: the tip of the tongue must be pressed firmly against the alveoli (the tubercles where the teeth are attached to the gums). Then the air between the tongue and teeth will pass with force, and the result will be a noise (explosion), that is, aspiration.

Rules for reading consonant letters in English: ,

English vowel sounds

The reading of each vowel depends on:
1. from other letters standing next to it, in front of it or behind it;
2. from being in a shock or non-stress position.

Rules for reading vowels in English: ,

They are not pronounced the way they are written. To read correctly, you need to follow the transcription. It shows how vowels are read in English.

History of the English alphabet

According to the official version, the English alphabet is 500 years older than the Russian one. Before the arrival of Christians, the ancestors of modern Englishmen used runic writing. In the 9th century, the Anglo-Saxons officially began to use the Old English Latin letter, which consisted of 20 Latin letters, 2 runes and 2 modified Latin graphemes.

Until the 11th century, there were attempts to streamline the English alphabet, but they were not successful because the Saxons, along with the new letter, also used the old one - runic.

Today the English alphabet includes 26 characters:

• English vowels - 5 letters;
• English consonants - 21 letters.

It is worth noting that the letters Y and R stand apart, since, depending on their position in the word, they can mean both a consonant and

Why do you need to know the English alphabet?

Knowing not only the spelling, but also the pronunciation of letters is an important condition for learning English. Why? The fact is that the spelling of the words does not match, since their recording does not obey any rules. Therefore, native speakers often resort to so-called spelling (from the word spell) - spelling. This difference in the English language is easy to understand by the spelling of the surname Smith, which, in addition to the popular spelling, can have the following variants:

• Smithe;
• Smythe;
• Smyth,
• Psmith.

The pronunciation of all surnames is the same.

Spelling skills are necessary for all English-speaking people, so the ability to quickly spell words begins from school. For example, in geography lessons, the teacher names geographical names that are new to them without asking the students. Any other teacher does exactly the same thing if a difficult or unfamiliar word is encountered in the lesson.

Therefore, when learning English, you need to pay due attention to developing spelling skills, which cannot be achieved without knowledge of the alphabet.

How are vowels pronounced in English?

English vowels, depending on their position in a word, can be short or long. This means that the short ones are simply pronounced and are similar to Russian vowels, while the second ones need to be pronounced longer, almost sung or pronounced as if you need to find out where to put the emphasis. When pronouncing, it is extremely important to follow this rule, since the meaning of the word depends on it. For example, in the word ship (ship) the sound [and] is pronounced as in the word “willow”. In the word sheep, the phoneme [and] is pronounced drawn out, as if it needs to be emphasized.

English vowels are divided into:

• short vowel sounds - mother (mother, mother), map (card), pencil (pencil), cup (cup), pot (bowler).
• long vowel sounds - father (father, dad), soon (soon, soon), dawn (dawn), bee (bee).
• diphthongs - 2 vowel English letters that are pronounced as one phoneme - fuel (fuel), bow (bow), coat (coat), fine (good).

What are the rules for reading vowels?

English vowels, unlike consonants, are subject to many reading rules:

• rules of closed and open syllables (z.s. and o.s.);
• vowel + r;
• vowel + r + vowel;
• combinations of vowel letters under stress.

Knowing these rules, you can develop the skill of almost error-free reading without knowledge of transcription. Let's look at the rules for reading 5 vowels and the letter Y with examples of words with transcription in Russian letters.

Open - a syllable that ends with a vowel, even if it is silent. Mute in English is the letter E, which is not readable at the end of a word. In this case, the vowel is pronounced as it is called in the alphabet. Closed - a syllable that ends with a consonant.

• note ([note]) - note;
• nose ([nose]) - nose;
• rice ([rice]) - rice;
• type ([type]) - print;
• shy ([shay]) - shy, modest;
• he ([hee]) - he;
• name ([name]) - name;
• same ([seim]) - identical;
• nine ([nine]) - nine;
• fume ([fume]) - smoke;
• cap ([cap]) - hat;
• pen ([pen]) - pen;
• lot ([lot]) - a lot;
• sit ([sit]) - sit, sit down;
• my ([may]) - my, mine, mine, mine;
• nut ([nut]) - nut.

Vowel + r - the vowel is pronounced drawn out.

• card ([ka:d]) - card;
• fork ([fo:k]) - fork;
• turn ([tö:n]) - turn, turn;
• girl ([gö:l]) - girl, girl;
• Byrd ([be:d]) is an English surname.

Vowel + r + vowel - the letter r is not pronounced, and the vowels are pronounced together as one sound.

• rare ([rea]) - rare;
• pure ([pyue]) - pure;
• here ([hie]) - here;
• fire ([faye]) - fire;
• store ([one hundred:]) - store;
• tire ([taye]) - tire.

A separate group consists of vowel English letters, which come in pairs and are called diphthongs. Diphthongs with examples are presented in the picture below.

In the article we looked at the basic rules of how vowels are read in English. The main thing when learning a language is practice, and in order to learn to read English well, you need to pay daily attention to developing reading and spelling skills.