Basic information about Phonics, Pronunciation, and Syllabication

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Basic information about Phonics, Pronunciation, and Syllabication

Phonics
phon·ics/ˈfɑ:-nɪks/ noun
[noncount] : a method of teaching people to read and pronounce words by learning the sounds of letters, letter groups, and syllables

Phonics is a system for pronouncing written symbols that represent the way words sound. It is both a reading and spelling tool. There are 26 letters in the English alphabet but 40 sounds in the English language (15 sounds for the 5 vowels). Phonics, pronunciation, and syllabication go hand-in-hand since most people try to sound out unfamiliar words by saying them syllable-by-syllable. When they write or spell words, they usually break them into syllables.

Vowels, Consonants, and Pronunciation

vow·el /ˈva-wəl/ noun
plural vow·els
[count] 1: a speech sound made with your mouth open and your tongue in the middle of your mouth not touching your teeth, lips, etc.
2: a letter (such as a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y in English) that represents a vowel — compare consonant

con·so·nant /ˈkɑ:n-sə-nənt/ noun
plural con·so·nants
[count] 1: a speech sound (such as /p/, /d/, or /s/) that is made by partly or completely stopping the flow of air breathed out from the mouth
2: a letter that represents a consonant ; especially: any letter of the English alphabet except a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y — compare vowel

pro·nun·ci·a·tion /prə-ˌnʌn-si-ˈeɪ-ʃən/ noun
plural pro·nun·ci·a·tions
[count] : the way in which a word or name is pronounced

diph·thong /ˈdɪfˌθɑ:ŋ/ noun
plural diph·thongs
[count] linguistics: two vowel sounds joined in one syllable to form one speech sound ▪ The sounds of “ou” in “out” and of “oy” in “boy” are diphthongs.

First, though, a quick review. The alphabet consists of 26 letters. Letters are divided into two general categories: vowels (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y) and consonants (the remaining letters). Depending on the word, the letter y can be a vowel or a consonant. You can remember the vowels if you remember this joke: A student asks the teacher, “Is there a word in the English language that uses all the vowels including ‘y’?” The teacher replies Unquestionably! (The word “unquestionably” include all the vowels and “y.”)

Vowels are important because every word has at least one vowel sound. Vowels can have long or short sounds:

• Long vowels sound like the name of the letter itself, as in the first sound in the words ape, eagle, ice, open, and use. In dictionary pronunciations, long vowel sounds are indicated by a “long mark” or macron. A macron is a bar written over the letter (for example, the /ā/ in the word ape). The Long "i" (ī) sound is the diphthong /aɪ/.
• Short vowels sound like the first sound in the words apple, egg, it, ox, and up. In the dictionary, short vowel sounds are indicated by breve, a curved mark above the vowel (for example, the /ă/ in apple).
• There is also a long oo and a short oo (double "oo") sound. The long double "oo" (/u:/) sounds the way it does in moon, choose, food, boot, and scoop. The short double "oo" (/ʊ/) sounds the way it does in took, good, foot, and hood.
• The schwa (/ˈʃwɑ:/), whose dictionary symbol (/ə/) resembles an upside-down "e", represents an unstressed vowel. All five vowels can have the schwa sound, which sounds like [uh], as in the words about, item, edible, gallop, and circus.
• The diphthongs /aʊ/ and /oɪ/ (diphthong /aɪ/ is the long "i" (ī) sound) are complex vowel sounds the way it does in cow, fountain; and boil, annoy.

Pronunciation of Vowels in Open and Closed Syllables

Syllables can be open or closed. This affects the sound of the vowel in the syllable.
• Open syllables end in a vowel, and the vowel has a long sound (as in be, or the last syllable of halo).
• Closed syllables contain (enclose) a vowel between two consonants, and a vowel in a closed syllable has a short sound (as in pat, pet, pit, pot, and put). Another way of saying this is that in words that consist of a vowel between two consonants, the vowel is short (hat, leg, tip, dog, hum).

Two Other Helpful Pronunciation Rules

• Silent–e rule: In words that end with a vowel + consonant + silent "e", the vowel usually has a long sound.

Examples: behave, scene, time, whole, huge

• Two-vowels-together rule: When two vowels are next to each other in a word, the first vowel is usually long and the second is silent (not pronounced). You might remember the rhyme from elementary school that sums it up, “When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.”

Examples: restrain, team, die, throat, pay

Consonants

Consonants are the rest of the alphabet letters other than a, e, i, o, and u. Fifteen consonants have only a single sound. Some consonants (c, g, d, q, s, and x) have more than one sound when they are combined with other letters. Consonant combinations can be digraphs or blends:

• Consonant digraphs are pairs of letters that together create a new sound. Think, for example of "ph" that sounds like an /f/ (photo), "gh" that sounds like an /f/ (cough), and the three sounds of "ch" /tʃ/, /ʃ/, and /k/ (cheer, chef, choir).
• Consonant blends are what the name suggests: combinations that blend the sounds of individual consonants. Common blends involve the consonants "s" (smile, snoop, speak, squeal, spring, stream, sweet), "l" (blur, clothes, flip, glass, please), and "r" (breath, cream, drip, free, grape, praise, trail).

The letter "y" can be a vowel or a consonant; it depends on where it appears in a word. When it occurs at the beginning of a word, it is a consonant and sounds /j/ (as in yes, youth, year). It is a vowel when it occurs within a word or ends a word. As a vowel, it will sound like a long or short "i" (as in my or myth) or like a long "e" (as in the last sound in happy). The letter "w" is usually a consonant (as in wish), but also appears in vowel combinations (as in jaw, tower, row).

Hard and Soft Sounds of C and G

The consonants "c" and "g" can each be pronounced two ways: hard or soft. When they are followed by e, i, or y, they have the soft sound. Knowing that e, i, or y changes their pronunciation to the soft sound will help you spell more words correctly.

• C sounds like /k/ (hard sound) or /s/ (soft sound). (The alphabet contains both of those letters, but have the letter c anyway!) It sounds soft—like /s/—when it is followed by e, i, or y.

Examples:
In cage, country, comb, and cube, the "c" sounds like /k/ (the hard sound).
In cement, city, and cycle, the "c" sounds like /s/ (the soft sound).

• "G" has a hard sound /g/ (as in gate), but when followed by e, i, or y, it's the soft sound of [j] /ʤ/.

Examples:
In game, go, and gum, the "g" has a hard sound.
In germ, giant, and gym, the "g" sounds like [j] /ʤ/ (the soft sound).

Syllabication

syl·lab·i·ca·tion /sə-ˌlæ-bəl-ˈkeɪ-ʃən/ noun
: the act, process, or method of forming or dividing words into syllables

syl·la·ble /ˈsɪ-lə-bəl/ noun
plural syl·la·bles
[count] : any one of the parts into which a word is naturally divided when it is pronounced

A syllable is a unit of sound (spoken language) that has one vowel sound. A word can consist of only one syllable (I, go, try, stay) or it can have several syllables (dic•tion•ar•y). It is also used to describe one or more written letters or phonetic symbols that represent a spoken syllable. Syllabication refers to dividing written words into syllables. Syllabication is useful to know: when you are writing and a word is too long to fit on a line, you must divide the word correctly. Words should always be divided between syllables.

Knowledge of syllabication is also helpful in pronouncing words. Dictionaries show words divided into syllables, but you won’t always have a dictionary or computer at hand. Therefore, knowing a few basic rules of syllabication will help you greatly.

Basic Syllabication Rules

Here are a few basic syllabication rules. In these rules, "V" stands for vowel, and "C" stands for consonant. The slanted line shows where the word is likely to be divided. Each syllable has one and only one vowel sound, regardless of how many actual vowels appear in the syllable. For example, the word beauty has four vowels (e, a, u, and y), but only two vowel sounds (the long u and the y, which sounds like /ˈbju:-ti/). Therefore, the word has two syllables.

1. Affixes Affixes are word parts that are added to a root, a base word that has a meaning of its own. Prefixes and suffixes are affixes. A prefix is word part attached to the beginning of a word that adds its meaning to that base word. A suffix is a word part that is attached to the end of a root word. For example, the word unhelpful contains the prefix is "un", the base or root word "help", and the suffix "–ful". There are a few syllabication rules regarding affixes.

 Prefixes are always separate syllables (pre•scribe, re•turn, dis•play, sub•tract).
 Suffixes are usually separate syllables (hand•ful, kind•ness, state•ment).
 The suffix "–ed" is a separate syllable when the base word ends in d or t (land•ed, hunt•ed).
 The suffix "–y", along with the consonant that precedes it, usually forms a separate syllable (late•ly, no•sy).

2. Compound words Compound words are made of two other words. Divide them between those words (mail•box; lap•top).

3. V/CV When there is a consonant between two vowels, the consonant usually goes with the second syllable (na•ture, de•ny, be•low, a•go, spo•ken, e•vil, a•bove). Notice that the first syllable is open and has a long vowel sound. The exception is if the consonant is an r; it usually stays with the first vowel (per•il, bar•i•tone).

4. VC/CV When two consonants appear together, you will usually divide between them (com•mon, mix•ture, hun•ger, pic•nic).

5. Two vowel sounds: Divide words between two vowel sounds (a•re•a, re•li•a•ble, fi•as•co). Remember, though, that often two or more vowels together make only one sound (beau•ty, cou•ra•geous).

6. VC/CCV When there are three consonants between two vowels, divide between the first consonant and the blend or digraph that follows it (spar•kler, stran•gled, cas•tle, nor•thern, ham•ster).

7. Final "le" If a word ends in a consonant followed by "¬le", those three letters form the last syllable (ta•ble, an•gle, bun•dle).

Pronunciation Tips

With regard to pronunciation, keep in mind this general information, much of which was just presented:

• Vowels in closed syllables are short. That is, when a vowel is followed (closed in) by one or more consonants, that vowel is usually short. Examples: pat, pet, pit, pot, put

• If a words ends in a vowel + a consonant + e, the vowel is long and the e is silent (not pronounced): VCe. Examples: ate, delete, kite, rope, and mute

• An open syllable (a single vowel at the end of a word a syllable) usually has a long sound. Examples: she, my, he•ro, la•bel

• When two vowels appear together, the first one is usually long and the second one is silent.

• Vowels followed by r may not sound long or short. Instead, they have a sound that is neither long nor short. Such vowels are sometimes referred to as r-controlled vowels. In dictionary pronunciation keys, the have a special mark above them that looks like a roof (û). Examples: morning, murder, refer, heard, rare, word, perfect

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