Reading letter combinations in English table. Transcription and reading rules

", 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 or word. Often, students are faced with transcription at the beginning of learning a language, when it is still quite difficult to read even quite simple words, and then they simply don’t pay attention to it. However, this will not be the case forever.

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

In order not to have to remember the well-forgotten old things, we suggest returning to the repetition from time to time. Of course, ideally, the transcription should be completed together with the teacher, because writing cannot 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 vowel sounds

There are two types of vowel sounds - 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]- [au];
[ei]- [ Hey ];
[oi]- [ Ouch ];
[ai]- [ouch].

Rules for pronunciation of vowels in English

• Sound " a"has four varieties:
  [ ʌ ] - short sound, as in the words “duck”, “cut”;
  [ æ ] - soft sound. There is no analogue to it in the Russian language. It is read as in the word “cat”;
  [a:]- a long sound that is read as in the word “car”;
  [ ɔ ] - a short sound that sounds similar to both “o” and “a”. In British pronunciation, it is 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 little reminiscent of 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 can be practically inaudible or indistinguishable, for example, ["letə", "letter" - letter.

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

• Sound " O"also has 2 options - long and short:
  [ ɔ ] - 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]- short sound, as in the word “put”;
  [u:]- long sound, as in the word “blue”.

Transcription of consonants

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

Consonants
[b]- [b];
[d]- [d];
[f]- [f];
[ 3 ] - [ and ];
[dʒ]- [j];
[g]- [ G ];
[h]- [ X ];
[k]- [ To ];
[l]- [l];
[m]- [m];
[n]- [n];
[p]- [ P ];
[s]- [ With ];
[t]- [ T ];
[v]- [ V ];
[z]- [z];
[t∫]- [h];
[ ∫ ] - [w];
[r]- soft [r], as in the word Russian;
[ O ]- 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 located between the front teeth of the upper and lower jaws;
[ 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 “v” and “u” together, soft pronunciation.

Features of English transcription

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

• Feature 1. Transcription is always formatted in square brackets
• Feature 2. In order not to get confused about where to place the stress in a word, it is worth considering that it is always placed before the stressed syllable. ["neim] - transcription of the word name.
• Feature 3. It is important to understand that transcription is not the English letters and sounds that make up a word. Transcription is the sound of words.
• Feature 4. IN English language transcription consists of vowel sounds, diphthongs and consonants.
• Feature 5. In order to show that the 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, you need to understand that there are closed and open syllables. Open syllable ends with a vowel (game, sunshine), closed- on a consonant (ball, dog). Some sounds in English 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). Transcribing 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 them and repeat them regularly until they are practiced to the point of automaticity. In the end, the transcription will allow you to correctly pronounce sounds in English.

Memorizing English with transcription and correct pronunciation English letters and words will be perfectly supported by dictionaries. You can use both English online dictionaries and good old printed publications. 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 EnglishDom family

Let's divide the combinations of consonants into groups.

Ordinary sounds.

The letter combination “ck” replaces the letter “k” according to rule of three letters If a word has one vowel, then the letter combination “ck” is written, but if there are two vowels, then the letter “k” is written. The sound will be the same in both cases. Compare: lock - lock and look - look.

In the combination “qu”, the vowel “u” produces the consonant sound [w]. The combination "qu" is similar to the croaking of a frog.

The letter combination “dg” + silent “e” replaces the letter “g” + silent “e” at the end of a word according to the four-letter rule. If there is a consonant before “g”, then “g” + silent “e” is written, if not, then “dg” + silent “e” is written. The sound will be the same in both cases. Compare: pledge - pledge, plunge - immersion.

Hissing sounds.

Since the English alphabet does not have special letters for hissing sounds, as in Russian: “ch” and “sh”, these hissing sounds are formed by a combination of letters. The sound consists of two letters, but is pronounced together, like the Russian “ch”. It is necessary to remember about the pairs unvoiced - voiced: [∫ - ʒ], as in the Russian alphabet: "sh" - "zh", "ch" - "j".

At the end of words, the letter combination “tch” is written instead of “ch” according to the four-letter rule: if there is a consonant sound before it, then “ch” is written, if not, then “tch”. For example: inch [ınt∫] - inch, itch [ıt∫] - thirst. Exceptions: much - very, rich - rich, such - such.

Interdental sounds- deaf and voiced. Voiceless is used in semantic words: nouns, adjectives, verbs, numerals. Therefore, to read the combination “th” you need to know the translation of the word or part of speech. The voiced sound is used in pronouns and function words: prepositions, conjunctions, and in the definite article. Between vowels, the interdental sound is always voiced. For example: mother [‘mʌðə] – mother. Exceptions are borrowed from the Greek word, for example: author [ɔ:Өə] - author, method [‘meӨəd] - method.

Greek by origin, the letter combination “ph” [f] is often found in international words similar in different languages. For example, similar Russian words: telephone [‘telıfəʊn] – telephone, phone – sound, call on the phone, physics [‘fızıks] – physics.

Nasal[ŋ] at the end of a word most often occurs in the ending –ing [ıŋ], although there are other cases. It must be remembered that the letter “g” is not pronounced. This letter is pronounced only in the middle of a word, for example: English [‘ıŋglı∫] – English. The sound combination [ŋk] is formed not only by combining the letters “nk”, but also whenever the letter “n” is followed by the sound [k], for example: anxious [‘æŋk∫əs] – preoccupied.

Mute consonants are not pronounced and therefore do not require additional explanations. For the letter combination “wh” the rule changes when the letter “o” follows. In this case, the silent letters change places in this letter combination. For example: whole - whole, who - who, whose - whose.

In conclusion, we note that the letter “h” is the most combinable letter in the English alphabet. So, if you come across this letter in a word, see if it appears in some letter combination.

Transcription is a recording of the sound of a letter or word in the form of a sequence of special phonetic symbols.

Transcription may not be of interest to everyone, but it is, without a doubt, useful. Knowing the transcription, you outside help read an unfamiliar word correctly. During classes, you can read the transcription of a word yourself (for example, from the blackboard) without asking others, thereby making it easier for yourself to assimilate lexical material, etc.

At first there will be errors in correct reading, because... There are always some subtleties in pronunciation. But this is just a matter of practice. A little later, if necessary, you will be able to transcribe the words yourself.

Transcription is directly related to reading rules. In English, not everything that is seen (letter combinations) is read (as in Russian and Spanish, for example).

When textbooks (mostly domestic ones) talk about reading rules, much attention is paid to the type of syllable. About five such types are usually described. But such a detailed theoretical presentation of the rules of reading does not greatly ease the fate of a beginner, and can even mislead him. It must be remembered that good knowledge reading rules are a great merit of practice, not theory.

Your attention will be presented to the basic rules for reading individual letters and letter combinations. “Behind the scenes” there will be some phonetic aspects that are difficult to convey in writing.

A little patience! Both transcription and reading rules are easily learned in a short time. Then you will be surprised: “How easy it has become to read and write!”

However, do not forget that, despite its wide distribution, the English language does not cease to be a LANGUAGE, full of exceptions, stylistic and other delights. And at any stage of language learning, and especially at the beginning, look into the dictionary more often.

Transcription icons and their pronunciation

Notes:

o]. But, in modern English dictionaries this sound is usually designated as shown in the table.

Diphthong is a complex sound that consists of two sounds. In most cases, a diphthong can be "broken" into two sounds, but not in writing. Since in many cases one of the component sounds of a diphthong, if used separately, will have a different designation. For example diphthong [ au]: separately such transcription icon as [ a] - Does not exist. Therefore, most diphthongs are not indicated by a combination of different transcription symbols, but by their own sign.

In many school textbooks and in some domestic dictionaries this sound is designated as [ ou], which is more clear. But, in modern English dictionaries this sound is usually designated as shown in the table.

This sign often denotes unstressed vowel sounds in transcription, regardless of the letters (combinations) that produce this sound.

Reading rules

English words have several types of syllables. However, to understand the entire system, it is necessary to remember and distinguish between the following two types: open And closed.

Open syllable ends with a vowel: game, like, stone- a vowel letter in a word is read the same way as in the alphabet.

Closed syllable ends with a consonant: pen, cat, bus- a vowel in a syllable gives a different sound.

Stress in transcription and words is indicated by a vertical line before the stressed syllable.

Single vowel sounds

Vowel diphthongs

Consonants

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Letter sounds - 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 the English language. The standard English alphabet begins with the letter a and ends with the letter z.

When classifying alphabetic characters, the following are distinguished:

• 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.

Learning the English alphabet requires knowledge of both the symbol that represents each letter and the phonetic sounds associated with that letter. Learning English phonetics is difficult. Only a small number of letters have no exceptions in the basic sound.

In most cases, each letter has several phonemes. The letter B sometimes sounds like bat (bat) or does not sound, for example, in the words crumb (cram), dumb (dam). The letter C sounds like the “k” for cat, or the “c” for ceiling, or the “tch” for church. And the list of exceptions is endless.

Vowel sounds

Vowels represent the main category of phonemes in English speech. There are 20 vowel sounds in spoken English. This discrepancy (with respect to letter characters) underlies the difficulty of writing in English.

For short and long vowels, additional vowel sounds are used. For the sounds a and e – when the vowel accompanies the sound r. For o the options are varied.

Consonants

alphabet order

Transcription and stress

Phonetic transcriptions tell about the pronunciation of words. In English dictionaries it is necessary condition, because the spelling does not tell how the word is pronounced.

Phonetic transcriptions are written in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), in which each English sound assigned its own symbol. For example, IPA based phonetic transcription the words home are /hoʊm/, the transcription of come is /kʌm/, despite the fact that the spelling of the words is similar (both end in –ome), but are transcribed with differences.

The rules do not fully cover aspects of stress in English words. The language is characterized by the presence of exceptions, and the British themselves make mistakes, especially in polysyllabic words.

But obviously some basic rules still apply:

Prefixes in two-syllable words are not stressed except in some nouns or adjectives. Two-syllable nouns starting with a prefix are studied individually.

English consonants

There are fewer consonant letters in the English alphabet than consonant sounds. Therefore, to expand the alphabet, digraphs like "ch", "sh", "th" and "zh", and some letters and digraphs represent more than just one consonant. For example, the sound written “th” in this is transcribed as /ð/, and “th” in thin – /θ/.

English consonant sounds are classified according to a combination of functions:

In addition, there is a function "voiceless alveolar stop", /t/, when the mechanism air flow omitted.

According to the method of formation, consonant sounds are divided into:

1. Approximant: j, w, r.
2. Nine fricative consonants: f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ,ʒ,h.
3. Lateral approximant: l.
4. Two affricative sounds: tʃ and dʒ.
5. Six explosive sounds: p,b,t,d,k,g.
6. Nasal consonants: m, n, ŋ.

The sound – [x] – is a voiceless fricative – non-standard for the English language. Although in some original words, such as ugh (ugh!), it is an additional marker of irritation. In writing, the fricative is represented as "gh".

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Features of English consonants

A consonant combination is a set of two or three consonant letters that, when pronounced, retain the original sound. 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. The starting 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. In the same way, the final sound in “r” is combined with “r” when “br” and “cr”, for example, in the words bridge, crane. On the contrary, in “s” it begins 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 a single sound. Some digraphs appear both at the beginning and at the end of a word - “sh”, “ch” and “th”. There are also strict initial and final digraphs – “kn-” and “-ck”.

Examples of digraphs:

Features of digraphs:

Table of pronunciation of English consonants

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 sound (schwa).

There are 5 vowels in the English alphabet, 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, occur when a word contains one vowel, either at the beginning of a word or between two consonants. For example, if, elk, hop, fan. The typical short vowel pattern is consonant+vowel+consonant (CGS).

Words are taught as families, which represent groups of words with a common pattern, such as the pattern “-ag” – bag, wag, tag or “-at” – cat, bat, hat.

Features of reading vowels:

The vowel sound in unstressed syllables is expressed with a shortened neutral sound ("schwa"), the phonemic symbol /ə/, especially if no syllabic consonants are used.

For example:

• a in about, around, approve, above [ə bʌv];
• e in accident, mother, taken, camera;
• i in, 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 classified as monophthongs, diphthongs or triphthongs. A monophthong is when there is one vowel sound in a syllable, a diphthong is when there are two vowel sounds in a syllable.

Let's take a closer look:

1. Monophthongs – pure and stable vowels, the acoustic characteristics (timbre) of which do not change during the time they are pronounced.
2. A diphthong is a sound formed by the combination of two adjacent vowels in one syllable. Technically, the tongue (or other parts of the vocal apparatus) moves when pronouncing a vowel sound - the first position is stronger than the second. In diphthong transcription, the first character represents the starting point of the body of the tongue, the second character represents the direction of movement. For example, you should be aware that in the letter combination /aj/, the body of the tongue is in the lower central position represented by the symbol /a/, and immediately begins to move up and forward to the position for /i/.
3. Diphthongs are often formed when individual vowels work together in fast conversation. Usually (in the speaker’s speech) the body of the tongue does not have time to reach the /i/ position. Therefore, the diphthong often ends closer to /ɪ/ or even to /e/. In the diphthong /aw/, the body of the tongue moves from the low central position of /a/, then moves up and back to the position of /u/. Although there are also single diphthongs, which are heard as separate vowel sounds (phonemes).
4. There are also triphthongs in English.(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.

Pronunciation table for simple English vowel sounds

All vowel sounds are formed from only 12 monophthongs. Every word in English, regardless of spelling, is pronounced using some combination of these sounds.

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

Diphthong pronunciation table

Learning transcription of English words

Let's look at some features of English transcription:

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

Having studied the Russian alphabet, we can easily read any texts. But to read correctly in English you will have to put in more effort, because there are many discrepancies between the spelling and pronunciation of words. If you decide to learn this language on your own and cannot understand how to read words in English correctly, then this material is exactly what you need. Today we will look at the nuances of pronunciation of English letters and letter combinations, and find out how easy it is to learn to read English from scratch. A table that shows all the letters and their sounds will help you learn the rules of reading English for beginners.

First, let's get acquainted with the most important law of reading in English - the rule of open and closed syllables. There is no similar norm in the Russian language, so we will analyze in detail what it is. Please pay attention to the transcription.

An open syllable is a syllable that ends with a vowel sound. As a rule, it occurs in the following cases:

• The word ends in a vowel, so the last syllable is always open: t ake[take].*
• A vowel is followed by a consonant, followed by another vowel sound: ed uca tion [education].
• There are two vowels adjacent to the word: cr ue l [cruel].

*Final e in most cases it is considered “dumb”, that is, it is not pronounced, but appears at the heart of the word precisely to form an open syllable.

In open syllables, the vowel is always pronounced smoothly and drawn out. Accordingly, closed syllables are all those syllables in which the vowel sound is closed by a consonant and therefore sounds short and abrupt: c ut[cat].

In addition, special reading rules in English are characteristic of syllables in which the vowel sound ends with the letter r. The fact is that in the British version of the pronunciation of such syllables, the letter r is often completely omitted, i.e. not pronounced. Therefore, there are two options for reading such letter combinations:

1. In an open syllable, when r is surrounded by vowels, only both vowels are read: c are[keea]. In such cases, the last e will not be dumb.
2. In a closed syllable ( voice+r+acc.), r is also unreadable, but affects the sound of the vowel sound, making it longer: start [staat]

The rule of open and closed syllables is the basic law of reading in English, although there are many exceptions to it. But it’s too early to teach exceptions without knowing the main rules. Therefore, now we will look at the sound options of all letters and letter combinations.

Rules for reading English for beginners - letter and sound correspondence table

Even if you started learning English and reading it from scratch, you are probably already familiar with the spelling and sound of all the letters of the English alphabet. But, as we already learned from the previous section, when reading, the pronunciation of letters depends on the type of syllable or letter combination. Therefore, in the tables below you can find several sound options for the same letter. But don't be alarmed, there will be an accessible explanation for each case. So, let's continue to learn English for beginners and learn the rules of reading in English.

Consonants

Let's start with the easiest thing: with a table of consonants, the pronunciation of which is similar to the Russian sound.

*English d and t are pronounced with more aspiration than their Russian counterparts.

**w is pronounced with the lips extended into a tube, the result is something between the Russian sounds v and u.

Now let's look at more complex letters.

We will also study letter combinations of consonants in English.

In addition, it is worth considering that the English language never allows consonants at the very end of a word to be deafened. Otherwise, you may say something completely different from what you wanted. For example: back [back] – behind, behind; bag [bag] – bag, sack.

Vowels

It is much more difficult to cope with reading English vowels, but the already familiar rules of open and closed syllables will help us understand it. We take them into service and learn to read the vowels of the English language correctly.

Do not forget that in a closed syllable all letters are pronounced briefly.

And the vowels of an open syllable are always smooth and drawn out.

We remember that the letter r after a vowel, as a rule, is not pronounced.

Now we know how to read vowels in English words. But for perfect reading in English, it is necessary to study one more point.

Diphthongs and triphthongs in English

An important aspect of English for beginners is diphthongs and triphthongs, i.e. combinations of two or three letters that have a special sound. Their pronunciation is called sliding, because. First, the main sound is pronounced intensively, and then it is smoothly transferred to the secondary sound. Diphthongs are a kind of exception and do not obey general grammatical laws, so they can only be learned by heart. The table below will help us learn the rules for reading English diphthongs for beginners.

*doubling the letter indicates the length of the first sound in relation to the second.

So, we have looked at the main nuances of reading in English. Treat the stated rules responsibly: conduct reading lessons more often and be sure to learn to distinguish between types of syllables in English. Otherwise, you will make gross mistakes in pronunciation, which will lead to a complete misunderstanding of your words by the interlocutor. Good luck in learning English and see you again!