English orthographyFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

English orthography is the orthography used in writing the English language, including English spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Like the orthographic systems of most world languages, it has a broad degree of standardization. However, unlike most languages, English provides more than one way to spell nearly every phoneme, and most letters and letter-combinations can stand for different pronunciations depending on context and meaning. This is largely due to the complex history of the English language [1]  together with the absence of systematic spelling reforms. In general, modern English spelling, much of which was devised originally for the phonetic spelling of Middle English, does not reflect the sound changes that have occurred since the late fifteenth century (such as the Great Vowel Shift).[2] There are somevariations in English orthography by global regions, some of which resulted from spelling reform efforts that succeeded only partially and only in certain regions.

Contents

  [hide] 

1   Function of the letters o 1.1   Phonemic representation o 1.2   Word origin o 1.3   Homophone differentiation o 1.4   Marking sound changes in other letters o 1.5   Multiple functionality o 1.6   Underlying representation

2   Diacritics 3   Ligatures 4   Phonic irregularities 5   Spelling irregularities

o 5.1   History o 5.2   "Ough" words

6   Spelling patterns o 6.1   Spelling-to-sound correspondences

6.1.1   Vowels 6.1.2   Combinations of vowel letters 6.1.3   Consonants 6.1.4   Combinations of vowel letters and "r" 6.1.5   Combinations of other consonant and vowel letters

o 6.2   Sound-to-spelling correspondences 6.2.1   Consonants 6.2.2   Vowels

7   See also o 7.1   Orthographies of English related languages

8   References 9   Bibliography 10   External links

Function of the letters[edit]

Note: In the following discussion, only one or two common pronunciations of American and British English varieties are used in this article for each word cited. Other regional pronunciations may be possible for some words, but indicating all possible regional variants in the article is impractical.

Phonemic representation[edit]Further information: Phonemic orthography

Letters in English orthography usually represent a particular sound (phoneme). For example, the word cat /ˈkæt/ consists of three letters ⟨c⟩, ⟨a⟩, and ⟨t⟩, in which ⟨c⟩represents the sound /k/, ⟨a⟩ the sound /æ/, and ⟨t⟩ the sound /t/.

Sequences of letters may perform this role as well as single letters. Thus, in the word ship (pronounced /ˈʃɪp/), the digraph ⟨sh⟩ (two letters) represents the sound /ʃ/. In the wordditch, the three letters ⟨tch⟩ represent the sound /tʃ/.

Less commonly, a single letter can represent multiple successive sounds. The most common example is the letter ⟨x⟩, which normally represents the consonant cluster /ks/ (for example, in the word six, pronounced /ˈsɪks/).

The same letter (or sequence of letters) may be pronounced in different ways when it occurs in different positions within a word. For instance, the digraph ⟨gh⟩ represents the sound /f/ at the end of some words, such as rough /ˈrʌf/. At the beginning of syllables (i.e. the syllable onset), the digraph ⟨gh⟩ is pronounced /ɡ/, as in the word ghost(pronounced /ˈɡoʊst/). Conversely, the digraph ⟨gh⟩ is never pronounced /f/ in syllable onsets and is almost never pronounced /ɡ/ in syllable codas (the proper name Pittsburghis an exception).

Some words contain silent letters, which do not represent any sound in modern English pronunciation. Examples include the ⟨b⟩ in doubt, debt, dumb, etc., the ⟨p⟩ inpsychology and pneumatic, and the commonly encountered silent   ⟨ e ⟩  (discussed further below).

Word origin[edit]See also: Hard and soft C, Hard and soft G, Silent k and Palatalization (phonetics)

Another type of spelling characteristic is related to word origin. For example, when representing a vowel, the letter ⟨y⟩ represents the sound /ɪ/ in some words borrowed fromGreek (reflecting an original upsilon), whereas the letter usually representing this sound in non-Greek words is the letter ⟨i⟩. Thus, the word myth /ˈmɪθ/ is of Greek origin, whilepith /ˈpɪθ/ is a Germanic word. Other examples include ⟨ph⟩ pronounced /f/ (which is usually spelt ⟨f⟩), and ⟨ch⟩ pronounced /k/ (which is usually spelt ⟨c⟩ or ⟨k⟩) – the use of these spellings for these sounds often mark words that have been borrowed from Greek.

Some researchers, such as Brengelman (1970), have suggested that, in addition to this marking of word origin, these spellings indicate a more formal level of style or register in a given text, although Rollings (2004) finds this point to be exaggerated as there would be many exceptions where a word with one of these spellings, such as ⟨ph⟩ for /f/ (liketelephone), could occur in an informal text.

Homophone differentiation[edit]

Spelling may also be useful to distinguish between homophones (words with the same pronunciation but different meanings), although in most cases the reason for the difference is historical and was not introduced for the purpose of making a distinction. For example, the words heir and air are pronounced identically in most dialects, but in writing they are distinguished from each other by their different spellings. Another example is the pair of homophones pain and pane, where both are pronounced /ˈpeɪn/ but have two different spellings of the vowel /eɪ/. Often this is because of the historical pronunciation of each word where, over time, two separate sounds become the same but the different spellings remain: pain used to be pronounced as /ˈpain/, with a diphthong, and pane as /ˈpeːn/, but the diphthong /ai/ merged with the long vowel /eː/ in pane, making pain and panehomophones (pane – pain   merger ). Later /eː/ became a diphthong /eɪ/.

In written language, this may help to resolve potential ambiguities that would arise otherwise (cf. He's breaking the car vs. He's braking the car). Nevertheless, many homophones remain that are unresolved by spelling (for example, the word bay has at least five fundamentally different meanings).

Marking sound changes in other letters[edit]See also: Silent e

Another function of some letters in English is to provide information about the pronunciation of other letters in the word. Rollings (2004) uses the term "markers" for letters with this function. Letters may mark different types of information. For instance the letter ⟨e⟩ in the word cottage /ˈkɒtɨdʒ/ indicates that the preceding ⟨g⟩ is pronounced /dʒ/, rather than the more common value of ⟨g⟩ in word-final position as the sound /ɡ/, such as in tag /ˈtæɡ/. The letter ⟨e⟩ also often marks an altered pronunciation of a preceding vowel. In the pair ban and bane, the ⟨a⟩ of ban has the value /æ/, whereas the ⟨a⟩ of bane is marked by the ⟨e⟩ as having the value /eɪ/. In this context, the ⟨e⟩ is not pronounced, and is referred to as "silent e". A single letter may even fill multiple pronunciation-marking roles simultaneously. For example, in the word wage, the ⟨e⟩ marks not only the change of the ⟨a⟩ from /æ/ to /eɪ/, but also of the ⟨g⟩ from /ɡ/ to /dʒ/.

Multiple functionality[edit]

A given letter or (letters) may have dual functions. For example, the letter ⟨i⟩ in the word cinema has a sound-representing function (representing the sound /ɪ/) and a pronunciation-marking function (marking the ⟨c⟩ as having the value /s/ opposed to the value /k/).

Underlying representation[edit]

Like many other alphabetic orthographies, English spelling does not represent non-contrastive phonetic sounds (that is, minor differences in pronunciation which are not used to distinguish between different words). Although the letter ⟨t⟩ is pronounced by some speakers with aspiration [tʰ] at the beginning of words, this is never indicated in the spelling, and, indeed, this phonetic detail is probably not noticeable to the average native speaker not trained in phonetics. However, unlike some orthographies, English orthography often represents a very abstract underlying representation (or morphophonemic form) of English words.[3]

[T]he postulated underlying forms are systematically related to the conventional orthography ... and are, as is well known, related to the underlying forms of a much earlier historical stage of the language. There has, in other words, been little change in lexical representation since Middle English, and, consequently, we would expect ... that lexical representation would differ very little from dialect to dialect in Modern English ... [and] that conventional orthography is probably fairly close to optimal for all modern English dialects, as well as for the attested dialects of the past several hundred years. [4]

In these cases, a given morpheme (i.e. a component of a word) has a fixed spelling even though it is pronounced differently in different words. An example is the past tense suffix-⟨ed⟩, which may be pronounced variously as /t/, /d/, or - in some accents - /ɨd/ (for example, dip /ˈdɪp/, dipped /ˈdɪpt/, boom /ˈbuːm/, boomed /ˈbuːmd/, loot /ˈluːt/, looted /ˈluːtɨd/). As it happens, these different pronunciations of -⟨ed⟩ can be predicted by a few phonological rules, but that is not the reason why its spelling is fixed.

Another example involves the vowel differences (with accompanying stress pattern changes) in several related words. For instance, the word photographer is derived from the word photograph by adding the derivational suffix -⟨er⟩. When this suffix is added, the vowel pronunciations change largely owing to the moveable stress:

Spelling Pronunciation

photograph /ˈfoʊtəɡræf/ or /ˈfoʊtəɡrɑːf/

photographer /fəˈtɒɡrəfər/

photographical /ˌfoʊtəˈɡræfɨkəl/

Other examples of this type are the -⟨ity⟩ suffix (as in agile vs agility, acid vs acidity, divine vs divinity, sane vs sanity). See also: Trisyllabic laxing.

Another such class of words includes sign /ˈsaɪn/ and bomb /ˈbɒm/ with "silent" letters ⟨g⟩ and ⟨b⟩, respectively. However, in the related words signature and bombard these letters are pronounced /ˈsɪɡnətʃər/ and /bɒmˈbɑrd/, respectively. Here it could be argued that the underlying representation of sign and bomb is |saɪɡn| and |bɒmb|, in which the underlying |ɡ| and |b| are only pronounced in the surface forms when followed by certain suffixes (-⟨ature⟩, -⟨ard⟩). Otherwise, the |ɡ| and |b| are not realized in the surface pronunciation (e.g. when standing alone, or when followed by suffixes like -⟨ing⟩ or -⟨er⟩). In these cases, the orthography indicates the underlying consonants that are present in certain words but are absent in other related words. Other examples include the ⟨t⟩ in fast /ˈfɑːst/ and fasten /ˈfɑːsən/, and the ⟨h⟩ in heir /ˈɛər/ and inherit /ɪnˈhɛrɨt/.

Another example includes words like mean /ˈmiːn/ and meant /ˈmɛnt/. Here the vowel spelling ⟨ea⟩ is pronounced differently in the two related words. Thus, again the orthography uses only a single spelling that corresponds to the single morphemic form rather than to the surface phonological form.

English orthography does not always provide an underlying representation; sometimes it provides an intermediate representation between the underlying form and the surface pronunciation. This is the case with the spelling of the regular plural morpheme, which is written as either -⟨s⟩ (as in tick, ticks and mite, mites) or -⟨es⟩ (as in box, boxes). Here the spelling -⟨s⟩ is pronounced either /s/ or /z/ (depending on the environment, e.g. ticks /ˈtɪks/ and pigs /ˈpɪɡz/) while -⟨es⟩ is usually pronounced /ɨz/ (e.g. boxes /ˈbɒksɨz/). Thus, there are two different spellings that correspond to the single underlying representation |z| of the plural suffix and the three surface forms. The spelling indicates theinsertion of /ɨ/ before the /z/ in the spelling -⟨es⟩, but does not indicate the devoiced /s/ distinctly from the unaffected /z/ in the spelling -⟨s⟩.The abstract representation of words as indicated by the orthography can be considered advantageous since it makes etymological relationships more apparent to English readers. This makes writing English more complex, but arguably makes reading English more efficient. [5] However, very abstract underlying representations, such as that of Chomsky & Halle (1968) or of underspecification theories, are sometimes considered too abstract to accurately reflect the communicative competence of native speakers. Followers of these arguments believe the less abstract surface forms are more "psychologically real" and thus more useful in terms of pedagogy.[6]

Diacritics[edit]

Main article: English terms with diacritical marks

See also: British and American keyboards and keyboard layouts

English has some words that can be written with accent marks. These words have mostly been imported from other languages, usually French. [citation

needed] As imported words become increasingly naturalised, there is an increasing tendency to omit the accent marks, even in formal writing. For example, words such as rôle and hôtel were first seen with accents when they were borrowed into English, but now the accent is almost never used. The words were originally considered foreign – and some people considered that English alternatives were preferable – but today their foreign origin is largely forgotten. Words most likely to retain the accent are those atypical of English morphology and therefore still perceived as slightly foreign. For example, café and pâté both have a pronounced final e, which would otherwise be silent under the normal English pronunciation rules. However café is now sometimes facetiously pronounced "caff", while in pâté, the acute accent is helpful to distinguish it from pate.

Further examples of words sometimes retaining diacritics when used in English are: Ångström (partly because the scientific symbol for this unit of measurement is "Å"), appliqué,attaché, blasé, bric-à-brac, Brötchen,[7] cliché, crème, crêpe, façade, fiancé(e), flambé, naïve, naïveté, né(e), papier-mâché, passé, piñata, protégé, résumé, risqué, über-, voilà.Italics, with appropriate accents, are generally applied to foreign terms that are uncommonly used in or have not been assimilated into English: for example, adiós, crème brûlée,pièce de résistance, raison d'être, über, vis-à-vis, and belles-lettres.

It was formerly common in American English to use a diaeresis mark to indicate a hiatus: for example, coöperate, daïs, reëlect. The New Yorker and Technology Reviewmagazines still use it for this purpose, even though it is increasingly rare in modern English. Nowadays the diaeresis is normally left out (cooperate), or a hyphen is used (co-operate). It is, however, still common in loanwords such as naïve and Noël.

Written accents are also used occasionally in poetry and scripts for dramatic performances to indicate that a certain normally unstressed syllable in a word should be stressed for dramatic effect, or to keep with the metre of the poetry. This use is frequently seen in archaic and pseudoarchaic writings with the -ed suffix, to indicate that the e should be fully pronounced, as with cursèd.

Ligatures[edit]

See also: American and British English spelling differences § ae and oe

In certain older texts (typically British), the use of the ligatures æ and œ is common in words such as archæology, diarrhœa, and encyclopædia. Such words have Latin or Greekorigin. Nowadays, the ligatures have been generally replaced in British English by the separated digraph ae and oe (encyclopaedia, diarrhoea); but usually economy, ecology,and in American English by e (encyclopedia, diarrhea; but usually paean, amoeba, oedipal, Caesar). In some cases, usage may vary; for instance, both encyclopedia andencyclopaedia are current in the UK.

Phonic irregularities[edit]

See also: English spelling reform

Partly because English has never had any formal regulating authority for spelling, such as the Spanish Real Academia Española or the French Académie française, English spelling, compared to many other languages, is quite irregular and complex. Although French, among other languages, presents a similar degree of difficulty when encoding(writing), English is more difficult when decoding (reading), as there are clearly many more possible pronunciations of a group of letters. For example, in French the [u] sound (as in "food"), can be spelled ou, ous, out, or oux (ou, nous, tout, choux), but the pronunciation of each of those sequences is always the same. In English, the /uː/ sound can be spelled in up to 18 different ways (see the Sound-to-spelling correspondences section below), including oo, u, ui, ue, o, oe, ou, ough, and ew (food, truth, fruit, blues, to, shoe, group, through, grew), but all of these have other pronunciations as well (e.g. as in flood, trust, build, bluest, go, hoe, grout, rough, sew). The Spelling-to-sound correspondencessection below presents a summary of pronunciation variations. Thus, in unfamiliar words and proper nouns the pronunciation of some sequences, ough being the prime example, is unpredictable to even educated native English speakers.

Spelling irregularities[edit]

Attempts to regularize or reform the spelling of English have usually met with failure. However, Noah Webster popularized more phonetic spellings in the United States; such asflavor for British flavour, fiber for fibre, defense for defence, analyze for analyse, catalog for catalogue and so forth. These spellings already existed as alternatives, but Webster’s dictionaries helped make them standard in the US. [8] See American and British English spelling differences for details.

Besides the quirks the English spelling system has inherited from its past, there are other idiosyncrasies in spelling that make it tricky to learn. English contains, depending ondialect, 24–27 separate consonant phonemes and 14–20 vowels. However, there are only 26 letters in the modern English alphabet, so there cannot be a one-to-one correspondence between letters and sounds. Many sounds are spelled using different letters or multiple letters, and for those words whose pronunciation is predictable from the spelling, the sounds denoted by the letters depend on the surrounding letters. For example, the digraph th represents two different sounds (the voiced dental fricative and thevoiceless dental fricative) (see Pronunciation of English   th ), and the voiceless alveolar sibilant can be represented by the letters s and c.

It is, however, not the shortage of letters which makes English spelling irregular. Its irregularities are caused mainly by the use of many different spellings for some of its sounds, such as the sounds /uː/, /iː/ and /oʊ/ (too, true, shoe, flew, through; sleeve, leave, even, seize, siege; stole, coal, bowl, roll, old, mould), and the use of identical sequences for spelling different sounds (over, oven, move).

Furthermore, English no longer makes any attempt to anglicise the spellings of loanwords, but preserves the foreign spellings, even when they employ exotic conventions like thePolish cz in Czech (rather than *Check) or the Norwegian fj in fjord (although fiord was formerly the most common spelling). In early Middle English, until roughly 1400, most imports from French were respelt according to English rules (e.g. bataille - battle, bouton - button, but not double, trouble). Instead of loans being respelled to conform to English spelling standards, sometimes the pronunciation changes as a result of pressure from the spelling. One example of this is the word ski, which was adopted from Norwegian in the mid-18th century, although it did not become common until 1900. It used to be pronounced /ʃiː/, which is similar to the Norwegian pronunciation, but the increasing popularity of the sport after the middle of the 20th century helped the /skiː/ pronunciation replace it.[citation needed]

There was also a period when the spelling of a small number of words was altered in what is now regarded as a misguided attempt to make them conform to what were perceived to be the etymological origins of the words. For example, the letter b was added to debt (originally dette) in an attempt to link it to the Latin debitum, and the letter s in island is a misplaced attempt to link it to Latin insula instead of the Old English word īġland, which is the true origin of the English word. The letter p in ptarmigan has no etymological justification whatsoever, only seeking to invoke Greek despite being a Gaelic word.

The spelling of English continues to evolve. Many loanwords come from languages where the pronunciation of vowels corresponds to the way they were pronounced in Old English, which is similar to the Italian or Spanish pronunciation of the vowels, and is the value the vowel symbols [a], [e], [i], [o], and [u] have in the International Phonetic Alphabet. As a result, there is a somewhat regular system of pronouncing "foreign" words in English, [citation

needed] and some borrowed words have had their spelling changed to conform to this system. For example, Hindu used to be spelled Hindoo, and the name Maria used to be pronounced like the name Mariah, but was changed to conform to this system.

Commercial advertisers have also had an effect on English spelling. They introduced new or simplified spellings like lite instead of light, thru instead of through, smokey instead ofsmoky (for "smokey bacon" flavour crisps), and rucsac instead of rucksack. The spellings of personal names have also been a source of spelling innovations: diminutive versions of women's names that sound the same as men's names have been spelled differently: Nikki and Nicky, Toni and Tony, Jo and Joe.

As examples of the idiosyncratic nature of English spelling, the combination ou can be pronounced in at least four different ways: /ə/ in famous, /aʊ/ in loud, /ʊ/ in should, /uː/ inyou; and the vowel sound /iː/ in me can be spelt in at least nine different ways: paediatric, me, seat, seem, ceiling, people, machine, siege, phoenix. (These examples assume a more-or-less standard non-regional British English accent. Other accents will vary.)

Sometimes everyday speakers of English change a counterintuitive pronunciation simply because it is counterintuitive. Changes like this are not usually seen as "standard", but can become standard if used enough. An example is the word miniscule, which still competes with its original spelling of minuscule, though this might also be because of analogy with the word mini.[citation needed] A further example is the modern pronunciation of tissue.[specify]

History[edit]

Inconsistencies and irregularities in English pronunciation and spelling have gradually increased in number throughout the history of the English language. There are a number of contributing factors. First, gradual changes in pronunciation, such as the Great Vowel Shift, account for a tremendous number of irregularities. Second, relatively recent loan words from other languages generally carry their original spellings, which are often not phonetic in English. The Romanization of languages (e.g., Chinese) using alphabets derived from the Latin alphabet has further complicated this problem, for example when pronouncing Chinese proper names (of people or places).

The regular spelling system of Old English was swept away by the Norman Conquest, and English itself was supplanted in some spheres by Norman French for three centuries, eventually emerging with its spelling much influenced by French. English had also borrowed large numbers of words from French, which naturally kept their French spellings as there was no reason or mechanism to change them. The spelling of Middle English, such as in the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, is very irregular and inconsistent, with the same word being spelled in different ways, sometimes even in the same sentence. However, these were generally much better guides to the then pronunciation than modern English spelling is.

For example, the sound /ʌ/, normally written u, is spelled with an o in son, love, come, etc., due to Norman spelling conventions which prohibited writing u before v, m, n due to the graphical confusion that would result. (v, u, n were identically written with two minims in Norman handwriting; w was written as two u letters; m was written with three minims, hence mm looked like vun, nvu, uvu, etc.) Similarly, spelling conventions also prohibited final v. Hence the identical spellings of the three different vowel sounds in love, grove andprove are due to ambiguity in the Middle English spelling system, not sound change.

There was also a series of linguistic sound changes towards the end of this period, including the Great Vowel Shift, which resulted in the i in mine, for example, changing from a pure vowel to a diphthong. These changes for the most part did not detract from the rule-governed nature of the spelling system; but in some cases they introduced confusing inconsistencies, like the well-known example of the many pronunciations of ough (rough, through, though, trough, plough, etc.). Most of these changes happened before the arrival of printing in England. However, the arrival of the printing press froze the current system, rather than providing the impetus for a realignment of spelling with pronunciation. Furthermore, it introduced further inconsistencies, partly because of the use of typesetters trained abroad, particularly in the Low Countries. For example,

the h in ghost was influenced by Dutch.[9] The addition and deletion of a silent e at the ends of words was also sometimes used to make the right-hand margin line up more neatly.[9]

By the time dictionaries were introduced in the mid 17th century, the spelling system of English had started to stabilise. By the 19th century, most words had set spellings, though it took some time before they diffused throughout the English-speaking world. In The Mill on the Floss (1860), English novelist George Eliot satirized the attitude of the English rural gentry of the 1820s towards orthography:

Mr. Tulliver did not willingly write a letter, and found the relation between spoken and written language, briefly known as spelling, one of the most puzzling things in this puzzling world. Nevertheless, like all fervid writing, the task was done in less time than usual, and if the spelling differed from Mrs. Glegg's,–why, she belonged, like himself, to a generation with whom spelling was a matter of private judgment.

The modern English spelling system, with its national variants, spread together with the expansion of public education later in the 19th century.

"Ough" words[edit]Main article: Ough (combination)

The most notorious group of letters in the English language, ough, is commonly pronounced in at least ten different ways, six of which are illustrated in the construct, Though the tough cough and hiccough plough him through, which is quoted by Robert A. Heinlein in The Door into Summer to illustrate the difficulties facing automated speech transcription and reading. Ough[pronunciation?] is in fact a word in its own right; it is an exclamation of disgust similar to ugh.

though: /oʊ/ as in toe (other examples: dough) tough: /ʌf/ as in cuff (other examples: rough, enough, and the name (but not the word) Hough) cough: /ɒf/ as in off (other examples: trough, Gough (name, some pronunciations)) hiccough (a now uncommon variant of hiccup): /ʌp/ as in up (unique) plough: /aʊ/ as in cow (other examples: sough, drought, bough, doughty, and the names Slough and Doughty) through: /uː/ as in blue nought: /ɔː/ as in caught (other examples: ought, sought, thought, brought) lough: /ɒx/ with a velar fricative like the ch in loch borough: /ə/ (other examples: thorough, names ending in -borough) hough: /ɒk/ (more commonly spelt "hock" now)

The place name Loughborough uses two different pronunciations of ough: the first ough has the sound as in cuff and the second rhymes with thorough.

Spelling patterns[edit]

See also: Help:IPA for English

Spelling-to-sound correspondences[edit]

Vowels[edit]

In a generative approach to English spelling, Rollings (2004) identifies twenty main orthographic vowels of stressed syllables that are grouped into four main categories: "Lax", "Tense", "Heavy", "Tense-R". (As this classification is based on orthography, not all orthographic "lax" vowels are necessarily phonologically lax.)

General American

Letter LaxTens

eHeavy Tense-R

a/æ/man

/eɪ/mane

/ɑr/mar

/ɛr/mare

e/ɛ/

met/iː/

mete/ɜr/her

/ɪər/here

i/ɪ/

win/aɪ/

wine/ɜr/fir

/aɪər/fire

o/ɒ/

mop/oʊ/

mope/ɔr/

for, fore

u/ʌ/hug

/juː/huge

/ɜr/cur

/jʊər/cure

u/ʊ/pus

h

/uː/rude

/ɜr/sur

/ʊr/sure

Received Pronunciation (British)

Letter LaxTens

eHeavy Tense-R

a/æ/man

/eɪ/mane

/ɑː/mar

/ɛər/mare

e/ɛ/

met/iː/

mete/ɜr/her

/ɪər/here

i/ɪ/

win/aɪ/

wine/ɜr/fir

/aɪər/fire

o/ɒ/

mop/oʊ/

mope/ɔː/

for, fore

u/ʌ/hug

/juː/huge

/ɜr/cur

/jʊər/cure

u/ʊ/pus

h

/uː/rude

/ɜr/sur

/ʊər/sure

For instance, the letter a can represent the lax vowel /æ/, tense /eɪ/, heavy /ɑː/, or (often allophonically) [ɛə] before |r|. Heavy and tense-r vowels are the respective lax and tense counterparts followed by the letter r.

Tense vowels are distinguished from lax vowels with a "silent"   e  letter that is added at the end of words. Thus, the letter a in hat is lax /æ/, but when the letter e is added in the word hate the letter a is tense /eɪ/. Similarly, heavy and tense-r vowels pattern together: the letters ar in car are heavy /ɑr/, the letters ar followed by silent e in the word care are /ɛər/. The letter u represents two different vowel patterns, one being /ʌ/, /juː/, /ə/, /jʊ/, the other /ʊ/, /uː/, /ʊ/. There is no distinction between heavy and tense-r vowels with the lettero, and the letter u in the /ʊ-uː-ʊ/ pattern does not have a heavy vowel member.

Besides silent e, another strategy for indicating tense and tense-r vowels, is the addition of another orthographic vowel forming a digraph. In this case, the first vowel is usually the main vowel while the second vowel is the "marking" vowel. For example, the word man has a lax a pronounced /æ/, but with the addition of i (as the digraph ai) in the word mainthe a is marked as tense and pronounced /eɪ/. These two strategies produce words that are spelled differently but pronounced identically, as in mane (silent e strategy), main(digraph strategy)

and Maine (both strategies). The use of two different strategies relates to the function of distinguishing between words that would otherwise be homonyms.

Besides the 20 basic vowel spellings, Rollings (2004) has a reduced vowel category (representing the sounds /ə, ɪ/) and a miscellaneous category (representing the sounds /ɔɪ, aʊ, aɪ, aʊ/ and /j/+V, /w/+V, V+V).

Combinations of vowel letters[edit]

To reduce dialectal difficulties, the sound values given here correspond to the conventions at Wikipedia:IPA for English. This table includes H, W and Y when they represent vowel sounds. If no information is given, it is assumed that the vowel is in a stressed syllable.

Deriving the pronunciation of an English word from its spelling requires not only a careful knowledge of the rules given below (many of which are not explicitly known even by native speakers: speakers merely learn the spelling of a word along with its pronunciation) and their many exceptions, but also:

a knowledge of which syllables are stressed and which are unstressed (not derivable from the spelling: compare hallow and allow) which combinations of vowels represent monosyllables and which represent disyllables (ditto: compare waif and naif, creature and creator)

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major value

Minorvalues

Examples of minor value

Exceptions[clarification needed]

a

before multiple consonants

final vowel in word followed by 2 or 

moreunstressed syllables

next syllable contains /ɨ/

/æ/

hatchet, banner, tallyacrobat, catnational, camera, realityacid, granite, palace.

/eɪ/

/ɑː/

ache, ancient, chamber, pastrybassnationhood, scathinglybasis, aphasicfather (RP: aft, ask, dance, past)

/ɒ/ yacht/ə/ advocate (n), hurricane (RP)

before final -nge, -ste before single 

consonant before cons + (-le or 

r+vowel) before heterosyllabic 

vowel

/eɪ/

range, exchange, hastegave, opaque, savor, statustable, hatred, Aprilchaos, aorta, mosaic

/æ/

/ɑː/.

flange, caste (GA)have, plaque, manor, statuemacle, sacrifice, theatricaldebacle, melangegala, lava, slalom, sonata

/ɛ/ many, any/aɪ/ naive

before final r or r + cons.(and in derived terms)

/ɑː/bar, cartbarred, marring

/ɛə/ scarce

before r + vowel /ɛ(ə)/ † area, care, garish, wariness/æ/ †/ɑː/

arid, parish, mariners, carawayaria, are, safaris, faraway

/ɔː/ quarantine (GA)/ɒ/ waratah

word-final (stressed) /ɑː/ bra, cha-cha, schwa, spa

after /w/ except before /k/, /ɡ/, /ŋ/

/ɒ/ (/ɑː/)*

want, watch, quality, squashswamp, wapiti, swastika, wallet

/ɒ/ (/ɔː/)*/ɔː//ɛ(ə)//eɪ/

wash, wasp, quarantinewater, wall, walnut, waltzaware, square, wary, antiquarianpersuade, wastage, swathe

/ɑː/ qualm, suave, swami/æ/ swam, aquatic (RP)/ʌ/ was, what (GA)

after /w/ before final r or r + cons.(and in derived terms)

/ɔː/war, award, dwarf, warning,quarter, warring

/ɑː/ jaguar (GA), quark/ɒ/ warrior (RP)

unstressed /ə/about, an, salary, woman,blancmange, opera, via

/ə/ to Ø/ɨ//eɪ/

artistically, ordinary, necessarychocolate, purchase, solace,probate, folate, kinase

/i/ karaoke, bologna/ɑː/ retard (n), canard (RP)

unstressed, in -age /ɨ/ damage, forage, garbage /ɑː/ (RP): garage, barrage /eɪ/ teenage

aa, ah /ɑː/ baa, aardvark, blah /æ/ Aaron /eɪ/ Quaalude

aeusually /iː/

encyclopaedia, paediatrician

/ɛ/ aesthetic/eɪ/ reggae, sundae, gaelic/aɪ/ maestro/ə/ Michael, polkaed

before r /ɛə/ aerial, aeroplane /ɪə/ chimaera /ə/ anaerobe

ai

stressed /eɪ/daisy, laid, paisley, regain, waif

/aɪ//ɛ//eɪ ɪ/

aisle, bonsai, daimon, kraitsaid, again, againstdais, laic, mosaic, papain

/æ/ plaid, plaited, daiqiri/aɪiː/ naif, caique/i ɪ/ archaism

before r /ɛə/ cairn, millionaire, dairy /aɪ/ hetaira, zaire

unstressed /ɨ/ bargain, mountain /ə/ certain, coxswain, spritsail

ao /aʊ/ cacao, miaow, Taoism

/eɪ//eɪɒ//eɪə//ɔː/

gaolkaon, chaosaorist, kaolinextraordinary

/oʊ/ pharaoh/eɪɔː/ aorta/eɪoʊ/ baobab/ɪoʊ/ karaoke

au /ɔː/ aura, cause, chauffer,  /ɒ/ because, laurel, sausage /eɪ/ gauge

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major value

Minorvalues

Examples of minor value

Exceptions[clarification needed]

slaughter

/ɑː/ (/æ/)**/aʊ//oʊ/

aunt, draught, laughterdegauss, graupel, trauma (GA)chauffeur, gauche, mauve

/aʊə/ gaur/ʌ/ because (GA)/ə/ aurora, meerschaum

aw /ɔː/ awed, flaw, hawk, tawny /ə/ awry

ay /eɪ/bayonet, essays, grayer, hayride

/aɪ//ɛ/

aye, bayou, kayak, papayamayor, prayer, says

/iː/ cay, quay, parlay/əj/ gayal

e

before single consonant

before cons + (-le or r+vowel)

final, only vowel in word

final, Greek loans before heterosyllabic 

vowel

/iː/

receding, detail, genemetre, secretbe, shesimile, catastropheneon

/eɪ//ɛ/

Ø

ukulele, cafe, crepe, seanceever, lemon, metal, venomtreble, discretionvineyard, awesome

before multiple consonants

final vowel in word bef. 2+ unstressed 

syllables next syllable 

contains /ɪ/

/ɛ/

better, fetch, merryget, watershedlegacy, elegant, delicatecrevice, epicness

/iː/

egret, lethal, reflexfeces, axes (plural of axis)legally, deviousevil, scenic, strategic

/ɪ/ pretty

before final r or r + cons.(and in derived terms)

/ɜː/ herd, kerb, referral /ɑː/ clerk, sergeant

before r + vowel /ɪə/here, series, reremice, stereo

/ɛə//ɛ//iː/

compere, there, werewolfderelict, heresy, perish, veryderail, reremind

/ɜː/ were, weregild

word-final Ømate, discipline, starve, plague

/iː/ recipe

unstressed /ɨ/ hatchet, target, poet /ə/ taken, decency, moment/ɪ/ erase, erect/eɪ/ cafe

usd, before heterosyllabic vowel

/i/create, area, atheism, video

/eɪ/ sceance, fideism, rodeo

ea

usually/iː//ɛ/

dreams, read, cleans, leaf, zealdreamt, read, cleanse, deaf, zealot

/eɪ//ə//ɪə//iːə//iːeɪ/

break, eagre, great, yeahydrangea, likeable, oceanidea, ideal, real, realtyurea, cereal, fealty, laureatecreating, protease, reagent

/ɑː/ orgeat, /æ/ poleax/ɔː/ ealderman/ɪ/ mileage, /iːɪ/ lineage/ɛə/ yeah, /eɪɑː/ seance/iːæ/ beatify, caveat, reality

before r + cons. /ɜː/pearly, hearse, yearning, earth

/ɑː/ hearken, hearty, hearth/ɪə/ beard, peart/eɪə/ bearnaise, /i'ɑː/ rearm

before final r or r + vowel(and in derived terms)

/ɪə/dearly, hears, yearling, tear

/ɛə//iːə/

tear, bears, wearinglinear, nuclear, stearin

/ɜː/ heard/iː/ tearoom

eau /oʊ/ bureau, plateau, tableau /juː/ beauty/ɒ/ bureaucracy/ə/ bureaucrat

eeusually /iː/ bee, breech, feed, trainee

/eɪ//i/

matinee, fiancees, neebungee, coffee

/ɪ/ breeches, been (GA)/iːə/ freest, weest/iːɛ/ reecho, /iːɪ/ reelect

before r /ɪə/ cheering, beer, eerie /iːə/ freer, seers

ei, ey

usually /eɪ/ veil, weight, heinous, obey/iː//aɪ//iːɪ/

caffeine, seize, key, geysereither, height, heist, heinie, eyealbeit, being, cysteine, deist

/ɛ/ heifer, leisure, seigneur/æ/ reveille, serein/eɪ ɪ/ fideist, /iˈaɪ/ deice

after c /iː/ deceive, ceiling, conceit/æ/ ceinture, enceinte/eɪɪ/ glaceing /iːɪ/ haecceity

before r /ɛə/ heir, madeira, their /ɪə/ weird, weir, eyrie /aɪ/ oneiric, eirenic

unstressed /ɨ/ foreign, counterfeit, forfeit /ə/ mullein, villein /ɪ/ ageist, herein, ogreish

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major value

Minorvalues

Examples of minor value

Exceptions[clarification needed]

/i/ volleyed /aɪ/ walleyed

unstressed, word-final /i/ monkey, curtsey, jersey /eɪ/ survey (n)

eo usually bisyllabic/iːɒ//iːoʊ//iːə/

eon, geology, reoffer, teleostcreole, geode, leonine, videogalleon, leotard, peon, theory

/ɛ//iː//ə/

feoffee, jeopardy, leopardfeoff, peopleluncheon, pigeon, embraceor

/oʊ/ yeoman, /ɛə/ ceorl/juː/ feodary, /uːi/ geoduck/eɪoʊ/ rodeo, teosinte

eu(e),ew(e),ieu,iew

usually /juː/deuce, feudal, queue,dew, ewe, view

/ɜː//uː//iːə/

berceuse, danseuseleukemia, lewd, lieu (sic)museum, pileus

/oʊ/ sew, shew/ɛf/ lieutenant (RP), /jɜː/ milieu/iːuː/ reuse, /iːʌ/ reutters/ʌ/ pileup, Ø fauteuil

after /r/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /j/, cons. + /l/

/uː/rheumatism, sleuth, jewel, blew

/iːə/ nucleus

before r /jʊə/ euro, liqueur, neural /ɜː/ masseur, voyeur /ʊə/ pleurisy, /iːɜː/ theurgy

unstressed before r /ju(ə)/ eurhythmic, neurotic/jə//ə/

aneurism, derailleur, grandeuramateur, chauffeur

i

before single consonant

before cons + (-le or r+vowel)

before -nd, -ld, -gh, -gn

word-final before heterosyllabic 

vowel

/aɪ/

cited, dive, mica, rise, polite, shineidle, trifle, nitrous, mitressighed, signage, wilder, remindalumni, alibi, radiivial, quiet, prior, pious

/ɪ/

city, give, vicar, risentriple, citrus, gibletspighead, signal, bewilder, rescind

.

/iː/ police, elite, machine/iː/ litres, in vitro/iː/ chignon, Monsignor/iː/ ski/iː/ clientele, lien, skiing

before multiple consonants

final vowel in word bef. 2+ unstressed 

syllables next syllable 

contains /ɪ/ before cons. + e/i + 

vowel

/ɪ/

dissent, mislaid, slitherkiss, sic, bit, inflict, hint, plinthlitany, liberal, chivalry, miseryfinish, spirit, minutehideous, position, Sirius

/aɪ/

dissect, island, blithelyindict, pint, ninthirony, libelous, rivalry, miserlywhitish, writingshinier, tidied

/æ/ meringue /iː/ artiste, chenille/iː/ skis, chic, ambergris

.

before final r or r + cons.(and in derived terms)

/ɜː/ bird, fir, stirrer /ɪə/ menhir

before r + vowel /aɪə/ hire, firing, enquiry

unstressed /ɨ/ livid, typical /ə/ pencil, cousin Ø business

usd, before heterosyllabic vowel

/i/ familiar, alien, radii, idiot

ie

finally /aɪ/ belie, die, untie, vie /i/ goalie, oldie, auntie, movie /eɪ/ lingerie (GA), /ieɪ/ kyrie

medially /iː/ field, siege, rabies, skied

/aɪ//aɪə//iə/ to /jə//iˈɛ/

allied, pied, skiesclient, diet, science, sliestambient, alien, oriel, ugliestorient (v), acquiesce

/ɪ/ sieve, mischief, kerchief/ɛ/ friend, hygienic (GA)/aɪˈɛ/ biennial, /iːɒ/ clientele/iˈiː/ medieval, /iːə/ lien

before r /ɪə/cashier, fierce, frontier, pier,

/aɪ(ə)//iə/ to /jə/

shier, fiery, hierarchy, plierbusier, rapier, glacier, hosiery

/iɛ(ə)/ concierge, premiere/iˈeɪ/ atelier, bustier, dossier/iːə/ skier

o before multiple consonants

final vowel in word followed by 2 or 

moreunstressed syllables

next syllable contains /ɪ/

/ɒ/ or /ɑː/

doctor, torrent, donkeydot, bomb, wonkopera, colonise, cooperatetopic, solid, promise

/ʌ//oʊ/

/uː/

won, monkey, frontgross, comb, wonted, bothbrokenly, probity, tonicitymeiosis, aerobictomb, womb

/ʊ/ wolf/wʌ/ once/ɔː/ (GA) long, broth

before single consonant

before cons + (-le or r+vowel)

/oʊ/ omen, grove, totalnoble, cobrabanjo, goboa, poet, stoic

/ɒ//uː//ʌ//ə/

moral, proper, shoneto, who, move, bosom, doablecome, love, done, colander

/ʊ/ woman/ɪ/ women/wʌ/ oneØ colonel, sophomore (some

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major value

Minorvalues

Examples of minor value

Exceptions[clarification needed]

word-final before heterosyllabic 

vowel(inc. unstressed)

cooperate purpose, Europe dialects)

before r /ɔː/ ford, boring, more /ɒ/ forest, borrow, moral/ɜː/ whorl/ʌ/ borough

after w, before r /ɜː/ word, work, worst /ɔː/ worn, sword, swore /ʌ/ worry

unstressed /ə/ eloquent, wanton, author /ɒ/ neuron

oa

usually /oʊ/ boat, coal, load, coaxing/oʊə//oʊæ//oʊˈeɪ/

boa, inchoatecoaxial, ogdoadoasis, cloaca

/ɔː/ broad/uːə/ doable/oʊˈɒ/ koala

before r /ɔː/boar, coarse, keyboard, soaring

/ə/ cupboard, starboard/oʊˈɑː/ coarctate

oe

usually /iː/amoeba, coelacanth, foetal, phoenix

/oʊ//uː//oʊˈɛ/

doeskin, woefulshoelace, canoeingpoetic, soever, orthoepic

/ɛ/ foetid, roentgen/oʊˈiː/ coeval, noesis/oʊˈɜ/ coerce/oʊə/ poetry, orthoepy

final vowels /oʊ/ foe, goes, toed, woe/uː//oʊɛ//oʊə/

shoes, canoecoed, noel, phloemgoer, loess, poem

/ʌ/ does/uːə/ doeth, doer/ɜː/ foehn/oʊiː/ diploe, kalanchoe

unstressed /ɪ/ oedema, oesophagus /oʊ/aloe, echoed, oboes, soloed

/uː/ hoopoe

oeu /uː/ manoeuvre /ɜː/ oeuvre

oi

usually /ɔɪ/ boing, moist, coin, envoi/oʊɪ//wɑː//ə/

going, egoist, heroin, stoicbourgeois, coiffeur, patoisconnoisseur, porpoise, tortoise

/uːɪ/ doing/iː/ chamois/oʊaɪ/ ghettoise, oroide

before r /wɑː/reservoir, memoir, moire, soiree

/ɔɪə/ coir, loir, Moira/waɪə/ choir/ə/ avoirdupois

oo

usually /uː/cool, sooth, boot, goosebumps

/ʊ/wool, soot, foot, gooseberry

/oʊ/ brooch/oʊ ɒ/ coopt, zoology

before k, d /ʊ/ cook, shook, wood, stood /uː/ kook, spook, food, brood /ʌ/ flood, blood

before r /ɔə/ door, flooring /ʊə/ poor, moor, roorback/ə/ whippoorwill/oʊ ɔː/ coordinate

ou

stressed /aʊ/ out, aloud, bough/uː//ʌ//oʊ/

soup, you, throughtouch, trouble, countrysoul, dough, boulder

/ʊ/ could, should/ɒ/ cough, fount (printing)/juː/ ampoule, coupon (GA)

stressed before r /ɔː/ four, courtesan, discourse/aʊə//ɜː//ʊ(ə)/

hour, flour, scoursjourney, courtesy, scourgetour, courier, gourd, velour

/ʌ/ encourage, flourish

unstressed /ə/camouflage, labour, nervous

/u//ʊ/

entourage, bivouac, bedouinpotpourri, detour

/ʌ/ hiccough/w/ ratatouille, ouabaine

ow

stressed /aʊ/ owl, bow, row, sow, allow /oʊ/ own, bow, row, sow, alow /ɒ/ acknowledge, rowlock

before r /aʊə/ dowry, cowries /oʊ/ cowrites, showroom

unstressed /oʊ/yellow, teabowl, landowner

/aʊ/ peafowl, sundowner /əw/ cassowary, toward (RP)

oy /ɔɪ/boy, doyenne, foyer, voyage

/waɪ/ voyeur, noyade/oʊj/ oyez/aɪ/ coyote (GA)

u before multiple consonants

final vowel in word/ʌ/

budding, cuckold, mullet, usherbut, gull, Dutch, hush, fuss

/ʊ/pudding, cuckoo, bullet, cushionput, full, butch, shush, puss

/uː/ truth, ruthless, brut/juː/ butte, debut, fuchsia, tulle

before single consonant

before cons + (-le or 

/juː/ mute, student, puny, union, fusesbugle, hubris, nutrient (RP)

/ʌ/

/uː/

study, punish, bunion, busesbutler, cutlery, subrogate

/ɪ/ busy, business

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major value

Minorvalues

Examples of minor value

Exceptions[clarification needed]

r+vowel) before heterosyllabic 

vowel word-final

duo, nuance, pursuant, ensuingmenu, emu, impromptu (RP)

.

super, lunar, absolute, revolutionsuet, lucrative, lugubrioushindu, tutu, tofu

above after /r/,/ʃ/,/ʒ/,/j/, cons.+/l/

/uː/

rule, chute, June, reclusesscruples, rubrictruant, fluent, crueltyflu, guru

/ʌ/pluses, runaway, truculentrunlet, clubroom, rumrunner

/ʊ/ sugar/juː/ overuse, underused

before final r or r + cons.(and in derived terms)

/ɜː/turn, occur, curdle, burrfurry, demurral, blurred, recurring

/ʌ/ recurrent, occurrence /ʊ(ə)/ langur

before r + vowel /jʊ(ə)/ lure, purity, curing /ʊ(ə)/ allure, guru, Silurian /ɛ/ bury, burial

above after /r/,/ʃ/,/ʒ/,/j/, cons.+/l/

/ʊ(ə)/ rural, jury, plural /ɔː/ sure, assurance [10]

after g, before a vowel Øguard, guest, guide, vaguer, languor

/w/language, segue, distinguish

/juː/ jaguar (RP), ambiguity

after q /w/quail, conquest, banquet, quite

Øquay, conquer, bouquet, mosquito

unstressed /ə/support, industry, useful, medium

/ju//u//jə//ʌ/

annual, evaluate, arduous, debutinfluence, plurality, fruitionaccurate, failure, tenureguffaw, unruly, upend, vulgarity

/ɨ/ minute, lettuce

ue

after g Øleague, tongue, vaguely, intrigued

/juː//ɛ//ə/

ague, arguedguest, guessed, baguetteguerrilla, beleaguered

/weɪ/ segued, /wɛ/ guenon/wə/ unguent, /wiː/ ungues/juːə/ arguer, /eɪ/ merengue/iː/ dengue, Portuguese

after r or cons. + l /uː/ true, clue, gruesome, blues /uːə/influence, cruel, fluent, bluest

/uːɪ/ cruet, /uːɛ/ unfluential

elsewhere (except after q) /juː/virtue, cue, valued, hue, muesli

/juːə//juːɛ//uː//uːɛ/

fuel, constituent, rescuerinnuendo, statuesque, minuetSue, snafued (GA: due, revenue)GA: duel, pursuer

/uːɪ/ suet, /uːɛ/ muezzin/juːiː/ tenues, /juːeɪ/ habitue/jʊə/ puerile, /ʊ/ muenster/weɪ/ suede, Venezuelan/wɛ/ pueblo, /wɪ/ desuetude

ui

after g /wɪ/anguish, penguin, linguist, sanguine

/aɪ//ɪ/

guide, guise, beguileguild, guitar, intriguing, roguish

/iː/ beguine, /wiː/ linguine/juːɪ/ arguing, aguish/juːə/ contiguity, /uːi/ GUI

after j, r, or cons. + l /uː/ juice, cruise, sluice, fruiting /uːɪ/fruition, fluid, ruin, druid, truism

/uːə/ incongruity, /uːj/ alleluia/ʊ/ Cruickshank

elsewhere (except after q)/juːɪ/

/ɪ/

conduit, cuing, genuine,Buick, circuitous, Jesuitbuild, circuit, biscuit, pursuivant

/uː//juːə//juː//uːɪ/

suit, suitable, nuisance (GA)intuitive (RP), promiscuitynuisance (RP), puisnesuicide, tui, Inuit, Hinduism

/aɪ/ duiker, /ə/ circuitry/wɪ/ cuisine, suint/wiː/ suite, ennui, tuille/uːaɪ/ sui generis

uu /juə/ continuum, residuum /uə/ menstruum/uˈʌ/ duumvir/juː/ vacuum/uː/ muumuu

uy /aɪ/ buy, buyout, guyed/iː//wi/

guyot, cliquy, plaguytuyere, obsequy, soliloquy

/jʊɪ/ toluyl/uːj/ thuya, gruyere

y before multiple consonants

bef. 2+ unstressed syllables

next syllable contains /ɪ/

/ɪ/

myth, cryptic, system, symbolcylinder, typical, pyramid, dynastycynic, lyric, lytic, syringe

/aɪ/

cyclone, hyphen, psyche, pythonhydrogen, dynasty (GA)cyclist, hybrid, psychic, typist

before single consonant

before cons + (-le or r+vowel)

word-final, stressed

/aɪ/ typing, style, paralyze, nyloncycle, cypress, hydrate, lycraawry, by, deny, sky, supply

/ɪ/ byzantine, synod, synagogue,Cypriote, sycophantic.

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major value

Minorvalues

Examples of minor value

Exceptions[clarification needed]

before final r or r + cons.(and in derived terms)

/ɜː/ myrtle, myrrh /ɪ/ pyrrhic

before r + vowel /aɪə/ lyre, tyrant, gyrate /ɪ/ syrup, Pyrenees

unstressed /ɪ/bicycle, oxygen, polymer,dyslexia, physique, synonymous

/ə//aɪ//i/

sibyl, martyr, pyjamasdynamics, hypothesis, typhoonanyway, everything

unstressed, word-final /i/any, city, happy, only, supply (adv)

/aɪ/ ally (n)

† In many if not most North American accents /ær/ and /ɛr/ are merged into the latter pronunciation.* The LOT and CLOTH lexical sets, pronounced with /ɑː/ or /ɔː/, respectively in GA, but merged in /ɒ/ in RP.** Pronounced /æ/ in GA.

Consonants[edit]See also: Digraph (orthography)

Notes:

In the tables, the hyphen has two different meanings. A hyphen after the letter indicates that it must be at the beginning of a syllable, e.g. j- in jumper and ajar. A hyphen before the letter indicates that it cannot be at the beginning of a word, e.g. -ck in sick and ticket.

More specific rules take precedence over more general ones, e.g. "c- before e, i or y" takes precedence over "c". Where the letter combination is described as "word-final", inflectional suffixes may be added without changing the pronunciation, e.g.

catalogues. The dialect used is RP. Isolated foreign borrowings are excluded.

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major valueOthervalues

Examples of other values

b, bb

usually /b/ bit, rabbit, obtain Ø bdellium, debtor, subtle, combe

finally after m(and in derived terms)

Ø iamb, climb, combover, numbing /b/ iambic, nimb

c

before e, i, y, ae, or oe /s/cellar, city, cyst,face, prince, nicercaesium, coelacanth

/tʃ//ʃ//k//ts/

cello, vermicellispecial, liquoriceCelts, chicer, syncingletovicite

initially before n, t Ø cnidarian, ctenoid

elsewhere /k/ cat, cross Ø victual, indict

cc

before e, i or y /ks/ accept, eccentric, occidental/k//tʃ//s/

soccer, recce, siccingbocce, breccia, cappuccinoflaccid

elsewhere /k/ account, accrue, occur, yucca

ch

usually /tʃ/ chase, chin, attached, chore

/k//ʃ//h//dʒ//x/Ø

ached, anchor, leprechaunmachete, pistachio, welchchutzpahsandwich, Greenwichloch, Reichyacht, Crichton

Greek-derived words /k/ chasm, chimera, chord, lichen Ø drachm

French-derived words /ʃ/ chaise, machine, cached, parachute/k//tʃ/

chemist, choir, machinationchassis, cheque, chowder, niche (GA)

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major valueOthervalues

Examples of other values

ck /k/ tack, ticket

d, dd, dh /d/ dive, ladder, jodhpurs/dʒ/Ø

graduate, gradual (both also /dj/ in RP)Wednesday, handsome, sandwich

-dg- before e, i, or y /dʒ/ lodger, pidgin, edgy

f, -ff /f/ fine, off /v/ of

g

before e, i, y, ae, or oe /dʒ/gel, pager, gin, algae (GA)gentle, rage, gigantic, regimen

/ɡ//ʒ/

get, eager, gig, algae (RP)genre, barrage, gigue, regime

in gm or gn Øphlegmy, diaphragmgnome, signed, poignant, reign

/ɡ//ʒ/

pigmy, signet, indignantjudgment

elsewhere /ɡ/ go, great, guest, leg, margaric /dʒ/ margarine, gaol

gg /ɡ/ dagger, smuggest, staggering/dʒ//gdʒ/

agger, suggest, exaggeratesuggest (GA)[11]

gh

initially /ɡ/ ghost, ghastly, ghetto

elsewhere Ødaughter, through, fraught, broughameight, higher, straight, sighed

/ə/ or /oʊ//x/ or /k//f//ɡ//ɡh//p/

burghlough, saughlaughter, trough, draught, roughageburgher, ogham, yoghleghorn, pigheadedhiccough

h

usually /h/honey, heist, house, manhandledoohickey, vehicular

Øhonest, heir, hours, piranhaannihilate, vehicle, dinghy

final or after r or ex Ø oh, rhubarb, rhyme, exhibit, exhaust /h/ exhale, exhume (in RP)

j /dʒ/ jump, ajar

/j//ʒ//h/Ø

Hallelujahbijou, jongleur, juliennejalapeno, fajitamarijuana

k, kk, kh

usually /k/ key, bake, trekking, sheikh Ø reknit, camiknicks

initially before n Ø knee, knife, knock /k/ knish

l, ll /l/ line, valve, valleyØ/j/

halve, balk, salmontortilla

m, mm

usually /m/ mine, hammer

initially before n Ø mnemonic

n, nn usually /n/ nice, funny, anchovisdamnable

/ŋ/Ø

anxietymonsieur, condemner, damningly

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major valueOthervalues

Examples of other values

before /k/ or /ɡ/ /ŋ/ inkling, bangle, anchor /n/ incline, vanguard, mankind

finally after m Ø hymn, autumn, solemn

ng

finally and in termsderived from ng-final words

/ŋ/ long, kingly, singer, clingy/ŋɡ//ndʒ/

longer, strongeststingy (ungenerous)

medially otherwise/ŋɡ//ndʒ/

congress, singly, finger, languagebinging, wharfinger, dingy, engaol

/nɡ//ŋ//nʒ/

congrats, engage, vanguardhangar, lingonberry, tongueingenue, lingerie

p, pp

usually /p/ pill, happy, soup, corpse, script Ø corps, coup, raspberry, receipt

initially before n, s, t Ø pneumonia, psyche, ptomaine /p/ psst

ph, pph /f/ photograph, sapphire/v//pf/

Stephencamphor

q (not before u) /k/ Iraq, Iqaluit

r, rr, rh, rrh

usually /r/ ray, parrot, rhyme, diarrhoea Ø iron

before consonant finally before final e

Ø in non-rhoticdialects like RP

cart, burr, fir, care, walker, tear, hurt, myrrh

See below for combinations of vowel letters and the letter r

s

usually /s/ song, ask, misled

/z//ʃ//ʒ/Ø

is, lens, raspberrysugar, tensionvision, closureislet, aisle, debris, mesne

-s- between vowel sounds(see also "se" below)

/z/ phrases, prison, pleasing /s/ bases, bison, leasing

word-final -s morphemeafter a voiceless sound

/s/ pets, shops

word-final -s morphemeafter a lenis sound

/z/ beds, magazines

sc- before e, i or y /s/ scene, scepter, scissors, scythe/sk//ʃ//z/

sceptic, scirrhusfascismcrescent (RP)

sch- /sk/ school, scheme, schizo/ʃ//s/

schedule (in RP, otherwise: /sk/), schistschism (in RP, otherwise: /sk/)

sh /ʃ/shin, fashion, wish,Lewisham, foreshore, kinship

/s h//z h//s ʃ//ʃ h/

mishap, mishithogsheadtranshipthreshold

ss /s/boss, assign,dresser, dissent, aggressors,finesse

/ʃ//z//s s/

tissue, aggressiondessert, dissolve, scissorsdisseat, misspell, missort

sw /sw/ swore, swan, swift/s//zw/Ø

sword, answermenswearcoxswain

t, -tt usually /t/ ten, bitter, etiology,nastier, attune, piteous,cation,

/ʃ//tʃ//ʒ/

ration, martial, cautiousbastion, nature, fortune, righteousequation

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major valueOthervalues

Examples of other values

softer, wallet, gristmill,haste, dishearten

Ø/d/

soften, ballet, Christmas, mortgagekindergarten (GA)

in -sten and -stle Ø hasten, listens, rustling, thistles /t/ tungsten, listless

-tch /tʃ/ batch, kitchen

th/θ//ð/

thin, both, north, absinthethe, bother, smooth, soothe

/t//tθ//th//tʃ/Ø

thymeeighthouthouse, potherb (RP)posthumous (GA)asthma

v, -vv /v/ vine, heavy, savvy, reveled, revved

w /w/ sward, swerve, waleØ/uː//v/

two, sword, answer, gunwalecwmWeltanschauung

wh-usually /w/ [12] wheel /f/ whew (RP)

before o /h/ [12] who, whole /w/ whopping, whorl

wr- /r/ [13] wrong, wrist

x

initially /z/ xylophone, xenon, xenophobia

before stressed vowel /ɡz/example, exist, exotic, exultAlexander, auxiliary

/ks//z//ɡʒ/, /kʒ/

taxation, tuxedo, proximity, exogenousanxietyluxurious †

elsewhere /ks/boxes, exercise, expect,jinxed, next, six, taxi

/gz//ɡʒ//kʃ//z/Ø

existential, exultation, exit ††luxury (GA)†anxious, luxury, sexual (GA)plateaux, chateauxfaux-pas, roux

xc before e or i /ks/ excellent, except, excited

xh /gz/exhaust, exhibitexhilarating, exhortation

/ks//ksh/

exhibition, Vauxhallexhale, exhume, foxhole

y- /j/ yes, young

z, -zz /z/gazump, seized, crazier,rhizophagous, pizzazz,zoo, quiz

/ʒ//ts/Ø

azure, seizure, brazier (GA)schizophrenic, pizzasrendezvous

† Nearly 80% of Americans pronounce "luxurious" with /gʒ/, while two thirds of Brits use /kʒ/. Half the American speakers pronounce "luxury" as /ˈlʌg ʒəri/, the rest says /ˈlʌk ʃəri/[14]

†† About half of both British and American speakers say /ˈɛksɪt/, the other half says /ˈɛgzɪt/.[14]

Combinations of vowel letters and "r"[edit]

This section requires expansion.

(April 2014)

SpellingMajor value

(IPA)Examples of major value

Minor values(IPA)

Examples of minor value Exceptions

ayer, ayor /e[ɪ]ə[r]/ layer, mayor

owr, ower /aʊ[ə][r]/ dowry, tower, flowery

Combinations of other consonant and vowel letters[edit]

SpellingMajor value(IPA)

Examples of major valueMinor values(IPA)

Examples of minor value Exceptions

ah /ɑː/ blah

al /æl/ pal, talcum, algae, alp /ɔːl/ bald, falcon (also: /æl/)

alf/ɑːf/ (RP)/æf/ (GA)

calf, half /æl/ alfalfa, malfeasance /ɔlf/ palfrey

alk /ɔːk/ walk, chalking, talkative /ælk/ alkaline, grimalkin /ɔlk/ balkanise

all/ɔːl//æl/

call, fallout, smallershall, callus, fallow

/ɒl//(ə)l/

wallet, swallowallow, dialled

/ɛl/ (GA) marshmallow, pall-mall

alm /ɑːm/ alms, balmy, calm, palmistry/ælm//ɔːlm/

palmate, salmonella, talmudalmanac, almost , instalment

/æm/ salmon, /ɔːm/ halm/ɑːlm/ almond (GA)*/əlm/ signalment

alt/ɒlt/ (RP)/ɔːlt/ (GA)

alter, malt, salty, basalt/ælt//ɔːlt/

alto, shalt, saltationaltar, asphalt

/ɑlt/ gestalt (GA)/əlt/ royalty, penalty

final -ange /eɪndʒ/arrange, change, mange, strange

/ændʒ/ flange, phalange/ɑːnʒ / melange/ɒndʒ/ blancmange/ɪndʒ/ orange

final -aste /eɪst/ chaste, lambaste, paste, taste /æst/ cineaste, caste (GA), pleonaste/ɑːst/ (out)caste (RP)/əsteɪ/ namaste

unstressed ci- before a vowel

/ʃ/ special, gracious /si/ species

-cqu /kw/ acquaint, acquire /k/ lacquer, racquet

final -ed after /t/ or /d/ /ɨd/ loaded, waited

final -ed after a voiceless sound

/t/ piped, enserfed, snaked /ɛd/ biped, underfed /ɨd/ naked

final -ed after a lenis sound

/d/ limbed, enisled, unfeared /ɛd/ imbed, misled, infrared

eh /eɪ/ eh, prehniet, tempeh /ɛə/ yeh /ɛ/ feh /ə/, keffiyeh

final -es after a fricative /ɨz/mazes, washes, axes, bases, pieces

/iːz/ axes, bases, feces, oases

unstressed ex- before vowel or h

/ɨɡz/ exist, examine, exhaust /ɛks/ exhale

gu- before a /ɡw/ bilingual, guano, language /ɡ/ guard, guarantee

final -le after non-l consonant

/əl/ little, table /l/ orle, isle /leɪ/ boucle

final -(a)isle /aɪl/ aisle, isle, enisle, lisle

final -ngue /ŋ/ tongue, harangue, meringue /ŋɡeɪ/ merengue, distingué /ŋɡi/ dengue

oh, final or before a consonant

/oʊ/ oh, kohlrabi, ohm, pharaoh /ɒ/ demijohn, johnny/ɔː/ bohrium/ə/ matzoh

old /oʊld/ blindfold, older, bold /əld/ scaffold, kobold (also /ɒld/

olk /oʊk/ yolk, folklore /ɒlk/ polka (RP), kolkhoz /oʊlk/ polka (GA)

oll /ɒl/ dollhouse, pollen, trolley, holly /oʊl/ tollhouse, swollen, troller, wholly/ɔː/ atoll (GA), /ɔɪ/ cholla/əl/ caroller, collide

olm /ɒlm/ olm, dolmen /oʊlm/ enrolment, holmium /oʊm/ holm (oak)

ong/ɔːŋ/ †/ɑːŋg/ †

songstress, along, strong, wrongercongress, jongleur, bongo, conger

/ɑːndʒ/ †/ɑːŋ/ †/ɔːŋg/ †/ʌŋɡ//ʌndʒ/

congeries, longevity, pongeetonger, bong, dugong, tongslonger, strongest, elongatemonger, humongous, mongrelsponger, longe, spongy

/ʌŋ/ among, tongue/ɑːng/ † ongoing, nongraded/əng/ congratulate, lemongrass/əndʒ/ congeal, congestion/ɒnʒ/ allonge /oʊnʒ/ congé (GA)

qu- /kw/ queen, quick /k/ liquor, mosquito

final -que /k/ mosque, bisque /keɪ/ manque, risqué/kjuː/ barbeque/ki/ pulque

final -re after a consonant

/ər/ timbre, acre, ogre, centre/reɪ/, /ri//rə/

cadre (GA), compadre, emigregenre, oeuvre, fiacre

final -ron after a vowel /rɒn/neuron, moron, interferon, aileron

/rən/ baron, heron, environ/ə(r)n/ iron/roʊn/ chaperon

unstressed sci- before a vowel

/ʃ/ conscience, luscious, prosciutto /sai/ sciatica, sciamachy, sciential/ʃi/ conscientious (RP), fasciated/sɪ/ (RP) omniscient, prescience

-scle /səl/ corpuscle, muscle /skəl/ mascle

final -se after a vowel (noun)

/s/house, excuse, moose, anise, geese

/z/prose, nose, tease, guise, compromise

final -se after a vowel (verb)

/z/house, excuse, choose, arise, please

/s/grouse, dose, lease, chase, promise

unstressed -si before a vowel

/ʒ/vision, occasion, explosion, illusion

/ʃ//zi/

pension, controversial, compulsioneasier, enthusiasm, physiological

/si/ tarsier, Celsius

unstressed -ssi before a vowel

/ʃ/mission, passion, Russia, session

/si/ potassium, dossier, messier

unstressed -sure /ʒər/ leisure, treasure /ʃər/ tonsure, censure

unstressed -ti before a vowel

/ʃ/cautious, patient, inertia, initial, ration

/tʃ//ti//ʃi/

question, Christian, suggestionpatios, consortia, fiftieth, courtierratios, minutia, initiate, negotiate

/taɪ/ cation, cationic/ʒ/ equation/tj/ rentier (GA)

unstressed -ture /tʃər/ nature, picture

* According to the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 75% of Americans pronounce "almond" as /ˈɑːlmənd/.† Where GA distinguishes between /ɑː/ and /ɔː/ in the letter combination ong, RP only has the vowel /ɒ/

Sound-to-spelling correspondences[edit]

The following table shows for each sound the various spelling patterns used to denote it, starting with the prototypical pattern(s) followed by others in alphabetical order. Some of these patterns are very rare or unique (such as "gh" for /p/, "ph" for /v/, "i" for /ɑː/). The symbol "…" stands for an intervening consonant.

Consonants[edit]

In order of the IPA consonant tables

Consonants

IPA Spelling Examples

/m/ m, mm, chm, gm, lm, mb, mbe, me, mh, mme, mn mine, hammer, drachm, phlegm, salmon, climb, combe, forme, mho, femme, autumn

/n/n, nn, cn, dn, gn, gne, kn, ln, mn, mp, nd, ne, nh, nne, pn, sne

nice, inn, cnidarian, Wednesday, gnome, coigne, knee, Lincoln, mnemonic, comptroller, handsome, borne, piranha, tonne, pneumonia, mesne

/ŋ/ ng, n, nc, ngh, ngue sing, link, charabanc, dinghy (GA), tongue

/p/ p, pp, gh, pe, ppe pill, apps, hiccough, thorpe, shoppe

/b/ b, bb, be, bh, pb bit, ebb, barbe, bhang, cupboard

/t/ t, tt, bt, cht, ct, ed, ght, pt, te, th, tte, tw ten, sett, doubt, yacht, victual, dressed, lighter, pterodactyl, forte, thyme, cigarette, two

/d/ d, dd, de, dh, ed, ld, t, tt (in some dialects) dive, odd, bdellium, horde, dharma, abandoned, solder, kindergarten (GA), (flatter)

/k/c, k, cc, ch, ck, cq, cqu, cque, cu, ke, kh, kk, lk, q, qu, que, x

cat, key, account, chord, tack, acquire, lacquer, sacque, biscuit, burke, khaki, trekker, polka-dotted,quorum, liquor, mosque, excitement

/ɡ/ g, gg, gge, gh, gu, gue gig, egg, pogge, ghost, guard, catalogue

/s/s, ss, c, cc, ce, ps, sc, sce, sch (in some dialects), se, sse, st, sth, sw, tz, z

song, mess, city, flaccid, ounce, psalm, scene, coalesce, (schism), horse, finesse, listen, asthma(RP), sword, waltz (RP), quartz

/z/ z, zz, cz, s, sc, se, ss, sth, ts, tz, x, ze, c (in some dialects)zoo, fuzz, czar, has, crescent (UK)*, tease, dissolve, asthma (GA), tsarina, tzar, xylophone, breeze, (electricity)

/ʃ/sh, c, ce, ch, che, chi, chsi, ci, s, sc, sch, sci, she, shi, si, ss, ssi, ti

shin, speciality, ocean, machine, quiche, marchioness, fuchsia, special, sugar, crescendo, schmooze, conscience, galoshe, cushion, expansion, tissue, mission, nation

/ʒ/ g, ge, j, s, si, ti, z, zh, zi genre, beige, bijou, leisure, division, equation, seizure, zhoosh, brazier

/f/ f, ff, fe, ffe, gh, lf, ph, phe, pph, (u) fine, chaff, carafe, gaffe, laugh, half, physical, ouphe, sapphire, (lieutenant (RP))

/v/ v, vv, f, ph, lve, ve, w vine, savvy, of, Stephen, halve, have, weltanschauung

/θ/ th, the, chth, phth, tth, fth (in some dialects) thin, absinthe, chthonic, phthisis, Matthew, (twelfth)

/ð/ th, the them, breathe

/j/ y, i, j, ll yes, onion, hallelujah, tortilla

/x/ ch (in Scottish English) loch

/h/ h, wh, j, ch, x he, who, fajita, chutzpah, Quixote

/ɾ/ In some dialects (see flapping): tt, dd, t, d better, daddy, united, Cody

/r/ r, rr, l, re, rh, rre, rrh, rt, wr fur, burr, colonel, forewarn, rhyme, murre, myrrh, mortgage, wrong

/l/ l, ll, le, lh, lle line, shall, aisle, pelham, gazelle

/w/ w, u, o, ou, we, wh (in most dialects) we, persuade, choir, Ouija board, awesome, what

/ʍ/ wh (in some dialects) wheel

/tʃ/ ch, tch, c, cc, che, chi, cz, t, tche, te, th, ti, tsch, tshchop, batch, cello, bocce, niche (GA), falchion, Czech, nature, escutcheon, righteous, posthumous(GA), bastion (GA), putsch, Wiltshire

/dʒ/ g, j, ch, d, dg, dge, di, dj, ge, gg, gimagic, jump, sandwich (RP), graduate, judgment, bridge, soldier, adjust, barge, suggest, Belgian

/ks/x, cc, chs, cks, cques, cs, cz, kes, ks, lks, ques, xc, xe, xs, xsc, xsw

sax, accent, tachs, backs, sacques, sacs, eczema, burkes, yaks, caulks, toques, excel, axe, exsert, exscind, coxswain

* According to Longman (page 196) the majority of Brits, and the great majority of younger ones, now pronounce "crescent" as /ˈkrɛzənt/.

† According to Longman (page 301) 64% of Americans and 39% of Brits now pronounce "February" as /ˈfɛb ju ɛr i/

Vowels[edit]

Sorted more or less from close to open sounds in the vowel diagram.

Vowels

IPA Spelling Examples

/iː/e, e…e, i, i…e, a, ae, ay, ea, ee, ei, eo, ey, eye, ie, ie...e, oe, oi, ue, ui, uy, y

be, cede, ski, machine, bologna, algae, quay, beach, bee, deceit, people, key, volleyed, field, hygiene, amoeba, chamois, dengue, beguine, guyot, city

/ɪ/i, y, a, a...e, ai, e, ea, ee, ei, i...e, ia, ie, ii, o, oe, u, u...e, ui

bit, myth, orange, chocolate, bargain, pretty, mileage, breeches, counterfeit, medicine, carriage, sieve, shiitake, women, oedema, busy, minute (RP), build

/uː/u, u...e, oo, eu, ew, ieu, ioux, o, o…e, oe, oeu, ooe, ou, ough, ougha, oup, ue, ui, uo, w, wo

tutu, flute, too, sleuth, yew, lieu, Sioux, to, lose, shoe, manoeuvre, cooed, soup, through, brougham, coup, true, fruit, buoy (GA), cwm, two

/ʊ/ oo, u, o, or, ou, oul look, full, wolf, worsted, courier, should

/eɪ/

a, a…e, aa, ae, ai, ai...e, aig, aigh, ais, al, ao, au, ay, aye, e (é), e...e, ea, eg, ee (ée), eh, ei, ei...e, eig, eigh, eighe, er, ere, es, et, ete, ey, eye, ez, ie, oeh, ue, uet

bass, rate, quaalude, reggae, rain, cocaine, arraign, straight, palais, Ralph (Br.), gaol, gauge, hay, played, ukulele (café), crepe, steak, matinee (soirée), thegn, eh, veil, beige, reign, eight, weighed, dossier, espaliered, demesne, ballet, crocheted, they, obeyed, chez, lingerie (GA), boehmite (GA), merengue, bouquet

/ə/a, e, i, o, u, y, a...e, ae, ah, ai, au, ea, eau, eh, ei, eig, eo, eou, eu, gh, ie, o...e, oa, oe, oh, oi, oo, ou, ough, u...e, ua, ue, ui, uo

tuna, oven, pencil, icon, opus, beryl, gunwale, anaerobe, Messiah, mountain, aurora, Eleanor, bureaucrat, keffiyeh, mullein, foreign, truncheon, timeous, amateur (RP), burgh, mischievous (GA), awesome, starboard, biocoenosis, matzoh, porpoise, whipoorwill, callous, borough (RP), minute (GA), piquant, guerillla, circuit (GA), languor

/oʊ/o, o…e, aoh, au, eau, eaue, eo, ew, oa, oe, oh, oo, ou, ough, oughe, ow, owe

so, bone, pharaoh, mauve, beau, plateaued, yeoman, sew, boat, foe, oh, brooch, soul, though, furloughed, know, owe

/ɛ/ e, a, ae, ai, ay, e...e, ea, ei, eo, ie, ieu, u, ue, oemet, many, aesthetic, said, says, there, deaf, heifer, jeopardy, friend, lieutenant (RP), bury, guess, foetid

/æ/ a, aa, ah, ai, al, au, ea, ei, i hand, Aaron, Fahrenheit, plaid, salmon, laugh (GA), poleax, enceinte, meringue

/ʌ/ u, o, o…e, oe, oo, ou, wo, au (some dialects) sun, son, come, does, flood, touch, twopence, (because)

/ɔː/o, a, al, au, au...e, augh, aughe, aw, awe, eo, oa, oh, oo, ou, ough, u, uo

flora, bald, talk, author, cause, caught, overslaughed, jaw, awe, ealdorman, broad, bohrium, flooring, pouring, bought, surest (RP) fluoridate (RP)

/ɔː(r)/ †

or, ore, aor, ar, aur, aure, oar, oare, oor, oore, our, oure, owar, ure

or, fore, extraordinary, war, dinosaur, roquelaure, oar, soared, bohrium, door, floored, four, poured, toward (GA), sure (RP)

/ɒ/ o, a, ach, au, eau, oh, ou, ow lock, watch, yacht, sausage, bureaucracy, demijohn, cough, acknowledge

/ɑː/ a, a...e, aa, aae, aah, aahe, ah, au, e, ea, i, ofather, garage, salaam, baaed, aah, aahed, blah, aunt (RP), sergeant, heart, lingerie (GA), lot (GA)

/ɑː(r)/ †

ar, aar, are, arr, arre, arrh, ear, er, uar, our (some dialects)

car, bazaar, are, parr, bizarre, catarrh, heart, sergeant, guard, (our)

/aɪ/i…e, ae, ai, aie, aille, ais, ay, aye, ei, eigh, ey, eye, i, ia, ic, ie, ig, igh, ighe, is, oi, oy, ui, uy, uye, y, y...e, ye

fine, maestro, krait, shanghaied, canaille (RP), aisle, kayak, aye, heist, height, geyser (GA), eye, mic, diaper, indict, tie, sign, high, sighed, isle, choir, coyote (GA), guide, buy, guyed, tryst, type, bye

/ɔɪ/ oi, oy, awy, eu, oll, oye, uoy, uoye avoid, toy, lawyer, Freudian, cholla, enjoyed, buoyant, buoyed (RP)

/aʊ/ ou, ow, ao, aow, aowe, au, ough, oughe, owe, (eo) out, now, cacao, miaow, miaowed, gauss, bough, ploughed, vowed, (Macleod)

/ɛə(r)/are, aer, air, aire, ar, ayer, ayor, ayre, e'er, eah, ear, eir, eor, er, ere, err, erre, ert, ey're

bare, aerial, hair, millionaire, scarce, prayer, mayor, fayre, ne'er, yeah, bear, heir, ceorl, moderne, where, err (variant), parterre, couvert, they're

/ɪə(r)/ere, aer, e're, ea, ear, eare, eer, eere, eir, eor, er, ers, ier, iere, ir, oea

here, chimaera, we're, idea (RP), ear, feared, beer, peered, weird, theory (RP), series, revers, pier, premiere, souvenir, diarrhoea (RP)

/ɜr//ɜː/

er, ir, ur, ear, ere, err, erre, eur, eure, irr, irre, oeu, olo, or, ore, our, ueur, urr, urre, yr, yrrh

defer, fir, fur, earl, were, err, interred, voyeur, chauffeured (GA), birr, stirred, hors d'oeuvre, colonel, worst, wore, adjourn, liqueur, purr, murre, myrtle, myrrh

/juː/u, u…e, ew, eau, eo, eu, ewe, ieu, iew, ou, ue, ueue, ui

music, use, few, beauty, feodary, feud, ewe, adieu, view, ampoule, cue, queue, nuisance

† Identical to previous vowel in non-rhotic dialects like RP.

See also[edit]

English language False etymology Spelling bee List of English homographs Conventions

English plural I before E except after C Three letter rule Variant spelling

American and British English spelling differences Misspelling

Satiric misspelling Sensational spelling

Spelling of disc Graphemes

Apostrophe Eth Long s Thorn (letter) Phonetic orthographic systems

English spelling reform Interspel

English scripts

English alphabet  (Latin script) American manual alphabet

Two-handed manual alphabets English braille American braille New York Point Shavian alphabet Words in English

Lists of English words Classical compound Ghoti English phonology

Regional accents of English IPA chart for English dialects

Stress and vowel reduction in English Initial-stress-derived noun Traditional English pronunciation of Latin

Orthographies of English related languages[edit]Germanic languages

Dutch German Icelandic Romance languages

French Italian Milanese Portuguese Spanish Celtic languages

Irish Scottish Gaelic Welsh Historical languages

Latin Old Norse Artificial languages

Esperanto

References[edit]

1. Jump up ̂  A short history of English spelling2. Jump up ̂  English language. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica

Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/188048/English-language3. Jump up ̂  Rollings 2004: 16-19; Chomsky & Halle 1968; Chomsky 19704. Jump up ̂  Chomsky & Halle 1968:545. Jump up ̂  Chomsky 1970:294; Rollings 2004:176. Jump up ̂  Rollings 2004:17–197. Jump up ̂  Included in Webster's Third New International Dictionary,19818. Jump up ̂  Algeo, John. "The Effects of the Revolution on Language", in A Companion to the American Revolution. John Wiley & Sons, 2008. p.5999. ^ Jump up to: a  b Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Twisted Story of English Spelling, by David Wolman. Collins, ISBN 978-0-

06-136925-4. [1]10. Jump up ̂  According to the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, a majority of younger speakers in England pronounce "sure" and "assure" and

derivatives. as /ʃɔː/, /əʃɔː/, etc.11. Jump up ̂  Accroding to Longman, 77% of Americans pronounce "suggest" as /səg ˈdʒɛst/12. ^ Jump up to: a  b or /hw/ in Hiberno-English and Southern American English13. Jump up ̂  /wr/ in Scottish14. ^ Jump up to: a  b J.C. Wells Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd edition, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, 2008

Bibliography[edit]Albrow, K. H. (1972). The English writing system: Notes towards a description. Schools Council Program in Linguistics and English Teaching, papers series 2 (No. 2).

London: Longmans, for the Schools Council.Aronoff, Mark. (1978). An English spelling convention. Linguistic Inquiry, 9, 299–303.Bell, Masha (2004), Understanding English Spelling, Cambridge, Pegasus.Bell, Masha (2007), Learning to Read, Cambridge, Pegasus.Bell, Masha (2009), Rules and Exceptions of English Spelling, Cambridge, Pegasus.Brengelman, Fred H. (1970). Sounds and letters in American English. In The English language: An introduction for teachers (pp. 77–98). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-

Hall.Brengelman, Fred H. (1970). Generative phonology and the teaching of spelling. English Journal,59, 1113–1118.Brengelman, Fred H. (1971). English spelling as a marker of register and style. English Studies,52, 201–209.Brengelman, Fred H. (1980). Orthoepists, printers, and the rationalization of English spelling.Journal of English and German Philology, 79, 332–354.Carney, Edward. (1994). A survey of English spelling. London: Routledge.Chomsky, Carol. (1970). Reading, writing and phonology. Harvard Educational Review, 40 (2), 287–309.Chomsky, Noam; & Halle, Morris. (1968). The sound pattern of English. New York: Harper and Row. (Particularly pp. 46, 48–49, 69, 80n, 131n, 148, 174n, 221).Cummings, D. W. (1988). American English spelling: An informal description. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801879566Derwing, Bruce; Priestly, Tom; Rochet, Bernard. (1987). The description of spelling-to-sound relationships in English, French and Russian: Progress, problems and

prospects. In P. Luelsdorff (Ed.), Orthography and phonology. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Dixon, Robert. (1977). Morphographic spelling program. Eugene, OR: Engelman-Becker Press.Emerson, Ralph. (1997). English spelling and its relation to sound. American Speech, 72 (3), 260–288.Hanna, Paul; Hanna, Jean; Hodges, Richard; & Rudorf, Edwin. (1966). Phoneme – grapheme correspondences as cues to spelling improvement. Washington, D.C.: US

Department of Health, Education and Welfare.Jespersen, Otto. (1909). A modern English grammar on historical principles: Sounds and spellings(Part 1). Heidelberg: C. Winter.Luelsdorff, Philip A. (1994). Developmental morphographemics II. In W. C. Watt (Ed.), Writing systems and cognition (pp. 141–182). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic

Publishers.

McCawley, James D. (1994). Some graphotactic constraints. In W. C. Watt (Ed.), Writing systems and cognition (pp. 115–127). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.Mencken, H. L. (1936). The American language: An inquiry into the development of English in the United States (4th ed.). New York: A.A. Knopf.Rollings, Andrew G. (1998). Marking devices in the spelling of English. Atlantis, 20 (1), 129–143.Rollings, Andrew G. (1999). Markers in English and other orthographies. In L. Iglesias Rábade & P. Nuñez Pertejo (Eds.), Estudios de lingüística contrastiva (pp. 441–449).

Universidad de Santiago.Rollings, Andrew G. (2003). System and chaos in English spelling: The case of the voiceless palato-alveolar fricative. English Language and Linguistics, 7 (2), 211–233.Rollings, Andrew G. (2004). The spelling patterns of English. LINCOM studies in English linguistics (04). Muenchen: LINCOM EUROPA.Sampson, Geoffrey. (1985). Writing systems: A linguistic introduction. London: Hutchinson.Seymour, P. H. K.; Aro, M.; & Erskine, J. M. (2003). Foundation literacy acquisition in European orthographies. British Journal of Psychology, 94 (2), 143–174.Simpson, J. A.; & Weiner, E. S. C. (Eds.). (1989). Oxford English dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Steinberg, Danny. (1973). Phonology, reading and Chomsky and Halle's optimal orthography.Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 2 (3), 239–258.Stubbs, Michael. (1980). Language and literacy: The sociolinguistics of reading and writing. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Venezky, Richard L. (1967). English orthography: Its graphical structure and its relation to sound.Reading Research Quarterly, 2, 75–105.Venezky, Richard L. (1970). The structure of English orthography. The Hague: Mouton.Venezky, Richard L. (1976). Notes on the history of English spelling. Visible Language, 10, 351–365.Venezky, Richard L. (1999). The American way of spelling. New York: Guildford Press.Weir, Ruth H. (1967). Some thoughts on spelling. In W. M Austin (Ed.), Papers in linguistics in honor of Leon Dostert (pp. 169–177). Janua Linguarum, Series Major (No.

25). The Hague: Mouton.

External links[edit]

Rules for English Spelling: Adding Suffixes, QU Rule, i before e, Silent e, 'er' vs. 'or' Hou tu pranownse Inglish  describes rules which predict a word's pronunciation from its spelling with 85% accuracy Free spelling information  and Free spelling lessons in QuickTime movie format at The Phonics Page.

[hide]

v  

t  

e  

Description of the English language

Grammar   

Phonology   

Stress and reduced vowels   

Orthography

Alphabet   

Braille   

Dialects   

Language history   

Phonological history   

Categories: 

English spelling

English language

Language orthographies

Navigation menu Create account

Not logged in

Talk

Contributions

Log in

Article

Talk

Read

Edit

View history

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Go

Wikidata item

Cite this page Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version Languages

Čeština

Español हि�न्दी�

Italiano

Русский తెలు�గు�

Edit links

This page was last modified on 1 October 2015, at 17:31.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policy

About Wikipedia

Disclaimers

Contact Wikipedia

Developers

Mobile view