What sounds do English letters represent? Table. Vowel letters of the English alphabet with transcription and Russian pronunciation

When starting to learn English, many neglect to study transcription, considering it a pointless waste of time. However, correct pronunciation is one of the main goals in learning a foreign language.

Where to start?

Pronunciation of individual sounds. Words in English language are read differently than written, so learning transcription will be the most effective approach to learning the language. In order to learn english sounds independently, it is recommended to study each sound of the English language separately.

All sounds of English

Reasons to learn the sounds of English

1. When studying transcription, you learn the rules of reading. Having analyzed only about a hundred words, you will be able to build logical chains and determine the basic patterns of pronunciation of sounds. Over time, you will be able to pronounce words correctly without much effort. Studying the rules does not exclude the need to listen to English speech. It is important to develop both auditory and visual memory.
2. By reading aloud you improve your pronunciation skills. The lack of correct pronunciation will become an obstacle in overcoming the language barrier, and in the future will cause the development of a communication complex. Incorrect pronunciation can change the meaning of a word or sentence.

Intonation. When working on intonation, it is important to listen to foreign speech. Regularly use audio lessons in your training, repeat after the speaker, try to feel the intonation. Memorize short poems and dialogues. In order to hear yourself from the outside, use a voice recorder, and then work on your mistakes.

Sounds of English- this is a difficult and quite voluminous topic that will require perseverance and patience from you. In order for you to master this level more easily and quickly, I suggest you work with English sounds in the table. If you remember, there are 44 sounds in the British pronunciation system, and it is with them that we will work. The peculiarities of American pronunciation can be found in a separate article. For convenience, the table is divided into separate theoretical blocks, which tell you how to correctly pronounce a particular sound.

Before starting work, be sure to read the following information:

British English has 44 sounds:

24 consonants:

• paired, voiced and unvoiced:
  /b/-/p/, /z/-/s/, /d/-/t/, /v/-/f/, /dʒ/-/tʃ/, /ʒ/-/ʃ/, /ð /-/θ/, /g/-/k/
• unpaired, voiced and voiceless:
  /l/, /m/, /n/, /j/, /r/, /w/, /h/, /ŋ/

With consonant sounds, everything is more or less clear: paired - unpaired, voiced - voiceless. We know about these categories from the school course on phonetics of the Russian language. We also know that in Russian consonants can be soft and hard. In English there is no concept of softness and hardness of consonant sounds. There is the concept of palatalization - softening consonants in position before some vowels, by raising the back of the tongue to the hard palate. What exactly is the difference? The thing is that in Russian the softness and hardness of consonant sounds affects the semantic meaning of the word. Compare: “empty” - “let”, “out” - “stench”, “weight” - “all”. In English, softening consonant sounds does not affect the meaning of words, but is only the result of a mechanical change in sound in the flow of speech.

20 vowels:

• closed, long and short:
  /iː/, /ɪ/, /uː/, /ʊ/
• medium-open, long and short:
  /e/, /ɜː/, /ə/, /ɔː/
• open, long and short:
  /æ/, /ʌ/, /ɑː/, /ɒ/
• diphthongs:
  /eɪ/, /aɪ/, /ɔɪ/, /aʊ/, /əʊ/, /ɪə/, /eə/, /ʊə/

With vowels it’s a little more complicated: closed, open, mid-open. What is it about? About the position of the tongue in the oral cavity. When pronouncing open vowels, the tongue lies low in the mouth and does not touch the palate. Pronounce the Russian sound /a/, which is open, and notice that the tongue lies low in the mouth. When pronouncing closed vowels, the tongue is very close to the palate. Pronounce the Russian sound /и/, which is closed, and notice that the tongue curves the back, like a kitten, and the back almost touches the hard palate. When pronouncing mid-open ones, the tongue takes an intermediate position. Pronounce the Russian sound /e/, which is mid-open and remember the position of the tongue. Long and short vowels. What is it about? About the duration of sound pronunciation. Long sounds last longer than short ones. Longitude of sound in English transcription is indicated as a colon sign, followed by the sound sign /iː/, /ɜː/, /ɑː/, /ɔː/. Diphthongs. What is this? This is a sound consisting of two vowel sounds, the first element of the diphthong sounds stressed, and the second weak. Well, now you can start working on English sounds in the table.

/æ/	We open our mouth in order to pronounce the Russian sound /a/, but at the same time we pronounce the sound /e/. To avoid mistakes like the Russian sound /e/, you should open your mouth wider, the tip of the tongue remaining at the lower teeth. In case of an error such as the Russian sound /a/, you should press the tip of your tongue to your lower teeth and open your mouth wider. (open, short)
/ɪ/	We open our mouth in order to pronounce the Russian sound /и/, but at the same time we try to pronounce the sound /ы/. To avoid mistakes like the Russian sound /и/, you should not raise your tongue too high, you need to pull it back slightly and shorten the sound. If you make an error like Russian /ы/, you should move your tongue forward, stretch your lips and shorten the sound as much as possible. (closed, short)
/e/	We pronounce the Russian words “chalk”, “warmed”, “stump”, “cedar”. We remember how the letter “e” sounds when pronounced in these words and use it as the sound /e/ in English. If you make an error like Russian /e/, you should open your mouth less, stretch your lips slightly and move your tongue forward. (medium open, short)
/ɒ/	We pronounce the Russian sound /o/, but do not extend our lips forward. In case of an error like Russian /o/, you should open your mouth wider, lower and move your tongue lower, rounding your lips, do not pull them forward and slightly shorten the sound. (open, short)
/ʊ/	We pronounce the Russian sound /у/, but at the same time we arch the back of our tongue, almost touching the hard palate with it and do not stretch our lips forward. The lips are slightly rounded. In case of an error such as the Russian vowel /у/, which is an open sound, we monitor the position of the tongue, ensuring that the sound is closed and do not stretch the lips forward. (closed, short)
/b/	They practically correspond to the Russian sound /b/, but when pronounced at the end of a word, unlike the Russian sound, it is practically not deafened. Compare "oak" - /dup/ and "Bob" - /bob/.
/p/	It is similar to the Russian sound /p/, but is pronounced more dull. The dull sound is produced by aspiration. That is, the opening of the lips seems to be exhaled, and does not occur with an explosion. The sound is a bit like /pf/ or /ph/. In addition, at the end of words, English /p/ sounds strong, and does not weaken like Russian /p/.
/g/	It is similar to the Russian sound /g/, but sounds less sonorous at the beginning of words and is practically not deafened at the end of words.
/k/	It is similar to the Russian sound /k/, but sounds more energetic and is pronounced with aspiration. The sound is a bit like /kf/ or /kh/.
/d/	We pronounce the Russian sound /d/, but at the same time we do not touch the upper teeth with the tip of the tongue, but place it on the alveoli (tubercles on the hard palate, behind the upper teeth). Unlike the Russian consonant /d/, the English /d/ at the end of words is partially deafened.
/t/	We pronounce the Russian sound /t/, but at the same time we do not touch the upper teeth with the tip of the tongue, but place it on the alveoli (tubercles on the hard palate, behind the upper teeth). The English voiceless consonant /t/ is stronger than the Russian /t/ and is pronounced aspirated. The resulting sound is a bit like /tf/ or /th/.
/n/	We pronounce the Russian sound /n/, but at the same time we do not touch the upper teeth with the tip of the tongue, but place it on the alveoli (tubercles on the hard palate, behind the upper teeth).
/h/	It resembles the Russian sound /х/, but is not pronounced energetically with an explosion, but is only a light exhalation. Occurs only before vowels. If you make an error like Russian /х/, you should weaken the consonant until you exhale lightly.

pig, pet, put, pot, pan - /pɪɡ/, /pet/, /ˈpʊt/, /pɒt/, /pæn/

big, ben, book, bog, ban - /bɪɡ/, /ben/, /bʊk/, /bɒɡ/, /bæn/

dig, den, hood, dog, bad - /dɪɡ/, /den/, /hʊd/, /dɒɡ/, /bæd/

tip, ten, took, top, tap - /ˈtɪp/, /ten/, /tʊk/, /tɒp/, /tæp/

get, gig, good, god, gap - /ˈɡet/, /ɡɪɡ/, /ɡʊd/, /ɡɒd/, /ɡæp/

kit, Ken, cook, cod, cap - /kɪt/, /ken/, /kʊk/, /kɒd/, /kæp/

Nick, net, nook, not, Nat - /nɪk/, /net/, /nʊk/, /nɒt/, /næt/

hit, hen, hook, hot, ham - /hɪt/, /hen/, /hʊk/, /hɒt/, /hæm/

Don't try to work through everything at once. Yes, you won’t be able to do this, since the amount of work with sounds is designed for several astronomical hours, at a minimum. Work through the theory in blocks, be sure to complete the exercises at the end of the block. The main thing in learning a language is regularity. It is better to work 15-20 minutes every day than 2-3 hours once a week.

Pay attention to the pronunciation of long vowel sounds and the pronunciation of consonant sounds, which have no analogues in the Russian language.

/ɑː/	We pronounce the Russian sound /a/, but at the same time we pull the tip of the tongue away from the lower teeth as far back as possible, without straining our lips. If you make an error like Russian /a/, you should pull your tongue back and lengthen the vowel somewhat and not open your mouth too wide. (open, long)
/ɔː/	We pronounce the Russian sound /o/, but at the same time we pull the tip of the tongue away from the lower teeth as far back as possible, without straining our lips or pulling them forward. If you make an error like Russian /o/, you should strive for a more open pronunciation and do not pull your lips forward. Compared to English /ɑː/, the /ɔː/ sound is less open. (open, long)
/uː/	We pronounce the Russian sound /у/, but at the same time we do not stretch our lips forward, we round our lips, but do not tense them. In the process of pronouncing the sound /u:/, we pull the tip of the tongue away from the lower teeth as far back as possible. In case of an error like Russian /у/, you should first of all ensure that the lips are rounded, but not pulled forward. (closed, long)
/l/	We pronounce the Russian sound /l/, but at the same time we place the tip of the tongue on the alveoli (tubercles on the hard palate). The English sound /l/ has two sounds: hard (at the end of words and before consonants) sounds softer than hard Russian /l/ soft (before vowels and before the consonant /j/) sounds harder than the soft Russian /l"/
/m/	We pronounce the Russian sound /m/, but at the same time we tense our lips more.
/r/	We are preparing to pronounce the Russian sound /zh/, but at the same time we are trying to pronounce the Russian sound /r/. To pronounce the sound correctly, we make sure that the tip of the tongue is behind the alveoli (tubercles on the hard palate), without touching them, remaining tense and motionless.
/w/	There is no similar sound in the Russian language. Vaguely similar to the Russian sound /ua/. To correctly pronounce this sound, we stretch our lips forward as for pronouncing the Russian sound /у/, while the lips are tense and rounded, in this position we try to quickly pronounce the Russian sound /v/. In case of an error like Russian /v/, make sure that the lower lip does not come into contact with the upper teeth and upper lip. In case of an error like Russian /ы/, we strain and round our lips even more.
/ŋ/	There is no similar sound in the Russian language. To pronounce this sound correctly, we press the back of the tongue against the soft palate and try to pronounce the Russian sound /n/. In case of an error like Russian /n/, open your mouth wider and make sure that the tip of the tongue does not touch the upper teeth or alveoli, but is located at the roots of the lower teeth.
/v/	Almost corresponds to the Russian sound /v/. English /v/ sounds weaker than Russian /v/, but at the end of words it is practically not deafened.
/f/	Almost corresponds to the English sound /f/. English /f/ sounds stronger than Russian /f/, especially at the end of words
/z/	Almost corresponds to the Russian sound /z/. But it sounds weaker. At the end of words there is almost no deafening.
/s/	Almost corresponds to the Russian sound /s/. But it sounds much more energetic.
/ð/	There is no similar sound in the Russian language. In order to pronounce this sound correctly, we place the tip of the tongue between the upper and lower front teeth and try to pronounce the Russian sound /z/. At the end of words, this English voiced consonant is almost unvoiced. In case of an error like Russian /з/, we make sure that the tip of the tongue does not hide behind the teeth. In case of an error like Russian /d/, make sure that the tongue is not pressed against the upper teeth; there should be a small gap between the tip of the tongue and the upper teeth. In case of an error like Russian /v/, make sure that the lower lip is lowered.
/θ/	There is no similar sound in the Russian language. In order to pronounce this sound correctly, we place the tip of the tongue between the upper and lower front teeth and try to pronounce the Russian sound /s/. In case of an error like Russian /s/, make sure that the tip of the tongue does not hide behind the teeth. In case of an error like Russian /t/, make sure that the tongue is not pressed against the upper teeth; there should be a small gap between the tip of the tongue and the upper teeth. In case of an error like Russian /f/, make sure that the lower lip is lowered.

lark, look, lips, last - /lɑːk/, /lʊk/, /lɪps/, /lɑːst/

mood, moon, mask, mast - /muːd/, /muːn/, /mɑːsk/, /mɑːst/
rude, red, rock, room - /ruːd/, /red/, /rɒk/, /ruːm/
what, when, well, wool - /ˈwɒt/, /wen/, /wel/, /wʊl/
sing, sink, wink, pink - /sɪŋ/, /sɪŋk/, /wɪŋk/, /pɪŋk/
zip, zink, zing, zoo - /zɪp/, /ˈzɪŋk/, /zɪŋ/, /zuː/
silky, swim, sick, soon - /ˈsɪlki/, /swɪm/, /sɪk/, /suːn/
vase, voodoo, vest, vast - /vɑːz/, /ˈvuː.duː/, /vest/, /vɑːst/
farm, fool, food, fast - /fɑːm/, /fuːl/, /fuːd/, /fɑːst/
thin, think, threat, theft - /θɪn/, /ˈθɪŋk/, /θret/, /θeft/
this, the, then, them - /ðɪs/, /ði:/, /ðen/, /ðəm/
four, store, fork, door - /fɔː/, /stɔː/, /fɔːk/, /dɔː/

If you are reading these lines, it means you have worked through the first two blocks and you have successfully mastered as much as 50% of this difficult topic. Please accept my congratulations and let me praise you for your diligence, hard work and patience! After all, these are precisely the qualities that will lead you to triumph on the path of mastering the English language. Starting work on the third block English sounds in the table, do not forget that “repetition is the mother of learning.” Therefore, be sure to return to the completed blocks and do not be lazy to repeat them!

Pay attention to the pronunciation of the neutral sound /ə/, long vowels, and diphthongs.

/ə/	There is no similar sound in the Russian language. We pronounce the Russian words “mint”, “guys”, “Volodya”, the sound of the letter “ya” in these words vaguely resembles the English sound /ə/, only it sounds unstressed, weak, unclear, almost imperceptible. In case of an error such as the Russian unstressed /a/ as in the word “summer” - /l"`et A/, raise the entire tongue to the hard palate. (medium open, short)
/ɜː/	There is no similar sound in the Russian language. We pronounce the Russian words “plait”, “bloom”, “chalk”, the sound of the letter “е” in these words vaguely resembles the English sound /з:/. When pronouncing this sound, we make sure that the tip of the tongue is at the lower teeth, the distance between the upper and lower teeth is kept small, we do not stretch our lips, we achieve their neutral position. (medium open, long)
/iː/	It vaguely resembles the Russian sound of “ii” in the words “strong”, “marked”, “rare”. Two-level sound, i.e. sounds heterogeneous in the initial and final positions. In the initial position, the tongue is in the front of the mouth, the tip of the tongue touches the lower teeth, the middle part of the tongue is raised high to the hard palate, the lips are somewhat stretched. During the pronunciation process, the tongue moves from a lower and pushed back position to a higher and forward position. (closed, long)
/eɪ/	It’s a bit reminiscent of the Russian sound of “hey” in the words “bolder”, “more cheerful”, “warm up”. The core of the diphthong is the mid-open, short vowel sound /e/. After pronouncing the nucleus, the tongue makes a slight upward movement in the direction of the sound /ɪ/, without, however, achieving its complete formation. Pronunciation of a sound like Russian /th/ should not be allowed. (diphthong)
/aʊ/	A bit reminiscent of the Russian sound of “ay” in the words “round”, “bounty”. In case of an error like Russian /ay/ we make sure that the second element sounds unstressed and weakened. (diphthong)
/eə/	The core of the diphthong is the English mid-open short vowel /e/, the second element is the unstressed English vowel /ə/. (diphthong)
/ʒ/	We pronounce the Russian sound /zh/ but at the same time soften its sound.
/ʃ/	We pronounce the Russian sound /sh/ but at the same time soften its sound.
/j/	It is similar to the Russian sound /й/, but has a weaker pronunciation.

pleasure, treasure, measure, leisure - /ˈpleʒə/, /ˈtreʒə/, /ˈmeʒə/, /ˈleʒə/
should, shake, shame, shirt - /ʃʊd/, /ʃeɪk/, /ʃeɪm/, /ʃɜːt/
yes, yet, you, your - /jes/, /jet/, /ju/, /jə/
world, work, heard, word, bird - /wɜːld/, /ˈwɜːk/, /hɜːd/, /ˈwɜːd/, /bɜːd/
never, ever, fever, river - /ˈnevə/, /ˈevə/, /ˈfiːvə/, /ˈr.və/
sea, eat, beef, these, beans - /siː/, /iːt/, /biːf/, /ðiːz/, /biːnz/
stay, hey, play, hate, game - /steɪ/, /heɪ/, /ˈpleɪ/, /heɪt/, /ɡeɪm/
how, now, about, round, ground - /ˈhaʊ/, /naʊ/, /əˈbaʊt/, /ˈraʊnd/, /ɡraʊnd/
wear, hair, player, repair, theirs - /weə/, /heə/, /ˈpleɪə/, /rɪˈpeə/, /ðeəz/

Hooray! You have to master the last block English sounds in the table. This means that very soon you will begin to easily read the transcription English words in the dictionary and start with them independent work in our word library, which was created for you to develop and expand your vocabulary.

Pay attention to the pronunciation short sound/ʌ/, diphthongs, consonant sounds that have no analogues in the Russian language.

/dʒ/	There is no similar sound in the Russian language. A bit reminiscent of the Russian sound "dzh". In order to avoid mistakes like the Russian “j”, we make sure that both components sound together and not separately as in the words “jam”, “jazz”. Prepare to pronounce the Russian sound /ch/, but at the same time pronounce “dzh”.
/tʃ/	It resembles the Russian sound /ch/, but sounds harder.
/ʌ/	Pronounce the Russian sound /a/, but at the same time pull your tongue back, keep your mouth half open and your lips neutral. In case of an error like Russian /a/, the language should be reversed. English /ʌ/ sounds shorter than Russian /a/. (open, short)
/aɪ/	A bit reminiscent of the Russian sound of “ai” in the words “paradise” and “boycott”. In case of an error like Russian /ai/, we make sure that the second element sounds unstressed and weakened. (diphthong)
/ɔɪ/	A bit reminiscent of the Russian sound of “oy” in the words “fight”, “hero”. The nucleus of a diphthong is something between a long /ɔː/ and short /ɒ/. In case of an error like /oy/, the first element of the diphthong should be made more open, and the second element weakened. (diphthong)
/əʊ/	There is no similar sound in the Russian language. The diphthong core is close in sound to English /з:/. After pronouncing the nucleus, the tongue makes a slight upward movement and moves back in the direction of articulation [ʊ]. In case of an error like Russian /оу/, we do not extend our lips forward. In case of an error like Russian /eu/, we do not stretch our lips, we round them. (diphthong)
/ɪə/	There is no similar sound in the Russian language. The core of the diphthong is the short vowel /ɪ/. After pronouncing the nucleus, the tongue moves towards the center in the direction of /ə/. To avoid mistakes like Russian /ia/, we make sure that the second element of the diphthong sounds weakened. (diphthong)
/ʊə/	There is no similar sound in the Russian language. The core of the diphthong is the short vowel /ʊ/. After pronouncing the nucleus, the tongue moves towards the center in the direction of /ə/. To avoid mistakes like the Russian /ua/, we do not round or protrude our lips forward, and make sure that the second element of the diphthong sounds weakened. (diphthong)

jug, jog, gem, general, jeep - /dʒʌɡ/, /dʒɒɡ/, /dʒem/, /ˈdʒenrəl/, /dʒiːp/
chest, chair, chain, choose, cheap - /tʃest/, /tʃeə/, /tʃeɪn/, /tʃuːz/, /tʃiːp/
why, tie, buy, fly - /waɪ/, /taɪ/, /baɪ/, /flaɪ/
boy, toy, joy, voice, employ - /ˌbɔɪ/, /tɔɪ/, /dʒɔɪ/, /vɔɪs/, /ɪmˈplo.ɪ/
near, dear, beer, here, gear - /nɪə/, /dɪə/, /bɪə/, /hɪə/, /ɡɪə/
pure, sure, tour, cure, lure - /pjʊə/, /ʃʊə/, /tʊə/, /kjʊə/, /lʊə/
cup, nut, mug, sun, bud - /kʌp/, /nʌt/, /mʌɡ/, /sʌn/, /bʌd/

Congratulations on your successful completion English sounds in the table! Now you can move on to mastering the second stage in learning English phonetics. Namely, learn the rules of word stress, the rules of copula and reduction of sounds, which will be discussed in our next article

It seemed like an impenetrable jungle with 26 dangerous predators hiding in the wilds. However, now you will probably easily name and place all the letters in the correct order, and you will also show off several facts that not every philologist knows.

After reading this article, the topic of English transcription and pronunciation will be moved from the room of fear to the room of laughter. Today on the program:

Getting rid of the fear of reading and learning graphic symbols
. acquaintance, memorization and learning of diphthongs, vowels and consonants (classification of sounds), arranged in unique tables
. pause to download and print English transcriptions in pictures
. a clear and concise explanation of the use of English sounds by comparing them with their Russian relatives
. reinforcement of the material covered with a 10-minute video about English transcription

Are you still afraid? Then we are coming to you!

Graphic transcription symbols in English

Before you plunge into the pool English reading with your head, we strongly recommend that you listen to the advice of experienced divers. Naturally, a child learns to sit first and then walk, and not vice versa - the same thing awaits us: first learn to read the transcription, and then pronounce it (in the head or out loud). You should not get carried away only by reading, otherwise you risk burying yourself in the wilds of theory and breaking away from practice.

First you need to learn and clarify all the questions regarding each transcription symbol. Then listen online to exactly as many examples as you need to clearly understand how a given symbol sounds in real speech. Learn strictly from examples not of sounds taken out of context (like Rian’s “uh-uh” in the hit “Umbrella”), but from specific letter combinations found in words. Next, listen to each new word first and only then compare what you hear with your ears with the alphabetic dictionary transcription enclosed in square brackets. By the way, about them and other integral companions of transcription:

Square brackets. They signal that what is inside is transcription.
For example, English is a word, and ["ɪŋglɪʃ] is its transcription;

‘ - main emphasis. Placed BEFORE the stressed vowel: around [əˈraʊnd];

, - secondary stress. Placed BEFORE a vowel: ["hæmˌbɜːgə];

: - vowel length.

The proposed option may not seem the fastest at first glance, but the wise man will not go up the mountain - the wise man will go around the mountain. As a result, the time spent is converted into comfortable speech perception: you no longer need to painfully strain your hearing, trying to recognize unfamiliar sounds. And soon the unfamiliar “squiggles” will acquire a meaningful sound. Isn't it magical? This is the secret of not only correct pronunciation, but also ease of listening comprehension.

English Transcription Foundation

Since “it’s great that we’re all here today” about studying transcription, let’s take a closer look at it. Transcription is of two types: phonetic and phonemic. You are mistaken if you think that you have taught/will learn phonetic transcription, which is more familiar to the ear. As a rule, it interests serious linguists; our choice is the study of phonemes (sound language units). Simply put, if two sounds are very similar, but the difference between them can change the meaning of the word, then they form two different phonemes. In Russian this is not so noticeable, because even if you call a cat “kot” or “coooooot”, he will still come, but the meaning of the word will not change. One phoneme for two different sounds. IN English number won't work: "cot", "caught" and "coat" contain different phonemes. Why so many “smart letters”? Besides the fact that dictionaries contain phonemic transcriptions, remember this and do not allow yourself to be confused:

Pope(dad, papal):
1) is a phonetic transcription; it is emphasized here that the first [p], unlike the second, is pronounced with aspiration (aspiration after consonants sounds p,t,k before vowels);
2) is a dictionary (phonemic) transcription.

What else do you need to know about transcription? That there are different syllables in it:

- open(there is no consonant after the vowel) - New
- closed(after a vowel there is a consonant) - York

- vowel: single - [e], diphthong - [ɔʊ], triphthong - [ɑiə]
- consonant:[d]

Vowel sounds of English (with online pronunciation)

There are fewer vowel sounds in English than consonants, but more than diphthongs. This picture clearly shows the difference, for example, between the sounds [I] and . Anyone who has even heard of the existence of imagination will recognize the words “fish” and “tree”, which, like puzzles, contain the mentioned sounds. You can re-read the rules as much as you like, or you can once study in detail the transcription in pictures, which visualizes examples of the use of sounds. To train your memory, you can download and even print the picture; this option is provided. For auditory learners, it is possible to hear every sound online in a word after clicking on the speaker icon.

Consonant sounds of English

Consonant sounds in English are not at all twin brothers to Russian. The articulation of their creation is seriously different. However, we are not here to intimidate with clever words, but rather to make life easier for beginning English lovers, so we colored the voiced consonants purple, and the voiceless consonants blue. During the formation of the same plural nouns it is very important to feel and know the difference. 24 new words serve as a bonus to the learned sounds. We train visual memory and save English transcription in pictures for repeated reference at the first need! Audience learners still click on the speaker icon under each letter to pronounce sounds in online transcription.

Diphthongs (double vowel sounds) of English

And it would be scary to have 8 diphthongs in English if it weren’t for the wonderful pictures, thanks to which learning turns into an entertaining solving of charades. Just look at the picture, hold your gaze, sound the diphthong by pressing the speaker icon under the letter and practice correct pronunciation. Everyone who appreciates the creative approach to business is allowed to download the picture for a long memory!

From theory to practice
Some time will pass, the dictionary will be covered with a thick layer of dust or will be removed from bookmarks (in the electronic version), because the translation of the necessary words is known, the sound is familiar - what other America can you discover there? Believe it or not, it is the clarification of the transcription of words that seem well known to you that is the very unplowed field that is worth crossing over to improve the sound of speech.

Let's give an everyday example: the frequently used word “real” has a phonemic transcription a) , b) or c)?
The first option is fictitious and erroneous, the second and third are British and American pronunciation styles. What is the moral of this fable?

So that you do not feel painfully ashamed of your reading, we recommend that you at least briefly familiarize yourself with these tables as follows:
- read the line from left to right;
- listen to the perfect pronunciation of the sound;
- take a mirror in your hand and practice hard (you will probably enjoy practicing [æ] or [ð]).

Table of English sounds similar to Russian
These sounds in English transcription do not have to be explained on your fingers.

Sound	Example	Explanations
[ɑː]	car, far, garage	Sounds like a long “ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” sound. Remember the cartoon about Mowgli, where the wise Kaa was?
[ʌ]	up, but, love	Short sonorous "a". There is something similar in the Russian “ay”.
[ɔː]	more, board, floor	Sounds like a long "oo". Act surprised.
[b]	book, board, tab	Russian energetic "b". When you're walking down a corridor in the dark and suddenly bump into
[g]	green, grace, agree	Russian "g", but not so energetic.
[f]	forest, atmosphere, enough	Very energetic Russian "f".
[k]	kill, cord, school	Russian "k". Before a stressed vowel, it is pronounced aspirated (if you put your hand in front of your lips and say “kil”, your palm should feel your fresh breath)
[m]	mother, lamb	Russian "m".
[n]	nine, note, intrusion	Russian "n".
[p]	pub, gallop, open	Russian energetic "p". Before a stressed vowel - aspirated.
[v]	vest, vocal, give	Russian "v".

Now let's look at some tricky examples in practice:

subtle - barely perceptible
“Sattle” and only that, no “subtle” with a drum “b” in the middle.

palm - palm
Naturally, everyone wants to be under a palm tree, but there is no smell of it here. Not “palm”, not “po:lm”, but “pa:m”, as in “car” and “path”. In company with a palm they find themselves calm- “calm” and balm- "balm".

halt - stop
Banish the analogy with the German “halt” - the correct pronunciation is “ho:lt”.

won - won, won in the past from “win”
Wonderful if you pronounce "won" like "one" - .

of - preposition of belonging
Only a botanist would think of checking the sound of a two-letter word? Oh well. "Of" and no nails? Remember: "Of" is pronounced with a "v" at the end. The full form is [ɔv], the reduced form is [əv]. Always.

Table of English sounds that have something in common with Russian
These sounds cause the greatest temptation and at the same time danger: the relative similarity with the usual pronunciation in Russian threatens to sound completely incorrect. Pay enough attention and understand the differences well.

Sound	Example	Explanations
[i]	fit, bit, symbol	The mean between “s” and “i”. It is pronounced very briefly, as at the end of “apchhi”.
	cheese, tree, sea	What photographers ask us to say on camera. As in the Russian word “syyyr”, but with a touching smile.
[ɒ]	hot, body, rock	The mean between "o" and "a". That is, in no case is the Vologda “o”.
[u]	cook, foot, woman	It's similar to the Russian short "u", but it's easier to pronounce and the lips are slightly stretched. It turns out like a “y” with a half smile. No elongated lips.
	true, fool, shoes	Like the previous sound, but long lasting.
[e]	get, bed, head	Intelligent "e". As in the Russian word "tin".
[ə]	about, until, alias	The mean between the unstressed “e” and “a”.
[l]	let, laughter, illegal	Softened Russian "l". Something between the sound of the word “la” and “la”.
[s]	stress, sunday, citizen	Muffled Russian "s". He never whistles. Remember the song "Girl" by the Beatles? Now, if their famous inhalation “sssss” is pronounced with an exhalation and briefly, you get a beautiful English [s].
[z]	zero, cosmonaut, xenon	Everything is the same as about the sound [s], only louder.
[t]	tree, trunk, receipt	Similar to Russian "t". But the tip of the tongue should be placed not to the teeth, but to the tubercle behind the upper teeth.
[d]	drink, ad, diligent	Similarly: like the Russian “d”, only the tip of the tongue rests on the tubercle immediately behind the upper teeth.
[ʃ]	ship, action, special	Between Russian “sh” and “sch”. Doesn't whistle, because... the tongue does not press against the teeth with force, but gently touches them.
[ʒ]	pleasure, visual, garage	Softened Russian "zh". Doesn't ring or whistle.
	jump, jungle, logic	Connecting English [d] with [ ʒ ] and get a soft “j”.
	inch, chance, catch	We connect English [t] with [ ʃ ] and we get something similar to the Russian “ch”. As in the word "kitsch".
[j]	yes, yet, you	The mean between "th" and "i".
[ɪə]	hear, fear, beer	It looks like the Russian “ie” with an emphasis on “i”.
	air, hair, care	Russian "ea" with emphasis on "e".
	make, tray, ace	Russian "ei" with emphasis on "e". "I" is pronounced very short.
	hi, sky, bye	Russian "ai" with emphasis on "a". "I" is pronounced very short.
[ɔɪ]	boy, joy, coin	Russian "oi" with emphasis on "a". "I" is pronounced very short.
	how, cow, hour, our	Russian "au" with emphasis on "a". "U" is pronounced very short.
	fire, wire	Russian "aie" with a strong emphasis on the first "a". Pronounced quickly and smoothly.
	our, flower	Russian "awa" with a strong emphasis on the first "a". Pronounced quickly and smoothly.

were - were
“Were” is not at all the same thing as “where” - . Instead of a diphthong, we use the neutral vowel - , the shortened form - .

debt - debt and doubt - doubt
Fans of the group “No Doubt” have had more than a dozen years to figure out how correct the name of their favorite group sounds. "Debt" and "daubt" are not so easy to pronounce. In English there is no such Russian-language phenomenon as deafening or voicing of a consonant, but throw away the letter of their words for a dear soul: it is pronounced and .

good - good, book - book and look - watch
The double "o" does not turn into a long "u" in these words. Therefore, you should not copy the howl of wolves at the moon - say it correctly with a short vowel - , , .

Table of English sounds that have nothing in common with Russian
Practice pronouncing these sounds well online; at a minimum, your speech apparatus should get used to playing them correctly.

Sound	Example	Explanations
[ɜː]	earn, her, first	If the Russian “o” wanted to become “e”, it would sound exactly like this. Somewhat similar to the sound when children tease by sticking out their tongues. But you need to achieve this sound without sticking anything out. To do this, silently prepare your mouth to pronounce “е”, and say “oo” out loud.
[əu]	go, joke, own	Between Russian “ou” and “yo” (without “y”) with emphasis on the first sound. "U" is pronounced very short.
[æ]	cat, apple, compact	It is very important not to confuse this sound with [e], otherwise instead of “bad” (bad) you will get “bed” (bed). You need to stretch your lips wide, lower your lower jaw and say “eh” from the heart.
[h]	hot, head, uphill	Every Russian man knows how to pronounce this sound. When you are asked to “come on, breathe,” then all men begin to speak English, because they pronounce [h] exactly as it should: a light exhalation, vaguely reminiscent of “x.”
[r]	red, random, orange	Russian bears speak English [r] well. Try growling with your tongue up.
[w]	well, what, windows	Fold your lips into a tube and stretch them sharply. And now the same thing, but with sound.
[ŋ]	strong, sing, sink	Children are scolded for talking with their mouths full. But if you listen to the sounds made, many consonants sound exactly like [ŋ] . Open your mouth and, without closing it, say “n.”
[θ]	thanks, ethical	Place your tongue between your teeth and say “s.”
[ð]	they, there, other	Place your tongue between your teeth and say “z.” The best training is to say the expression “Is this” 100 times. You will never confuse “z” with [ð].

folk - people, folk
The letter “l” has become a victim and is not pronounced at all - .

comb - comb
No “comb” - only “com”. The English “m” and “b” are quite insidious guys who will mess things up more than once. Be on the lookout!

won’t - won’t - short for “will not”
We were tormented by the question of how the cunning English distinguish between “want” and “won’t” in oral speech? You just have to pronounce the negation in the future tense correctly - . That's all the magic.

salmon - salmon
Not “salmon” and certainly not “solomon”. Salmon is on your mind - as in “cat” and “apple”.

Bonus for the most patient

The human brain is the eighth wonder of the world, the deep capabilities of which we can only guess at now. Something important for us is now known for sure: the brain has a speech center. There is no special center responsible for reading, but there is one for speech. That's why we strongly recommend repeating the words out loud for the hundredth time. Exactly out loud, and not silently, because in this case muscle memory is also involved. Naturally, words can “live and resound” in your head. The main thing is not to get stuck and stop at the stage of decoding transcription symbols, selecting the necessary rule for each sound. In this case, only a snail's speed is guaranteed.

If the language is still alive after previous exercises, then we bring to your attention a video that is better to see once than to hear about it 100 times. The entire phonetic transcription of the English language in 10 minutes. Clear, competent and very visual.

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 will correctly read an unfamiliar word without outside help. 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 a good knowledge of the rules of reading is 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.

You can download the tables. They are listed below on the page. We use it and remember it.

Table 1 - Letters, sounds, names and pronunciations of letters.

Letter	Sounds (for vowels: 1) open 2) closed)	(Approximate) Name letters	(Approximate) pronunciation sounds	Example words
A a	, [æ]	"Hey"	"hey", "uh" open	n a me, m a n [æ]
B b	[b]	"bi:"	"b"
C c	[k], [s] before i, e, y	"si:"	"k", "s"	c at [k], ni c e [s]
D d	[d]	"di:"	"d"
E e	,[e]	"And:"	"and:", "e"	h e , p e n[e]
F f	[f]	"eff"	"f"
G g	[g], [ʤ] before i, e, y (excl. give)	"ji:"	"g", "j"	g ame [g], g ym[ʤ]
H h	[h]	"H"	"X"
I i	, [ɪ]	"ouch"	"ay", "and"	l i ke, b i g[ɪ]
J j	[ʤ]	"jay"	"j"
K k	[k]	"kay"	"To"
Ll	[l]	"el"	"l"
M m	[m]	"Em"	"m"
Nn	[n]	"en"	"n"
O o	[әu], [ɒ(ɔ)]	"OU"	"oh", "oh"	g o [әu], d o g[ɒ]
P p	[p]	"pi:"	"P"
Q q		"Q"	"kv"
R r	[r]	"A"	"R"
Ss	[s], [z]	"es"	"s", "z"
T t	[t]	"ty:"	"T"
U u	, [u], [ʌ]	"Yu"	"yu", "u", "a"	p u pil, p u t[u], c u p[ʌ]
Vv	[v]	"in and:"	"V"
W w	[w]	"double u"	[w] sound between “u” and “v”»
X x	,	"the ex"	"ks", "gz"	fox, exam
Y y	, [ɪ] - at the end of a word [j] - at the beginning of a word	"wy"	"ay", "i", "th"	m y , bab y [ɪ], y es[j]
Z z	[z]	"zed"	"z"

Letter combination	Sounds	(Approximate) pronunciation sounds	Example words
ar/al		"a:"	car, park, calm
all	[ↄ:]	"O:"	tall, ball
ee/ea		"And:"	see, tea
er / or (at the end of a word)	[ә]	"e" is weak	doctor, better
oo	[u],	"y", "y:"	book, school
oy / oi	[ↄɪ]	"Ouch"	boy, boil
ow/ou		"ay"	how, mouse
or /our /oar /oor	[ↄ:]	"O:"	horse, four, board, door
ir/ur/er	[ɜ:] (ә:)	"e"	bird, turn, berth
ere/ear	[ɪә]	"ee"	here, hear
air/ear/ere	(ɛә)	"ea"	hair, wear, where
sh	[ʃ]	"sh"	ship, shop
tion / cion / sion (at the end of a word)	[ʃn]	"shn"	situation, suspicion, admission
ch	[ ʧ]	"h"	cheese, cheap
ph	[f]	"f"	phone, physics
th	[ð], [Ѳ]		this, thanks
dg	[ʤ]	"j"	judge
zh	[ʒ]	"and"	Voronezh
sure (at the end of a word)	[ʒ]	"and"	treasure, measure
ng	[ŋ]	"n" nasal	sing, song

If you are just starting to learn English, start learning with the basic topics, which, of course, include English alphabet [ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ ˈalfəbɛt] or the English alphabet. During express training, this topic is often omitted, they say, it will come on its own with time. However, if you do not know the entire list of letters, their pronunciation and writing, nothing will come of your learning process. So let’s look at what the letters are and how they are used. English alphabet.

But first, let's look at how the English alphabet was formed. It is quite difficult to say exactly when it appeared, but the very first fragments of the English alphabet found date back to the 5th century. Then, to write it, Latin letters were used in combination with runes, and therefore the letters were absolutely not like those used in modern English. Subsequently, however, this alphabet changed, all runes were replaced by Latin letters, the number of which by the 11th century amounted to 23 characters, which were ordered for numerological purposes. After this, the alphabet did not change significantly, but 3 more letters were added to it, which were also used in the creation of the modern alphabet.

English alphabet: composition

It was probably not difficult to calculate how many letters are used in modern English. There are 26 letters in English. They may sound different in different situations, since their pronunciation changes depending on the combinations. In total, there are 44 sounds in the English language. However, each letter has its own standard pronunciation, which is used when learning the alphabet. Are being written english letters not as they are pronounced, and therefore when studying them it is necessary to use transcription in order to avoid further errors. It is also worth noting that each letter of the English alphabet has serial number. Numerology in English, as in Russian, was created solely for convenience and is not of such importance.

List of English letters with numbering, transcription and pronunciation
№	Letter	Name	Transcription	Pronunciation
1.	A a	a		Hey
2	B b	bee		bi
3	C c	cee		si
4	D d	dee		di
5	E e	e		And
6	F f	ef		ef
7	G g	gee		ji
8	H h	aitch		HH
9	I i	i		ah
10	J j	Jay		Jay
11	K k	kay		kay
12	Ll	el		el
13	M m	em		Em
14	Nn	en	[ɛn]	en
15	O o	o	[əʊ]	OU
16	P p	pee		pi
17	Q q	cue		Cue
18	R r	ar	[ɑː]	A
19	Ss	ess		es
20	T t	tee		you
21	U u	u		Yu
22	Vv	vee		in and
23	W w	double-u	[‘dʌbljuː]	double
24	X x	ex		the ex
25	Y y	wy		wy
26	Z z	zed		zed

The letter Z in American English is pronounced zee.

Please note that the pronunciation written in Russian letters is approximate. It is impossible to convey the exact English sound using Russian letters. It is indicated here for ease of study. initial stage. However, the transcription option is preferable. If you are not yet very familiar with the sounds, try to listen and imitate native speakers.

English alphabet: frequency of use

All letters in the English alphabet have their own frequency of use. Thus, figures for 2000 show that the most popular letter in the English language is the vowel E. The second most frequently used consonant is the consonant T. It is not so difficult to explain such results. Both of these letters appear in definite article"the", which is the most commonly used word in the English language. The most unpopular is the letter Z, which is known only for zebra, zip and zigzag.

Other English topics: English alphabet for children: there are a lot of options, but which one to choose?

The other letters are arranged as follows:

Letters of English in order of frequency of their use
№	Letter	Frequency (~%)
1.	E	12,7
2.	T	9,1
3.	A	8,2
4.	O	7,5
5.	I	7,0
6.	N	6,8
7.	S	6,3
8.	H	6,1
9.	R	6,0
10.	D	4,3
11.	L	4,0
12.	C	2,8
13.	U	2,8
14.	M	2,4
15.	W	2,4
16.	F	2,2
17.	G	2,0
18.	Y	2,0
19.	P	1,9
20.	B	1,5
21.	V	1,0
22.	K	0,8
23.	J	0,2
24.	X	0,2
25.	Q	0,1
26.	Z	0,1

This numbered list gives an approximate frequency of occurrence of letters, which means that in any given passage, the frequency of letters may vary depending on the words used in it.

English alphabet: vowels

As you may have noticed, there are only 5 in the English language. These are the letters: A, E, I, O, U. Periodically, the letter Y is added to the list, which can convey both consonant and vowel sounds. By the way, regarding sounds: English vowels can change their sound depending on two aspects:

1. Locations, that is, from adjacent letters
2. Stressed or unstressed

Let's look at similar changes using the letter A as an example:

Some sounds contain a colon. The fact is that English vowel sounds are divided into short and long. Short ones are usually pronounced, but long ones last 2 or even 3 times longer. It is necessary to know the pronunciation of the letter in a word according to this principle, otherwise you can distort your thought. Examples:

Regarding the characteristics of vowels, we can also add that the letter E at the end is usually not pronounced. For example:

prejudice [ˈprɛdʒʊdɪs] (prejudis)	prejudice
demonstrate [ˈdɛmənstreɪt] (demonstrate)	demonstrate
paradise [ˈparədʌɪs] (paradise)	paradise

In addition, vowel letters can have diphthongs or a combination of two vowel sounds, but in order to avoid too much information, we will consider this issue in a separate topic.

It can be added that vowels, like consonants, do not have diacritics. Such signs include all sorts of dashes, squiggles, wavy lines above and below letters, which are characteristic, for example, of French or Spanish. However, in very rare cases such signs can be used with borrowed words. The most popular among them are:

cafe	cafe
resumé	summary

English alphabet: consonants

The number of consonant letters in the alphabet is 21. Despite the fact that these letters are different from Russian ones, some of them have a similar pronunciation. These include the letters: B, F, G, M, P, S, V, Z. Speaking of similarities with the Russian language, it can also be noted that if English words have a double consonant, it is pronounced with one sound:

In addition to simple letters, English contains digraphs or signs formed using two English letters . These include:

It is worth noting that the letter ch in words borrowed from Greek is pronounced as [k].

The letter ch is also read as the sound [k] in the name Michael, which is very common abroad:

Exception not applicable to the options above:

[ʃ]
champagne [ʃamˈpeɪn] (champagne)	champagne

The combination th is pronounced like “s” and “z” in Russian, only to pronounce them you need to position your tongue correctly. Bite down and then lower it, maintaining the position between your teeth. Now try to pronounce both of these letters.

The digraphs kh and zh are used in English with foreign surnames. Foreign surnames can also often contain the digraph sh, which, however, is also used in ordinary English words.

English alphabet: how to learn

We've sorted out how many letters and how they are used, but how to learn them? In the modern world, this issue is quite easy to solve, because there are a lot of materials for learning English in both printed and electronic versions. However, the choice in favor of electronic material in the case of studying the alphabet will, perhaps, be more correct.

Firstly, the English alphabet is something that one learns very quickly. Once you have mastered it, you will not have to return to this topic again and again, which means that the purchased alphabet books will lie idle on the very top shelves.

Secondly, on the Internet you can find the greatest variety of programs, videos, songs that will help you learn the alphabet in the shortest possible time. Use only one method or combine several at once: hum songs, write each letter on a piece of paper, memorize the sequence of letters in English and the words in which they are used.

That's all. As you can see, there is nothing wrong with the English language. The only thing you may need when studying it is a little patience, seasoned with motivation. Don't think of language as overwhelming, but instead enjoy it.