Rules for reading phrases in English. English letter combinations - English for children in simple explanations

Phonetics is a section that studies sounds. Its main goal is to teach you how to correctly pronounce English sounds and words, and also to develop your ability to perceive the speech of native speakers. Therefore, in order to learn to speak and read English correctly, you need to know the English alphabet and learn the pronunciation of individual phonemes and the words in which they are used. English phonetics The English language is built on the Latin alphabet, has only 26 letters (instead of the usual 33), but almost twice as many sounds are superimposed on these familiar letters, namely 46 different phonemes. English sounds are very important for language learners, so you need to understand how they are used in speech and why.

As stated above, distinguishing feature The English language is a huge number of sounds that do not correspond to the number of letters available. That is, one letter can convey several phonemes, depending on the letters that are next to each other. Based on this, it is necessary to speak very carefully and carefully. Incorrect use of a particular sound leads to misunderstandings.

For example, the word "bed" (bed) and the word "bad" (bad) They are pronounced and written almost identically, so it is quite easy to get confused about them. At this stage of learning English, many begin to transcribe pronunciation in Russian in order to facilitate the memorization process.

However, this “relief” is very misleading, as it often leads to even greater confusion between words with similar pronunciation. After all, both words “bed” and “bad” in Russian can be transcribed exclusively as "bad" without reflecting the duality of sound in any way. Therefore, it is better to learn sounds separately.

Learning English phonetics will undoubtedly bring some clarity to the pronunciation and mastery of all phrases and words that will come your way during learning.

First of all, you should create a dictionary in which you will designate all the sounds in traditional transcription, and then, next to them, their sound version in native language.
Special cases of pronunciation should also be indicated, indicating that this word needs to be pronounced in a special way or writing down that it is impossible to give an analogy of the Russian sound. London - London For convenience, it is better to divide phonemes into groups. For example, consonants, vowels, diphthongs and triphthongs. It is also necessary to constantly practice and perform exercises of this type:

The main city of Great Britain is London. London - ["lʌndən]- 6 letters, 6 sounds. Let's find it on the map of England. Where is it? Then, let’s check with our friend: How do you write it? How do you spell it? Now spell this name - Spell this name for us:

- London - [Landen]

This way you will practice not only the pronunciation of sounds, but also learn useful words and phrases in a foreign language.

Now let's move on directly to their writing and pronunciation.

Sounds of English

Let's get to know brief description all sounds using this table

Sound	Pronunciation
Vowels
[ı]	short [and], as in “outside And»
[e]	similar to [e] - “sh” e exist"
[ɒ]	short [o] - “in O T"
[ʊ]	short, close to [y]
[ʌ]	similar to Russian [a]
[ə]	unstressed, close to [e]
	looks like a long [and]
[ɑ:]	deep and long [a] - “g A lk"
[ə:] = [ɜ:]	long [ё] in “sv” e cla"
	long [y], like “b” at lk"
[ᴐ:]	deep and long [o] - “d O lgo"
[æ]	Russian [uh]
Diphthogs (two tones)
	[hey] - same
[ʊə]	[ue] - poor
[əʊ]	[оу] - tone
[ᴐı]	[ouch] - join
	[ouch] - kite
	[ea] - hair
[ıə]	[ie] - fear
Triphthongs (three tones)
	[ауе] - power
	[yue] - European
	[aie] - fire
Consonants
[b]	Russian [b]
[v]	analog [in]
[j]	weak Russian [th]
[d]	like [d]
[w]	short [y]
[k]	[j]aspirated
[ɡ]	like [g]
[z]	like [z]
[ʤ]	[d] and [g] together
[ʒ]	like [f]
[l]	soft [l]
[m]	as M]
[n]	like [n]
[ŋ]	[n] “in the nose”
[p]	[p] aspirated
[r]	weak [p]
[t]	[t]aspirated
[f]	like [f]
[h]	just exhale
[ʧ]	like [h]
[ʃ]	average between [w] and [sch]
[s]	like [s]
[ð]	voiced [θ] with voice
[θ]	tip of tongue between upper and lower teeth, without voice

Notes:

Double vowels are read as one sound: moon - - [moon] or bitter - ["bitǝ] - [bite]
Voiced consonants in English, unlike Russian, do not become voiceless: in a word good [good] the sound [d] is pronounced clearly, just like [g] in dog [dog] etc.

The meaning of correct pronunciation

As I already said, it is very important and extremely necessary to improve English pronunciation because a large number of words in this language differ by only one or two sounds. But sometimes, even such a small difference is critically significant for correct and accurate contact with primary native speakers.

Children's introduction to the English language is fun and bright: with songs, rhymes, cartoons and a variety of games. The game form of classes instills in children an interest in the language and allows them to quickly memorize new information. These lessons are very easy to teach when learning the alphabet, sounds or popular words. But how to explain to a child complex rules readings that not every adult will understand the first time? Yes Easy! Our material about English letter combinations will teach English to children in an accessible and interesting way. Today we will study the basic combinations with the kids English letters, but first let’s explain to adults when to start learning the rules of reading with children.

About differences in spelling and pronunciation English words The only person who didn’t joke was the lazy one, which is why it is widely known that reading is one of the pitfalls of British speech. Yes, in Russian we also often write differently from how we pronounce it. But, as a rule, this is a one-letter error and does not change the meaning of the word. But the grammar of the English language in terms of reading is much more difficult, because here it is necessary to take into account that:

There are 44 sounds for 26 letters of the alphabet;
The pronunciation of some letters depends on the type of syllable;
There are “silent” syllables;
Letter combinations (diphthongs, triphthongs) are often used;
The duration of a sound affects the meaning of a word.

All these nuances led to the development of special reading rules, but not all words obey them! Many English expressions entered into everyday speech with “wrong” pronunciation and are considered exceptions to the rule.

Not all adults are able to understand such confusion, and even more so for children. Therefore, we would recommend starting to practice English reading with a child no earlier than 7-8 years old. During this period, children already go to school, become more disciplined and begin to understand the importance of knowledge. At the same time, the reading rules in English language enough complex topic, so it needs to be learned gradually. Here are some tips on the format of classes.

Conduct reading lessons at least 2 times a week.
Be sure to remember the correct transcription of pronunciations.
During the lesson, master 3-4 rules with your child, carefully reinforcing them in practice. For example, we studied the pronunciation of a letter in an open syllable - we read 10-15 words for this rule. At the next lesson, we made sure to review what we had learned earlier.
It is better to reinforce memorization of letter combinations with writing. Once every 2 weeks it is recommended to conduct a written dictation (letter/combination - pronunciation).
Encourage your child to read short texts and dialogues. Entertaining mini-stories will increase interest in classes and help consolidate acquired knowledge.

And now, after a little theory, it’s time to move on to practice. Let's look at the rules of reading in English and work them out with examples. Note that the material is largely simplified, because In this article we study English letter combinations in English for children format. Let's get started!

Rules for reading in English for children

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet. Surely, you already know how they are written and how they are pronounced. But did you know that pronunciation can change when we put letters together? different words? For example, in the word sk y (sky - sky) the last letter is read as " ah", and in the word family y (family - family) the same last letter y already reads like " And" So how do you read English words then? In order not to make mistakes, we just need to find out special English rules and get acquainted with the sound variations of letters.

Open syllable rule

Open syllable is a syllable of a word that ends with a vowel. We remind you that any syllable must contain a vowel sound and cannot consist of one letter.

For example, let’s look at the word cake syllable by syllable:

Take the first letter C.
Add the vowel A.
There are 2 letters left, K and E, but the last E is not readable, so you cannot make a new syllable with it. It turns out that this entire word is one syllable cake.
Even though E is unpronounced, it is still a vowel. Therefore, we have an example of an open syllable. And in this case, the letter A is read as “hey”.

So, if the last letter of a syllable is a vowel, then it is an open syllable. In this case, the vowel is taken into account even in cases where it is not pronounced.

Closed syllable rule

A closed syllable is a syllable that ends with a consonant.

Let's analyze the word cat (cat - cat): take the first letter C, add the vowel A. The one remaining letter T cannot be a separate syllable, which means it belongs to the first syllable, and again the whole word consists of one syllable cat. This syllable ends with a consonant, which means it is closed and the rule of reading the letter A as “e” applies here.

Note that if we pronounced the word cat as “Kate”, we would no longer have a cat, but a female name, Kate. Therefore, it is very important to learn how to correctly distinguish between open and closed syllables. Now we’ll find out what other letters change their sound in different words.

Vowels

This table explains the sound options of vowels in English for children.

Letter	Sound in an open syllable	Sound in a closed syllable	Open syllable +R	Closed syllable +R
A	make, lake, game	[æ] apple, man, map	care, hair, square	car, far, star
E*	me,he, she	[e] pen, pencil, red	clear, here, fear	[ə:]
I	wife, fine, bike	[ɪ] ship, sit, pig	fire, tired, hire	[ə:] bird, third, girl
O	[əu] hope, home, no	[ɔ] shop, top, dog	[ɔ:] more, horse, door
U	, tube, cube, juice	[ʌ] cut, nut, cup	cure, sure	[ə:] turn, burn
Y	cry, fly, why	[i] funny, mummy		—
At the end of words, the letter y under stress is read as “ay”, without stress [i] And". At the beginning of a word, before the vowel y sounds like [j] “th”.

Consonants

And with the help of this tablet, the child will easily understand the difference in reading English vowels.

Letter	Pronunciation options
C	1) Before vowels i, e, y is read as “s” circle,Cyprus,place 2) In other cases “k” catcrane,picnic
G	1) Before vowels i, e, y is read as “j” gentleman,energy 2) In other cases “g” big,go
S	1) At the beginning of a word, before consonants, at the end of a word after voiceless consonants “s” sportdress,sort 2) At the end of a word after vowels and voiced consonants “z” dogsbananas,places 3) In the middle of a word there can be both “z” and “s” rose, base, choose
X	1) Before the stressed syllable “gz” examexample 2) In other cases “ks” textfax

English letter combinations (English for children) in tables

Also in the English language, combinations of letters are very common, each of which is read in a special way. Below is a table with frequently occurring letter groups. These combinations need to be memorized, and then reading English letter combinations will become easier for you. To better remember the letters, read the words given in the examples and try to draw small pictures based on them.

Vowels

Letter combination	Pronunciation	Example
ai	"Hey"	rain, brain, paint
ay	"Hey"	day, play, pay
ea	1) * "and"	1) speak, meant, deal 2) break, great
ee	"And"	tree, free, need
ey	"Hey"	grey, they
eu	"Yu"	Europe
ew	"Yu"	new, crew
ie	1) “and” 2) "ouch"	1) field, piece 2) diet, lie, pie
oa	[əu] "oh"	soap, load
oi, oy	[ɔi] "oh"	toy, coin, boy
oo	[u] "y"	pool, cool, book
ou	"ay"	house, out, mouse
ow	1) "oh" 2) "ay"	1) snow, grow 2) flower, brown

*Where the table offers different options, they are listed in priority order.

Consonants

Letter combination	Pronunciation	Example
ch	1) "h" 2) [ʃ] “sh” (French words) 3) [k] “k” (Greek words)	1) chief, cherry 2) machine, chef 3) chemistry, anarchy
ck	[k] "k"	cock, block
dg	"j"	edge
gh	1) not pronounced 2) [f] “f” after au, ou	1) light
kn	[n] "n"	knee, knife
ng	[ŋ] "n" nasal	king, reading
ph	[f] "f"	physics, photo
sh	[ʃ] "sh"	wash, shark
tch	"h"	watch, match
th	1) [ð] “z”	1) the, mother 2) bath, throat
wh	1) [w] “in”	1) wheel, what 2) who, whose

Good luck in learning the language and see you again!

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

Video:

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

Transcription and stress

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

English consonants

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

Rules for reading consonant letters in English: ,

Table of pronunciation of English consonants
Phonetic transcription	Examples
[b]	b ad b ox	voiced sound corresponding to Russian [b] in the word b rat
[p]	o p en, p et	a dull sound corresponding to the Russian [p] in the word P ero, but pronounced aspirated
[d]	d i d, d ay	a voiced sound similar to Russian [d] in the word d ohm, but more energetic, “sharper”; when pronouncing it, the tip of the tongue rests on the alveoli
[t]	t ea, t ake	unvoiced sound corresponding to Russian [t] in the word T hermos, but is pronounced aspirated, with the tip of the tongue resting on the alveoli
[v]	v oice, v isit	voiced sound corresponding to Russian [v] in the word V osk, but more energetic
[f]	f ind, f ine	a dull sound corresponding to the Russian [f] in the word f inic, but more energetic
[z]	z oo, ha s	voiced sound corresponding to Russian [z] in the word h ima
[s]	s un, s ee	a dull sound corresponding to the Russian [s] in the word With silt, but more energetic; when pronouncing, the tip of the tongue is raised towards the alveoli
[g]	g ive, g o	voiced sound corresponding to Russian [g] in the word G Irya, but pronounced softer
[k]	c at, c an	a dull sound corresponding to the Russian [k] in the word To mouth, but pronounced more energetically and aspiratedly
[ʒ]	vi si on, plea sur e	voiced sound corresponding to Russian [zh] in the word and macaw, but pronounced more tense and softer
[ʃ]	sh e, Ru ss ia	a dull sound corresponding to the Russian [ш] in the word w ina, but pronounced softer, for which you need to raise the middle part of the back of the tongue to the hard palate
[j]	y ellow, y ou	a sound similar to the Russian sound [th] in a word th od, but pronounced more energetically and intensely
[l]	l itt l e, l ike	sound similar to Russian [l] in the word l Isa, but you need the tip of the tongue to touch the alveoli
[m]	m an m erry	sound similar to Russian [m] in the word m ir, but more energetic; when pronouncing it, you need to close your lips more tightly
[n]	n o, n ame	sound similar to Russian [n] in the word n OS, but when pronouncing it, the tip of the tongue touches the alveoli, and the soft palate is lowered, and air passes through the nose
[ŋ]	si ng, fi ng er	a sound in which the soft palate is lowered and touches the back of the tongue, and air passes through the nose. Pronounced like Russian [ng] is incorrect; there must be a nasal sound
[r]	r ed, r abbit	a sound, when pronounced with the raised tip of the tongue, you need to touch the middle part of the palate, above the alveoli; tongue doesn't vibrate
[h]	h elp, h ow	sound reminiscent of Russian [х] as in the word X aos, but almost silent (barely audible exhalation), for which it is important not to press the tongue to the palate
[w]	w et, w inter	a sound similar to a very quickly pronounced Russian [ue] in a word Ue ls; in this case, the lips need to be rounded and pushed forward, and then vigorously moved apart
	j ust, j ump	sound similar to [j] in a Russian loanword j inces, but more energetic and softer. You cannot pronounce [d] and [ʒ] separately
	ch eck, mu ch	sound similar to Russian [ch] in a word h ac, but harder and more intense. You cannot pronounce [t] and [ʃ] separately
[ð]	th is, th ey	a ringing sound, when pronounced, the tip of the tongue must be placed between the upper and lower teeth and then quickly removed. Do not clamp the flat tongue between your teeth, but slightly push it into the gap between them. This sound (since it is voiced) is pronounced with the participation vocal cords. Similar to Russian [z] interdental
[θ]	th ink, seven th	a dull sound that is pronounced in the same way as [ð], but without a voice. Similar to Russian [s] interdental

English vowel sounds

from other letters standing next to it, in front of it or behind it;
from being in a shock or non-stress position.

Rules for reading vowels in English: ,

Pronunciation table for simple English vowel sounds
Phonetic transcription	Examples	Approximate matches in Russian
[æ]	c a t,bl a ck	a short sound, intermediate between the Russian sounds [a] and [e]. To make this sound, when pronouncing Russian [a], you need to open your mouth wide and place your tongue low. Simply pronouncing Russian [e] is wrong
[ɑ:]	ar m, f a ther	a long sound, similar to Russian [a], but it is much longer and deeper. When pronouncing it, you need to yawn, but do not open your mouth wide, while pulling your tongue back
[ʌ]	c u p, r u n	a short sound similar to the Russian unstressed [a] in the word With A yes. To make this sound, when pronouncing Russian [a], you need to almost not open your mouth, while slightly stretching your lips and moving your tongue back a little. Simply pronouncing Russian [a] is wrong
[ɒ]	n o t, h o t	short sound similar to Russian [o] in the word d O m, but when pronouncing it you need to completely relax your lips; for Russian [o] they are slightly tense
[ɔ:]	sp o rt, f ou r	a long sound, similar to Russian [o], but it is much longer and deeper. When pronouncing it, you need to yawn, as if with your mouth half-open, and your lips tense and rounded
[ə]	a bout, a lias	a sound that is often found in the Russian language is always in an unstressed position. In English, this sound is also always unstressed. It does not have a clear sound and is referred to as an unclear sound (it cannot be replaced by any clear sound)
[e]	m e t,b e d	a short sound similar to Russian [e] under stress in words such as uh you, pl e d etc. English consonants before this sound cannot be softened
[ɜː]	w or k, l ear n	this sound does not exist in the Russian language, and it is very difficult to pronounce. Reminds me of Russian sound in words m e d, St. e cla, but you need to pull it out much longer and at the same time stretch your lips strongly without opening your mouth (you get a skeptical smile)
[ɪ]	i t, p i t	a short sound similar to the Russian vowel in a word w And* t*. You need to pronounce it abruptly
	h e, s ee	a long sound, similar to Russian [i] under stress, but longer, and they pronounce it as if with a smile, stretching their lips. There is a Russian sound close to it in the word poem II
[ʊ]	l oo k, p u t	a short sound that can be compared with the Russian unstressed [u], but it is pronounced energetically and with completely relaxed lips (lips cannot be pulled forward)
	bl u e, f oo d	a long sound, quite similar to the Russian percussion [u], but still not the same. To make it work, when pronouncing Russian [u], you need not to stretch your lips into a tube, not to push them forward, but to round them and smile slightly. Like other long English vowels, it needs to be drawn out much longer than Russian [u]

Diphthong pronunciation table
Phonetic transcription	Examples	Approximate matches in Russian
	f i ve, ey e	diphthong, similar to the combination of sounds in Russian words ah And h ah
[ɔɪ]	n oi se, v oi ce	somehow. The second element, the sound [ɪ], is very short
	br a ve, afr ai d	a diphthong similar to a combination of sounds in a Russian word w to her* ka*. The second element, the sound [ɪ], is very short
	t ow n, n ow	a diphthong similar to a combination of sounds in a Russian word With aw on. The first element is the same as in ; the second element, the sound [ʊ], is very short
[əʊ]	h o me, kn ow	a diphthong similar to a combination of sounds in a Russian word cl OU n, if you do not pronounce it deliberately syllable by syllable (in this case, the consonance resembles ew ). Pronouncing this diphthong as a pure Russian consonance [ou] is wrong
[ɪə]	d ea r, h e re	a diphthong, similar to the combination of sounds in the Russian word such; consists of short sounds [ɪ] and [ə]
	wh e re,th e re	a diphthong, similar to the combination of sounds in the Russian word dlinnosheye, if you do not pronounce it syllable by syllable. Behind the sound resembling Russian [e] in the word uh That, followed by the second element, an unclear short sound [ə]
[ʊə]	t ou r, p oo r	a diphthong in which [ʊ] is followed by a second element, an unclear short sound [ə]. When pronouncing [ʊ], lips should not be pulled forward

", transcription is used by everyone, sometimes even unconsciously. First, let's refresh our memory, what does the phrase “English transcription” mean?

English Transcription is a sequence of phonetic symbols that helps us understand how to read a particular sound or word. Often, students are faced with transcription at the beginning of learning a language, when it is still quite difficult to read even quite simple words, and then they simply don’t pay attention to it. However, this will not be the case forever.

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

In order not to have to remember the well-forgotten old things, we suggest returning to the repetition from time to time. Of course, ideally, the transcription should be completed together with the teacher, because writing cannot convey all the subtleties of pronunciation, but if you are reading this article now, the foundation for beautiful pronunciation and correct reading has already been laid, and you will definitely achieve your desired goal.

Transcription of vowel sounds

There are two types of vowel sounds - single sounds and diphthongs.

[ ʌ ] - [a] - short;
[a:]- [a] - deep;
[i]- [and] - short;
[i:]- [and] - long;
[o]- [o] - short;
[o:]- [o] - deep;
[u]- [y] - short;
[u:]- [y] - long;
[e]- as in the word “plaid”;
[ ɜ: ] - as in the word “honey”.

English diphthongs

A diphthong is a sound that consists of two sounds. Most often, a diphthong can be divided into two sounds, however, this cannot be conveyed in writing. Often diphthongs are indicated not by a combination of several characters, but by their own sign.

[əu]- [ OU ];
[au]- [au];
[ei]- [ Hey ];
[oi]- [ Ouch ];
[ai]- [ouch].

Rules for pronunciation of vowels in English

Sound " a"has four varieties:
[ ʌ ] - short sound, as in the words “duck”, “cut”;
[ æ ] - soft sound. There is no analogue to it in the Russian language. It is read as in the word “cat”;
[a:]- a long sound that is read as in the word “car”;
[ ɔ ] - a short sound that sounds similar to both “o” and “a”. IN British pronunciation, it's more of an "o" as in "hot" or "not".

Sound " e" can be read in three ways:
[e]- for example, as in the word “let”;
[ ə: ] - this sound is a little reminiscent of the Russian letter “ё”, only it is read a little softer. For example, "bird", "fur";
[ ə ] - one of the most common sounds in English transcription. In sound, this sound is similar to the Russian sound “e”. It occurs only in unstressed syllables and can be practically inaudible or indistinguishable, for example, ["letə", "letter" - letter.

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

Sound " O"also has 2 options - long and short:
[ ɔ ] - short sound, as in the word “bond”;
[ ɔ: ] - a long sound, as in the word “more”.

Sound " u" can also be pronounced in two ways. It can be long or short:
[u]- short sound, as in the word “put”;
[u:]- long sound, as in the word “blue”.

Transcription of consonants

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

Consonants
[b]- [b];
[d]- [d];
[f]- [f];
[ 3 ] - [ and ];
[dʒ]- [j];
[g]- [ G ];
[h]- [ X ];
[k]- [ To ];
[l]- [l];
[m]- [m];
[n]- [n];
[p]- [ P ];
[s]- [ With ];
[t]- [ T ];
[v]- [ V ];
[z]- [z];
[t∫]- [h];
[ ∫ ] - [w];
[r]- soft [r], as in the word Russian;
[ O ]- a sign of softness as in the Russian letter “ё” (Christmas tree).

English consonants that are not in Russian and their pronunciation:
[ θ ] - soft letter “c”, the tongue is located between the front teeth of the upper and lower jaws;
[ æ ] - like “e”, only more sharply;
[ ð ] - like “θ”, only with the addition of a voice, like a soft letter “z”;
[ ŋ ] - nasal, in the French manner, sound [n];
[ ə ] - neutral sound;
[w]-like “v” and “u” together, soft pronunciation.

Features of English transcription

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

Feature 1. Transcription is always formatted in square brackets
Feature 2. In order not to get confused about where to place the stress in a word, it is worth considering that it is always placed before the stressed syllable. ["neim] - transcription of the word name.
Feature 3. It is important to understand that transcription is not the English letters and sounds that make up a word. Transcription is the sound of words.
Feature 4. In English, transcription consists of vowel sounds, diphthongs and consonants.
Feature 5. In order to show that the sound is long, a colon is used in transcription.

Of course, knowing only character sets, it is quite difficult to read everything correctly, because there are many exceptions. In order to read correctly, you need to understand that there are closed and open syllables. Open syllable ends with a vowel (game, sunshine), closed- on a consonant (ball, dog). Some sounds in English can be pronounced differently depending on the type of syllable.

Conclusion

It is worth remembering that in any business the main thing is practice (by the way, you can start practicing English remotely right now). Transcribing sounds in English will be easy for you if you work hard at it. Reading the rules once is not enough. It is important to return to them, work through them and repeat them regularly until they are practiced to the point of automaticity. In the end, the transcription will allow you to correctly pronounce sounds in English.

Dictionaries will help you memorize English with transcription and correct pronunciation of English letters and words. You can use both English online dictionaries and good old printed publications. The main thing is not to give up!

Inspiration to you and success in your studies. May the knowledge be with you!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

Study of any foreign language begins with learning its alphabet. After this, it turns out that these letters sound and are used in words differently. So in the English language there are 26 letters, but as many as 48 sounds that are indicated by these letters. The rules of pronunciation of sounds, letters and, accordingly, words are studied by the phonetics of the English language.

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies the sounds of speech and the sound structure of language (syllables, sound combinations, patterns of combining sounds into a speech chain).

Theoretical phonetics of the English language explores the close relationship between spoken, internal and written language. But phonetics as a whole studies not only the linguistic function, but also the material side of its object: the work of the pronunciation apparatus, as well as the acoustic characteristics of sound phenomena and their perception by native speakers. This is practical phonetics of the English language. It is no coincidence that we mention the theoretical and practical components. The fact is that sounds, as intangible phenomena, are those elements of the language system that allow words and sentences to be embodied in material sound form. Otherwise, oral communication would be impossible. This is the importance of English phonetics and why we have dedicated a separate article to it.

English Phonetics for Beginners

In practice, we all feel how, when pronouncing sounds, the air encounters barriers formed by our tongue, lips, teeth and even alveoli. Depending on this, two types of consonant sounds are distinguished: voiceless and voiced:

But these are not all the options. A more detailed classification distinguishes consonant sounds in English according to the specific obstacles that the air encounters:

Stop consonants. The organs of speech close so that they completely block the passage for air: [p, b, t, d, k, g].
Nasal consonants. Air passes out through the nasal cavity: [n, m, ŋ].
Friction consonants. The organs of speech do not close completely and a narrow passage remains - a gap for air: [θ, ð, ʃ, ʒ, s, z, h, f, v, w, r, j, l].
Stop-frictional consonants. The barrier opens slowly and at the same time turns into a gap: [tʃ, dʒ].
Labial consonants. The lower lip comes closer to the upper: [f, v].
Interdental consonants. The tip of the tongue is located between the lower and upper front teeth: [θ, ð].
Alveolar consonants. The tip of the tongue touches or rises to the alveoli: [t, d, l, s, z].

As for vowel sounds, they are also not the same. They are influenced by different positions of the tongue relative to the palate:

Front vowels. The tip of the tongue rests on the base of the lower teeth, and the back of the tongue comes quite close to the palate: [i:].
Back vowels. The tongue is pulled back and the tip of the tongue is lowered, and the back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate: [a:].

At first glance, this classification may seem difficult, but believe me, in practice you will feel and immediately understand what’s what. And understanding the origin of the sound will help you pronounce it correctly. Well, for children it is advisable to combine the study of English phonetics with games. For example, like in this phonics exercise:

English Phonetics Exercises

For training English pronunciation it is also necessary to take into account emphasis- that is, highlighting one or more syllables in a word. A stressed syllable is pronounced more energetically, with greater tension in the speech organs. Stress helps you distinguish words and understand their meaning, both on their own and in context. For example:

to ex`port(verb “export”)
`export(noun “export”).

The second important aspect of pronunciation of phrases and sentences is intonation. Through intonation we understand or “explain” whether a sentence is a narrative, a question, a request, or an exclamation.

The simplest exercise on English phonetics is performed in Beginner (Elementary) level classes:

Write your name in English.
Now spell out your name.
Do the same with three to five more names (you can think of friends, family members and/or classmates).

You can practice English phonetics in this way:

Spell the words: Yes, Last, Key, Yellow, Funny, Girl, Toy, Now, Sleep, Drama, Kiss, King.
Say the words according to the transcription: Yes, Last, Key, Yellow, Funny, Girl, Toy, Now, Sleep, Drama ["dra:mə], Kiss, King

But we advise you not to forget about additional resources for learning English, such as channels and blogs. With them, mastering English phonetics will be simpler, more fun and effective.