English Phonemes. There are English phonemes categorized into six categories determined by how they are pronounced.

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1 ABSTRACT Teachers need a solid foundation in the English sound and writing systems to efficiently and effectively help students learn to read. This guidebook lists the English phonemes and defines key terms related to the sound system. Mary Lee Peck, Ph.D. Director, Reading Research Institute ENGLISH PHONEMES A GUIDEBOOK FOR TEACHERS

2 English Phonemes There are English phonemes categorized into six categories determined by how they are pronounced. The discrepancy in the actual number of English phonemes results from linguistic arguments about whether some sounds are unique or are simply an alternative articulation of some other sound(s). For example, is the /kw/ sound in the words quick or queen a separate sound or a combination of two consonant sounds (/k/ and /w/) blended together? Despite the arguments, most linguists agree that there are at least 43 definitive English sounds. NOTE: The use of labels such as vowels (short and long), consonants, digraphs, diphthongs, etc. adds another level of abstraction to the challenging task of learning to read. Beginning, emerging, and struggling readers are often confused by such labels. Thus, it is initially important to use only recognizable, concrete terms such as sounds and letters in the early stages of reading instruction. Knowing that the sound or letter is either a vowel or consonant does not help the student learn to apply the sound to a particular letter or letter pattern and often detracts from learning to map sounds and letters. The abstract labels can be taught later, after the reader has learned to connect letters and letter patterns with their most common sounds. IMPORTANT: Correct articulation and word segmentation are two important skills that teachers must master and be able to apply automatically as they assist students in breaking words into sound chunks to help them identify unfamiliar words. Teachers who are not thoroughly familiar with the sound system cannot determine if a word can be sounded out or if it must be learned as a sight word because it lies outside of the typical English phonetic system. Key Terms and Definitions Phoneme: the distinctive speech units of a language. They are the smallest unit of sound that distinguishes words and influences meaning. Vowels: A voiced sound formed without obstruction in the articulatory system. In spoken language, what differentiates vowels from consonants is the way they are voiced as a result of the articulators (parts of the articulatory system [lips, teeth, etc.]) involved in forming the sound and the nature of closure of the vocal tract. Since vowels have no contact with any part of the articulatory system, what differentiates the sounds of individual vowels is the position of the tongue (front/back, high/low, close/half-close) and lip-rounding (rounded/unrounded). There are vowel sounds in English distinguished by their tongue positioning and the roundedness of the lips rather than what is often thought of as the amount of time (short/long) spent in articulating them. : A voiced or unvoiced speech sound formed by a narrowing, intermittent, partial or complete obstruction in some part of the articulatory system which produces audible friction. There are approximately 24 consonant sounds represented by various combinations of the Reading Research Institute 2

3 consonant letters. Changes in consonant sounds result from the place and manner of articulation and whether they are voiced or unvoiced and oral or nasal. : Two letters that represent a single sound. Diphthong: A vowel sound that changes noticeably during the pronunciation of a single syllable. For example, in the word ice the /ī/ slides between the /ī/ and /ē/sound. Voiced Sounds: A sound produced by a vibration in the vocal cords. Unvoiced Sounds: A sound produced without vibration of the vocal cords. Special Sounds: Some sounds are influenced by the other letters around them. The letters r and l frequently alter the typical sound of the vowel that precedes or follows them. Other special sounds were integrated into English from foreign languages that were part of English history. Articulation System: Vocal organs used in the formation of speech sounds. The drawing below labels various parts of the body involved in forming speech sounds. Parts not labeled include the lips, mouth and alveolar ridge which is the ridge in the mouth behind the upper, front teeth. The chart below lists the English phonemes and provides an example of common letter patterns that represent each sound Reading Research Institute 3

4 ENGLISH PHONEMES /ă/ apple bat Short Vowel /ĕ/ elephant get ea- bread Short Vowel ai- said /ĭ/ igloo bit y-gym Short Vowel /ŏ/ ostrich top Short Vowel /ŭ/ umbrella o-onion /ā/ cake ay-play ey-they ai-rain ei-rein /ē/ feet e-e-eve ea-beat y-baby ei-ceiling ie-piece /ī/ ice pie y-cry igh-light y_e-type /ō/ ocean oa-boat oe-toe ow- snow 2015 Reading Research Institute 4

5 /ū/ unicorn mule /ōō/ few o-do eu-feud ou-soup /ur/ nurse er-fern ir-bird r-controlled vowel /ar/ park r-controlled vowel /or/ fork r-controlled vowel /oi/ /ow/ /ŏŏ/ oil oy-boy Vowel Diphthong owl ou- ouch Vowel Diphthong cook u-pull Short Vowel sound /aw/ saw au-haul Special vowel Sound /b/ bat /k/ cat k-kite ch-chemistry /d/ dog ed-sailed /f/ fan ph-photo- gh- enough /g/ goat /h/ hat /j/ jar g-giant 2015 Reading Research Institute 5

6 dge-edge ge-cage /l/ lip ll-llama /m/ mop mb-lamb /n/ nest kn-knife gn-gnat /p/ pen /r/ rat wr-wreath /s/ sun /t/ top ed-jumped /v/ van f-of /w/ wig /y/ yellow baby /z/ zoo s-girls es-shoes /ch/ chin /sh/ ship ti-station si-mission /zh/ television Special Soundconsonant digraph Unvoiced /th/ Voiced /th/ thin this 2015 Reading Research Institute 6

7 /hw/ whip /ng/ sing /nk/ sink /ere/ there ear-bear air- hair r-influenced special vowel sound /ear/ tear eer-beer r-influenced special vowel sound 2015 Reading Research Institute 7