Phonics refers to an instructional method for teaching children to read English

Phonics refers to an instructional method for teaching children to read English. Phonics involves teaching children to connect the sounds of spoken English with letters or groups of letters (e.g., that the sound /k/ can be represented by c, k, or ck spellings) and teaching them to blend the sounds of letters together to produce approximate pronunciations of unknown words.

Alphabetic principleFrom a linguistics perspective, English spelling is based on the alphabetic principle. In an alphabetic writing system, letters are used to represent speech sounds, or phonemes. For example, the word pat is spelled with three letters, p, a, and t, each representing a phoneme, respectively, /p/, //, and /t/.[1]The spelling systems for some alphabetic languages, such as Spanish, are relatively simple because there is nearly a one-to-one correspondence between sounds and the letter patterns that represent them. English spelling is more complex, because it attempts to represent the 40+ phonemes of the spoken language with an alphabet composed of only 26 letters (and no accents). As a result, two letters are often fused together into groups that represent distinct sounds, referred to as digraphs. For example "t" and "h" placed side by side are used to represent a third sound /th/ (IPA:// or //).

English has absorbed large amounts of words from other languages throughout its history, without changing the spelling of those words. As a result, the written form of English includes the spelling patterns of five languages (Old English, Danish, Norman French, Classical Latin and Greek) superimposed upon one another.[2] These overlapping spelling patterns mean that in many cases the same sound can be spelled differently and the same spelling can represent different sounds. However, the spelling patterns usually follow certain conventions. [3] The result is that English spelling patterns vary considerably in the degree to which they follow the stated pattern. For example, the letters ee almost always represent /i/, but the sound can also be represented by the letter y. Similarly, the letter cluster ough represents /f/ as in enough, /o/ as in though, /u/ as in through, /f/ as in cough, and /a/ as in bough.

Although the patterns are inconsistent, when English spelling rules take into account syllable structure, phonetics, and accents, there are dozens of rules that are 75% or more reliable. [4]A selection of phonics patterns is shown below.

Vowel phonics patterns Short vowels are the five single letter vowels, a, e, i, o, and u when they produce the sounds // as in cat, // as in bet, // as in sit, // as in hot, and // as in cup. The term "short vowel" does not really mean that these vowels are pronounced for a particularly short period of time, but they are not diphthongs like the long vowels.

Long vowels are synonymous with the names of the single letter vowels, such as /e/ in baby, /i/ in meter, /a/ in tiny, /o/ in broken, and /ju/ in humor. The way that educators use the term "long vowels" differs from the way in which linguists use this term. In classrooms, long vowels sounds are taught as being "the same as the names of the letters."

Schwa is the third sound that most of the single vowel spellings can produce. The schwa is an indistinct sound of a vowel in an unstressed syllable, represented by the linguistic symbol . // is the sound made by the o in lesson. Schwa is a vowel pattern that is not always taught to elementary school students because it is difficult to understand. However, some educators make the argument that schwa should be included in primary reading programs because of its importance in reading English words.

Closed syllables are syllables in which a single vowel letter is followed by a consonant. In the word button, both syllables are closed syllables because they contain single vowels followed by consonants. Therefore, the letter u' represents the short sound //. (The o in the second syllable makes the // sound because it is an unstressed syllable.)

Open syllables are syllables in which a vowel appears at the end of the syllable. The vowel will say its long sound. In the word basin, ba is an open syllable and therefore says /be/.

Diphthongs are linguistic elements that fuse two adjacent vowel sounds. English has four common diphthongs. The commonly recognized diphthongs are /a/ as in cow and // as in boil. Four of the long vowels are also technically diphthongs, /e/, /a/, /o/, and /ju/, which partly accounts for the reason they are considered "long."

Vowel digraphs are those spelling patterns wherein two letters are used to represent the vowel sound. The ai in sail is a vowel digraph. Because the first letter in a vowel digraph sometimes says its long vowel sound, as in sail, some phonics programs once taught that "when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking." This convention has been almost universally discarded, owing to the many non-examples. The au spelling of the // sound and the oo spelling of the /u/ and // sounds do not follow this pattern.

Vowel-consonant-E spellings are those wherein a single vowel letter, followed by a consonant and the letter e makes the long vowel sound. Examples of this include bake, theme, hike, cone, and cute. (The ee spelling, as in meet is sometimes considered part of this pattern.)

Consonant phonics patterns Consonant digraphs are those spellings wherein two letters are used to represent a consonant phoneme. The most common consonant digraphs are ch for /t/, ng for //, ph for /f/, sh for //, th for // and //, and wh for // (often pronounced /w/ in American English). Letter combinations like wr for /r/ and kn for /n/ are also consonant digraphs, although these are sometimes considered patterns with "silent letters."

Short vowel+consonant patterns involve the spelling of the sounds /k/ as in peek, /d/ as in stage, and /t/ as in speech. These sounds each have two possible spellings at the end of a word, ck and k for /k/, dge and ge for /d/, and tch and ch for /t/. The spelling is determined by the type of vowel that precedes the sound. If a short vowel precedes the sound, the former spelling is used, as in pick, judge, and match. If a short vowel does not precede the sound, the latter spelling is used, as in took, barge, and launch.

The final "short vowel+consonant pattern" is just one example of dozens that can be used to help children unpack the challenging English alphabetic code. This example illustrates that, while complex, English spelling retains order and reason.

Sight words and high frequency words There are words that do not follow these phonics rules, such as were, who, and you. They are often called "sight words" because they must be memorized by sight.

Teachers who use phonics also often teach students to memorize the most high frequency words in English, such as it, he, them, and when, even though these words are fully decodable. The argument for teaching these "high frequency words" is that knowing them will improve students' reading fluency.

There are ways to aid in the memorization of sight words through the use of multi-sensory activities such as arm-tapping.

History and controversyBecause of the complexity of written English, more than a century of debate has occurred over whether English phonics should or should not be used in teaching beginning reading. Despite the work of 19th century proponents such as Rebecca Smith Pollard, some American educators, prominently Horace Mann, argued that phonics should not be taught at all. This led to the commonly used "look-say" approach ensconced in the "Dick and Jane" readers popular in the mid-20th century. Beginning in the 1950s, however, phonics resurfaced as a method of teaching reading. Spurred by Rudolf Flesch's criticism of the absence of phonics instruction (particularly in his popular book, Why Johnny Can't Read) phonics resurfaced, butowing to Flesch's polemical approachthe term "phonics" became associated with political ideology.

When two or more letters appear together and you hear each sound that each consonant would normally make, the combination is called a blend. For instance, the word blend has two consonant blends: bl, for which you hear the sounds for both b and l, and nd, for which you hear the sounds for both n and d.Two-Letter Blends

bl, which blends the /b/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /bl/ sound as in blend and blight

br, which blends the /b/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /br/ sound as in break and brown

cl, which blends the /c/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /cl/ sound as in cluster and class

cr, which blends the /c/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /cr/ sound as in crash and cross

dr, which blends the /d/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /dr/ sound as in drive and drab

fl, which blends the /f/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /fl/ sound as in flu and flake

fr, which blends the /f/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /fr/ sound as in freedom and frost

gl, which blends the /g/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /gl/ sound as in glad and glory

gr, which blends the /g/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /gr/ sound as in green and gravy

nd, which blends the /n/ and the /d/ sounds together to make the /nd/ sound as in blend and send

pl, which blends the /p/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /pl/ sound as in play and plow

pr, which blends the /p/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /pr/ sound as in prime and prowl

sl, which blends the /s/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /sl/ sound as in slogan and sloppy

sm, which blends the /s/ and the /m/ sounds together to make the /sm/ sound as in small and smart

sn, which blends the /s/ and the /n/ sounds together to make the /sn/ sound as in snail and snore

sp, which blends the /s/ and the /p/ sounds together to make the /sp/ sound as in special and spackel

st, which blends the /s/ and the /t/ sounds together to make the /st/ sound as in stop and start

Three-Letter Blends shr, which blends the /sh/ digraph and the /r/ sound together to make the /shr/ sound as in shroud

spl, which blends the /sp/ blend and the /l/ sound together to make the /spl/ sound as in splash and spendid

spr, which blends the /sp/ blend and the /r/ sound together to make the /spr/ sound as in spring and spray

squ, which blends the /s/ sound and the /sq/ digraph together to make the /squ/ sound as in squid and squelch

str, which blends the /st/ blend and the /r/ sound together to make the /str/ sound as in struggle and strap

thr, which blends the /th/ digraph and the /r/ sound together to make the /thr/ sound as in throw

When a vowel is followed by a consonant, the vowel is short. The diacritical mark for a short vowel is called a breve (), which is in the shape of a downturned arc.A vowel is usually short when there is only one vowel in a word or syllable, as in cat, bed, and hot. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as with irregular vowels.

There is both a long and short sound to oo. The short sound appears as in the words book, booth, and took.

The following is a list of short vowel sounds, shown along with their diacritical marks:

Short a () sound as in at, taxi, anniversary, laboratory, and tackle

Short e () sound as in elm, elevator, jellyfish, pentagon, and dentist

Short i () sound as in it, gift, inflate, spinach, and cereal

Short o () sound as in hop, camouflage, garage, chop, father, paw, and binoculars

Short u () sound as in up, cut and subtract

For a complete list of long, short, and other sounds, see letter sounds

A long vowel sound is the same as its name. The diacritical mark for a long vowel is called a macron (), which is in the shape of a line above the vowel.When a single vowel letter is in the end of a word (or syllable), it usually says its long sound (or its name), as in go and be. When two vowels go hand in hand in the same word (or syllable), the first vowel is usually long, and the second vowel is usually silent. e.g., bake makes the /ay/ sound (long a) and the e is silent; goal makes the /oh/ sound (long o) and the a is silent. However, there are many exceptions to this rule, such as with irregular vowels.

When there are two adjacent vowels in a word, the first one is long and the second one is silent. The first vowel is marked with a long line and second one is crossed out. Examples of this rule are in coat, ride, and read.

There is both a long and short sound to oo. The long sound appears as in the words boo, food, smooth, and moose.

The following is a list of long vowel sounds, shown along with their diacritical marks:

Long a () sound as in ape, snail, ache, explain, and reindeer

Long e () sound as in eat, agony, needle, pianist, and electricity

Long i () sound as in eye, cry, tightrope, tile, and violin

Long o () sound as in oh, domino, ghost, pillow, and stethoscope

Long u () sound as in you, salute, toothbrush, goose, boot, and costume

For a complete list of long, short, and other sounds, see letter sounds

Consonant Sounds

Consonants are the letters which stop or limit the flow of air from the throat in speech. These are the sounds, or phonemes, of single consonants: /b/ sound as in bonfire, black, bathtub, and balcony

/d/ sound as in dry, draw, design, and duet

/f/ sound as in fossil, fail, frame, and fingerprint

/g/ sound as in greeting, grill, goose, and grapefruit

/h/ sound as in hail, hieroglyphics, hostage, and hit

/j/ sound as in magician, syringe, jeep, and message

/k/ sound as in key, knock, kangaroo, and kayak

/l/ sound as in lizard, learn, lamp, and library

/m/ sound as in mug, money, maze, and mechanical

/n/ sound as in night, newspaper, nightmare, and noodle

/p/ sound as in panda, pie, pen, and potato

/r/ sound as in rose, restaurant, run, and reporter

/s/ sound as in safe, sunset, sand, and seat

/t/ sound as in tile, thermometer, tongue, and toy

/v/ sound as in violin, volcano, vaccination, and vote

/w/ sound as in waterfall, wagon, windmill, and watch

/y/ sound as in yoke, yawn, yacht, and yoga

/z/ sound as in zebra, zoo, and zipper

Sometimes the vowel u takes upon itself the consonant sound of w, as in quick or suave. This is usually the case when q is followed by u, as in quiet and quaint.Vowel Sounds

A vowel is a sound made by the relatively free movement of air through the mouth, usually forming the main sound of a syllable. The vowels are a, e, i, o, and u.Each vowel has two sounds: a long sound and a short sound. The long sound is the same as its name. Every vowel also makes a third sound: the schwa. This is the sound of a vowel that is unstressed in an unstressed syllable. There are also some more advanced vowel sounds besides the long, short, and schwa. For instance, the a in father is different than the a in cat.

When a single vowel letter is in the middle of a word (or syllable), it usually says its short sound (e.g., got, bed.) But there are many exceptions to this rule, such as irregular vowels. When a single vowel letter is in the end of a word (or syllable), it usually says its long sound (or its name), as in go and be. When two vowels go hand in hand in the same word (or syllable), the first vowel is usually long, and the second vowel is usually silent. e.g., bake makes the ay sound (long a) and the e is silent; goal makes the oh sound (long o) and the a is silent. But there are many exceptions to this rule, such as irregular vowels.

The following is a list of vowel sounds, shown along with their diacritical marks:

Long a () sound as in ape, snail, ache, explain, and reindeer

Long e () sound as in eat, agony, needle, pianist, and electricity

Long i () sound as in eye, cry, tightrope, tile, and violin

Long o () sound as in oh, domino, ghost, pillow, and stethoscope

Long u () sound as in you, salute, toothbrush, goose, boot, and costume

Short a () sound as in at, taxi, anniversary, laboratory, and tackle

Short e () sound as in elm, elevator, jellyfish, pentagon, and dentist

Short i () sound as in it, gift, inflate, spinach, and cereal

Short o () sound as in hop, camouflage, garage, chop, father, paw, and binoculars

Short u () sound as in up, cut and subtract

Schwa () sound as in about, item, gallop, and circus

The letter y sometimes substitutes for i and is a vowel when it does so. Likewise, the vowel w sometimes substitutes for u and is considered a vowel when it does so. However, y sometimes appears as the only vowel in a syllable, such as in gym and why, whereas w never appears as a vowel all by itself. When w acts as a vowel, it always follows a (as in paw), e (as in new), or o (as in grow).

The English alphabet is a set of 26 letters, each of which roughly represents a phoneme. The word "alphabet" comes from alpha and beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet.The 26 letters of the alphabet are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. Each comes in both an upper and lower case. The letters of the alphabet in lower case are a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, and z.

Of these 26 letters, there are two kinds: consonants and vowels. The consonants of the alphabet are: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, and z. The vowels are a, e, i, o, and u. Note that the letter y is classified as a consonant, but sometimes acts like a vowel.

Each letter is like an animal. Each has a name, but also makes a certain sound. For example, a cat says "meow." These sounds are called phonemes.

Consonants are letters that are not vowels. Specifically, consonants are speech sounds (phonemes) made by partially or completely blocking the vocal air stream, and letters (graphemes) that represents such sounds.When y is not acting as a vowel, it is a consonant. Most consonants have only one sound, but a few have multiple sounds. For instance, c can make both the /k/ and the /s/ sound.

A comprehensive list of consonant sounds follows:

b makes the /b/ sound as in bat; also, when b follows m in the same syllable, it is silent as in lamb.

c makes the /k/ sound as in cat and the /s/ sound as in ceasesee Spelling With C and G.

d makes the /d/ sound as in dog.

f makes the /f/ sound as in fat.

g makes the /g/ sound as in get, and the /j/ sound as in gemsee Spelling With C and G.

h makes the /h/ sound as in hat; also, sometimes h is silent, as in honesty.

j makes the /j/ sound as in jam.

k makes the /k/ sound as in kite.

l makes the /l/ sound as in lap, and the /l/ sound as in glad and cycle.

m makes the /m/ sound as in mad.

n makes the /n/ sound as in nap.

p makes the /p/ sound as in park.

r makes the /r/ sound as in race. When r follows a vowel, it makes a special sound: see R-Controlled Vowels.

s makes the /s/ sound as in sit, and the /z/ sound as in has.

t makes the /t/ sound as in tap; also, sometimes t is silent, as in whistle.

v makes the /v/ sound as in van.

w makes the /w/ sound as in wet. w placed before a single vowel will usually modify its sound, as in wash.

x makes the /ks/ sound as in box, the /gs/ sound as in exact, and the /z/ sound as in xylophone.

y makes the /y/ sound as in yet. y can also act as a vowel.

z makes the /z/ sound as in zip.

Note that the consonant q is almost always followed by the vowel u. The u in this case takes on the /w/ sound, so qu together make the /kw/ sound. In some French-derived words, -que makes the /k/ sound as in torque and plaque.

A vowel combination is a combination of two or three vowels, or of a vowel and at least one consonant, that is associated with one or more specific single sounds. For example, ea has the sounds /long e/ and /long a/; ay has the sound /long a/, and igh has the sound /long i/. These vowel combinations are sometimes called digraphs, diphthongs, trigraphs, and triphthongs.Vowel combinations occur in three different forms in written English:

1. Vowels often appear in clusters within a single syllable. This is the most common form.

2. Vowels often appear in combination with a particular consonant or consonants which, together, represent a sound unit that is different from what you would expect if you didn't know the specific combination. For example, the o in old has the /long o/ sound, but if you didn't already know that already, you would think that the o in cold was short.

3. Another common combination in English is one or two vowels followed by gh. The gh is usually silent. It is usually easier to decode the whole unit (igh, eigh) than to process the vowel and the gh seperately.

A Vowel Combinationsai/ayTogether, ai or ay make a /long a/ sound.Example words: aim, rain, braid, paint, ray, say, stay, tail, twain, praise, stain, and mainOther a vowel combinations

ay as in day, say, play, spray, and tray

au as in fault, gaunt, fraud, launch, pause, and sauce

aw as in saw, paw, claw, dawn, and crawl

augh as in caught, taught, daughter, naughty, haughty, and slaughter

wa /w/ as in want, wash, swamp, squash, squat

wa /w/ as in wax, wag, swam, and quack

all as in ball, tall, hall, and small

ald as in bald, scald, and alder

alk as in talk, walk, chalk, and stalk

alm as in alms, calm, palm, and psalm

alt as in halt, malt, and salt

E Vowel Combinationsee and eaTogether, ee or ea make a /long e/ sound. Sometimes, ea together makes a /short e/ sound or a /long a/ sound instead.Example words (ee): peek, see, queen, sleep, cheese, street, meet, and teamExample words (ea /long e/): eat, sea, each, leaf, peach, mean, team, ease, and pleaseExample words (ea /short e/): dead, head, spread, health, and meantExample words (ea /long a/): break, great, steak, and yeaOther e vowel combinations

eu/ew as in sleuth, deuce, few, new, and shrewd

ei/ey/eigh /long a/ as in veil, beige, they, whey, eight, and weigh

ei/ey/eigh /long e/ as in seize, key, money, valley

ei/ey/eigh /long i/ as in heist, eye, geyser, height

I Vowel Combinations ie /long e/ as in brief, field, grieve, and piece

ie/ye /long i/ as in die, tie, dye, and rye

igh as in high, thigh, night, flight, and wright

ign as in sign, align, assign, and benign

ind as in bind, kind, mind, grind, and behind

O Vowel Combinations oo as in boo, food, smooth, and moose

oo as in book, look, good, and stood

oa /long o/ as in oat, loam, groan, loathe, and loaves

oe /long o/ as in doe, and hoe

oi/oy /y/ as in oil, coin, voice, boy, and ploy

old/olk/olt /long o/ as in gold, scold, folk, yolk, bolt, and volt

oll/ost /long o/ as in roll, knoll, scroll, ghost, most, and post

oll/ost /short o/ as in doll, loll, cost, lost, and frost

ou/ow as in out, round, bounce, how, down, and browse

ou/ow /long o/ as in soul, poultry, own, glow, snow, and owe

ou as in you, soup, group, and rouge

U Vowel Combinations ue /long u/ as in cue, due, hue, rue, sue, blue, clue, flue, glue, and true

ui /long u/ as in suit, fruit, cruise, juice, and sluice

A diphthong is a complex sound made by gliding from one vowel sound to another within the same syllable, as in boy and out. Technically, a diphthong is such a sound that consists of two vowels, and a triphthong is such a sound that consists of three vowels. However, many people will refer to both combinations generally using the term 'diphthong.'

Besides long vowel sounds, short vowel sounds, and the schwa sound, there are some other special sounds in English that are represented by vowels. They are as follows: /aw/ sound as in awful and awe

/oi/ sound as in boil, poison, toilet, and annoy

/ou/ sound as in lighthouse, cow, flower, and fountain

/oo/ () sound as in took, pulley, platypus, pull, and football

Note that "oo" makes two different sounds in different words, having the sound as in hook, or the sound as in boot.

Sometimes, the basic rules of phonics do not apply. Each of these instances must be memorized. Common examples include, but are not limited, to: IGH as in "high" or "sight"

-NG as in "sing," "song," "sung"

OST as in "most" (but not "lost" or "cost") uses the long sound instead of the normal short sound.

OW has two different sounds as in "low" and "cow." (or, "sow" and "sow.")

ED has three different sounds as in "lifted," "played," and "walked"

OI does not follow the two vowels rule, e.g., "moist" or "boil."

Double O has two different sounds, as in "book" and "loose."

OUS as in "nervous."

AU as in "fault" or "haul."

-SION, -TION, and -CION are all pronounced "shun."

OUGH has at least seven different sounds, as in "bough," "cough," "hough," "tough," "thorough," "thought," and "through."

Most English words used today were not originally English. These words were adapted from other language, such as Latin and Greek. It can be helpful to know some of these roots of English vocabulary. It may be possible to guess the meaning of an unknown word when one knows the meaning of its root. Knowing prefixes and suffixes can also help.An English word can consist of three parts: the root, a prefix, and a suffix. The root is the part of the word that contains the basic meaning, or definition of the word. The prefix is a word element placed in front of the root, which changes the word's meaning or makes a new word. A suffix is a word element placed after the root, which changes the word's meaning as well as its function.

When adding a suffix to a one-syllable word, if the root word ends in only one consonant and has only one vowel before it, and if the suffix begins with a vowel, then the consonant ending the root word will be doubled. For example, when adding -ing to can, we double the n to end up with canning. The rule for multisyllable words is the same, but applies only when the last syllable of the root is accented, like in beginner and concurring, but not in begins or forgetful.

For words ending in silent e, when the suffix begins with a vowel, that silent e is usually dropped before adding the suffix. For example, in take and -ing, we drop the silent e off of take, then add the suffix, and end up with taking.

When adding a suffix to a word ending in y, if there is a vowel before the y, just add the suffix. For example, obey + -ed becomes obeyed. If there is a consonant before the y, we will usually change the y to an i before adding any suffix (except -ing and -ish.) For example, angry + ly becomes angrily, and baby + -ign becomes babying.

Common Prefixes

PrefixMeaningExample

pre-beforeThey will show a sneak preview of the movie.

un-notThe cafeteria will be unavailable tomorrow morning.

dis-notMark disagreed with John's philosophy.

re-againAre you going to renew your subscription?

mis-notHe has mismanaged the company.

im-notWith hard work and determination, nothing is impossible.

bi-twoHenry recently received his first pair of bifocals.

de-notMany ecologists are concerned about the deforestation of our world's rain forests.

Common SuffixesSuffixesMeaningExample

-erdoerI work as a computer programmer.

-ableableThese glass bottles are recyclable.

-ousfull ofDriving on the freeway can be dangerous.

-nessstate of beingAt night, the earth is covered in darkness.

-fulfull ofThe witness gave an honest and truthful testimony.

-ly or -ylikeJames whistled happily on his way home from school.

-mentstate ofMary sighed with contentment.

A syllable is a basic unit of written and spoken language. It is a unit consisting of uninterrupted sound that can be used to make up words. For example, the word hotel has two syllables: ho and tel. These will be marked here as in ho/tel.Counting Syllables

To find the number of syllables in a word, use the following steps:1. Count the vowels in the word.

2. Subtract any silent vowels, (like the silent e at the end of a word, or the second vowel when two vowels are together in a syllabl.e)

3. Subtract one vowel from every diphthong (diphthongs only count as one vowel sound.)

4. The number of vowels sounds left is the same as the number of syllables.

The number of syllables that you hear when you pronounce a word is the same as the number of vowels sounds heard. For example: The word came has 2 vowels, but the e is silent, leaving one vowel sound andone syllable.

The word outside has 4 vowels, but the e is silent and the ou is a diphthong which counts as only one sound, so this word has only two vowel sounds and therefore, two syllables.

Six Kinds of SyllablesThere are six different kinds of syllables in English:1. Closed Syllables: A closed syllable has one and only one vowel, and it ends in a consonant. Examples include in, ask, truck, sock, stretch, twelfth, and on.

2. Open Syllables: An open syllable has one and only one vowel, and that vowel occurs at the end of the syllable. Examples include no, she, I, a, and spry.

3. Silent-E Syllables: A silent-e syllable ends in an e, has one and only one consonant before that e, and has one and only one vowel before that consonant. Examples include ate, ice, tune, slope, strobe, and these.

4. Vowel Combination Syllables: A vowel combination syllable has a cluster of two or three vowels or a vowel-consonant unit with a sound or sounds particular to that unit. Examples include rain, day, see, veil, pie, piece, noise, toy, cue, and true.

5. Vowel-R Syllables: A vowel-r syllable is one which includes one and only one vowel followed by an r, or one vowel followed by an r which is followed by a silent e, or a vowel combination followed by an r. Examples include car, or, care, ire, air, and deer.

6. Consonant-L-E Syllables: In these syllables, a consonant is followed by le. The vowel sound in these syllables is the schwa sound that occurs before the l. Examples include -ble, -cle, -dle, -fle, and -gle.

Dividing Words Into SyllablesThere are four ways to split up a word into its syllables:1. Divide between two middle consonants.

Split up words that have two middle consonants. For example:hap/pen, bas/ket, let/ter, sup/per, din/ner, and Den/nis. The only exceptions are the consonant digraphs. Never split up consonant digraphs as they really represent only one sound. The exceptions are "th", "sh", "ph", "th", "ch", and "wh".

2. Usually divide before a single middle consonant.

When there is only one syllable, you usually divide in front of it, as in:"o/pen", "i/tem", "e/vil", and "re/port". The only exceptions are those times when the first syllable has an obvious short sound, as in "cab/in".

3. Divide before the consonant before an "-le" syllable.

When you have a word that has the old-style spelling in which the "-le" sounds like "-el", divide before the consonant before the "-le". For example: "a/ble", "fum/ble", "rub/ble" "mum/ble" and "thi/stle". The only exception to this are "ckle" words like "tick/le".4. Divide off any compound words, prefixes, suffixes and roots which have vowel sounds.

Split off the parts of compound words like "sports/car" and "house/boat". Divide off prefixes such at "un/happy", "pre/paid", or "re/write". Also divide off suffixes as in the words "farm/er", "teach/er", "hope/less" and "care/ful". In the word "stop/ping", the suffix is actually "-ping" because this word follows the rule that when you add "-ing" to a word with one syllable, you double the last consonant and add the "-ing".

When a word has more than one syllable, one of the syllables is always a little louder than the others. The syllable with the louder stress is the accented syllable. The unstressed syllable usually takes the schwa sound.It may seem that the placement of accents in words is often random or accidental, but these are some rules that usually work.

1. Accents are often on the first syllable. Examples: ba'/sic, pro'/gram.

2. In words that have suffixes or prefixes, the accent is usually on the main root word. Examples: box'/es, un/tie'.

3. If de-, re-, ex-, in-, po-, pro-, or a- is the first syllable in a word, it is usually not accented. Examples: de/lay', ex/plore'.

4. Two vowel letters together in the last syllable of a word often indicates an accented last syllable. Examples: com/plain', con/ceal'.

5. When there are two like consonant letters within a word, the syllable before the double consonants is usually accented. Examples: be/gin'/ner, let'/ter.

6. The accent is usually on the syllable before the suffixes -ion, ity, -ic, -ical, -ian, -ial, or -ious, and on the second syllable before the suffix -ate. Examples: af/fec/ta'/tion, dif/fer/en'/ti/ate.

7. In words of three or more syllables, one of the first two syllables is usually accented. Examples: ac'/ci/dent, de/ter'/mine.

A compound word is a word composed of two or more words that are spelled normally and retain their usual meanings. It is easy to recognize the short, known words within compound words, and each of those short words is accented, which makes them less confusing to a beginning reader. For these reasons, compound words are often the first set of multisyllable words taught to a beginning reader.Examples of Compound Words

backpack (back + pack)

newspaper (news + paper)

knapsack (knap + sack)

lipstick (lip + stick)

mouthwash (mouth + wash)

sunlight (sun + light)

raindrop (rain + drop)

sandpaper (sand + paper)

groundhog (ground + hog)

afternoon (after + noon)

motorcar (motor + car)

eyebrow (eye + brow)

butterfly (butter + fly) This is one example in which the original words do not convey their usual meanings well.

Sometimes, the letter y is a consonant, and other times it is a vowel. The rule for telling the two apart is simple: The letter y is a consonant when it is the first letter of a syllable that has more than one letter. If y is anywhere else in the syllable, it is a vowel.Examples of Y as a Consonant

yes

yam

yell

yellow

yogurt

Examples of Y as a Vowel gym

my

cycle

baby

hairy

sky

Because there are more letter sounds than there are letters in the alphabet, dictinaries use diacritical marks to indicate which phoneme to give to a grapheme; that is, which sound to give to a letter unit. Although we do not typically use diacritical marks for consonant sounds, we do teach them for vowel sounds.The most common diacritical marks are the long vowel mark ( ), called the macron; the short vowel mark ( ), called the breve, and the schwa mark ( ).

Long Vowel Mark

The long vowel mark placed over a vowel indicates that it will be pronounced just as it sounds when we recite the alphabet: as in ate

as in evil

as in ice

as in open

as in use or in flute

as in cry

Short Vowel MarkThe short vowel mark placed over a vowel is as follows: as in apple

as in elementary

as in idiom

as in on

as in under

(Note that no mark is given for short y; the short i sound is used instead.)

Schwa MarkThe schwa mark represents the indistinct vowel sound that is the unaccented or unstressed syllable of a multisyllabic word: as in ago

as in happen

as in legible

as in common

as in suggest

A noun is a type of word which refers to a person, place, or thing. Nouns can be conjugated in either singular or plural form. A singular noun refers to just one person, place, or thing (for example, a bat or a ship). A plural noun refers to multiple people, places, or things (for example, bats or ships).The majority of English count nouns are regular and predictable in the spelling of the plural form1. However, other nouns have irregular plural spellings. Both of these kinds of nouns will be covered here.

Rule #1: Add -sMost nouns can be pluralized simply by adding an -s at the end of the word. For example: edge/edges

girl/girls

song/songs

bag/bags

cat/cats

boy/boys

day/days

Rule #2: Add -es to nouns ending in s, z, ch, sh, and xNouns which end in the letters s, z, ch, sh, and x-es at the end. For example: glass/glasses

horse/horses

buzz/buzzes

dish/dishes

box/boxes

bush/bushes

witch/witches

switch/switches

Rule #3: Nouns ending in oFor words ending in the letter o, sometimes they are pluralized by adding s, while other words must be pluralized by adding es. These words must be memorized, because there is no simple rule to explain the differences.2Examples (es):

echo/echoes

embargo/embargoes

hero/heroes

potato/potatoes

veto/vetoes

tomato/tomatoes

torpedo/torpedoes

hero/heroes

veto/vetoes

Examples (s):

Most nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel are pluralized by simply adding s3. Some other o nouns do this, too: auto/autos

folio/folios

cameo/cameos

portfolio/portfolios

kilo/kilos

photo/photos

zoo/zoos

memo/memos

solo/solos

soprano/sopranos

studio/studios

pimento/pimentos

tattoo/tattoos

video/videos

piano/pianos

pro/pros

kangaroo/kangaroos

Rule #4: Nouns Ending in a consonant YFor nouns ending in the letter y, replace the ending y with ies. For example: baby/babies

story/stories

poppy/poppies

baby/babies

daisy/daisies

spy/spies

lady/ladies

Note that for words ending in y preceeded by a vowel (a complex vowel sound), an s is simply added, as usual. For example: day/days

toy/toys

essay/essays

turkey/turkeys

chimney/chimneys

play/plays

joy/joys

valley/valleys

alley/alleys

volley/volleys

(Irregular) Some nouns Ending in -F or -FEFor some nouns ending in f or fe, replace the ending f or fe with ves: calf/calves

elf/elves

half/halves

hoof/hooves

leaf/leaves

life/lives

loaf/loaves

scarf/scarves

self/selves

sheaf/sheaves

wolf/wolves

shelf/shelves

thief/thieves

knife/knives

wife/wives

(Irregular) Some nouns change the vowel sound in becoming plural: fireman/firemen

foot/feet

goose/geese

louse/lice

man/men

mouse/mice

tooth/teeth

woman/women

(Irregular) Some Old English plurals are still in use: child/children

ox/oxen

Nouns adopted from other languages4Singular ends in -IS

For nouns in which the singular form ends in is, the plural form will end in es. For example: hypothesis/hypotheses

diagnosis/diagnoses

ellipsis/ellipses

analysis/analyses

basis/bases

crisis/crises

thesis/theses

oasis/oases

synthesis/syntheses

synopsis/synopses

emphasis/emphases

neurosis/neuroses

paralysis/paralyses

parenthesis/parentheses

Singular ends in -UM

Plural ends in a: bacterium/bacteria

datum/data

curriculum/curricula

medium/media

memorandum/memoranda

ovum/ova

symposium/symposia

erratum/errata

addendum/addenda

stratum/strata

Singular ends in -ON

Plural ends in -a criterion/criteria

phenomenon/phenomena

automaton/automata

Singular ends in -A

Plural ends in -ae alga/algae

amoeba/amoebae

larva/larvae

formula/formulae

antenna/antannae

nebula/nebulae

vertebra/vertebrae

vita/vitae

Singular ends in -ex or -ix

Plural ends in -ices: appendix/appendices

index/indeces

matrix/matrices

vertex/vertices

vortex/vortices

apex/apices

cervix/cervices

axis/axes

Singular ends in -us

Plural ends in -i: alumnus/alumni

bacillus/bacilli

cactus/cacti

focus/foci

stimulus/stimuli

focus/foci

octopus/octopi

radius/radii

stimulus/stimuli

terminus/termini

Singular ends in -us:

Plural ends in -a: corpus/corpora

genus/genera

Singular ends in -eau

Plural ends in -eaux: bureau/bureaux

beau/beaux

portmanteau/portmanteaux

tableau/tableaux

Other irregular plurals, retained from different languages:Italian

libretto/libretti

tempo/tempi

virtuoso/virtuosi

Hebrew

cherub/cherubim

seraph/seraphim

Greek

schema/schemata

Other Irregular Plurals man/men

woman/women

fungus/fungi

species/species

medium/media

person/people

foot/feet

tooth/teeth

goose/geese

mouse/mice

louse/lice

child/children

penny/pence

ox/oxen

Posessive PluralsFor plural nouns ending in the letter s, add only the apostrophe. For example: The Johnsons' farm

Singers' voices

The thieves' guild

For plural nouns not ending in the letter s, add an apostrophe and s. For example: Women's soccer

Children's books

Words Which are Always Plural or Always SingularSome nouns are always plural or always singular. Some other nouns have the same form for singular and plural.5Some nouns are always plural (things that come in pairs):

pants

clothes

binoculars

jeans

forceps

trousers

tongs

shorts

tweezers

people

pajamas

police

shorts

glasses

scissors

mathematics

Aggregate Nouns

Some nouns end in -s but have no singular (these are called aggregate nouns). These are traditionally plural, but are also used for singular forms: accomodations

bread

amends

tea

archives

cheese

bowels

jam

communications

soup

congratulations

soap

contents

snow

stairs

cotton

wood

thanks

water

goods

information

advice

knowledge

furniture

news

means

series

species

barracks

crossroads

gallows

headquarters

Nouns with the same form

Some nouns have the same form for singular and plural, such as fish and animals. (Note that not all fish have the irregular plural form, though--e.g., one shark becomes two sharks) salmon

trout

deer

sheep

swine

offspring

diacritical mark a mark or sign affixed to a letter to specify the sound it represents in a particular situation.digraph a sound written with two letters, such as "ee" and "or."

grapheme printed form used in correct spelling and books; letter/s that produce one sound relationship.

orthography 1.) the study or systematic use of standard, proper, or correct spelling of the words in a language; 2.) spelling with complete phonetics; rules for spelling, syllabication and plurals.

phoneme any one of the smallest, most basic units of sound in a spoken language.

phonemic awareness 1.) knowing the sound/symbol relationships; 2.) the structure and meaning of words; 3.) the ability (to be aware) explicitly and segmentally of sound units smaller than the syllables.

phonics 1.) the study of sound; 2.) the method of using the sounds of a language when teaching people to read; 3.) letter-sound correspondences. (See: Theory.)

prefix a word element placed in front of a word, which changes its meaning. (See: Prefixes and Suffixes.)

suffix a word element placed at the end of a word, which changes its meaning or function. (See: Prefixes and Suffixes.)