User:Hzb pangus/sandbox
Spelling patterns
Spelling-to-sound correspondences
Vowels
In a generative approach to English spelling, Rollings (2004) identifies twenty main orthographic vowels of stressed syllables that are grouped into four main categories: "Lax", "Tense", "Heavy", "Tense-R". (As this classification is based on orthography, not all orthographic "lax" vowels are necessarily phonologically lax.)
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For instance, the letter a can represent the lax vowel /æ/, tense Error using {{IPA symbol}}: "eɪ" not found in list, heavy /ɑː/, or (often allophonically) [ɛə] before |r|. Heavy and tense-r vowels are the respective lax and tense counterparts followed by the letter r.
Tense vowels are distinguished from lax vowels with a "silent" e letter that is added at the end of words. Thus, the letter a in hat is lax /æ/, but when the letter e is added in the word hate the letter a is tense /eɪ/. Similarly, heavy and tense-r vowels pattern together: the letters ar in car are heavy /ɑr/, the letters ar followed by silent e in the word care are /ɛər/. The letter u represents two different vowel patterns, one being /ʌ/, /juː/, /ə/, /jʊ/, the other /ʊ/, /uː/, /ʊ/. There is no distinction between heavy and tense-r vowels with the letter o, and the letter u in the /ʊ-uː-ʊ/ pattern does not have a heavy vowel member.
Besides silent e, another strategy for indicating tense and tense-r vowels, is the addition of another orthographic vowel forming a digraph. In this case, the first vowel is usually the main vowel while the second vowel is the "marking" vowel. For example, the word man has a lax a pronounced /æ/, but with the addition of i (as the digraph ai) in the word main the a is marked as tense and pronounced /eɪ/. These two strategies produce words that are spelled differently but pronounced identically, as in mane (silent e strategy), main (digraph strategy) and Maine (both strategies). The use of two different strategies relates to the function of distinguishing between words that would otherwise be homonyms.
Besides the 20 basic vowel spellings, Rollings (2004) has a reduced vowel category (representing the sounds /ə, ɪ/) and a miscellaneous category (representing the sounds /ɔɪ, aʊ, aɪ, aʊ/ and /j/+V, /w/+V, V+V).
Combinations of vowel letters
To reduce dialectal difficulties, the sound values given here correspond to the conventions at Wikipedia:IPA for English. This table includes H, W and Y when they represent vowel sounds. If no information is given, it is assumed that the vowel is in a stressed syllable.
Deriving the pronunciation of an English word from its spelling requires not only a careful knowledge of the rules given below (many of which are not explicitly known even by native speakers: speakers merely learn the spelling of a word along with its pronunciation) and their many exceptions, but also:
- a knowledge of which syllables are stressed and which are unstressed (not derivable from the spelling: compare hallow and allow)
- which combinations of vowels represent monosyllables and which represent disyllables (ditto: compare please and create)
| Spelling | Major value (IPA) |
Examples of major value | Minor values (IPA) |
Examples of minor value | Exceptions[clarification needed] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a |
|
/æ/ | hatchet, banner, marry acrobat, cat national, camera, reality arid, granite, palace |
/eɪ/ | ache, bass, chamber nationhood |
/i/ karaoke /ɑː/ father /ɒ/ yacht |
|
/eɪ/ | arrange, waste grace, famous, violate table, hatred, April chaos, aorta |
/ɛ/ /æ/ /ɨ/ |
many, any manor, have chocolate, orange |
/ɑː/ gala, sonata | |
| before final r or r + cons. (and in derived terms) |
/ɑː/ | bar, cart barred, marring |
/ɛə/ scarce | |||
| before r + vowel | /ɛə/ | uncaring, wary, various, glare | /æ/ | Paris | /ɑː/ are | |
| word-final | /ə/ | lemma, banana | /i/ bologna | |||
| in word-final -ary | /ɛ/ | ordinary, necessary | ||||
| after /w/ except before /k/, /ɡ/, /ŋ/ | /ɒ/ | watch, warrior, quantity | /æ/ | quango | ||
| after /w/ before final r or r + cons. | /ɔː/ | warning, dwarf, war | ||||
| unstressed | /ə/ | another, about, woman | Ø | artistically | ||
| unstressed, in -age | /ɨ/ | damage, bondage | ||||
| aa, ah | /ɑː/ | baa, blah | /eɪ/ quaalude | |||
| ae (æ) | usually | /iː/ | encyclopaedia (encyclopædia), paediatrician (pædiatrician) | /ɛ/ | aesthetic (æsthetic) | /eɪ/ reggae /aɪ/ maestro |
| before r | /ɛə/ | aerial (ærial), aeroplane (æroplane) | ||||
| ai, ay | stressed | /eɪ/ | bait, cocaine, day | /ɛ/ /aɪ/ |
said, again, says samurai, kayak, aye |
/æ/ plaid /iː/ quay |
| before r | /ɛə/ | cairn, millionaire, dairy | ||||
| unstressed | /ɨ/ | bargain, mountain | /ə/ | Britain | ||
| ao | /eɪ/ | gaol | /aʊ/ | Taoism | /oʊ/ pharaoh | |
| au, aw | /ɔː/ | taut, author, lawn, | /ɒ/ /ɑː/ |
sausage, because, laurel aunt, draught, laugh |
/eɪ/ gauge /oʊ/ mauve | |
| e |
|
/iː/ | receding, detail, gene metre, secret be, she simile, catastrophe neon |
/eɪ/ /ɛ/ Ø |
ukulele, cafe, crepe metal, lemon, heron livelihood, fateful |
|
|
/ɛ/ | better, fetch, merry get, watershed legacy, elegant, delicate crevice, perish, epicness |
/iː/ | lethal axes (plural of axis) legally evil |
/ɪ/ pretty | |
| before final r or r + cons. (and in derived terms) |
/ɜː/ | herd, kerb, referral | /ɑː/ | clerk, sergeant | ||
| before r + vowel | /ɪə/ | serious, series, here | /ɛə/ /ɛ/ |
therefore, werewolf very |
/ɜː/ were | |
| word-final | Ø | mate, discipline, starve plague |
/iː/ | recipe | ||
| unstressed | /ɨ/ | hatchet, target, poet | /ə/ | taken, decency, moment | ||
| usd, before heterosyllabic vowel | /i/ | create, area, atheist, hideous | ||||
| ea | usually | /iː/ | beach, eating, please | /ɛ/ | bread, healthy, cleanse | /eɪ/ break, great, steak |
| before r + cons. | /ɜː/ | earth, learn, early | /ɑː/ | hearty, hearth | /ɪə/ beard | |
| before final r or r + vowel (and in derived terms) |
/ɪə/ | clear, hearing, yearly | /ɛə/ | bear, pear, swear | ||
| eau | /oʊ/ | bureau, plateau, tableau | /juː/ | beauty | /ɒ/ bureaucracy | |
| ee | usually | /iː/ | bee, feed | /eɪ/ matinee, fiancee | ||
| before r | /ɪə/ | cheering, beer, eerie | ||||
| ei, ey | usually | /eɪ/ | veil, reign, obey | /iː/ /aɪ/ |
seize, key, geyser height, heist, gneiss |
/ɛ/ heifer, leisure /aɪ/ eye |
| after c | /iː/ | deceive, ceiling, conceit | ||||
| before r | /ɛə/ | heir, their | /ɪə/ | weird, weir, eyrie | ||
| unstressed | /ɨ/ | foreign, counterfeit | ||||
| unstressed, word-final | /i/ | monkey, curtsey, jersey | ||||
| eo | /ɛ/ | leopard, jeopardy | /iː/ | people | /oʊ/ yeoman /ɪə/ leotard | |
| eu(e), ew(e), ieu, iew |
usually | /juː/ | feudal, queue, dew, ewe, lieu, view |
/oʊ/ sew, shew /ɛf/ lieutenant | ||
| after /r/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /j/, cons. + /l/ | /uː/ | rheumatism, jewel, blew | ||||
| before r | /jʊə/ | amateur, neural, Newry | ||||
| both of the above | /ʊə/ | Jewry, pleurisy | ||||
| i |
|
/aɪ/ | shine, cited, guide title, idle, vibrant wild, kind, sighed, ensign alumni, alibi, radii vial, quiet, prior, pious |
/ɪ/ | pivot, give, engine wind (one meaning) |
/iː/ machine, ski |
|
/ɪ/ | hitch, fiddle, mirror bit cinema, liberty, military finish, spirit, minute hideous, position, Sirius |
/aɪ/ | pint, ninth silently whitish |
/æ/ meringue /iːɪ/ ski(ing) | |
| before final r or r + cons. (and in derived terms) |
/ɜː/ | bird, fir, stirrer | /ɪə/ menhir | |||
| before r + vowel | /aɪə/ | hire, firing, enquiry | ||||
| unstressed | /ɨ/ | livid, typical | /ə/ | pencil, cousin | Ø business | |
| usd, before heterosyllabic vowel | /i/ | familiar, alien, radii, idiot | ||||
| ie | finally | /aɪ/ | die, tie | |||
| medially | /iː/ | field, series, siege | /aɪ/ | flies, tries | /ɪ/ sieve /ɛ/ friend | |
| before r | /ɪə/ | pier, fierce, bulkier | ||||
| o |
|
/ɒ/ or /ɑː/ | dot, doctor, torrent opera, colonise, cooperate topic, solid, promise |
/ʌ/ /oʊ/ /uː/ |
won, monkey, front gross, comb, brokenly tomb, womb |
/ʊ/ wolf |
|
/oʊ/ | omen, grove, total noble, cobra banjo, go boa, poet, stoic cooperate |
/ɒ/ /uː/ /ʌ/ /ə/ |
moral, proper, shone to, who, move, lose come, love, done purpose, Europe |
/ʊ/ woman /ɪ/ women | |
| before r | /ɔə/ | ford, boring, more | /ɔ/ | for, morning | ||
| after w, before r | /ɜː/ | word, work, worst | /ɔə/ worn | |||
| unstressed | /ə/ | eloquent, wanton, author | ||||
| oa | usually | /oʊ/ | boat, coal, load | /ɔː/ broad | ||
| before r | /ɔə/ | boar, coarse | ||||
| oe (œ) | usually | /iː/ | amoeba (amœba), coelacanth (cœlacanth), phoenix (phœnix) | |||
| finally | /oʊ/ | toe, foe | /uː/ | shoe, canoe | /ʌ/ does | |
| unstressed | /ɪ/ | oedema (œdema) | ||||
| oeu | /uː/ | manoeuvre (manœuvre) | ||||
| oi, oy | usually | /ɔɪ/ | coin, boy | |||
| before r | /wɑː/ | reservoir, memoir, repertoire | /ɔɪə/ | loir | /waɪə/ choir | |
| oo | usually | /uː/ | hoop, booze | /ʊ/ | wool, foot, soot | /oʊ/ brooch |
| before k, d | /ʊ/ | look, wood | /uː/ | food, brood, spook | /ʌ/ blood, flood | |
| before r | /ɔə/ | door, mooring | /ʊə/ | poor | ||
| ou | stressed | /aʊ/ | out, aloud, bough | /uː/ /ʌ/ /oʊ/ |
soup, you, through touch, trouble, country soul, dough, boulder |
/ʊ/ courier, should /ɒ/ cough |
| before r | /ɔː/ | tourist, contour, pour | /aʊə/ /ɜː/ |
hour, our, devour journey, courteous, scourge |
/ʊ/ courier /ʌ/ courage | |
| unstressed | /ə/ | camouflage, labour, nervous | ||||
| ow | stressed | /aʊ/ | cow, sow, allow | /oʊ/ | know, show | /ɒ/ acknowledge |
| before r | /aʊə/ | dowry | ||||
| unstressed | /oʊ/ | yellow, rainbow, narrow | ||||
| u |
|
/ʌ/ | butter, dump, current | /ʊ/ | put, full, pudding | |
|
/juː/ | luminous, mute, tuba bugle, rubric duel, fatuous, druid, January |
/ʊ/ | sugar | /ɪ/ busy | |
| above after /r/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /j/, cons. + /l/ | /uː/ | rule, chute, June, flu truant, fluent, menstruate |
||||
| before final r or r + cons. (and in derived terms) |
/ɜː/ | curdle, burr, furry | ||||
| before r + vowel | /jʊə/ | lure, purity, curing | /jə/ | failure | /ɛ/ bury | |
| above after /r/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /j/, cons. + /l/ | /ʊə/ | rural, jury, plural | ||||
| after g, before e, i | Ø | guess, disguise, tongue | /juː/ /w/ |
argue, ague linguistics, segue |
||
| unstressed | /ə/ | supply | /ɨ/ minute, lettuce | |||
| ue, ui | usually | /juː/ | cue, hue, nuisance | /weɪ/ suede /wiː/ suite /ɪ/ build, biscuit | ||
| above after /r/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /j/, cons. + /l/ | /uː/ | blue, tissue, fruit, juice | ||||
| uy | /aɪ/ | buy, guyed | ||||
| y |
|
/ɪ/ | myth, cryptic cylinder, typical, pyramid cynic |
/aɪ/ | hyphen, psyche cyclically |
|
|
/aɪ/ | typing, style, paralyze cycle, cypress sky, supply, bye |
||||
| before final r or r + cons. (and in derived terms) |
/ɜː/ | myrtle, myrrh | ||||
| before r + vowel | /aɪə/ | lyre, tyrant, gyrate | ||||
| unstressed | /ə/ | sibyl, martyr | ||||
| unstressed, word-final | /i/ | city, happy | ||||
Consonants
Notes:
- In the tables, the hyphen has two different meanings. A hyphen after the letter indicates that it must be at the beginning of a syllable, e.g. j- in jumper and ajar. A hyphen before the letter indicates that it cannot be at the beginning of a word, e.g. -ck in sick and ticket.
- More specific rules take precedence over more general ones, e.g. "c- before e, i or y" takes precedence over "c".
- Where the letter combination is described as "word-final", inflectional suffixes may be added without changing the pronunciation, e.g. catalogues.
- The dialect used is RP.
- Isolated foreign borrowings are excluded.
| Spelling | Major value (IPA) | Examples of major value | Other values | Examples of other values | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| b, bb | usually | /b/ | bit, rabbit, obtain | Ø | bdellium, debtor, subtle | |
| finally after m (and in derived terms) |
Ø | climb, comb, numbing | ||||
| c | before e, i, y, ae, or oe | /s/ | cellar, city, cyst, face, prince, nicer caesium, coelacanth |
/tʃ/ /ʃ/ /k/ /ts/ |
cello, vermicelli special, liquorice Celts, chicer letovicite | |
| initially before n, t | Ø | cnidarian, ctenoid | ||||
| elsewhere | /k/ | cat, cross | Ø | victual, indict | ||
| cc | before e, i or y | /ks/ | accept, eccentric, occidental | /k/ /tʃ/ /s/ |
soccer, recce, siccing bocce, breccia, cappuccino flaccid | |
| elsewhere | /k/ | account, accrue, occur, yucca | ||||
| ch | usually | /tʃ/ | chase, chin, attached, chore | /k/ /h/ Ø |
ached chutzpah yacht | |
| Greek-derived words | /k/ | chasm, chimera, chord | ||||
| French-derived words | /ʃ/ | chaise, machine, cached, parachute | ||||
| ck | /k/ | tack, ticket | ||||
| d, dd, dh | /d/ | dive, ladder, jodhpurs | /dʒ/ Ø |
graduate, gradual (both also /dj/ in RP) Wednesday, handsome | ||
| -dg- before e, i, or y | /dʒ/ | lodger, pidgin, edgy | ||||
| f, -ff | /f/ | fine, off | /v/ | of | ||
| g | before e, i, y, ae, or oe | /dʒ/ | gentle, magic, gyrate, page, algae (GA) |
/ɡ/ /ʒ/ |
get, eager, algae (RP) collage, gigue | |
| in -gm, gn- or -gn | Ø | diaphragm, gnome, signing, reign | /ɡ/ | signify, repugnant | ||
| elsewhere | /ɡ/ | go, great, guest | /dʒ/ | margarine | ||
| gg | /ɡ/ | stagger, flagging | /dʒ/ | suggest, exaggerate | ||
| gh | initially | /ɡ/ | ghost, ghastly | |||
| elsewhere | Ø | dough, high, right, daughter | /f/ /x/ or /k/ /ɡ/, /k/, or /x/ /p/ |
laugh, enough lough ugh! hiccough | ||
| h | usually | /h/ | he, alcohol | Ø | vehicle, honest, hono(u)r, piranha | |
| after ex | Ø | exhibit, exhaust | /h/ | exhale | ||
| j- | /dʒ/ | jump, ajar | /j/ /ʒ/ /h/ Ø |
Hallelujah Jean jalapeno, fajita Marijuana | ||
| k, -kk, kh | usually | /k/ | key, bake, trekking, sheikh | |||
| initially before n | Ø | knee, knock | ||||
| l, ll | /l/ | line, valve, valley | Ø /j/ |
halve, balk, salmon, tortilla ? | ||
| m, mm | usually | /m/ | mine, hammer | |||
| initially before n | Ø | mnemonic | ||||
| n, nn | usually | /n/ | nice, funny | |||
| before /k/ or /ɡ/ | /ŋ/ | link, bangle, anchor | ||||
| finally after m (and in derived terms) |
Ø | hymn, autumn | ||||
| ng | finally and in terms derived from ng-final words |
/ŋ/ | long, kingly, singer, clingy | |||
| medially otherwise | /ŋɡ/ /ndʒ/ |
anger, finger danger, ginger, dingy | ||||
| p, pp | usually | /p/ | pill, happy, soup, corpse, script | Ø | coup, receipt | |
| initially before n, s, t | Ø | pneumonia, psyche, ptomaine | /p/ | psst | ||
| ph, pph | /f/ | photograph, sapphire | /v/ | Stephen | ||
| q (not before u) | /k/ | Iraq, Iqaluit | ||||
| r, rr, rh, rrh | usually | /r/ | ray, parrot, rhyme, diarrhoea | Ø | iron | |
|
Ø in non-rhotic dialects such as RP |
cart, burr, fir, care, walker, tear, hurt | ||||
| See below for combinations of vowel letters and the letter r | ||||||
| s, ss | usually | /s/ | song, ask, message, misled | /z/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ Ø |
scissors, dessert, dissolve, Islam sugar, tissue, aggression vision islet, aisle, debris | |
| -s- between vowel sounds (see also "se" below) |
/z/ | rose, prison | /s/ | basis | ||
| word-final -s morpheme after a voiceless sound |
/s/ | pets, shops | ||||
| word-final -s morpheme after a lenis sound |
/z/ | beds, magazines | ||||
| sc- before e, i or y | /s/ | scene, scepter, scissors, scythe | /sk/ /ʃ/ |
sceptic, scirrhus fascism | ||
| sch- | /sk/ | school, scheme, schizo | /ʃ/ /s/ |
schedule (in RP, otherwise: /sk/), schist schism (in RP, otherwise: /sk/) | ||
| sh | /ʃ/ | shin, fashion | ||||
| t, -tt | usually | /t/ | ten, bitter, cation, chaste, wallet |
/ʃ/ /tʃ/ /d/ Ø |
ratio, Martian question, bastion kindergarten castle, chasten, ballet | |
| in unstressed -sten, -stle, -ften | Ø | listen, rustle, soften | /t/ | tungsten, existent | ||
| -tch | /tʃ/ | batch, kitchen | ||||
| th | /θ/ /ð/ |
thin, both, the, bothers |
/t/ /tθ/ /th/ Ø |
thyme eighth outhouse, potherb asthma | ||
| v, -vv | /v/ | vine, savvy | ||||
| w | /w/ | sward, swerve, wale | Ø /uː/ /v/ |
two, sword, answer, gunwale cwm Weltanschauung | ||
| wh- | usually | /w/ or /hw/ in Hiberno-Eng. and Southern Am. Eng. | wheel | |||
| before o | /h/ or /hw/ in Hiberno-Eng. and Southern Am. Eng. | who, whole | /w/ | whopping, whorl | ||
| wr- | /r/ or /wr/ in Scottish Eng. | wrong, wrist | ||||
| x | initially | /z/ | xylophone | |||
| elsewhere | /ks/ | extent, excuse, axe | /ɡz/ /ɡʒ/ /kʃ/ Ø |
exit (in some pronunciations) luxury (in some pronunciations) anxious faux-pas | ||
| -xc before e or i | /ks/ | excellent, excited | ||||
| y- | /j/ | yes, young | ||||
| z, -zz | /z/ | zoo, pizzazz | /ts/ Ø |
schizophrenic, pizza rendezvous | ||
| Spelling | Major value (IPA) |
Examples of major value | Minor values (IPA) |
Examples of minor value | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ayer, ayor | /ɛə(r)/ | layer, mayor | |||
| ower | /aʊər/ | dowry, tower, flowery |
Combinations of other consonant and vowel letters
| Spelling | Major value (IPA) |
Examples of major value | Minor values (IPA) |
Examples of minor value | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ah | /ɑː/ | blah | |||
| al | /æl/ | pal, talcum, algae, alp | /ɔːl/ | bald, falcon | |
| alf | /ɑːf/ (RP) /æf/ (GA) |
calf, half | /æl/ | alfalfa, malfeasance | /ɔlf/ palfrey |
| alk | /ɔːk/ | walk, chalking, talkative | /ælk/ | alkaline, grimalkin | /ɔlk/ balkanise |
| all | /ɔːl/ /æl/ |
call, fallout, smaller shall, callus, fallow |
/ɒl/ /(ə)l/ |
wallet, swallow allow, dialled |
/ɛl/ (GA) marshmallow, pall-mall |
| alm | /ɑːm/ (all three examples have alt. pronunc.) | calm (also: /ɑːlm/), almond (also: /ælm/), palmistry (also: /ɑːlm/) | /ælm/ /ɔːlm/ |
dalmatian, salmonella almanac (also: /ælm/), almost |
/æm/ salmon /(ə)lm/ signalman |
| alt | /ɒlt/ (RP) /ɔːlt/ (GA) |
alter, malt, salty, basalt | /ælt/ /ɔːlt/ |
alto, shalt, saltation altar, asphalt |
/ɑlt/ gestalt (GA) /(ə)lt/ royalty, penalty |
| aoh, oh | /oʊ/ | pharaoh, oh | |||
| unstressed ci- before a vowel | /ʃ/ | special, gracious | /si/ | species | |
| -cqu | /kw/ | acquaint, acquire | /k/ | lacquer, racquet | |
| word-final -ed morpheme after /t/ or /d/* |
/ɨd/ | waited | |||
| word-final -ed morpheme after a voiceless sound* |
/t/ | topped, surfed | /ɛd/ | biped, unfed | |
| word-final -ed morpheme after a lenis sound* |
/d/ | climbed, failed, ordered | /ɛd/ | imbed, misled, infrared | |
| eh | /eɪ/ | eh | |||
| word-final -es morpheme** | /ɨz/ | washes, boxes | |||
| unstressed ex- before a vowel or h | /ɨɡz/ | exist, examine, exhaust | /ɛks/ | exhale | |
| gu- before a | /ɡw/ | bilingual, guano, language | /ɡ/ | guard, guarantee | |
| word-final -le after a consonant | /əl/ | little, table | |||
| -(a)isle | /aɪəl/ | aisle, isle, enisle, lisle | |||
| word-final -ngue | /ŋ/ | tongue, harangue, meringue (dessert) | /ŋɡeɪ/ | dengue (also /ŋɡi/), distingué, merengue (music/dance) | |
| old | /oʊld/ | blindfold, older, bold | /əld/ | scaffold, kobold (also /ɒld/ | |
| olk | /oʊk/ | yolk, folk | |||
| oll | /ɒl/ | doll, follow, colletc., holler | /oʊl/ | roll, stroller, polling, tollway | |
| olm | /ɒlm/ | olm, dolmen | /oʊlm/ | enrolment, holmium | /oʊm/ holm (oak) |
| ong | /ɒŋ/ (RP) /ɔːŋ/ (GA) |
wrong, strong, song | /ɒŋ/ | Congress, congregation | |
| qu- | /kw/ | queen, quick | /k/ | liquor, mosquito | |
| quar- before consonant | /kwɔː(r)/ | quarter, quart | |||
| word-final -que | /k/ | mosque, bisque | /keɪ/ | risqué | /kjuː/ barbeque |
| word-final -re after a consonant | /ər/ | ogre | |||
| ro | /rɒ/ | rod | /roʊ/ | roll | /ə(r)/ iron |
| unstressed sci- before a vowel | /tʃ/ | conscience (/ʃ/ in RP) | /si/ | omniscient (RP only) | |
| sci- (stressed) | /saɪ/ | science | |||
| -scle | /səl/ | corpuscle, muscle | |||
| -se (noun) | /s/ | house, mouse | |||
| -se (verb) | /z/ | house, raise | /s/ | chase | |
| unstressed -si before a vowel | /ʃ/ | expansion | /ʒ/ | division, illusion | /zi/ physiology, busier, caesium flimsiest /si/ tarsier |
| unstressed -ssi before a vowel | /ʃ/ | mission | /si/ | potassium, dossier | |
| unstressed -sure | /ʒər/ | leisure, treasure | |||
| unstressed -ti before a vowel | /ʃ/ | nation, ambitious | /ʒ/ | equation | /ti/ patio, /taɪ/ cation |
| unstressed -ture | /tʃər/ | nature, picture | |||
| unstressed -zure | /ʒər/ | seizure, azure |
* There is no way to tell if it is the morpheme or an integral part of the word. Compare snaked and naked.
** Same as above; compare the two pronunciations of axes.
Small text indicates rare words. Loans words: SP for Spanish, FR for French.
Sound to spelling correspondences
The following table shows for each sound, the various spelling patterns used to denote it. The symbol "…" stands for an intervening consonant. The letter sequences are in order of frequency with the most common first. Some of these patterns are very rare or unique, such as au for the [æ] sound in laugh (some accents). In some cases, the spellings shown are found in only one known English word (such as "mh" for /m/, or "yrrh" for /ɜr/).
| Consonants | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | Spelling | Examples |
| /p/ | p, pp, gh | pill, happy, hiccough |
| /b/ | b, bb | bit, rabbit |
| /t/ | t, tt, ed, pt, th, ct | ten, hitter, topped, pterodactyl, thyme, ctenoid |
| /d/ | d, dd, ed, dh, t (in some dialects), tt (in some dialects) | dive, ladder, failed, dharma, waiter, flatter |
| /ɡ/ | g, gg, gue, gh | go, stagger, catalogue, ghost |
| /k/ | c, k, ck, ch, cc, qu, cqu, cu, que, kk, kh, q, x (changing its/ks/ sound into its /k/ sound) | cat, key, tack, chord, account, liquor, acquis, biscuit, mosque, trekker, khan, burqa, excitement |
| /m/ | m, mm, mb, mn, mh, gm, chm | mine, hammer, climb, hymn, mho, diaphragm, drachm |
| /n/ | n, nn, kn, gn, pn, nh, cn, mn | nice, funny, knee, gnome, pneumonia, piranha, cnidarian, mnemonic |
| /ŋ/ | ng, n, ngue | sing, link, tongue |
| /r/ | r, rr, wr, rh, rrh | ray, parrot, wrong, rhyme, diarrh(o)ea |
| /f/ | f, ph, ff, gh, pph, u | fine, physical, off, laugh, sapphire, lieutenant (Br) |
| /v/ | v, vv, f, ph, w | vine, savvy, of, Stephen, weltanschauung |
| /θ/ | th, chth, phth, tth, fth (in some dialects) | thin, chthonic, phthisis, Matthew, twelfth |
| /ð/ | th, the | them, breathe |
| /s/ | s, c, ss, sc, st, ps, sch (in some dialects), cc, se, ce, z (in some dialects) | song, city, mess, scene, listen, psychology, schism, flaccid, horse, juice, citizen |
| /z/ | s, z, x, zz, ss, ze, c (in some dialects) | has, zoo, xylophone, fuzz, scissors, breeze, electricity |
| /ʃ/ | sh, ti, ci, ssi, si, ss, ch, s, sci, ce, sch, sc | shin, nation, special, mission, expansion, tissue, machine, sugar, conscience, ocean, schmooze, crescendo |
| /ʒ/ | si, s, g, z, j, ti, sh (in some dialects) | division, leisure, genre, seizure, jeté, equation, Pershing |
| /tʃ/ | ch, t, tch, ti, c, cc, tsch, cz | chin, nature, batch, bastion (some accents), cello, bocce, putsch, Czech |
| /dʒ/ | g, j, dg, dge, d, di, gi, ge, gg | magic, jump, judgment, bridge, graduate, soldier, Belgian, dungeon, exaggerate |
| /h/ | h, wh, j, ch, x | he, who, fajita, chutzpah, Quixote |
| /j/ | y, i, j, ll, e | yes, onion, hallelujah, tortilla, eoarchean |
| /l/ | l, ll, lh | line, hallo, Lhasa |
| /w/ | w, u, o, ou, wh (in most dialects) | we, persuade, choir, Ouija board, what |
| /hw/ | wh (in Hiberno-Eng. and Southern Am. Eng.) | wheel |
| /wr/ | wr (in Scottish Eng.) | wren |
| Vowels | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | Spelling | Examples |
| /iː/ | e, ea, ee, e…e, ae, ei, i…e, ie, eo, oe, ie...e, ay, ey, i, y, oi, ue, ey, a | be, beach, bee, cede, Caesar, deceit, machine, field, people, amoeba (variant of ameba), hygiene, quay (RP only; /eɪ/ in GA), key, ski, city, chamois, Portuguese, geyser (RP only; /aɪ/ in GA), karaoke |
| /ɪ/ | i, y, ui, e, ee, ie, o, u, a, ei, ee, ia, ea, i...e, ai, ii, oe | bit, myth, build, pretty, been (some accents), sieve, women, busy, damage, counterfeit, carriage, mileage, medicine, bargain, shiitake, oedema |
| /uː/ | oo, u, o, u…e, ou, ew, ue, o…e, ui, eu, oeu, oe, ough, wo, ioux, ieu, oup, w, u | tool, luminous, who, flute, soup, jewel, true, lose, fruit, maneuver, manoeuvre (Br. variant of prec.), canoe, through (form. variant of "thru"), two, Sioux, lieutenant (GA), coup, cwm, thru (inf.) |
| /ʊ/ | oo, u, o, oo...e, or, ou, oul | look, full, wolf, gooseberry, worsted, courier, should |
| /eɪ/ | a, a…e, aa, ae, ai, ai...e, aig, aigh, al, ao, au, ay, e (é), e...e, ea, eg, ei, ei...e, eig, eigh, ee (ée), eh, er, es, et, ey, ez, ie, oeh, ue, uet | bass, rate, quaalude, reggae, rain, cocaine, arraign, straight, Ralph (dated Br.), gaol (Australian var. of "jail"), gauge (var. of gage), pay, ukulele (café), crepe, steak, thegn, veil, beige, reign, eight, matinee (soirée), eh, dossier, demesne, ballet, obey, chez, lingerie (US), boehmite (also: /oʊ/), dengue (usually: /i/), sobriquet (also: /ɛt/; var. of "soubriquet") |
| /ə/ | a, e, o, u, ai, ou, eig, y, ah, ough, ae, oi | another, anthem, awesome, atrium, mountain, callous, foreign, beryl, Messiah, borough (Br), Michael, porpoise |
| /oʊ/ | o, o…e, oa, ow, ou, oe, oo, eau, oh, ew, au, aoh, ough, eo | so, bone, boat, know, soul, foe, brooch, beau, oh, sew, mauve, pharaoh, furlough, yeoman |
| /ɛ/ | e, ea, a, ae, ai, ay, ea…e, ei, eo, ie, ieu, u, ue, oe | met, weather, many, aesthetic, said, says, cleanse, heifer, jeopardy, friend, lieutenant (Br), bury, guess, foetid |
| /æ/ | a, ai, al, au, i | hand, plaid, salmon, laugh (some accents), meringue |
| /ʌ/ | u, o, o…e, oe, ou, oo, wo | sun, son, come, does, touch, flood, twopence |
| /ɔː/ | a, au, aw, ough, augh, o, oa, oo, al, uo, u, ao | fall, author, jaw, bought, caught, cord, broad, door, walk, fluorine (Br), sure (some accents), extraordinary |
| /ɒ/ | o, a, eau, ach, au, ou | lock, watch, bureaucracy, yacht, sausage, cough |
| /ɑː/ | a, ah, aa, i | father, blah, baa, lingerie (US) |
| /aɪ/ | ae, ai, aie, aille, ais, ay, aye, ei, eigh, ey, eye, i, i…e, ia, ie, ic, ig, igh, is, oi, ui, uy, uye, y, y...e, ye | maestro, krait, shanghaied, canaille (RP), aisle, kayak, aye, heist, height, geyser (US), eye, mic, fine, diaper, tie, indict, sign, high, isle, choir, guide, buy, guyed, tryst, type, bye |
| /ɔɪ/ | oi, oy, awy, uoy oy…e, eu | foil, toy, lawyer, buoy, gargoyle, Freudian |
| /aʊ/ | ou, ow, ough, au, ao | out, now, bough, tau, Taoism |
| /ɑr/ | aar, ar, are, arre, ear, er, our, uar, arrh | bazaar, car, are, bizarre, heart, sergeant, our (some accents), guard, catarrh |
| /ɛər/ | aar, aer, air, aire, ar, are, ayer, ayor, ear, eir, er, ere, err, erre, ey're, e'er | Aaron, aerial, hair, millionaire, ware, vary, prayer, mayor, bear, heir, stationery (some accents), where, err (variant), parterre, they're, e'er |
| /ɪər/ | ear, eer, eir, eor, ere, ers, e're, ier, iere, ir | ear, beer, weir, theory (US), here, revers, we're, pier, premiere, menhir |
| /ɜr/ | er, or, ur, ir, yr, our, ear, err, eur, yrrh, ar, oeu, olo | fern, worst, turn, thirst, myrtle, journey, earth, err, amateur, myrrh, grammar, hors d'oeuvre, colonel |
| /juː/ | u, u…e, eu, ue, iew, eau, ieu, ueue, ui, ewe, ew | music*, use, feud, cue, view, beautiful*, adieu*, queue, nuisance*, ewe, few, * in some dialects, see yod-dropping |