L3_S2_Sounds of the Alphabet (with broader Classification)

L3_S2_Sounds of the Alphabet (with broader Classification)

Sounds of the Alphabet means how the letter in the alphabet gets pronounced in different word combinations. Generally, 44 sounds (phonemes) were pronounced in different pronunciations of the words.  

 

Letter	Sound of Letter Name	All sounds of letter	Examples
A, a	ā-ee (long a to long e, also spell "ay") (ஏ)	æ, ā, ah, ā-uh, uh அஎ, ஏ, ஆ, எஅ, அ	cat, late, all, and, around
B, b	Bee (பிஇ)	buh பஅ	bike
C, c	See (ச்ஸி)	kuh, suh க்அ, ஸி	cake, city
D, d	Dee (டீஇ)	duh ட்டு	did
E, e	Ee (ஈ)	eh, ee, silent யேஎ, ஈ, ஒசையின்மை	bed, free, late
F, f	Ef (எஃப்)	Fuh ஃபெ	fed
G, g	Jee (ஜீஇ)	guh, juh க்க, ஜ்	glad, large
H, h	ā-ch (ஹெச்)	huh, silent ஹா, ஒசையின்மை	hotel, what
I, i	ah-ee (ஐ)	ah-ee, ĭ ஹை, இ	light, sit
J, j	Jay (ஜே)	juh ஜ	jump
K, k	Kay (கே)	kuh கஇ	kite
L, l	El (எல்)	luh, ul லா, ல்	lot, full
M, m	Em (எம்)	Muh மஅ	mother
N, n	En (என்)	Nuh நஅ	nest
O, o	ō (oh) (ஓ)	ah, ō, uh, oo, ů ஹா, ஒ, ஹ, ஊ, உ	hot, slow, computer, fool, good
P, p	Pee (பி)	Puh ஃப	put
Q, q	Kyoo (kyū) (க்யூ)	Kwuh க்வ்	quick
R, r	Ah-r (ஆர்)	ruh, ur  ர்ர, ர்	race, stir
S, s	Es (எஸ்)	suh, zuh ஸ்அ, ஸ்உ	stick, is
T, t	Tee (ட்டி)	tuh, duh, Nt, silent, stopped tuh ட்எ, ட்டஅ, ன்ட், ஒசையின்மை, நிறுத்தப்பட்ட ட்	table, better, mountain, interview, hot
U, u	Yoo (yū) (யூ)	uh, yoo, oo,  ů அ, யூ, ய்ஊ, ஃஉ	up, use, flute, full
V, v	Vee (வீ)	Vuh வ்அ	very
W, w	Dubōyoo (டபள்யூ)	wuh, silent வெஅ, ஒசையின்மை	well, slow
X, x	Eks (எக்ஸ்)	ks, zuh க்ஸ், ஃஜ	box, xylophone
Y, y	Wah-ee (வொய்)	yuh, ee, ah-ee (i), ĭ ய்எ, ய்ஈ, ஐய், ய்இ	yes, happy, try, cylinder
Z, z	Zed (செட்)	Zuh ஜ்அ	zebra

44 sounds are further classified to

·         19 Vowels sounds- 6 Short vowel sounds, 6 Long vowel sounds, 5 R controlled vowel sounds and 2 Diphthong vowel sounds

·         25 Consonant sounds- 18 Consonants sounds and 7 Diagraphs sounds

 

5 Long Vowel Phonemes

In this, the pronunciation of vowels is long.

/ā/ – day and eight

/ē/ – beet and sleep

/ī/ – pie and sky

/ō/ – boat and row

/ū/ – hue and chew

 

5 Short Vowel Phonemes

In this, the pronunciation of vowels is short.

/a/ – bat and laugh

/e/ – medical and bread

/i/ – sit and lip

/o/ – hot and orange

/u/ – shut and cut

 

2 ‘oo’ vowel Phonemes

In this, the pronunciation of the vowel ‘oo’ can be short or long based on the consonants.

/oo/ (short vowel sound)– took and could

/ōō/ (long vowel sound) – moon and soon

 

5 R-Controlled or Influenced Phonemes

These phonemes are controlled or influenced by the letter r.

/a(r)/ – car and far

/ā(r)/ – fair and chair

/i(r)/ – here and steer

/o(r)/ – core and door

/u(r)/ – fern and burn

 

 

2 Diphthongs

A diphthong is two vowels that work together to form another sound.

/ow/ – mouse and cow

/oy/ – coin and toy

 

18 Consonant Phonemes

Each consonant creates some specific sound in different words

/b/ – beg and bag

/d/ – doe and deal

/f/ – fall and fit

/g/ – goal and gill

/h/ – has and him

/j/ – job and jolt

/k/ – cap and kite

/l/ – lip and load

/m/ – map and moth

/n/ – net and nip

/p/ – pin and plot

/r/ – run and rope

/s/ – sat and small

/t/ – toe and tale

/v/ – vin and volt

/w/ – wait and wind

/y/ – yam and yet

/z/ – zip and zoo

 

7 Digraph Phonemes

Digraphs form when two consonants work together to create a completely different sound.

/ch/ – watch and chime

/sh/ – shift and short

/ng/ – ring and sting

/th/ (voiced) – weather and thin

/th/ (unvoiced) – thing and thunder

/zh/ – genre and division

/wh/ (with breath) – what

 

Activity

Write 5 words in each of the following sounds below.  

1.    /ē/ -

2.    /u/ -

3.    /ōō/ -

4.    /i(r)/ -

5.    /oy/ -

6.    /m/-

7.    /sh/-

 

Extra Activity

Write at least 2 words (not mentioned already) for each of the 44 sounds by yourself or by referring to any textbook in English.