Reading and speaking English can be challenging for many of us. Because English word reading rules might be different from your native language. For this, if you are learning English for the first time, you may have problems with pronunciation of English words. However, you can learn all the rules with the headings below. So you can read and talk more easily. To better understand this subject, you should also know the English alphabet very well.
There are many different pronunciation rules in English. Even if you learn these rules, sometimes you may be confused by the exception words. The only way to overcome this is to learn more words. In order to read the words you have learned comfortably at first, it is useful to learn the following rules.
Letters Read Differently According to Their Places
Many letters in English are read differently depending on where they are in the word and the letters that come before or after it. Depending to pronunciation of English words let us explain this in detail below.
Reading, Writing and Pronunciation of the Letter C
- If the letter ‘c’ is followed by the letters ‘-e, -i, -y’, it is read as ‘s’. Example: The word ‘cite’, which means to talk about, to convey, is pronounced as /saɪt/.
- In a word followed by the letters ‘a’, ‘o’ or ‘u’ after the letter c, the letter ‘s’ is pronounced as ‘k’. Example: We pronounce the word ‘can’ by saying /kæn/.
- When the letters ‘ch’ come together, depending to pronunciation of English words we pronounce the word ‘chair’ by saying /tʃeər/.
Reading, Writing and Pronunciation of the Letter G
If the letter ‘g’ is followed by the letters ‘-e, -i, -y’, it is read as ‘c’. In other cases it is always read as ‘g’. Example: The word ‘generous’, which corresponds to meanings such as open-minded, generous, abundant, is pronounced as /ˈdʒen.ər.əs/.
Reading, Writing and Pronunciation of the Letter J
The letter ‘j’ is always pronounced as /dʒeɪ/. Example: The word ‘just’ meaning only is pronounced as /dʒʌst/.
Reading, Writing and Pronunciation of the Letter Y
The letter ‘y’ is pronounced as ‘i’ at the end of the word depending to pronunciation of English words. In other cases it is always read as ‘y’. Example: In fact, the pronunciation of the word “actually”, which means really, is /ˈæk.tʃu.ə.li/.
Reading, Writing and Pronunciation of the Letter S
- If the letter ‘s’ falls between two vowels, it is read as ‘z’. In other cases it is always read as ‘s’. Example: The word “season” is pronounced /ˈsiː.zən/.
- The letter ‘sch’ is pronounced ‘sk’. Example: The word ‘schedule’, which corresponds to meanings such as plan, program, is said as /ˈskedʒ.uːl/.
- When the letters ‘sh’ come together, it is read as /ʃe/. For pronunciation of English words we can give this example: The word “shame” is pronounced /ʃeɪm/.
English Consonants
In English, some letters remain silent while the word is read, that is, they cannot be read. While most of these letters have a rule, there are plenty of exceptions.
- The letter ‘k’ is not read in words starting with ‘kn’.
- Words starting with ‘wr’ do not read the letter ‘w’.
List of English Unconventional Consonants
Not reading the letters in these words is not subject to any rule according to pronunciation of English words. Since they are settled in the spoken language, they are settled in the language without any rules.
Pronunciation, Spelling and Consonant Letter N
In some words the last letter ‘n’ is not read. However, there is no rule that the letter ‘n’ coming to the end cannot be read. For example, the word ‘absolution’ is pronounced as ‘n’ even though it ends with the letter ‘n’.
Pronunciation, Spelling and Consonant Letter G
Some words do not read the letter ‘g’ according to pronunciation of English words. However, there is no rule that the ‘g’ after the letter ‘n’ is not readable. For example, the word ‘wing’ is also pronounced as ‘ng’ even though it ends with the letters ‘ng’.
Pronunciation, Spelling and Consonant Letter H
Some words do not read the letter ‘h’. That’s why people often think that the letters ‘ho’ are not read when they are next to each other, but there is no such rule. For example, the word ‘hospital’ also contains the letters ‘ho’, but both letters are pronounced as they are.
Improve Your Pronunciation with Speaking
In English, letters have many more sounds than they do. Each one differs according to the word it is in, the letter next to it, and the suffix at the end. On top of that, native English speakers also like to swallow letters.
Therefore, even if we are good at writing and reading, we can neither understand the other person nor tell our request while speaking. If you want to be able to speak this language as well as your native language, you should do more than learn the rules of the English alphabet.
Even if you learn the pronunciation of English words rules of all these words, you can’t remember them without practice! To practice all these rules, you need to talk a lot.
