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A1 ENG - Pronunciation Rules

The document discusses pronunciation rules for vowels and consonants in English. It explains that vowels can have long or short sounds depending on their position in a word. It provides examples of long and short vowel sounds. It also discusses rules for pronouncing vowels followed by consonants, vowels at the end of words, silent e, diphthongs, and consonant blends. The rules aim to help readers understand how to pronounce vowels and consonants based on their spelling patterns in English words.

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Carolina di domenico
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593 views2 pages

A1 ENG - Pronunciation Rules

The document discusses pronunciation rules for vowels and consonants in English. It explains that vowels can have long or short sounds depending on their position in a word. It provides examples of long and short vowel sounds. It also discusses rules for pronouncing vowels followed by consonants, vowels at the end of words, silent e, diphthongs, and consonant blends. The rules aim to help readers understand how to pronounce vowels and consonants based on their spelling patterns in English words.

Uploaded by

Carolina di domenico
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Pronunciation Rules for Vowels

When a vowel sounds like its name, this is called a long sound. A vowel letter can also have short sounds. Whether a
vowel has a long sound, a short sound, or remains silent, depends on its position in a word and the letters around it.
A:
- long A: ape, lake, gate
- short A: apple, axe, sack
E:
- long E: eat, eel, feet
- short E: echo, nest, edge
I:
- long I: iceberg, kite, bite
- short I: insect, bird, panic
O:
- long O: oak, lonely, potatoes
- shot O: mop, off, ostrich
U:
- long U: ukulele, UFO, united
- short U: under, up, ugly
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***** "Y" is pronounced either as [ai] or [i:].
1. In a one-syllable word, "y" is pronounced as [ai]: my, by, fly, shy, try, cry, fry and sky.
2. In a two-syllable word, "y" is pronounced as [i:]: party, puppy, candy, bunny, funny, pony, turkey, happy, cherry, tiny,
penny, city and, baby.
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1- A vowel followed by a single consonant at the end of a word is pronounced as a short vowel: Words
that conform to this rule are often some of the first that students of English (as well as native speakers) learn to read.
EX: Pup has cup. Man has ham.
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2- A Vowel Followed by Two Consonants at the End of a Word Is Pronounced as a Short Vowel: Words
that conform to this rule may be single vowels followed by a consonant blend or those that are followed by two distinct
consonants. EX: stops, want, hand, wish, and bark.
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3- If a Vowel Is the Final Letter in a Word, It Is Pronounced as a Long Vowel: A vowel at the end of a word
may appear in a single syllable word or a multisyllabic word. Either way, the pronunciation rule remains the same. A
final vowel at the end of a word is pronounced as a long vowel. Some examples of single syllable words which follow
this rule are go, be, and he. Multiple syllable examples include ago and ego.
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4- If an E Appears at the End of a Word, It Is Silent. The Preceding Vowel (Separated from the E by
One or More Consonants) Will Be Pronounced as a Long Vowel: Silent e is one of the first spelling rules
children learn in school, and no wonder since it is so common in English. You can find examples throughout the English
language, but some of them are hate, care, note, flute, bite, nice, and ape.
4-1: If "E" is at the end of the word, "A" is pronounced as a long vowel. Ex: gate, take, rake, base, race, face, wave and
cage.
4-2: If "E" is at the end of the word, "I" is pronounced as a long vowel. Ex: kite, bike, vine, ride, and dime.
4-3: If "E" is at the end of the word, "O" is pronounced as a long vowel. Ex: rose, hope and pole.
4-4: If "E" is at the end of the word, "U" is pronounced as a long vowel. Ex: tune, cube and cute.
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5- If Two Vowels Appear next to Each Other in One Syllable, the Second Vowel Is Silent and the First
Vowel Is Pronounced as a Long Vowel: We see vowel combinations all the time in English. A general rule as to
their pronunciation is to say the first vowel and ignore the second. These vowel combinations come in all kinds of
match ups. English examples include true, beat, train, leaf, and load.
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Consider Rules for Pronouncing Consonants
One thing to keep in mind when discussing consonant pronunciation are consonant blends. A consonant
blend is two or more letters that are pronounced as one sound in English. Some blends are clearly two sounds
wich become one complex sound (for example bl in black, tr as in atrophy). They often includes the letters l,
r, or s but not always. Other “blends” are actually only one English sound wich is spelled by using two oe
more consonants. These sounds include sh (wish), ch (chair), tch (watch) and others.
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1- If one consonant follows a vowel in the middle of a word, it is pronounced as the first sound in the
next syllable: Where a consonant is pronounced in a word does make a difference in the pronunciation.
Think about the difference between pa-per and pap-er. Clearly the first is the correct pronunciation while the
second sounds, ate best, strange, and at the worst like a different word entirely. Other examples include tele-
phone (not teleph-one), la-bor (not lab-or), lo-cate (not loc-ate) and pro-tect (not prot-ect).
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2- When Two Consonants Follow a Vowel in the Middle of a Word, One Consonant Is Pronounced at
the End of the First Syllable and the Other Is Pronounced at the Beginning of the Next Vowel: Of
course, consonant blends act as one consonant sound, but non-blend neighboring consonants will follow this
rule. When a consonant is doubled in the middle of a word, it also follows this rule. Some examples include
subject and tal-ly.
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