Correct pronunciation of words and sounds in English. “A” as “house” and “e” as “frog”, or How to spell transcriptions of English words

When you start learning English, the first thing you encounter is english alphabet(alphabet |ˈalfəbɛt |). Writing English letters is not something completely new even at the very initial stage of learning, because any modern man encounters English letters on computer and telephone keyboards every day. Yes, and English words are found at every step: in advertising, on the labels of various products, in store windows.

But even though the letters seem familiar, their correct pronunciation in English is sometimes difficult even for those who speak English quite well. Everyone is familiar with the situation when you need to spell an English word - for example, dictate an address email or the name of the site. This is where the wonderful names begin - i - “like a stick with a dot”, s - “like a dollar”, q - “where is the Russian th”.

English alphabet with pronunciation in Russian, transcription and voice acting

The English alphabet with Russian pronunciation is intended only for beginners. In the future, when you become familiar with the rules of reading English and learn new words, you will need to study transcription. It is used in all dictionaries, and if you know it, it will once and for all remove the problem of correct pronunciation of new words for you. We advise you to compare the transcription icons in square brackets with the Russian equivalent at this stage. Perhaps, from these short examples, you will remember some of the relationships between English and Russian sounds.

Below is a table showing the English alphabet with transcription and Russian pronunciation.

← Move the table to the left to view in full

English alphabet cards

Cards of the English alphabet are very effective in learning it. Bright and large letters will be easier to remember. See for yourself:

Features of some letters of the English alphabet.

In the English alphabet 26 letters: 20 consonants and 6 vowels.

The vowels are A, E, I, O, U, Y.

IN English there are a few letters that we want to focus on special attention, since they have certain features that need to be taken into account when learning the alphabet.

• The letter Y in English can be read as a vowel or as a consonant. For example, in the word “yes” it is a consonant sound [j], and in the word “many” it is a vowel sound [i] (and).
• Consonant letters in words, as a rule, convey only one sound. The letter X is an exception. It is transmitted by two sounds at once - [ks] (ks).
• The letter Z in the alphabet is read differently in the British and American versions (as you probably already noticed in the table). The British version is (zed), the American version is (zi).
• The pronunciation of the letter R is also different. The British version is (a), the American version is (ar).

To make sure that you pronounce English letters correctly, we recommend not only looking at them and reading them (using transcription or the Russian version), but also listening. To do this, we advise you to find and listen to ABC-song. This song is usually used when teaching children the alphabet, but it can also be useful for adults. ABC-song is very popular in teaching, it exists in various variations. If you sing it with the announcer several times, you can not only check the correct pronunciation of the letters, but also easily remember the alphabet along with the melody.

A few words about spelling

So, we have learned the English alphabet. We know how English letters are pronounced individually. But moving on to the reading rules, you will immediately see that many letters in different combinations are read completely differently. A reasonable question arises - as the cat Matroskin would say - what is the benefit of memorizing the alphabet? In fact, there are practical benefits.

The point here is not the ability to recite the alphabet from beginning to end, but the ability to easily spell any English word. This skill is necessary when you need to take dictation english names. If you need English for work, this skill can be very useful, since English names, even those that sound the same, can be written in several ways. For example, Ashley or Ashlee, Mila and Milla, not to mention last names. Therefore, for the British and Americans themselves, it is considered absolutely natural to ask to spell a name if you need to write it down (spell it) - hence the word spelling (spelling), which you can see in various tutorials.

Online exercises for learning the alphabet

Choose the letter that goes

Complete the letter with which the word begins.

Complete the letter that ends the word.

Decipher the code and write down the secret message in letters. The number corresponds to the order of the letters in the alphabet.

Well, the final, interactive exercise “Dictation”, you can follow this link.

You can apply the acquired knowledge in practice with the help. With the help of unique exercises, even at the most basic level, you can master not only reading, but also writing English words, as well as learn basic grammar rules and continue learning further.

Beginner to study foreign language a person first of all faces the problem of reading and pronunciating English words. Even many native speakers have problems with how to read correctly, so for learners given language this will be an obstacle. But, nevertheless, it is very important to be able to correctly read and pronounce the text in the language being studied, as well as to know and correctly apply the rules of pronunciation.

How to learn to read English from scratch?

In order to learn to read English from scratch, it is first of all important to learn the English alphabet. It consists of 26 letters (6 vowels, 20 consonants). You can remember it with the help of a simple song, with the help of which little Englishmen learn the English alphabet.

Those who are starting from scratch should learn the correct pronunciation of all sounds, since English sounds differ from Russian ones (but there are also similar ones). For correct pronunciation, you need to train your mouth and practice pronunciation.

Once the pronunciation of sounds has been established, it is necessary to learn the basic rules for reading both vowels and consonants. When practicing reading, use transcription; it can be in either English or Russian. To understand reading, use dictionaries, not online translators.

Why is it difficult to read in English?

For example:

• Some letter combinations are pronounced as a single sound.
• In Russian, it is used to soften the sound. soft sign, there is no such sign in English. Instead, it is the place of a letter in a word or designation in a transcription.

In fact, the English language is much easier than Russian, since there are no cases or declensions and speaking it (if you practice) is actually not difficult. The difficulty arises due to the fact that the pronunciation of the usual native language different from what is being studied.

English pronunciation and English sounds

English pronunciation and sounds of the English language directly depend on their transcription (recording the sound of a particular letter or words). Transcription, in turn, depends on reading rules.

In English:

• 44 sounds;
• 20 vowel sounds;
• 24 consonant sounds.

English pronunciation by native speakers is also divided into several parts. It depends on the origin of the carrier. For example, American pronunciation is different from British. And this is expressed not only in the accent, but also in the pronunciation of the same words or sounds. On at the moment American pronunciation is still more relevant, since most students speak it.

Tongue position

One of the features of pronunciation of English words is the position of the tongue. This is why problems can arise when reading, since when pronouncing Russian letters, the position of the tongue should be one, and when pronouncing similar English letters, it should be different.

Native English speakers use their teeth, lips, and tongue to produce the necessary pronunciation.

They also have several characteristic features:

• English speakers stretch their mouths wide when speaking.
• Native speakers have lips that are tense when speaking.
• The tongue is pressed against the lower jaw while speaking.
• The English pronounce words using the tip of their tongue.

Articulation strength

Articulation is also important when reading English. With correct articulation, at first your mouth and, in principle, the entire speech apparatus will be in a tense state, and for some time the conversation will get tired. All this is due to unpreparedness and lack of habit, since during Russian speech the speech apparatus is in a relaxed position.

For native speakers, such articulation does not cause any inconvenience, since their mouth is in its usual position. But they will have a problem when pronouncing Russian letters and words. Again, it’s all out of habit.

Rules for reading words

It is very important to learn the rules of reading in English. There is a significant difference between the writing and pronunciation of English letters, words and phrases.

There are several basic reading rules that you need to remember:

• Open and closed syllable rule. There is no such rule in Russian. An open syllable is a syllable that ends with a vowel sound. It can appear in several cases: - the word ends with a vowel (lake); - in a word two vowels are in a row (cruel - cruel); — between two vowels in a word there is a consonant (education).
• Rules for the pronunciation of consonants and vowels. To do this, you should familiarize yourself with the transcription table.
• Rule of diphthongs and triphthongs. This is a rule for combining 2 or 3 letters that have a certain sound.

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How to read consonants?

Large number of consonants English sounds practically no different from the pronunciation of Russian consonants, but the difference is present.

There are several special characteristics that are worth paying attention to. It should be remembered that all English consonant sounds are pronounced only firmly, and voiced consonants at the end of a word are not pronounced dully.

Also, features are present in the pronunciation of individual sounds:

• The pronunciation of the sound W is different from V. The sound (W) must be spoken with both lips, and (V) only with the lower lip.
• The sounds P, T, K are pronounced followed by aspiration.
• About half of the sounds need to be pronounced by touching the tongue to the upper palate.

How to Read Vowels: 4 Syllable Types

There are also several specific rules when reading vowels. In English there are 4 main types of reading vowels (E, A, Y, U, O, I). The pronunciation of a sound in a word or phrase depends on each type.

Open

An open syllable is a syllable that ends with a vowel, even if it is not pronounced.

Reading vowels in such a syllable can be called alphabetical, since often the pronunciation is practically no different from what it is in the alphabet:

• A – (ei)– lake, take, care, safe, late;
• O–(ou)– pose, rose, note, no, joke;
• E–(i)– me, she, creepy, delete;
• I (Y under stress) – (ai)– deny, dislike, nice, sunshine;
• U – (u:)– purple, pupil, autotune, youtube.

But there are also exceptions, of which the English language is full. You want to pronounce some words according to the basic rules, but in reality they have a different pronunciation. The words dove, love, none, done, some - in these words the letter (o) must be read as a short letter (a).

Closed

A closed syllable is significantly different from an open one. A closed syllable is a syllable ending with one or more consonants. In words with a closed syllable, the letters are read differently than in the alphabet. It all depends on how the consonants follow the vowels.

If the letter Y is unstressed at the end of a word, then it should be read as the sound (i): truly, ugly, spicy.

Vowel + r

Let's look at examples:

• A – (a:)– farmer, park;
• E – (e:)– service, perfect;
• I – (e:)– first, bird;
• O–(c:)– fork, morning;
• U–(e:)– church, turn;
• Y – (e:)– myrtle.

Vowel + r + vowel

The fourth type of reading is a combination of two vowels in a word, between which there is a consonant r, for example:

• A– (ea:)– parents, careful;
• E – (ie:)– cereal, here;
• I – (aie:)– dire, tire;
• O–(c:)– snore, bore;
• U – (jue:)– during, pure;
• Y – (aie:)– ture, byre.

How to read letter combinations and diphthongs?

Many vowel sounds in English depend on consonants that come together, let’s take a closer look:

a+s+consonant - ;

ear - under stress, if there is no consonant after it -;

ear - before a consonant - [ə:];

eer - under stress -;

ew - if not after l, r, j - ;

ew after l, r, j - ;

oo+consonant - ;

u - after r, l, j, and also before a vowel - ;

ui after r, l ,j - ;

Children perfectly remember and apply the information received, presented in the form of a game or a similar format. Textbooks and manuals should be chosen bright, colorful, with all kinds of game or picture elements. Do not try to teach your child the English language and how to read it using standard school textbooks, as he will be bored and the learning will not yield results.

In more mature age Learning a language and reading it is more difficult. You should choose a single program to follow throughout your studies. Practice reading and pronunciation with the help of English books, films and videos.

How to learn to read in elementary school?

In primary school, learning English mainly consists of games and fairy tales. It will be easier for those children who have kindergarten there were foreign language courses or those with whom the parents studied.

Important! Parents need to take note that it is better to start reading in English with their child before school starts. Of course, in many Sunday schools English is provided as a separate lesson, but it is still better to follow the study.

Often, young schoolchildren are assigned to repeat transcriptions as homework. While doing homework, the parent needs to study and read with the child!

A few more useful tips are given below.

Learn English tongue twisters

Tongue twisters- This is a great way to memorize and pronounce new English words. Tongue twisters are useful because most of them are well remembered and allow you to learn slang, or colloquial phrases or words. They are useful to teach both adults and children.

Each tongue twister is aimed at improving the pronunciation of a certain sound or pronunciation of words. Each tongue twister has a feature associated with the pronunciation of one particular sound. You should speak the tongue twister for several days and then the problem of pronunciation will disappear and the sound will sound clear.

Here are some useful tongue twisters with translation:

Learn to hear English speech

Many language learners have trouble understanding speech. The problem stems from the fact that the study is not taking place in an English-speaking space or country. It is important to learn to hear and understand foreign speech.

To do this you need to constantly train:

• listen to audiobooks;
• watch films and TV series in the language you are learning;
• find video blogs on the Internet;
• watch British news online;
• use apps.

Try to surround yourself with English as much as possible. If possible, study with a tutor who will conduct dialogues with you, or study with English group. In it you can meet the same people who are learning a foreign language.

Find someone with whom you can learn the language and conduct dialogues together, so you both will train your speech.

Work on your pronunciation

You need to work on your pronunciation, because many English words sound similar, and if the articulation is incorrect, you can simply pronounce them incorrectly. To do this, you need to train your speech apparatus and get rid of your accent.

Learn the perfect alphabet and pronunciation of each letter. Practice pronouncing the transcription of letters, words and phrases. Pay attention to how the English speak, to the peculiarities of their speech.

Learn to pronounce phrases in English correctly

The English language differs from Russian in that many sentences do not have intonationally separated sentences, most of them sound like a single phrase. This also applies to individual independent phrases. To learn how to correctly pronounce phrases in English, you need to learn the transcription and pronounce it correctly.

If you pronounce it incorrectly during a conversation, you may misuse the right word, having lost the meaning of what was said.

Conclusion

In order to correctly learn to read in English, you must follow the tips for learning it. You need to constantly practice writing words, learn grammar, punctuation and phonetic rules. It is important not to forget about transcription.

These rules need to be taught to both children and adults learning a foreign language. Parents should practice language learning with their children before primary school so that they do not have problems in class and when doing homework.

Following all the rules and advice, learn correct reading it won't be difficult!

English Transcription is a sequence of phonetic symbols that helps us understand how to read a particular sound or word. The concept of transcription is quite difficult for Russian speakers to understand, because In our language, although such a category exists, it is used extremely rarely.

Why is transcription needed?

The phonetics of the English language has a noticeable feature: historically, words are often read differently from how they are written, that is, from the spelling of a word it is not always possible to guess how it is pronounced. Of course, there are general ones, but there are still plenty of exceptions. For example, there are a large number of words that have either unreadable or readable letters depending on the environment. And the rules themselves are difficult for schoolchildren to remember. Therefore, in almost any dictionary, after writing an English word in square brackets, its reading in transcription symbols is given.

Often, schoolchildren and students are faced with transcription at the beginning of learning a language, when it is still quite difficult to read even quite simple words. Then, as you study the transcription signs, it becomes easier and easier to perceive the contents of the square brackets.

How are transcription signs read?

In the English pronunciation system there are 48 sounds, therefore, there are 48 transcription signs. Let's look at their pronunciation depending on the letters of the English alphabet denoting them.

Use to consolidate your knowledge of transcription.

You can practice your pronunciation with this video:

Is it possible to write English words in Russian letters?

Sometimes on websites or even in books you can see “English transcription in Russian” or “pronunciation of English words in Russian letters” - that is, writing English words in Russian letters. The point is that schoolchildren are encouraged not to learn sophisticated icons, because... You can convey sounds in Russian letters. I think this approach is extremely dead-end. The phonetics of the Russian language differs from the English phonetics so much that the sound can only be conveyed very, very approximately. Some sounds English speech We simply don’t, and vice versa.

It consists of 26 letters, with 44 sounds. Therefore, you need to clearly know how to pronounce this or that sound, because the sound of the same letter may differ. This happens according to a certain system; such pronunciation rules are universal. To know them means to know the language.

Correct pronunciation of vowels

The sounds of English can be divided into vowel sounds and consonant sounds. There are several rules for reading and pronouncing vowel sounds, such as E, A, Y, U, I, O.

To better remember and understand how to read the sounds of the English language correctly, a table with examples and transcription for convenience in Russian letters will help you quickly remember the rules of reading.

• the type of pronunciation is associated with the presence of an open syllable in a word. Any syllable that ends with a vowel is considered open, including if the vowel is unreadable.
• type of pronunciation - consonant syllable.
• type of pronunciation - vowel with the letter “r”. The letter G determines the prolonged sound of the vowel, which is at the root of the word.
• reading type - 2 vowels and the letter G between them. In this case, the letter G is not readable. And vowels have a special pronunciation.

How to read consonants in English

The pronunciation of consonants in English also has its own characteristics. To understand how to correctly read the consonants of the English language, transcription in Russian letters will help you.

The letters sh are read as sh, ch as h, tch - h, ck - k, wh as uo (for example, what) or x (for example, xy), ng as n, q as kv, nk- as nc and wr as p , th is pronounced as with interdental vowels if they are at the beginning of a word, but as z in words-pronouns, function words, between vowels.

Diphthongs in English: pronunciation rules

There are also vowel sounds that go together. They are called diphthongs and are pronounced according to special rules. Vowel sounds in English and their pronunciation often depend on whether they appear at the beginning, middle or end of a word.

The diphthong is pronounced "ay". It is expressed in writing by the vowels “i” and “y” in an open syllable with stress, the letter combination “ie” and “ye” at the end of the word, as well as “uy”, “eye”, “igh”.

i - line [line]
y - fly [fly]
ie - tie [tai]
ye - dye [give]
uy - guy [guy]
eye - eyebrow [eyebrov]
igh - knight [night]

[ɔɪ] is read like the Russian "oh". In writing it is expressed through "oi", "oy".

oi - noisy [noisy]
oy - annoy [enoy]
reads like "hey".

In writing it is conveyed by the letter “a” in an open stressed syllable, and by the letter combinations “ai”, “ay”, “ey”, “ea”, “ei”.

a - save [save]
ai - main [main]
ay - tray [tray]
ey - gray [gray]
ea - great [great]
ei-eight

It's read as "ay". The sound "a" is longer than "u". In writing it is conveyed through the letter combinations “ow”, “ou”.

ow - town [town]
ou - pound [pound]

[əu] is read as the average between the sound combinations “ou” and “eu”. The letter contains the letter “o” in an open stressed syllable, and letter combinations “ow”, “ou”, “oa”, “o+ld”, “o+ll”

o - bone [bone]
ow - snow [snow]
ou - soul [soul]
oa - coat [coat]
old - cold [cold]
oll - roller [roller]

[ɪə] is read as “ee”, “i” is long, and “e” is short. In writing it is conveyed by the letter combinations “ear”, “eer”, “ere”, “ier”.

ear - gear [gie]
eer - deer [die]
ere - severe [sivie]
ier - fierce [fies]

[ɛə] is read "ea" or "ee". The sound is a clear “e” and an intermediate between “e” and “a”. In writing it is conveyed using the letter combinations “are”, “ear”, “air”.

are - care [kee]
Bear - bear [bae]]
air - repair [repeer]]

It is read as "ue", while the "u" is longer than the "e". It is expressed using the letters "ue", "ure", "ou+r".

ue - cruel [cruel]
ure - sure [shue]
our - tour [tuer]]

Combination of vowels and consonants

In the English language, there is such a pattern when certain vowels are combined with consonants. For example, the combination al, if it is located before the letter k, and after it there are other consonants. The combination of letters wo, if the previous syllable has consonants. Wa - if this combination comes before vowels at the end, the exception is r or if it is combined with consonants, for example, warm. We have already described the combination igh among diphthongs, as well as the combination qua, if it is found before consonants other than r.

And go through listening exercises. You will only listen correct pronunciation real American English!

Learn more about what the prime, colon, parentheses, and other symbols mean.

You can look at another version of the English transcription and, if necessary, print or copy it for editing in Microsoft Word
English Transcription

Pronunciation of English sounds.

Pronunciation of English vowels.

The pronunciation of English sounds is presented in Russian letters, you should understand what to convey the correct English pronunciation Using the Russian alphabet is not possible.

• ɑː long, deep and
• ʌ short vowel a, as in the Russian word run.
• ɒ = ɔ - short, open about
• ɔː - long o
• zː - long vowel e, as in the Russian word hedgehog.
• æ - open e
• e - like e in the word these
• ə - unclear unstressed sound, similar to e
• iː - long and
• ɪ - short, open and
• ʊ = u - short u, pronounced with a slight rounding of the lips.
• uː - long u pronounced without strong rounding of the lips.

Two-vowel sounds

Pronunciation of English consonants.

• p - p
• b - b
• m - m
• f - f
• v - in
• s - s
• z - z
• t - resembles the Russian sound t, pronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
• d - resembles the Russian sound d, pronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
• n - resembles the Russian sound n, pronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
• l - resembles the Russian sound l, pronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
• r is a very hard sound pronounced without vibration of the tongue. Corresponds to the sound r in the word lot
• ʃ - soft Russian sh
• ʒ - soft Russian zh, as in the word yeast.
• tʃ- h
• ʤ - similar to the Russian sound j (voiced ch)
• k - k
• h - inhale, reminiscent of a faintly pronounced x sound
• ju - long yu in the word southern
• je - sound e in the word spruce
• jɔ - sound е in the word fir-tree
• jʌ - the sound I in the word pit
• j - resembles the Russian sound й before vowels. Occurs in combination with vowels.

English consonant sounds that have no approximate correspondence in Russianː

• w - formed with the help of rounded lips (as in whistling). It looks like a sound uttered with just lips. In translation it is denoted by the letters в or у ː W illiams - Williams, Williams.
• ƞ - Open your mouth slightly and say n without closing your mouth.
• ɵ - Move the slightly spread tip of your tongue between your teeth and pronounce Russian with
• ð - Move the slightly spread tip of your tongue between your teeth and pronounce Russian z