English letters and their transcription. Plus popular combinations of English letters. Clear and accessible. English sounds and letters - a simple explanation

Someday you may be asked to spell your first name, last name, or any other word in English, and if you know english alphabet, then you can easily cope with this task.

Let's start learning the alphabet in English using the table below, and at the end we will do a short exercise to consolidate the English alphabet.

№	Letter	Name	Transcription
1	Aa	a
2	Bb	bee
3	Cc	cee
4	Dd	dee
5	Ee	e
6	Ff	ef	[ɛf]
7	Gg	gee
8	Hh	aitch
9	II	i
10	Jj	Jay
11	Kk	kay
12	Ll	el	[ɛl]
13	mm	em	[ɛm]
14	Nn	en	[ɛn]
15	Oo	o	[əʊ]
16	Pp	pee
17	Qq	cue
18	Rr	ar	[ɑɹ]
19	Ss	ess	[ɛs]
20	Tt	tee
21	Uu	u
22	Vv	vee
23	Ww	double-u	[ˈdʌb(ə)l juː]
24	Xx	ex	[ɛks]
25	Yy	wy
26	Zz	zed

It's very easy to learn the English alphabet through songs

Below is the most popular song in the world for learning the English alphabet.

Exercise on the topic English alphabet

Using the letters of the English alphabet, read and spell your first and last name.

Historical stages in the formation of the English alphabet and the English language in general

English belongs to the Germanic group, and is part of the group of Indo-European languages. The official language is in the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland. In addition, it is actively used in India and many countries in Asia and Africa. It is central to the work processes of the UN mission.

Old English stage of formation

The appearance of the English language dates back to the 5th-6th centuries. V. n. e., since during this period ancient Germanic tribes began to move to Britain. Constant communication between the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and the native Celts of Britain leads to the emergence of dialectical forms. At this stage, English is called Anglo-Saxon and there are 4 dialects: Northumbrian, Mercian, Wessex and Kentish. The literary language was mainly formed on the basis of the Uesex dialect.

In the 6th century, the establishment of Christianization in Britain began. Introduced latin alphabet, writing appears, the names of geographical objects are left from the Celts. Periodic attacks by Scandinavians since the 8th century. They introduced many words from Scandinavian into the language and changed the structure of the grammar.

Middle English stage of development

The Middle English period began in 1016, with the conquest of Britain by the Normans. And it continued until the end of the 15th century, until the end of the War of the Roses. English temporarily becomes the language of the common people, as the conquerors brought a dialect of French - Norman. During this period, there were three languages ​​in Britain - English, Anglo-Norman and Latin. Petitions are being filed for expanded English rights.

Printing is actively developing, which ultimately leads to phonetic and grammatical changes in the English language and sharply separates it from the Old English period. The morphological component of the language has also been simplified.

Current stage of development

This period began in 1500 and continues today. There are two time periods - from 1500 to 1700. Early modern English developed, and from 1700 the modern English alphabet was formed. The main factors in the development of early modern English are called printing and the development of learning. This is reflected in changes in the forms of words and the construction of sentences. The famous difference between printed and spoken text appears.

The language of literature based on the London dialect is actively developing, adding its own differences to speech for conversation and writing. In the 16th century, the Renaissance introduced many words from Latin into the language.

The English language of our time is constantly undergoing changes due to its widespread use throughout the world. Simplified forms of pronunciation appear, phonetic forms change, but the English alphabet remains unchanged. There are many dialects associated with the territory where English is spoken.

The vocabulary is constantly filled with borrowed words. There has also been a tendency to restore dialectical types of English as monuments of indigenous culture. In contrast to the desire for a standard form in the last century. The English language continues to change due to the expansion of the cultural community and the use of oral forms of communication in writing.

Nowadays, there are variants of the English language for Britain, America and Australia, in which differences in the pronunciation and spelling of words have formed.

RELATED MATERIALS

Transcription is a recording of the sound of a letter or word in the form of a sequence of special phonetic symbols.

Transcription may not be of interest to everyone, but it is, without a doubt, useful. Knowing the transcription, you outside help read an unfamiliar word correctly. During classes, you can read the transcription of a word yourself (for example, from the blackboard) without asking others, thereby making it easier for yourself to assimilate lexical material, etc.

At first there will be errors in correct reading, because... There are always some subtleties in pronunciation. But this is just a matter of practice. A little later, if necessary, you will be able to transcribe the words yourself.

Transcription is directly related to reading rules. In English, not everything that is seen (letter combinations) is read (as in Russian and Spanish, for example).

When textbooks (mostly domestic ones) talk about reading rules, much attention is paid to the type of syllable. About five such types are usually described. But so detailed theoretical presentation reading rules does not make the fate of a beginner much easier, and can even mislead him. It must be remembered that a good knowledge of the rules of reading is a great merit of practice, not theory.

Your attention will be presented to the basic rules for reading individual letters and letter combinations. “Behind the scenes” there will be some phonetic aspects that are difficult to convey in writing.

A little patience! Both transcription and reading rules are easily learned in a short time. Then you will be surprised: “How easy it has become to read and write!”

However, do not forget that, despite its wide distribution, the English language does not cease to be a LANGUAGE, full of exceptions, stylistic and other delights. And at any stage of language learning, and especially at the beginning, look into the dictionary more often.

Transcription icons and their pronunciation

Symbols Consonants	Pronunciation of sound (similar to Russian)	Symbols Vowel sounds	Pronunciation of sound (similar to Russian)
[ b ]	[ b ]	Single sounds
[ d ]	[ d ]	[ Λ ]	[ A] - short
[ f ]	[ f ]	[ a:]	[ A] - deep
[ 3 ]	[ and ]	[ i ]	[ And] - short
[ d3 ]	[ j ]	[ i: ]	[ And] - long
[ g ]	[ G ]	[ o ]	[ O] - short
[ h ]	[ X ]	[ o: ]	[ O] - deep
[ k ]	[ To ]	[ u ]	[ at] - short
[ l ]	[ l ]	[ u: ]	[ at] - long
[ m ]	[ m ]	[ e ]	as in the word "pl" e d"
[ n ]	[ n ]	[ ε: ]	as in the word "m" e d"
[ p ]	[ n ]	Diphthongs
[ s ]	[ With ]	[ u ]	[ oh ]
[ t ]	[ T ]	[ au ]	[ aw ]
[ v ]	[ V ]	[ ei ]	[ Hey ]
[ z ]	[ h ]	[ oi ]	[ Ouch ]
[ t∫]	[ h ]	[ ai ]	[ ah ]
[∫ ]	[ w ]
[ r ]	Soft [ r] as in the word r Russian
[ O	A sign of softness as in a Russian letter Yo (e lk)
Sounds without analogies in Russian
[ θ ]		[ æ ]
[ ð ]
[ ŋ ]	Nasal, in the French style, sound [ n ]	[ ə ]	[neutral sound]
[ w ]

Notes:

o]. But, in modern English words aryakh this sound is usually designated as shown in the table.

Diphthong is a complex sound that consists of two sounds. In most cases, a diphthong can be "broken" into two sounds, but not in writing. Since in many cases one of the component sounds of a diphthong, if used separately, will have a different designation. For example diphthong [ au]: separately such transcription icon as [ a] - does NOT exist. Therefore, most diphthongs are not indicated by a combination of different transcription symbols, but by their own sign.

In many school textbooks and in some domestic dictionaries this sound is designated as [ ou], which is more clear. But, in modern English dictionaries this sound is usually designated as shown in the table.

This sign often denotes unstressed vowel sounds in transcription, regardless of the letters (combinations) that produce this sound.

Reading rules

English words have several types of syllables. However, to understand the entire system, it is necessary to remember and distinguish between the following two types: open And closed.

Open syllable ends with a vowel: game, like, stone- a vowel letter in a word is read the same way as in the alphabet.

Closed syllable ends with a consonant: pen, cat, bus- a vowel in a syllable gives a different sound.

Stress in transcription and words is indicated by a vertical line before the stressed syllable.

Single vowel sounds

Sound	Rules
[ e ]	usually gives a letter e in a closed syllable: g e t[g e t ], v e t[v e t] as well as a letter combination ea:d ea d[d e d ], pl ea sure [´pl e 3 ə ] Note: the same letter combination often produces the sound [ i:] (see below)
[ i ]	usually gives a letter i in a closed syllable: h i t[h i t ], k i ll[k i l ] and also the letter y in a closed syllable: g y m[d3 i m ], c y Linder [´s i lində ] Note: the same letters in an open syllable give the sound [ ai] (see below)
[ i: ]	appears in the following letter combinations: e+e(always): m ee t[m i: t ], d ee p; letter e in an open syllable: tr ee[ tr i:], St e ve[st i: v ]; in letter combination e+a: m ea t[m i: t ], b ea m [ b i: m] Note: this is the same letter combination ( ea) often produces the sound [ e] (see above)
[ o ]	usually gives a letter o in a closed syllable: p o t[p o t ], l o ttery [´l o təri ], and also the letter a in a closed syllable after w: wa sp[w o sp ], s wa n[sw o n]
[ o: ]	o+r:c or n[k o: n ], f or tress [´f o: trə s ]; m or e[m o: ] almost always in a+u:f au na[´f o: nə ], t au nt[t o: nt ]; the only exceptions are a few words, for example, au nt Consonant (except w) + a + w:d aw n[d o: n ], h aw k[h o: k]. always in letter combination a+ll: t all[ t o: l ], sm all[sm o: l ] Letter combination a+ld (lk) also produces this sound: b ald[ b o: ld ], t alk[ t o: k] Not often, but you can find the letter combination ou + r giving this sound :p our[ p o:], m our n.
[ æ ]	usually gives a letter a in a closed syllable: fl a g[fl æ g ], m a rried [´m æ rid ]
[ Λ ]	usually gives a letter u in a closed syllable: d u st[d Λ st ], S u nday ​​[´s Λ ndei]. And also: double:d double[d Λ bl ], tr double[ tr Λ bl] ove:gl ove[gl Λ v ], d ove[d Λ v ] Note: but there are also exceptions: m ove[ m u: v ] - (see below); fl oo d[fl Λ d ], bl oo d[bl Λ d ] - (see above)
[ a: ]	appears in the following letter combinations: a+r:d ar k[d a: k ], f ar m[f a: m ] (see note) regular letter a in a closed syllable: l a st [ l a: st ], f a ther[f a:ðə ] - therefore it is necessary to check the dictionary, because a in a closed syllable it traditionally produces the sound [ æ ] as in c a t[k æ t ]; consonant + alm also produces this sound consistently: p alm[ p a: m ], c alm[k a: m ] + note Note: 1. very rarely a+r gives sound [ o:] w ar m[w o: m ]; 3. Rarely: s al mon[s æ mən]
[ u ] [ u: ]	The length of this sound varies in most cases for historical reasons rather than for orthographic reasons. That is, for each word it is determined individually. This difference in longitude does not carry a huge semantic load, as in other sounds. And in oral speech it does not need to be specially emphasized. This sound occurs in following cases: Always o+o:f oo t[f u t ], b oo t [ b u: t ], t oo k[t u k ], m oo n[m u: n] after pu in a closed syllable sometimes gives a short version: pu t[p u t ], pu sh[p u∫ ] (the previous letter is always p) - (see note) ou+ consonant: c ou ld[k u: d ], w ou nd[w u: nd ] (but such cases are not frequent). r+u+ consonant + vowel: p ru ne [ pr u: n ], ru mour[r u: mə] Note: 2. But in similar cases with other consonants u almost always produces a sound [ Λ ] : c u t[k Λ t ], pl u s[pl Λ s ], p u nch[p Λ nt∫ ]
[ ε: ]	occurs in closed syllables with the following letter combinations: Always i /e /u + r(in a closed syllable): sk ir t[sk ε: t ], p er son[p ε: sən]t ur n[t ε: n ], b ur st[b ε: st ] - (see note) ea + r:p ear l[p ε: l ], l ear n[ l ε: n] Note: in some cases a combination o+r after w makes this sound: w or d[w ε: d ], w or k[w ε: k]
[ ə ]	Most unstressed vowels give a neutral sound: vowel combinations: fam ou s[feim ə s ], c o mput er[k ə mpju:t ə ]

Vowel diphthongs

Sound	Rules
[ ei ]	a in an open syllable: g a me[g ei m], p a le[p ei l ] ai in a closed syllable: p ai n[p ei n ], r ai l[r ei l ] ay(usually at the end): pr ay[ pr ei], h ay[ h ei ] ey(rarely, but aptly) usually at the end: gr ey[ gr ei], surv ey[´sε:v ei ] Note: 4. the same letter combination sometimes produces the sound [ i:]: key [ k i: ]
[ ai ]	usually occurs in the following cases: letter i in an open syllable: f i ne[f ai n ], pr i ce [ pr ai s ] ie at the end of a word: p ie[ p ai], d ie[d ai ] letter y in an open syllable: rh y me[r ai m ], s y ce[s ai s ] and at the end of the word: m y[ m ai], cr y[kr ai ] ye at the end of a word: d ye[d ai], r ye[r ai ]
[ oi ]	usually occurs in the following cases: oi(usually in the middle of a word) - p oi son [´p oi zən ], n oi se[n oi z ] oh(usually at the end) - b oh[ b oi], all oh[´æl oi ]
[ au ]	appears in the following letter combinations: o+w: h ow[ h au], d ow n[d au n ] - (see note) o + u:r ou nd[r au nd ], p ou t[p au t] Note: 1. the same letter combination often produces the sound [ u] (see below)
[ u ]	usually gives a letter o in an open syllable: st o ne[st u n ], l o nely [´l u nli ] letter combinations o+w(usually at the end of a word): bl ow[bl u], cr ow[kr u] - (see note) ou before l:s ou l[s əul], f ou l[f u l ] oa+ vowel: c oa ch[k ut∫], t oa d[t u d ] old(as in open syllable): c old[k u ld ], g old[g u ld]. Note: 1. exception word: b o th[ b uθ ]; 2. the same letter combination often produces the sound [ au] (see above)
[ iə ]	ea + r: h ear[ h iə], n ear[ n iə] - (see note) e + r + e: h here[ h iə] , s here[s iə ] ee + r:d eer[d iə], p eer[ p iə ] Note: 1. if this letter combination is followed by a consonant, then the sound [ ε: ] - d ear th[d ε: θ]. Exception - b ear d[b iə d ]
[ eə ]	give the following letter combinations: a+r+e:d are[d eə], fl are[ fl eə ] ai + r: h air[ h eə], f air[ f eə ]
[ aiə ]	give the following letter combinations: i+r+e:f ire[ f aiə], h ire[ h aiə ] y + r + e: t yre[ t aiə], p yre[ p aiə ]

Consonants

Sound	Rules
[∫ ]	There are several letter combinations that always produce this sound (among others): tion [∫ə n]: celebra tion[´seli´brei∫n], tui tion[tju:´i∫n] cious [∫ə s]: deli cious[dil´∫əs], vi cious[´vi∫əs] cian [∫ə n]: musi cian[mju:´zi∫ən], politi cian[poli´ti∫ən] and, of course, the letter combination sh: sh eep [∫i:p], sh oot [ ∫u:t ]
[ t∫]	always occurs in: ch: ch air [t∫eə], ch ild [t∫aild] t+ure:crea ture[´kri:t∫ə], fu ture[ ´fju:t∫ə ]
[ ð ] [ θ ]	These two sounds are given by the same letter combination th. Usually, if this letter combination is in the middle of a word (between two vowels), then the sound [ ð ]: wi th out [wi´ ð aut] And, if it is at the beginning or end of a word, then the sound [ θ ]: th anks [ θ ænks ], fai th[ fei θ ]
[ ŋ ]	the nasal sound occurs in the letter combination vowel + ng: s ing[ si ŋ ], h ung ry [´hΛ ŋ gri ], wr ong[wro ŋ ], h ang[hæ ŋ ]
[ j ]	softness in sound may occur in some cases, and not manifest itself in other similar cases, for example s u per [´s u: p ə ] (see dictionary): u in an open syllable: m u te[m j u:t ], h u ge[h j u:d3 ] ew:f ew[ f j u: ], l ew d[l j u:d] if the word starts with y + vowel: ya rd [ j a:d ], yo ung [ jΛŋ ]

Now take the interactive lesson and pin this topic

Just Letters and Sounds Just letters and sounds

The English have 26 letters in their alphabet - seven less than ours. Which already makes it easier for us to get to know English.

The English Alphabet - English alphabet
Ahh(Hey)	Nn(en)
Bb(bi:)	Oo(oh)
Cc(si:)	Pp(pi:)
Dd(di:)	Qq(Q:)
Her(And:)	Rr[ɑ:] (a:)
Ff(ef)	Ss(es)
Gg[ʤi:] (ji:)	Tt(ty:)
Hh(H)	Uu(yu:)
II(ouch)	Vv(vi:)
Jj[ʤei] (jay)	Ww["dʌblju:] (dabblju:)
Kk(kay)	Xx(ex)
Ll(el)	Yy(wow)
mm(Em)	Zz(zed)

Square brackets indicate how each letter of the English alphabet is pronounced. In Standard British English the letter R sometimes it doesn’t “speak out” at all: car(car), star(star), door(door). In America, as well as in some areas of England, this letter sounds - a dull growl - and you can safely pronounce it if you wish: arm[ɑ:rm] (hand), form(form, form), turn(turn).

If you see a dotted line under the text, then there is a hint for that text. In this case, this is the approximate (≈) Russian pronunciation, represented in the English alphabet by parentheses. And now attention! Yours task for this lesson: learn to read as it is written in square in parentheses, not in round ones! The pronunciation in parentheses is given only for those who are new to the English language. Immediately after getting acquainted with all the sounds below, they will not be there. And if someone somewhere teaches you to read using Russian transcription, know that they are deceiving you. Below will be given text, audio, video explanations of each sound.

Alphabet need to learn by heart. Why? It happens that we are not sure how to spell a particular name correctly and we have to clarify:

Spell your name. - Tell your name spell by letter.
Spell it, please. - Tell his spell by letter, Please.

And the interlocutor, whose name is, say, Timothy, or, in short, Tim, dictates to us:

Timothy -

Additionally, to reinforce the English alphabet:

Word - Word

Spell- a useful verb that helps us clarify the spelling of any word, even the most “tricky” one. There is a city in England called Leicester. By ear, the name has five sounds: ["lestə]. Let's try to find it on an English map. Where is it? Let's check with our friend Tim:

How do you spell it? - How do you write it?
Spell this name for us. - Spell this name for us.

Tim spells the name. We write it down. We write down:

[ɑ:] - Leicester.

There are only five sounds, but nine letters! There are nine letters in Leicester . Historically, some letters in this name became "silent".

Tim will name a few more cities, and you will write them - right here on the lines.

	[ɑ:]
	[ɑ:]

Notes - Notes

Names (Ann, Tim), names of continents (Africa, Asia), countries (England, Russia), cities (Bristol, York), villages (Pendrift), streets (Oxford Street), squares (Trafalgar Square) and alleys (Penny Lane ) are written with a capital letter.

Your Dictionary
Your dictionary

Your dictionary is English-Russian, it contains English words with Russian translation. They are arranged strictly in alphabetical order.

Let's find the translation of the word please- in the section under the letter R. A few simple rules:

1. In order not to read the entire section from beginning to end, we look at the second letter of the word - l. The alphabetical principle applies again: letter combination pl comes after combinations pa, re, ph, pi. Here are the words to pl: place(place), plain(plain)... It’s time to look at the third letter e. Then on the fourth A. And then after pleasant["plezǝnt] (pleasant), but before pleasure["рлеʒǝ] (pleasure) we find the word we need.

2. After please worth the reduction v , after pleasant - A . What kind of "secret writing" is this? The solution-explanation is at the very beginning of the dictionary - in List of abbreviations. Bukovka n stands for noun(noun); v - verb(verb); A - adjective(adjective); adv - adverb(adverb).
These pointers are not meant to "burden" you with grammatical terms. In English, there are cases when the same word can act as a noun or a verb, an adjective or an adverb. The dictionary will tell you what part of speech it is and then give you the translation.

help 1. v help. 2. n help; assistant.
fast 1. A fast, quick. 2. adv fast.

3. Nouns in all dictionaries are given in the singular.

Some words do not have a singular number. The letters indicate this pl : from plural(plural).

clothes n pl cloth
scissors["sɪzəz] n pl scissors

It happens, fortunately, rarely that a word “looks” like it is plural, but in fact it is singular. The dictionary will not let you make mistakes: sing means singular(singular). For example, news(used as sing) news, news.

4. Verbs are given a stem from which other verb forms are formed - in particular, the past tense.

5. A word can have two or more meanings, so don’t rush to take the translation that comes “first on the list.” Let's say noun letter translated as letter or letter. Let's read two sentences: the first one talks about letters, the second one about letters.

There are twenty-six letters in the English alphabet. - There are twenty-six letters in the English alphabet.

We write and get letters. - We write and receive letters.

6. It is useful to review all the explanations for the paragraph in which it is located. the right word. Let's quickly run our eyes through it, and something will be “deposited” in our memory.
Let's look at the paragraph (nest, as dictionary compilers call it) in which the word "nests" look. The first value is look. Second - look. AND additional information: look in combination with after matters take care(about someone) keep an eye on(behind someone). Combination look for translated search.
After some time, you come across a text with these combinations and, quite possibly, you will translate it from memory, without looking at the dictionary.

I look at my sister. - I look at my sister.
She looks fine. - She looks great.
I look after my sister. - I take care of my sister.
She looks for her doll. - She is looking for her doll.

7. The dictionary gives the transcription, that is, the pronunciation, in square brackets. Only with the help of dictionary transcription we learn that, for example, London(London) pronounced ["lʌndǝn], a Leicester(Lester) is read ["lestǝ] and nothing else.
If a word has one syllable, the stress mark is not placed in the transcription; there is no need for it.

If two or more syllables are pronounced, the stress must be indicated, and the sign appears before the stressed syllable.

alphabet["ælfəbət] n alphabet
England["ɪŋglənd] n England
English["ɪŋglɪʃ] and English
tomorrow n Tomorrow

In Russian, vowel length does not matter. In English, pronounce a long sound twice as long as a short sound. Otherwise fist will turn into feast, A pot- V port. The length of a vowel sound is marked with [ː] or simply a colon.

Transcription is especially necessary when there are letter combinations that are spelled the same but pronounced differently. As in these pairs of words:

The Sounds of English
Sounds of English

Click on the red button on the right to watch the video.
Also don't forget to point at tips, highlighted with a dotted line.
Different spellings of one sound are given through a fraction, i.e. for example, in dictionaries you may also find[i], And [ɪ] :)

Vowels - Vowels

[æ]	c a t (cat), c a rry (carry), r a t (rat), d a d, m a n (person, man) Please note: This sound Not correspond to Russian E. If someone teaches you this, you are being cruelly deceived. Hover over the tooltip on the left for details.
[ɑ:]	h ar m (harm), f ar(far), cl a ss (class)
	h e(he), m ea l (food), tr ee(tree)
[i]/[ɪ]	i t (it), s i t (sit), t i ck e t (ticket)
[e]/[ɛ]	b e st (best), m e nd (to repair), p e n (handle)
[o]/[ɔ]	c o ffee (coffee), n o t (not), r o ck (rock)
[o:]/[ɔː]	m or ning (morning), b a ll (ball), sm a ll (small)
[u]/[ʊ]	b oo k (book), f oo t (leg), p u t (put)
	bl ue(blue), m o ve (move), s oo n (soon)
[ʌ]	c u p (cup), m o ther (mother), s o me (a little)
[ɜː]/[ǝ:]	th ir d (third), w or k (work), l ear n (teach)
[ǝ]	teach er(teacher), Sat ur day (Saturday)

Diphthongs - Diphthongs

(combinations of two vowels)

/	b a by (child), s ay(say), tr ai n (train)
/	i ce (ice), l ie(lie down), m y(my)
/	cl ou d (cloud), fl ow er (flower), t ow n (city)
/[ǝʊ]	n o(No), o nly (only), r oa d (road)
/[ɔɪ]	c oi n (coin), n oi se (noise), b oh(boy)
/[ɪǝ]	ear(ear), d ear(dear), h here(Here)
[ɛǝ]/	air(air), b ear(bear), th here(there)
/[ʊǝ]	p oor(poor), s ure(confident)

Consonants - Consonants

[b]	b ack (back), hus b and (husband), ri b(edge)
[p]	p ast (past), o p en (open)
[d]	d ay (day), d ark (dark), win d ow (window)
[t]	t ake (take), t ree (tree), ho t(hot)
[k]	k ing (king), c old (cold), si ck(sick)
[g]	g et (receive), ba g(bag), g irl (girl)
[v]	v ery (very), ha v e (to have), ne v er (never)
[f]	f i f teen (fifteen), wi f e (wife), ph rase (phrase)
[z]	z ero (zero), ma z e (labyrinth), ro s e (rose)
[s]	s o (so), ba s ket (basket), c ity (city)
[θ]	th in (thin), th ink (think), no th ing (nothing)
[ð]	th is (this), toge th er (together), fa th er (father)
[ʃ]	sh ip (ship), fi sh(fish), Ru ss ian (Russian)
[ʒ]	lei s ure (leisure), gara g e (garage), mira g e (mirage)
[ʧ]	ch air (chair), ea ch(each), mu ch(many)
[ʤ]	j u dg e (judge), a g e (age), language g e (language)
[h]	h at (hat), un h appy (unhappy)
[l]	l ike (to love), pu ll(pull), l ast (last)	n ever (never), li n e (line), rou n d (round)
[ŋ] y es (yes), on i on (bow), Ital i an (Italian)

Notes - Notes

1. Double consonants in English words are pronounced as one sound.

2. Unlike Russian, English voiced consonants at the end of a word do not become voiceless. For example, in the word rub should sound clear [b]. In a word good also clearly pronounce the sound [d], and in the word dog sound [g].

Conversation - Conversation

I want to speak as quickly as possible. And the best way to start a conversation in English is hello. This greeting corresponds to Russian Hello, Hello, Hello.

Hello, boys and girls. - Hello, boys and girls.
Hello, everybody. - Hello, everyone.

Use hello in conversation with close relatives, friends, classmates.

Hello Mum. - Hello, mom.
Hello Dad. - Hello, dad.
Hello Nick! Hello Tim! - Hello, Nick! Hello Tim!

Speak hello, calling out to someone on the street, attracting attention, or answering a phone call.

Hello! - Hey!
Hello. - Hello.

Discussion - Discussion

English dad And mum correspond to our dad And Mother. When talking about your own parents, these words become like names and are written with a capital letter: Mum, Dad. There is a more affectionate way of saying: Mummy["mʌmi] (mommy), Daddy["dædi] (daddy).
On more formal occasions they are used father["fɑ:ðǝ] (father) and mother["mʌðǝ] (mother).

Exercises - Exercises

Exercise 1. Place the words in alphabetical order.

Dog, girl, go, acorn, tree, and, spell, sit, dad, conversation, well, he, what, take, egg, make, sorry, little, big, wife, question, word.

Exercise 2. Spell these words. - Spell these words.

Father, money, which, quarter, seem, jam, gust, peck, next, zebra, capital.

Exercise 3. In the famous book "Alice Through the Looking Glass", the chess White Queen boasts to Alice that she knows the alphabet (ABC) and can read single-letter words.

The White Queen says, "I know the ABC. I can read words of one letter."

Words with one letter are a very rare thing, for example, an article A. There are much more words of two and three letters, for example, go(go), do(do), in(V), and(And), but(But).

In the following text, without going into its meaning too much, select all words of two, then three letters.

London is a big city. It is very old. It lies on the River Thames. The history of London goes back to Roman times. London has a lot of sights. There are many parks in it. a

Phrases - Phrases

When saying goodbye, the British say:

Good bye. - Goodbye.
Bye! - Bye!
See you later. - See you later.
See you tomorrow. - See you tomorrow.

P.S. A little clarification for beginners:

• The lesson contains a description of the dictionary and an exercise for working with the dictionary. There is no dictionary on the site, only the lesson dictionary in the following lessons. You must have your own dictionary, whether paper or electronic, but you must have it. Among electronic ones, Lingvo X5/X6 and the Lingvo Live website are recommended. Google Translate is not a dictionary, it can guess correct translation, and may not guess, inexperienced people should not use it.
• In this 'English alphabet lesson' you only need to be able to read and reproduce sounds correctly. Start memorizing words from the following lessons.
• Lessons are free! Additional same lessons, incl. interactive ones, also free, but their number (free) is limited.
• Please update/change your browser if you have problems with your audio player. They only appear on something outdated.
• To go to the next lesson, click "Next >" below right or select a lesson from the menu at the top right. On mobile devices, the right menu drops to the very bottom under comments.

Greetings, my dear readers.

Today we continue to talk about how to learn to read correctly, so the topic of today’s article is transcription English letters.

We have already introduced you to the concept and dealt with the pronunciation of sounds in English. Today we will figure out exactly how they are pronounced in various combinations.

I have a clear table for you. It contains the letters of the English alphabet with transcription, Russian analogue letters and my notes so that you can immediately get the correct pronunciation. I also added examples of words with the sounds being studied and their translation.

What else can you find on the blog:

1. with letters and transcription (you can study them online, download, print and work with them);
2. for children I have a complete one.

Well, shall we begin?

Features of English transcription:

• it is always formatted with square brackets. I can’t say exactly where it came from, but I think it’s just worth taking it for granted;
• to understand where the stress is, the transcription uses the sign [‘] before the stressed syllable;
• It is important to remember that transcription is about the sound, not the spelling of words. Sometimes the spelling can be 90% different from what we pronounce;
• to show that a sound is long we use a colon.

In general, I wrote about English transcription - please!

Letters of the English alphabet and their transcription in Russian and English:

English letter	Transcription	Russian equivalent
Aa		Hey
Bb		Bi
Cc		Si
Dd		Di
Ee		AND
Ff	[ɛf]	Eph
Gg		Gee
Hh		H.
II		Ay
Jj		Jay
Kk		Kay
Ll	[ɛl]	Al
mm	[ɛm]	Em
Nn	[ɛn]	En
Oo	[əʊ]	Oh
Pp		Pi
Qq		Q
Rr	[ɑː] or [ɑɹ]	A or Ar
Ss	[ɛs]	Es
Tt		Tee
Uu		Yu
Vv		V
Ww	[ˈdʌb(ə)l juː]	Double
Xx	[ɛks]	Ex
Yy		Wye
Zz	,	Zed, zee

But do you know what is the most interesting thing about English?

If different letters are combined, they are pronounced differently!

That's why I prepared for you

Examples of English letter combinations in Russian and English:

Combination	Transcription	How to pronounce	Example
ee	/i:/	AND	bee - bee
ea	/ ı:/	AND	tea - tea
oo	/u/	U	cook - to cook
th	/ ð / / Ѳ /	Z, S (interdental)	thumb - finger
sh	/ ʃ /	Sh	shout - shout
ch	/tʃ/	H	chair - chair
ph	/f/	F	phone - phone
ck	/k/	TO	snack - snack
ng	/ Ƞ /	Ng	song - song
wh	/w/	Ua	why - why
wr	/r/	R	write - write
qu	/kw/	Kua	queen - queen
igh	/aı/	Ay	high - high
all	/Ɔ:l/	Ol	tall - tall
ai	/eı/	Hey	Spain - Spain
ay	/eı/	Hey	May - May
oi	/oı/	Oh	point - point
oh	/oı/	Oh	toy - toy
ow	/oƱ/	Oh	grow - grow
ou	/aƱ/	Ay	out - outside
ew	/ju:/	Yu	knew - knew
aw	/ Ɔ: /	Ooo	draw - draw
ee+r	/ ıə /	Eeyore	engineer - engineer
ou+r	/aƱə/	Aue	our - ours
oo+r	/ Ɔ: /	Ooo	door - door
wo+r	/ ɜ: /	Y/O	work - work
ai+r	/eə/	Ea	chair - chair
oa+r	/ Ɔ: /	Ooh	roar - scream
might	/Ʊd/	Oud	could - could
ound	/aƱnd/	Aund	round - round
eigh	/eı/	Hey	eight - eight
-y	/ ı /	AND	tiny - tiny
au	/ Ɔ: /	Oo	Paul - Paul
gh	/f/	F	laugh - laugh
aught	/Ɔ:t/	From	taught - taught

I know this table seems huge right now. Surely you think that remembering all this is unrealistic. I'll tell you this: at a certain point, when you have enough, you won't even pay attention to these combinations. Your brain will learn to quickly remember how exactly these letters sound. Moreover, even when you come across a word that is completely unfamiliar to you, you will be able to read it correctly. The only question is the amount of practice on your part.

How to remember combinations of letters?

1. Use cards. Visual perception is better developed in most people.
2. Read. Pay attention to combinations of letters when or just texts.
3. Don't get hung up. It is not necessary to immediately memorize these combinations and only then move directly to English. Learn as you go!
4. Buy paper or download a good one e-book in order to quickly learn to recognize combinations and pronounce them correctly. Even if you, an adult, need it, don’t hesitate to take books for children - everything there is explained in detail and is not without interest.
5. Take the course « English from scratch» . This will make your path easier.

That's all, my dears. I hope you found it useful and understandable. I provide even more similar materials in the blog newsletter - subscribe and receive a dose of useful information regularly.

", transcription is used by everyone, sometimes even unconsciously. First, let's refresh our memory, what does the phrase “English transcription” mean?

English Transcription is a sequence of phonetic symbols that helps us understand how to read a particular sound or word. Often, students are faced with transcription at the beginning of learning a language, when it is still quite difficult to read even quite simple words, and then they simply don’t pay attention to it. However, this will not be the case forever.

As soon as a student begins to skillfully use complex grammatical structures and develops a good vocabulary for free communication, then the desire immediately appears to speak beautifully, like a native speaker, that is, to improve your pronunciation of English words. This is where we remember the good old transcription.

In order not to have to remember the well-forgotten old things, we suggest returning to the repetition from time to time. Of course, ideally, the transcription should be completed together with the teacher, because writing cannot convey all the subtleties of pronunciation, but if you are reading this article now, the foundation of beautiful pronunciation and correct reading already laid down, and you will definitely achieve your desired goal.

Transcription of vowel sounds

There are two types of vowel sounds - single sounds and diphthongs.

[ ʌ ] - [a] - short;
[a:]- [a] - deep;
[i]- [and] - short;
[i:]- [and] - long;
[o]- [o] - short;
[o:]- [o] - deep;
[u]- [y] - short;
[u:]- [y] - long;
[e]- as in the word “plaid”;
[ ɜ: ] - as in the word “honey”.

English diphthongs

A diphthong is a sound that consists of two sounds. Most often, a diphthong can be divided into two sounds, however, this cannot be conveyed in writing. Often diphthongs are indicated not by a combination of several characters, but by their own sign.

[əu]- [oh];
[au]- [au];
[ei]- [ Hey ];
[oi]- [ Ouch ];
[ai]- [ouch].

Rules for pronunciation of vowels in English

• Sound " a"has four varieties:
  [ ʌ ] - short sound, as in the words “duck”, “cut”;
  [ æ ] - soft sound. There is no analogue to it in the Russian language. It is read as in the word “cat”;
  [a:]- a long sound that is read as in the word “car”;
  [ ɔ ] - a short sound that sounds similar to both “o” and “a”. In British pronunciation, it is more of an "o", as in "hot" or "not".

• Sound " e" can be read in three ways:
  [e]- for example, as in the word “let”;
  [ ə: ] - this sound is a little reminiscent of the Russian letter “ё”, only it is read a little softer. For example, "bird", "fur";
  [ ə ] - one of the most common sounds in English transcription. In sound, this sound is similar to the Russian sound “e”. It occurs only in unstressed syllables and can be practically inaudible or indistinguishable, for example, ["letə", "letter" - letter.

• Sound " i"can be long or short:
  [I]- a short sound, for example, as in the word “film”;
  [i:]- a long sound, for example, as in “sheep”.

• Sound " O"also has 2 options - long and short:
  [ ɔ ] - short sound, as in the word “bond”;
  [ ɔ: ] - a long sound, as in the word “more”.

• Sound " u" can also be pronounced in two ways. It can be long or short:
  [u]- short sound, as in the word “put”;
  [u:]- long sound, as in the word “blue”.

Transcription of consonants

In the transcription of consonant sounds, everything is quite simple. Basically they sound similar to Russian. It is enough to take a thoughtful look at the above-mentioned letter combinations a couple of times, and they will remain in your memory.

Consonants
[b]- [b];
[d]- [d];
[f]- [f];
[ 3 ] - [ and ];
[dʒ]- [j];
[g]- [ G ];
[h]- [ X ];
[k]- [ To ];
[l]- [l];
[m]- [m];
[n]- [n];
[p]- [n];
[s]- [ With ];
[t]- [ T ];
[v]- [ V ];
[z]- [z];
[t∫]- [h];
[ ∫ ] - [w];
[r]- soft [r], as in the word Russian;
[ O ]- a sign of softness as in the Russian letter “ё” (Christmas tree).

English consonants that are not in Russian and their pronunciation:
[ θ ] - soft letter “c”, the tongue is located between the front teeth of the upper and lower jaws;
[ æ ] - like “e”, only more sharply;
[ ð ] - like “θ”, only with the addition of a voice, like a soft letter “z”;
[ ŋ ] - nasal, in the French manner, sound [n];
[ ə ] - neutral sound;
[w]-like “v” and “u” together, soft pronunciation.

Features of English transcription

In order to make it easier to navigate reading words, it is important to know the main features of transcription:

• Feature 1. Transcription is always formatted in square brackets
• Feature 2. In order not to get confused about where to place the stress in a word, it is worth considering that it is always placed before the stressed syllable. ["neim] - transcription of the word name.
• Feature 3. It is important to understand that transcription is not the English letters and sounds that make up a word. Transcription is the sound of words.
• Feature 4. In English, transcription consists of vowel sounds, diphthongs and consonants.
• Feature 5. In order to show that the sound is long, a colon is used in transcription.

Of course, knowing only character sets, it is quite difficult to read everything correctly, because there are many exceptions. In order to read correctly, you need to understand that there are closed and open syllables. Open syllable ends with a vowel (game, sunshine), closed- on a consonant (ball, dog). Some sounds in English can be pronounced differently depending on the type of syllable.

Conclusion

It is worth remembering that in any business the main thing is practice (by the way, you can start practicing English remotely right now). Transcribing sounds in English will be easy for you if you work hard at it. Reading the rules once will not be enough. It is important to return to them, work through them and repeat them regularly until they are practiced to the point of automaticity. Ultimately, the transcription will allow you to correctly pronounce sounds in English.

Memorizing English with transcription and correct pronunciation English letters and words will be greatly assisted by dictionaries. You can use both English online dictionaries and good old printed publications. The main thing is not to give up!

Inspiration to you and success in your studies. May the knowledge be with you!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family