Pronunciation Rules

Version 2

Yousef AlMulla
mullaya_98@yahoo.com
July 2007

h, l

t, d, ch

vowel + r

gh

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

k, g

p, b

s, th, w

m, n

K
ph
z

I
W

G
U

E
T

C
S

A
Q


:
)(Syllables
)(Word Stress

)(Sentence Stress








.


..






Consonant

Vowels

i
u

: y )(Semi-vowel





:
sh ..
th
ch ""
ph ..

..
h wwh..
k n



)(
) (


.
y ) (Semi-vowel





) meat (mt ) meet (mt
.

read ) read (rd
)read (rd


)(Homophones

bin been
bier beer
bury berry
birth berth
build billed
byte bite bight
blue blew
bore boar
bored board
border boarder
borne born
bow bough
bowl boll
buoy boy

ere heir air

)I'll (I will isle aisle
awl all
aloud allowed
alter altar
aunt ant
eight ate
bale bail
bawl ball
bomb balm
bear bare
bass base
beech beach
beet beat
bee be


)(Homophones

cereal
serial
cheep cheap
cheque check
Czech
choose chews
coral choral
, site sight cite
clue clew
clime climb
clothes close
course coarse
coin coign
kernel colonel
compliment complement
corps core

braise
braze
break brake
bred bread
bridle bridal
butt but
bye by buy
cash cache
caul call
capitol capital
caste cast
seed cede
sell cell
censer, censor
sensor
scent sent cent


)(Homophones

fare fair
phase faze
feet feat
fined find
flare flair
fur fir
flee flea
flue flu flew
flower flour
four fore for
fourth forth
fowl foul
gate gait
guilt gilt
gorilla
guerilla

counsel council
cozen cousin
creek creak
coo coup
kerb curb
current currant
damn dam
deer dear
dissent descent
due do dew
discrete discreet
dough doe
dun done
urn earn
feint faint


)(Homophones

joule jewel
quay key
need knead
new knew
night knight
not knot
no know
laid lade
lamb lam
led v lead n
leek leak
lien lean
lesson lessen
lyre liar
lone loan

great grate
grizzly grisly
grown groan
hale hail
hare hair
haul hall
heart hart
herd heard
here hear
he'd =he would heed
hymn him
hirehigher
whole hole
horse hoarse
our hour
it's it is its


)(Homophones

morning
mourning
knead need
gnu knew new

nun none
knot not
ore or oar
won one
pale pail
pane pain
pare pair pear
piece peace
peek peak
pique
purr per

maid made
male mail
mane main
maul mall
mayor mare
mete meet meat
mien mean
mite might
minor miner
mined mind
mown moan
mowed mode
more moor
mousse moose


)(Homophones

roll role
rows rose
wrote write rote
sail sale
seen scene
skull scull
see sea
seem seam
seize sees seas
cell sell
sheer shear
shoo shoe
sleigh slay
slow sloe
soul sole
sum some

plain pier peer

plane
poll pole
pore poor
principle principal
prophet profit
reign rain
wrap rap
reed read
red read
reel real
wreak reek
wrest rest
rite right
write wright
rode ride road


)(Homophones

throne through threw
thrown
time thyme
tied tide
two too to
tun ton
vane vain
vein
veil vale
vile vial
whale wale wail
wane wain
waste waist
weight wait
wave waive
where wear ware

sun son
stayed staid
stare stair
steak stake
stationery stationary
steel steal
style stile
story storey
strait straight
suite sweet
tail tale
taut taught
tee tea
teem team
tier tear
turn tern
their there


)(Homophones

worn warn
wort wart
weigh way
whey
wee we
week weak
wheel weal
whether weather
whet wet
witch which
wile while
wit whit
whose who's
would wood
your yore
you're =you are
yolk yoke


Silent p

pneumonia
pseudonym
psychiatrist
psalm
...

corps
coup
cupboard
raspberry
receipt

mb

Silent b

debt
doubt
...
dumb
thumb
...
plumber
tomb
lamb
climb
bomb

-s, -ed, -

ing, -er

When is
mb pronounced?

mb

m-b
bombs
bombed
bombing
bomber

bom-bard
com-bine
crum-ble
dum-bo


Silent k

knee kneel
knelt
know knew
known
knowledge
knife knight
knot

Silent g

gnome
campaign reign
foreigner
sign design
resign
diaphragm

gn at end

-s, -ed, -
ing, -er

signs
signed
signing
signer

When is gn
pronounced?

gn
g-n

sig-nal
sig-nature
re-sig-na-tion


Silent t

castle whistle
catch watch kitchen
chestnut Christmas
fasten listen
often soften
mortgage mustn't

Silent d

handkerchief
handsome
Wednesday
ma'am = madam

Silent ch

yacht

ballet buffet chalet

crochet gourmet valet
depot debut
=
t

acts ducts students


Silent h

Silent l

ghetto ghost
heir honor
what when where why
while whether white
rhythm rhyme
Thomas Theresa
Oprah Hannah

calf half salve

balm calm palm psalm
chalk talk walk
could should would
colonel
folks
Lincoln
almond salmon


Silent m

mnemonic

Silent n

autumn
hymn
damn
solemn
column

When is mn pronounced?
mn

m-n

dam-na-tion
au-tum-nal
hym-nal
so-lem-ni-ty


Silent s
aisle island debris
Arkansas Illinois

Silent th
asthma

Silent w
answer sword
toward two

3
th =
: h wh
whole

clothes months depths

lengths

who whom whose

: r wr

write wrote written

clothing cloth :th writing
wrap wrestle wrist


Silent gh
daughter slaughter
fraught ought to
haughty naughty

neighbor sleigh
weigh weight
straight

catch caught ... teach taught
buy bought ... bring brought
fight fought ... seek sought
think thought

(al)though
dough doughnut donut
borough boro thorough

bright light night

sigh sight
high height

through

bough plough plow

drought


= r +
pr, br

fr, vr

tr

...

aspirin
temperature
opera
laboratory
deliberate

comfortable
different
every
beverage
favorable
favorite

documentary
elementary
interested
interesting

honorable
miserable

adjective only

separate
adjective only


Syllables

((Word Spelling
:

must

stu.dy

di.li.gent

a.na.ly.sis

du.ra.bi.li.ty

.y


Syllables

) pronunciation ( pr-nn's-'shn

Pronunciation Key

Syllables


Syllables

:


Syllables

total
stressed
syllables syllable

shape

PHO TO GRAPH

#1

#2

TO GRAPH ER

#3

GRAPH IC

word

PHO

PHO TO

Pronunciation Keys


:
)knife (nf
)'exceed (k-sd
)general (jn'r-l


Pronunciation Keys
()

b
ch
d

f
g
h
hw

pat
pay
care
father
bib
child , rich
deed, milled
pet
bee
fife, phase, rough
gag
hat
which

r
j
k
l
m
n
ng

oi

pit
pie, by
pier
judge
kick, cat, pique
lid, needle
mum
no, sudden
thing
pot
toe
caught , paw, for, horrid,
hoarse
noise

Reference: The American Heritage Dictionary


Pronunciation Keys
) (

valve
with
yes
zebra, xylem, noise
vision, pleasure, garage
about, item, edible, gallop,
circus
butter

v
w
y
z
zh

)
(

.

) (

.

took
boot
out
pop
roar
sauce
ship, dish
tight, stopped
thin
this
cut
urge, term, firm, word,
heard

Reference: The American Heritage Dictionary

ou
p
r
s
sh
t
th

th


Sentence Stress

.
We want to go :

.
: want / go

We WANT to GO :

)
(

)(

hat , fat

heat , meat

)(

rate

)(

wait

y, i, e

)(

)
(

ch

k
k

cycle
city
center
channel
watch
chemistry
car , cut
back
Arabic

)
(

bed , web

bite , site

silent e

are

)(

free

)(

meet

)(

eat , seat

e
i )(

)
(

go , bag

rough

zh

orange

)
(

s it

) i(
e

bite

)(

wait

Kuwaiti

)
(

silent k

key ,
check
know ,
knife

)
(

queen

ion

)(

)
(

sea , biscuit

sh

she , wash

noise

zhn

television

)
(

tea
beat

th

the
three

ion

)(

shn

action

ur

)(

chr

future

th

)
(

)(
o

shut
fun

ou

shout
mouth

)
(

wet
beware

)(

ou

how
now
write

ph, xy,

)
(

ph

phase

X
y

xylem

bat/ establish

D
F
H
J
L
M
N

)(

date/ hard
fast/ wolf
hate/ behave
juice/ project
land/ reflect
man/ human
near/ and

) (

O
P

)
(

)
(

) (

R
V
X
Y
Z

one/ lemon
pen/ paper
run/ remember
van/ five
mix/ sixteen
yes/ family
zero/ quiz

) (

End