The English Alphabetic Code

simple code complex code

phonemes graphemes
key words
key pictures

/s/ s -ss -ce -se ce ci cy sc -st-

snake glass palace house cents city bicycle scissors castle

/a/ a ps
apple pseudonym

/t/ t -tt -ed

teddy letter skipped

/i/ i -y
insect cymbals
Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com
/p/ p -pp
pan puppet

/n/ n -nn kn gn -ine

net bonnet knot gnome engine

/k/ c k -ck ch qu que

cat kit duck chameleon bouquet plaque

/e/ e ea ai
egg head said

/h/ h
hat

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/r/ r -rr wr rh
rat arrow write rhinoceros

/m/ m mm -mb -mn -me

map hammer thumb columns welcome

/d/ d -dd -ed

dig puddle rained

/g/ g -gg gu gh gue

girl juggle guitar ghost catalogue

/o/ o wa qua alt

orange watch qualify salt

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/u/ u o -ou -ough
umbrella son touch thoroughfare

/l/ l -ll
ladder shell

/ul/ -le -il -al -el

kettle pencil hospital camel

/f/ f -ff ph -gh

feathers cliff photo laugh

/b/ b -bb bu
bat rabbit buildings

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/j/ j -ge ge gi gy dge
jug cabbage gerbil giraffe gymnast fridge

/y/ y
yawn

/ai/ ai ay a ae a-e -ey eigh -ea

aid tray table sundae cakes prey eight break

/w/ w wh
web wheel

/oa/ oa ow o oe o-e -o eau

oak bow piano oboe rope dough plateau

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/igh/ -igh -ie i -y i-e ei
tie night behind fly bike eider

/ee/ ee ea e -y e-e key chief -ine

eel eat emu *sunny concrete *monkey *movie sardines

/or/ or aw au al oar oor ore our

or /aw/ fork dawn sauce chalk oars door snore four

/z/ z -zz -s -se -ze /or/ war

zebra jazz fries cheese breeze or /aw/ wardrobe

/ng/ -ng -n augh ough quar

gong jungle caught thought quarter

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/ngk/ -nk
ink

/v/ v -ve
violin dove

/oo/ oo oul
book should

/oo/ oo -ue u-e -ew -ui -ou -o ough

moon blue flute crew fruit soup move through

/ks/ -x -ks -kes -cks /gz/ -x

fox books cakes ducks exam

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/ch/ ch -tch /chu/ ture
chairs patch picture

/sh/ sh ch -ti -ci -ssi

sheep chef station magician admission

/th/ th
thistle

/th/ th
there

/kw/ qu
queen

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/ou/ ou ow -o
ouch owl plough

/oi/ oi oy
ointment toy
/yoo/ -ue u u-e ew eu
statue unicorn tube new pneumatic

/er/ er ir ur ear wor -our -re

mermaid birthday nurse earth world mixer humour theatre

/ar/ ar a alm alf alv

artist father palm half calves

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/air/ air are ear ere
hair hare bear where

/eer/ eer ear ere ier

deer ears adhere cashier

/zh/ -si -s -z -g -ge

television treasure azure courgette collage
*-y, *-ey, *-ie as word endings are often pronounced between /i/ and /ee/. On this chart examples appear in the /ee/ row.

The complexities of the English Alphabetic Code include:

1. one sound (phoneme) can be represented by one, two, three or four letters: e.g. k, sh, ng, igh, eigh
2. one sound can be represented by different spellings (graphemes): e.g. /oa/ is represented by: o, oa, ow, oe, o-e, eau, ough
3. one spelling can represent multiple sounds: e.g. ough: /oa/ though, /or/ thought, /oo/ through, /ou/ plough, /u/ thorough

Key to the 12 units of Debbie Hepplewhites Phonics International online synthetic phonics programme:
units1-5 Mainly simple code with options to extend 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
6-12 /air/, /eer/, /zh/, split digraphs, complex code 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
Debbies programme introduces a simple code of at least one letter/s-sound correspondence for each of the 44+ sounds of speech of the English language.
The programme then expands to teach further spelling and pronunciation variations of the complex Alphabetic Code.

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com