The English Alphabetic Code

simple code complex code

phoneme/s graphemes
with picture in key word graphemes, or spelling alternatives, which are code for the sounds
prompts examples

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

snake glass palace house cents city bicycle scissors castle
/a/ a /s/ ps
apple pseudonym

/t/ t -tt -ed -bt pt

tent letter skipped debt pterodactyl

/i/ i -y
insect cymbals
Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite and Phonics International Ltd 2008
/p/ p -pp
pan puppet
/n/ n -nn kn gn -ine pn
net bonnet knot gnome engine pneumatic

/k/ c k -ck ch qu que

cat kit duck chameleon bouquet plaque
/e/ e -ea -ai
egg head said
/h/ h wh
hat who

Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite and Phonics International Ltd 2008

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

/m/ m mm -me -mb -mn

map hammer welcome thumb column
/d/ d -dd -ed
dig puddle rained
/g/ g -gg gu gh -gue
girl juggle guitar ghost catalogue

/o/ o wa qua alt

octopus watch qualify salt

Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite and Phonics International Ltd 2008

/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 building

Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite and Phonics International Ltd 2008

/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
first aid tray table sundae cake prey eight break
/w/ w wh -u /ai/ -aigh
web wheel penguin straight
/oa/ oa ow o -oe o-e -ough -eau
oak bow yo-yo oboe rope dough plateau

Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite and Phonics International Ltd 2008

/igh/ -igh -ie i -y i-e ei eye
night tie behind fly bike eider eye
/ee/ ee ea e -y e-e -ey -ie -ine
eel eat emu *sunny concrete key chief sardines
*donkey *movie
/or/
or oar -oor ore -our war quar wa
or/aw/ fork oars door snore four wardrobe quarter water

dependent on
regional and
aw au -al augh ough
national accents dawn sauce chalk caught thought
/z/ z -zz -s -se -ze
zebra jazz fries cheese breeze
Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite and Phonics International Ltd 2008
/ng/ -ng -n /ngk/ -nk -nc
gong jungle ink uncle
/v/ v -ve
violin dove

oo -oul -u
short

/oo/
book could push

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

/oo/ moon blue flute crew fruit soup move through
/ks/ -x -ks -cks -kes /gz/ -gs -x
fox books ducks cakes pegs exam

Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite and Phonics International Ltd 2008

/ch/ ch -tch /chu/ -ture
chair patch picture
/sh/ sh ch -ti -ci -ssi
sheep chef station magician admission
unvoiced voiced
/th/ th /th/ th
thistle there
/kw/ qu
queen
/ou/ ou ow -ough
ouch owl plough

Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite and Phonics International Ltd 2008

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

/er/ er ir ur ear wor

mermaid birthday nurse earth world
/er/
schwa

or /u/
-er -our -re -ar -or
mixer humour theatre collar sailor
/ar/ ar -a alm -alf -alv
artist father palm half calves

Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite and Phonics International Ltd 2008

 Grey dashes indicate that the

/air/ air -are -ear -ere particular letter/s-sound

correspondence is unlikely to begin
a word.

hair hare bear where Hollow letters alert the reader to

various possible pronunciations.

/eer/ eer ear -ere -ier This chart is not definitive. You
may discover further code and
add it to the chart or your main
deer ears adhere cashier phonics display wall.

/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 they appear in the /ee/ row.

The complexities of the English Alphabetic Code:

1. one sound (phoneme) can be represented by one, two, three or four letters: e.g. /k/ k, /f/ ph, /igh/ igh, /ai/ 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 Hepplewhite’s Phonics International online synthetic phonics programme:
units1-5 Simple code with some spelling alternatives 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th grey = units 1 to 5
6-12 /air/, /eer/, /zh/, split digraphs, complex code 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
Debbie’s 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 (all within 12 units of resources).

Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite and Phonics International Ltd 2008