What are Vowels and Consonants? The shape of words - Speak English - Lesson 14 - with Mr Duncan

In today's English lesson, we are going to look at something quite different.

Something that is a part of English that we never really talk about, even though it is a very important part of using the language,

especially when we are speaking It.

Today we will take a look at the shape of words.That is to say, the way in which the letters of the alphabet create their own individual sounds within the words they form.

Today we will look at vowels and consonants.

What are they and why are they so important?

In English, just like any other language,

there are unique sounds that are used when speaking in that particular way.

There are certain sounds that are only used in some languages.

In English, there is a standard of pronunciation using certain sounds as well.

They are normally divided into groups.

First, we have vowels.

They are the sounds that are made with an open mouth.

We often associate vowel sounds with an open mouth.

There are five vowel sounds in English.

They are a e i o u

The sound made by each letter is often described as a phonetic.

The phonetic sound of each letter.

This is the reason why we use phonetics whilst learning how to pronounce words.

It is also important to remember that each letter has more than one sound.

Let me show you how this works.

Each vowel has two possible sounds..

a - eɪ ə;

a - eɪ ə; e - ee ɛ

a - eɪ ə; e - ee ɛ i - aɪ ɪ

a - eɪ ə; e - ee ɛ i - aɪ ɪ o - oʊ ɒ

a - eɪ ə; e - ee ɛ i - aɪ ɪ o - oʊ ɒ u - yu ʌ

eɪ - as in cake.

ə; - as in animal.

ee - as in ear.

ɛ - as in egg.

aɪ - as in island

ɪ - as in insect

oʊ - as in own

ɒ - as in orange

yu - as in use

ʌ - as in under.

It is also worth remembering that the combination of certain letters within a word can produce its own sound.

For example, the word ‘sound’ has o and u in the middle.

Together they produce... aʊ

So the sound of a certain word is often created by placing two letters next to each other,

or a combination of letters which are joined together to form a certain sound.

Next we will look at consonants.

Each one of these letters has more than one phonetic sound,

which can quite often cause problems for those learning English as a second language.

Some consonants are named in a way to make them different from each other.

For example, the letter ‘w’ actually has a different phonetic sound than its given name.

To use a ‘w’ in work, wonder, wish, and want.

Its name is different from its actual pronunciation.

There are 21 consonants in English, with some of them having hard to pronounce sounds, especially when combined together.

They are b, c, d, f, g,

h, j, k, l, m,

n, p, q, r, s, t,

v, w, x, y, z.

It is worth noting that the letter ‘z’, when named, is pronounced differently in American English.

Here in British English, we say ‘zed’, whilst in American English it is pronounced ‘zee’.

Let's look at some examples of consonants in words.

These examples are simple to read and pronounce, so feel free to repeat them after me.

Okay, let's go

B ball bank bite

C carry cat cool

D day date dip

F fan fun fill

G get go gun

H hello hat hand

J jump jam joy

K kill kick kind

L lick look let

M me man mint

N no net nap

P put pat pen

Q queue quit quiet

Q and U normally follow each other in a word. (qu)

R run rope rip

S stop see sink

T top tell tap

The ‘t-h’ sound in ð this that there <i>and...</i> θ thought think thank

V van vet veil

W want weak work

X xylophone xenophobia x-ray

The x sound at the start of a word is normally pronounced as the letter z

Y yes yell yellow you

Z zoo zip zero

The list of words I've just given you can be used as a guide to how consonants are pronounced in common English words.

The hardest formation or combination of letters together in a word occur in such words as... ‘think’ ‘throw’ ‘thought’, ‘this’ ‘that’ and ‘there’.

These sounds are called digraphs.

A digraph is the combination of two letters put together to produce a unique sound.

For example, the c-h in chair, the s-h in shop, or the p-h in phone.

There are many unique sounds within English that are not used in other languages.

My advice is to practise these sounds as much as you can.

Daily practise really does help.

The more you do it, then the easier they will become to say.

If there are any words you want me to pronounce for you,

then please leave a message in the comments section below.