The English Alphabetic Code

The English Alphabetic Code

sounds simple code complex code

graphemes, or spelling alternatives, which are code for the sounds

/s/

s snake

-ss glass

-ce palace

-se house

c (e i y) city

sc scissors

-stcastle

/a/

a apple

/t/

t tent

-tt letter

-ed skipped

/i/

i insect

-y cymbals

/p/

p pan

-pp puppet

/n/

n net

-nn

kn

bonnet

knot

gn gnome

-ne engine

/k/

k kit

c

-ck

ch

qu

que

cat

duck

chameleon bouquet plaque

/e/

e egg

-ea

-ai

head

said

/h/

h hat

wh who ?

/r/

r rat

-rr arrow

wr write

rh rhinoceros

/m/

m map

-mm hammer

-me welcome

-mb thumb

-mn columns

/d/

d dig

-dd puddle

-ed rained

/g/

g girl

-gg juggle

gu guitar

gh ghost

-gue catalogue

/o/

o octopus

wa watch

qua

alt

qualify

salt

/u/

u

o

umbrella son

-ou touch

-ough thoroughfare

/l/

l ladder

-ll shell

/ul/

-le kettle

-il pencil

-al hospital

-el camel

/f/

f

-ff

feathers cliff

ph

-gh

photograph laugh

/b/

b bat

-bb rabbit

bu building

/j/

j jug

-ge cabbage

g (e i y) giraffe

-dge fridge

/y/

y yawn

/ai/

ai first aid

-ay tray

a table

-ae sundae

a-e cakes

-ey

-ea

eigh

-aigh ____

prey

break

eight

straight

/w/

w web

wh wheel

-u penguin

ps pseudonym

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sounds

/oa/ /igh/ /ee/ /i-ee/ /or/

/z/ /ng/ /v/

short /oo/ long /oo/

/ks/ /ch/ /sh/

unvoiced /th/

/kw/ /ou/ /oi/ /yoo/ /er/

schwa /er/ `uh'

/ar/ /air/ /eer/ /zh/

simple code oa oak

-igh night

ee eel

-y sunny

or fork

aw dawn

z zebra

-ng gong

v violin

-oo book

oo moon

-x fox

ch chairs

sh sheep

th thistle

qu queen

ou ouch

oi ointment

-ue statue

er mermaid

-er mixer

ar artist

air hair

eer deer

-si television

complex code

ow

o

bow

yo-yo

-ie

i

tie

behind

ea

e

eat

emu

-ey

-ie

monkey

movie

oar

-oor

oars

door

au

-al

sauce

chalk

-zz

-s

jazz

fries

-n

jungle

-ve

dove

-oul

-u

should

push

-ue

u-e

blue

flute

-ks

-cks

books

ducks

-tch

patch

ch

-ti

chef

station

voiced

/th/

ow owl

oy toy

u unicorn

ir birthday

-our humour

a father

-are hare

ear ears

-s treasure

-ough plough

u-e tube ur nurse -re theatre alm palm -ear bear -ere adhere -z azure

-oe

o-e

oboe

rope

-y

i-e

fly

bike

e-e

-ey

concrete key

-ough dough

ei eider duck

-ie chief

eau plateau

eye eye

-ine sardines

ore snore

-augh caught

-se cheese

/ngk/

-our four

ough thought

-ze breeze

-nk ink

war

quar

wardrobe quarter

-nc uncle

-ew crew -kes cakes

/chu/

-ci magician th there

-ui fruit

-ture picture -ssi admission

-ou soup

/gz/

-o move

-x exam

ew new

ear earth

-ar collar

-alf half

-ere where

-ier cashier

g courgette

eu pneumatic wor world -or sailor -alves calves

-ge collage

wa water

-ough through -gs pegs

This chart is not definitive. You may discover further code. Grey dashes indicate that the particular letter/s-sound correspondence is unlikely to begin a word. Hollow letters alert the reader to various possible pronunciations.

by Debbie Hepplewhite

The complexities of the English Alphabetic Code:

1. one sound (phoneme) can be represented by one, two, three or four letters: e.g. /a/ a, /f/ ph, /igh/ igh, /oa/ ough 2. one sound can be represented by multiple spelling alternatives (graphemes): e.g. /oa/: o, oa, ow, oe, o-e, eau, ough

3. one grapheme can represent multiple sounds: e.g. `ough': /oa/ though, /or/ thought, /oo/ through, /ou/ plough, /u/ thorough

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