Date added: 2013-01-11;

This is the second lesson on the alphabet and rules for reading letters in English. In this lesson I will tell you about the next four consonant letters.

The lesson, like the previous one, will not be long, but I strongly recommend paying attention to the intricacies of reading letters "Hh" and rules for reading the letter " Gg".

Letter Gg

Gg[ʤi:]- the seventh letter of the English alphabet. Has two basic reading rules.

1. According to the basic rule of reading, it is no different from Russian "G".

This rule is valid if:

I. Letter Gg comes before vowels Aa, Oo, Uu ;

Gas- - gas; petrol

Gold- - gold

Gun- - weapon (any firearm)

II. Letter Gg comes before (any) consonant;

Green- - green

III. Letter Gg stands at the end of a word;

Big- - big

2. Before vowels Ee , II, Yy reads like "J" .

If we take it globally, the original of this sound is softer than the combination “J”. But there is no point in worrying too much about this. This option will do temporarily.

Page - - page

Giant- ["ʤaiənt]- giant

Gymnastics - [ʤim"næstiks]- gymnastics

BUT: In words of French origin, the letter Gg can be read as "AND"

Garage - ["gærɑ:ʓ]- garage

3. At the beginning and at the end of words in letter combinations gn letter Gg falls out.

Gnaw- - gnaw

Sign - - symbol; signature

4. Letter combination gh.

Be careful! This letter combination can produce a sound [g] or sound [f] , and may even be silent (unreadable). Therefore, to be sure of the correct pronunciation with such a letter combination, check the words using a dictionary.

Ghost- - ghost

High- - high

Laugh- - laughter

Letter Hh

Hh - the eighth letter of the English alphabet.

Firstly: I can confidently say that you will not see it before a consonant (excluding abbreviations)

Secondly: This letter is read only if it is followed by a vowel. In all other cases it is mute.

Third: Letter combinations sh, ch, ph, th, gh create extraneous sounds. We already know two of them (digraph ch and letter combination gh) . We'll look at the rest as we study the corresponding letters.

1. It always reads like [h]. This sound has no Russian analogue. Many, making a grave mistake, replace this sound with a Russian sound X.

The sound [h] is an exhalation. Free sound that comes from the chest without encountering any obstacles, unlike X.

House- - house

2. In combination wh + o letter Ww falls out.

Who - - Who

In other cases, the letter appears in such a letter combination Hh .

When - - When

Letter Jj

Jj[ʤei]- the tenth letter of the English alphabet.

1. Always read as [ ʤ ], which can be equated to Russian "J".

Jump- [ʤʌmp]- jump

Letters k, g indicate consonant sounds close to Russian To And G.

German voiceless consonant [k] (written k or ck) is more tense than Russian and is pronounced with aspiration. Aspiration is especially strong before a vowel and a sonorant consonant in a stressed syllable (Kampf struggle, Kraft force) and at the end of a word (Schmuck [∫muk] decoration). In German it is doubled k denoted by a letter combination ck. Vowel before ck always short.

German voiced consonant [g] (written g or gg) is pronounced less sonorously than Russian G. At the end of a word and before voiceless consonants [g], as in Russian, is deafened.

1. Say words with the sound [k], do not forget about aspiration.

[a] [ʊ]
kann Can Kuß kiss
Kamm crest kurz short
Kampf struggle Burg fortress

2. Pronounce the sound [k] with [a:] and [a]. Notice how the longness and shortness of the vowel changes the meaning of the word.

3. Pronounce words with the sound (g): Try to pronounce this sound weaker than in Russian.

[a]
sagen[‘za:gən]say Gast guest
fragen[‘fra:gən]ask ganz at all
tragen[‘tra:gən]carry Gans goose

The sound [g] should be pronounced less tensely than Russian G, but you cannot deafen it to the sound [k], since then the meaning of the word will change.

4. Say words with sounds [k] and [g]. Notice the difference in the meaning of these words.

Table from letters to sounds

LetterSoundExamples
In spellingTranscribed
i, ie, iehi:Mine, nie, ziehen[‘mi:nə], , [‘tsi:en]
iiTisch
r, rrr,ɐwir (we), wirr (chaotic), Rat (advice), ,
k,ckkKarte, Wecker (alarm clock)[‘kartə], [‘vεkəɐ]
g, gggGas, Bagger (excavator), [‘bagəɐ]
gkTag, sagt (speaks),
vf (in German words)Vater[‘fa:tə]
vv (in foreign words)Vase
tscht∫Matsch

Active Dictionary

bitten[‘bitən]ask
fahren[‘fa:rən]drive
frieren[‘fri:rən]freeze
sitzen[‘zitsən]sit
sie she
Sie You (polite form)
studieren[ʃtu·’di:rən]study (in high school)
tanzen[‘tantsən]dance
und[‘ʊnt]And
wandern[‘vandəɐn]wander (walk)
wir We

It has several spelling variations, the technique depending on the font (printed/handwritten) and the type of character (uppercase/lowercase).

Writing technique

To write the letter "G", it is preferable to take a sheet of lined paper so that you can see the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters.

Printed capital "G"

  1. Write a capital letter "C":
  2. draw a crescent with a hole on the right
  3. From the bottom point of the letter “C” add a horizontal line to the left, halfway inside the letter

Printed lowercase "g"

  1. The only difference from the capital letter “C” is that the lowercase letter is almost twice as large.
  2. From the top point of the letter “c”, draw a vertical line down, turning into a hook to the left.

Printed lowercase "g"

  1. At the top of the line, draw the letter “o” measuring 7/8 of the lowercase letter.
  2. From the bottom right point, draw an oval loop to the right and down.
  3. Add an “eye” to the top right point.

Handwritten capital

  1. From the bottom left point of the line, draw an inclined line leading upward to the right.
  2. Unfold in a loop to the left and down. Crochet the loop to the right to the very top of the line.
  3. Draw an inclined line going down to the left. Crochet it to the left. The hook must cross the first line (step 1).
  4. Draw a horizontal line to the right, halfway inside the letter.

Read also

Handwritten lowercase " g»

  1. Draw a shaped shape with a slope.
  2. From the bottom right point, add an inclined line leading down to the left.
  3. Turn it to the left in a loop and bring it up.

Read also

Pronunciation of the letter "G"

The letter "G" has two main reading rules and several minor ones.

g = [g]

  • before the vowels a, o, u.

legacy [‘legəsi] – inheritance, legacy

go – go

regulate [‘regjuleit] – regulate

  • before any consonant.

ingredient - component

  • at the end of a word.

leg – leg

g = [j]

  • before vowels e, i, y.

page – page

giant [‘dʒaiənt] – giant

gym - gym

Exceptions:

  • g = [g] before endings -er and -est of adjectives and adverbs.

big – big / bigger [‘bigə] – more / biggest [‘bigəst] – the biggest

begin - begin (to begin) anger - anger

gift - gift

forget – to forget

get - receive

target - goal, target

girl - girl

together - together

give – give

forgive - forgive

geese - geese

finger - finger

tiger - tiger

hunger - hunger

  • g = [g] in words of French origin.

garage - garage

  • gn = [-] at the beginning and end of words.

gnome - gnome

sign – symbol; signature

ng = [ŋ]

The tongue is located at the base of the lower teeth. The mouth is open wide. The back of the tongue is pressed against the lowered soft palate, the air stream follows through the nasal cavity. For a nasal sound, it is necessary not to raise the tip of the tongue to the alveoli.

kingdom [‘ kiŋdə m] – kingdom

gh = [g], [f], [-]

Reading words with the letter combination “gh” must be checked in a dictionary due to variations in pronunciation and lack of rules.

ghost - ghost

tough - hard

Although in classical phonetics the sound combinations [ j ] with other vowels are not considered diphthongs; the pronunciation of such combinations of sounds is similar to the pronunciation of diphthongs, only the main sound in them is in second place. The main sound can be either short or long, for example [ je], [ju: ].

The sounds in such combinations, as in diphthongs, are unequal. The first sound sounds weak and short, and the second (main) sounds longer and stronger. Sound [ j ] pronounced very very short [ ɪ ] .

So, the combination [ je] could be depicted as follows: [ j e] . Both sounds are pronounced together, without a pause. Yes, the sound [ je] similar to Russian sound ( e) at the beginning of the words if, ate, and the sound [ ju: ] similar to the sound ( Yu ) at the beginning of the words spinning top, skirt.

In addition, the sound [ j ] can be combined with diphthongs [ ɪə ] , [ʊə ] And [ u:ə ], forming combinations [ jɪə] ], [jʊə ] And [ ju:ə ]. Oddly enough, but [ j ] refers to consonant sounds, therefore nouns starting with this sound attach the indefinite article a, not an. For example: a year, a yacht.

Anyone who begins to learn English must, at the first stage of their journey, encounter the alphabet and the pronunciation of its letters. It is very important not only to know what the letters are called, but also to know Russian pronunciation in general.

For correct pronunciation of the alphabet Below is a table of all letters with both English and Russian transcriptions. Of course, you need to know English transcription - it is used in any dictionary, it is as important as knowledge of the alphabet itself. But for beginners who have not yet fully mastered English transcription, we give the sounds of the English alphabet in Russian letters.

Letter Name Pronunciation Russian recording
letter names
a a Hey
b bee bi
c cee si
d dee di
e e And
f ef ef
g gee ji
h aitch HH
i i ah
j Jay Jay
k kay kay
l el el
m em Em
n enn en
o o OU
p pee pi
q cue Cue
r ar a, ar
s ess es
t tee you
u u Yu
v vee in and
w double-u [`dʌbl `ju:] double
x ex the ex
y wy wy
z zed, zee , zed, zi

As for the letter Z, the British version is “zed”, the American version is “zi”.

It may seem that the English alphabet is more complex than the Russian one. But actually it is not. It has only 26 letters (for comparison in Russian - 33), and only 6 of them (A, E, I, O, U, Y) are vowels. Unfortunately, these vowel letters do not always correspond to alphabetic pronunciation. For example, Aa - in the alphabet is read as [hey]: “cake” - cake, “later” - later, but not in the words “bag” - luggage, “flag” - flag and many others.

Here it must be said that in English there is a distinction between stressed and unstressed syllables. Let's look at the case of a stressed syllable. Here you can also observe division - the stressed syllable can be open and closed. Open syllables end with a vowel, and closed syllables end with a consonant. Here are examples of stressed open syllables: “la-bel” - inscription, “ta-ke” - to receive, and so on. Here are examples of stressed closed syllables: “rab-bit” - rabbit, “dog” - dog, “win-dow” - window, and so on. Please note that in the first case, the stressed vowels are read exactly the same as they sound in the alphabet.

Let's look at all the vowels:

Vowel A

Open syllable: “la-ter” [’leitə] – later

Closed syllable: “cat” - cat

Vowel E

Open syllable: “he” - he

Closed syllable: “bend” - bend

Vowel I

Open syllable: “li-lac” [’lailək] - lilac

Closed syllable: “lift” - lift

Vowel O [?u]

Open syllable: “pho-to” [’fəutəu] - photograph

Closed syllable: “got” - received

Vowel U

Open syllable: “cu-te” - cute

Closed syllable: “numb” - numb

Vowel Y

Open syllable: “type” - type on a typewriter

Closed syllable: “myth” - myth

Fine. Now, continuing to answer the question of how the English alphabet is read, we need to talk about unstressed vowels. The vowels a, o, u, when not under stress, turn into the sound [ə], and the vowels e, i, y in the same case become the sound [i]. In this case, as soon as the letters r appear after them, they all become [ə]. You can easily see this for yourself: “pre-fer” - to prefer, “pla-yer” [’pleiə:] - player, “doctor” [’dɔktə:] - doctor.

It is also worth paying attention to the consonant letters: B, D, F, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, T, V, W, X, Z - also read accordingly [b], [d], [ f], [h], , [k], [l], [m], [n], [p], [t], [v], [w], [x], [z]. Things are more complicated with the remaining consonants.

So, for example, the letter C will be before e, i, y, and in all other cases – [k]. See: “cinema” [’sinəmə] – cinema, “cure” – treatment.

The letter G - before e, i, y goes into , and in other cases as [g]: “ginger” [’dʒindʒə] - ginger, “goat” - goat, goat.

And S at the beginning of a word and after the voiceless consonants K, F, P and T is read as the sound [s], and, on the contrary, after voiced and other cases - [z]: “Simon” ['saimən] – Simon, “books” – books, “finds” – finds, “wise” – wise.

The letters R and Q are also tricky. So R is often simply dropped, lengthening the sound (“car” - car), but a word with R will be read with R (“Riko” - Rico). The letter Q can give two options - or - compare “quick” - quickly and “queue” - queue.


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