Every English word contains the following attributes: pronunciation, spelling, and meaning. This method effectively fuses the three attributes of a word together, requiring the learner to memorize the word on the basis of accurate pronunciation. When memorizing words with this method, one will involuntarily master the phonetic rules and word-formation rules.
Accurate pronunciation is the foundation of this method. One must pronounce every vowel and consonant correctly. Consonant pronunciation is easy to master; the main challenge is vowel pronunciation, and one must never confuse different vowels.
Stress
In IPA, the “`” symbol is used to mark stress and the “” symbol marks secondary stress; in this method, stress can be automatically distinguished by the vowel type, so these two symbols are no longer needed.
Stress refers to vowels, not consonants; a consonant can form a stressed syllable only by blending with a stressed vowel.
Stress is very important for the correct pronunciation of a word; stress determines how the vowels in a word are read. For example, the prefix com-: if the stress falls on com-, it is read “[com-]”, as in comment; if the stress falls after it, it is read “[co̊m-]”, as in command.
In English, the position of stress can also determine the part of speech of some words. Nouns are often stressed on the front (the first vowel), while verbs are often stressed on the back (the second vowel). For example, record: when it is a noun, the stress is on the front, read [`re-cord]; when it is a verb, the stress is on the back, read [rė-`cord]. Other such words include address, discount, etc.
In the vast majority of cases, the syllables at the front and back of a word appear in a “stress-unstressed alternation”; therefore, once the stress position is determined, the stressed or unstressed reading of most syllables is also determined.
Under normal circumstances, the stress of two-syllable and three-syllable words falls on the first syllable.
If a word has a prefix at the front, the prefix is usually unstressed, and the stress falls on the first vowel of the root. For example: ab`out, be`cause, etc.
If a word ends in -ation, the vowel a is also often stressed; for example: trans`ation, pronunci`ation.
The stress position of English words has several fixed patterns; one can accumulate experience while memorizing words.
Open and Closed Syllables
Most words are pronounced according to the open and closed syllable rules, but a few do not, such as have, change, waste, taste, etc.; take care to distinguish them when memorizing. The rules are shown in Table 2:
Table 2 — Open and Closed Syllable Rules
| Rule | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Open syllable | ends in a vowel | we, go |
| vowel letter + consonant letter¹ + silent e (or y) at the end | name, lady | |
| vowel letter + vowel letter + consonant² | wait, meet | |
| Closed syllable | ends in vowel letter + consonant letter | net |
| vowel letter + two consonant letters + silent e at the end | solve |
¹ The combinations th, st, ng may be regarded as a single consonant letter; thus bathe, change, waste, taste, etc. satisfy the open/closed syllable rules.
² The vowel-letter combinations under this rule are shown in the vowel pronunciation table. R, W, and Y should be treated differently from consonant letters: R is retroflex, equivalent to a long sound; W corresponds to U; Y corresponds to I. The [èa] sound may be treated as a single vowel letter.
In the open/closed syllable rules, a silent consonant letter is treated as if it were not there.
Basic Vowels
The five vowel letters are A, E, I, O, U; together with the three semivowel letters Y, R, and W. These 8 letters constitute all vowel pronunciations. The table below is the basic pronunciation table of vowel letters; these pronunciations are the most regular and the most commonly used. Be sure to memorize the contents of the table.
Basic Pronunciation Table of Vowel Letters
| A | E | I/Y | O | U | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open sound | [ā] | [ē] | [ī/ȳ] | [ō] | [ū]³ |
| late | me | nice | go | duty,blue | |
| Closed sound | [a] | [e] | [i/ẏ] | [o] | [u] |
| bad | bed | sit | hot | but | |
| Long weak sound | [år]⁴ | [e̊r] | [i̊r] | (w)[o̊r]⁵ | [ůr] |
| / | berg | bird | work | burn | |
| Light sound | [ȧ] | [ė] | [i/ẏ] | / | [u̇] |
| image | begin | lily | / | busy, minute | |
| Short weak sound | [å] | [e̊] | [i̊] | [o̊] | [ů] |
| China | open | evil | compute | supply | |
| Silent | word-final silent letter e | ||||
| name |
³ In an open syllable, u is pronounced as the u in blue after [j], [l], [r], [sh], [s̃], [y]; otherwise it is pronounced as the u in duty — that is, a [y] sound is added before the [ū] sound, giving [yū]. When the [ū] sound comes before [l], [r], [sh], [ch], [s̃], it is pronounced as the short sound [ù], as in bull, full, pull, push.
⁴ Entirely replaced by [àr], as in art.
⁵ Mostly replaced by [or], as in force.
Note on the Weak Sound:
Compared with the clear, accurate stressed sounds of open and closed sounds, the weak sound is casual, vague, and relaxed. If open and closed sounds are the important syllables, then the weak sound is the unimportant syllable. The purpose of weak reading lies in saving effort, resting, transitioning, and fluency. Both long weak and short weak sounds are weak sounds. “Long weak” refers to the fact that the letter -r (when followed by a consonant) lengthens the weak sound, giving the original weak sound a long quality like that of an open sound. “Short weak” refers to the case where there is no -r letter, or where -r- is immediately followed by another vowel (a word-final silent e also counts as a vowel, as in culture); in this case the letter r becomes a consonant letter that blends with the vowel following it.
Note on the Light Sound:
The light sound is a little weaker than a stressed sound, and a little stronger than a weak sound; the light sound may be regarded either as a stressed sound or as a weak sound.
Stress-Unstressed Alternation
“Stressed” and “unstressed” are relative concepts: when a sound meets a sound stronger than itself, it is a weak sound; when it meets a sound weaker than itself, it is a stressed sound. The table below is the vowel stress order table.
A word usually has only one or two stressed syllables; the rest are unstressed. Prefixes and suffixes are often pronounced as weak sounds, with rather fixed pronunciation.
Vowel Stress Order Table
| No. | Name | Stressed/Unstressed | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stressed | 1 | Open sound (long) | stressed | ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, etc. (see vowel table) |
| ⇩ | Long weak (long) | stressed | å/e̊/i̊/o̊/ů+r+consonant | |
| ⇩ | Closed sound (short) | stressed | a, e, i, o, u | |
| ⇩ | 2 | Light sound (short) | stressed or unstressed | ȧ, ė, i, |
| ⇩ | 3 | Short weak (short) | unstressed | å/e̊/i̊/o̊/ů (+r+vowel) |
| Unstressed | 4 | Silent (no sound) | even weaker | mainly the word-final silent e |
English Word Pronunciation Rules
The pronunciation rules of English words can be summed up in four words: “stress, weak, open, closed.” “Stress” refers to stressed reading; “weak” refers to unstressed reading; “open” refers to open syllable; “closed” refers to closed syllable.
Through examination of all words, most words (over 80%) conform to the stress-unstressed alternation and open/closed syllable rules. When memorizing a word, first identify the stressed syllable; determine the unstressed syllables according to the “stress-unstressed alternation” rule; then determine whether the stressed sound is an open sound or a closed sound.
For the individual syllables that do not conform to the general pronunciation rules, paying special attention when memorizing can significantly improve memorization efficiency.
All Vowels
Expanding on the basic vowel table gives the following table.
Extended Vowel Table
| IPA | IPS Notation |
|---|---|
| /æ/ | [a] |
| bad | |
| /e/ | [e], [èa] |
| bed, head | |
| /i/ | [i], [ẏ], [ė], [ėy], [ȧ], [u̇] |
| sit, system, pretty, honey, damage, minute | |
| /ɔ/ | [o] |
| hot | |
| /ʌ/ | [u], [ô], [ôu], [ôo] |
| but, love, enough, blood | |
| /ei/ | [ā], [āi], [āy], [eā], [èy], [èi] |
| late, wait, say, great, they, weight | |
| /i:/ | [ē], [ēe], [ēa], [ēi], [ēy], [iē], [ĩ] |
| me, meet, mean, receive, key, belief, routine | |
| /ai/ | [ī], [ȳ] |
| nice, fly | |
| /əu/ | [ō], [ōa], [ōw], [ōu], [e̊aù] |
| go, road, slow, though, bureau | |
| /ju:/ | [ū], [ew̅], [eū] |
| duty, new, Europe | |
| /u:/ | [oo], [oū], [õ] |
| tool, group, do | |
| /u/ | [ù], [oo(k)], [oo(d)] |
| put, look, good | |
| /a:/ | [àr], [à] |
| dark, ask | |
| /au/ | [òu], [òw] |
| loud, cow | |
| /eə/ | [ār], [āir], [āer], [eār], [er] |
| care, fair, aerate, wear, there | |
| /iə/ | [ēer], [ēar], [ēr] |
| beer, hear, here | |
| /aiə/ | [īr] |
| fire | |
| /ɔ:/ | [or]=[ōr], [ōar], [ōur], [ōu(gh)], [ã(l)], [ãu], [ãw], [(w)ãr] |
| port, fore, board, your, bought, tall, author, law, war | |
| /uə/ | [ūr] |
| during | |
| /ə/ | [e̊], [å], [i̊], [o̊], [ů], [o̊u(s)] |
| åbout, co̊mputer, dangero̊us | |
| /ə:/ | [e̊r], [år], [i̊r], [o̊r], [ůr], [e̊ar], [o̊ur], [e̊ur] |
| her, collar, first, word, occur, learn | |
| /ɔi/ | [oi], [oẏ] |
| oil, enjoy |
Liquids
Liquids refer to the sounds produced by the letters R and L. These two letters are special because of their pronunciation characteristics: they readily combine with consonants and vowels.
Pronunciation Rules of the Liquid R
- -rr- is pronounced [r]. As in merry.
- Weak vowel or consonant + r is pronounced [r]. As in factory, drive.
- Strong vowel + r is pronounced [e̊]; the vowel may undergo a slight sound change. As in dare, here, fire, during.
- Weak sound + r, because of the accompanying retroflex curl, often causes the vowel to lengthen, especially when r is followed by a consonant. As in verge, birth, storm, burst.
Combination of Liquids and Vowels
The pronunciation of the liquid letter R combined with vowels is well reflected in the vowel table. When the liquid letter R combines with a vowel, because the letter R is pronounced with a retroflex curl, it can lengthen the original vowel or cause a slight sound change. The liquid L has the same function.
For example, the sounds [ōr], [ōar], [ōur], under the influence of the liquid R, sound like [or] (a lengthening of the [o] sound). As in pore, board.
The sounds [ār], [āir], [āer], [eār], under the influence of the liquid R, sound like [er]. As in care, air, bear.
Long-Vowel Shortening
Long-vowel shortening refers to the fact that when a long vowel is immediately followed by a liquid [l], [r], or a weak sound, the influence makes the original long sound sound like a short sound.
Since the liquids [l], [r] and weak sounds themselves have a lengthening effect, when they combine with a long vowel, the long vowel naturally shortens, so that the syllable as a whole is not pronounced too long.
Combination of Liquids and Consonants
From the consonant combination table, one can see many examples of the liquids L and R combining with consonants.
Vowel-Letter Displacement
Vowel-letter displacement: refers to other vowel letters replacing the regularly-pronounced vowel letter and taking over the pronunciation role.
The table below is the vowel displacement table. The main cases of vowel-letter displacement are: the letter E displacing A, the letter I displacing E, the letter A displacing O, and the letter O displacing U.
There are two main reasons for vowel-letter displacement: 1. the pronunciation of the word has changed, but the spelling has not changed accordingly; 2. loanwords.
Vowel-Letter Displacement Table
| Vowel letter | Displacement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| E displacing A | èy, èi | they, eight |
| I displacing E | ĩ | ski, police |
| A displacing O | ã(l),ãu,ãw,ãr, | all, auto, law, war |
| O displacing U | ô,ôu, ôo / oo,õ | love, double, blood, book, do |
Silent Vowels
In a vowel-letter combination, there is one vowel letter that plays the leading role in pronunciation, such as the letter e in mēan. For such vowel-letter combinations, this method holds that the combination ēa together produces the ē sound. In a word like build, this method regards u as silent.
When e is at the end of a word it is generally silent; for simplicity, the double-struck marking is omitted. When e is silent in the middle of a word, it is marked with double-struck letters. In fact, apart from prefixes such as re-, de-, etc., whenever the form xxxxẹ- or xxxxẹ appears, the e is silent. For example: forẹ-ig̣n, closẹ-ly, pigẹ-on. In a word like re-cord, since re- is a prefix, the e is pronounced.
In the gu combination, u is often silent. For example: guess, fatigue. Here g is followed by a silent u rather than e, so g is pronounced [g], not [j].
In the qu combination, if u is silent, then q alone is pronounced [k]. For example: queue, cheque.
Consonants
To make the writing of consonant letters consistent with that of consonant phonemes, the writing of consonant phonemes is not entirely consistent with that of IPA: for example, [ch] represents /tʃ/, [j] represents /dʒ/, [y] represents /j/, [th] represents /θ/, [ṫh] represents /ð/, etc.
The detailed rules for the pronunciation of consonant letters are shown in the table:
Consonant Phoneme Pronunciation Rules Table
| Voiceless | Voiced | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter | Example | Note | Letter | Example | Note | ||
| [p] | p | pen | [b] | b | bed | ||
| [t] | t | time | [d] | d | day | ||
| [k] | k / c | kite / can | before a, o, u, consonants / at the end | [g] | g | go | g before a, o, u |
| [f] | f / ph / gh | four / photo / tough | [v] | v | very | ||
| [s] | s / c | say / cent | before e, i, y | [z] | z / ṡ | zoo / rise | after vowels, or after voiced consonants |
| [th] | th | think | [ṫh] | ṫh | this | pronouns, articles, prepositions, conjunctions | |
| [sh] | sh / ċh | ship / machine | [s̃] | s̃ | vision | special suffixes | |
| [ch] | ch / tch | cheap / catch | [j] | j / g(*) / dg | jeep / orange / judge | before e, i, y | |
| [h] | h | his | [l] | l | like | ||
| [kw] | qu | quiet | [m] | m | map | ||
| [n] | n | nine | |||||
| [ng] | ng | king | n before [k] | ||||
| [r] | r | red | |||||
| [w] | w | wall | |||||
| [y] | y | yes | y at the beginning of a word | ||||
| [ks] | x | excess | at the end or before a consonant | ||||
| [gz] | ẋ | exact | before a vowel |
(*) forget, give, girl, finger, tiger, begin, etc. are exceptions. When two identical consonants are doubled, only one consonant is pronounced. For example: kick, scent, little, etc.
Consonant Combinations
Below are common consonant combinations. Consonant combinations, like consonants themselves, carry certain original connotations that are ineffable; after memorizing a large number of English words, the learner will come to appreciate them. For example, fl- carries connotations of flowing, flying, and looseness; fr- carries connotations of splitting, cold, and wear; tw- carries connotations of twisting. As shown in Table 4:
Table 4 — Common Consonant Combinations
| Consonant combinations | |
|---|---|
| Consonant + l | bl-, cl-, fl-,gl-, pl-,sl- |
| Consonant + r | br-, cr-, fr-, gr-, pr-, tr-, dr- |
| s + consonant | sc-, sk-, sm-, sn-,sp-, st-, sw- |
| Three consonants | scr-, spr-, str-, shr-, thr-, spl- |
| Other | tw- |
Special Suffix Pronunciations
Some commonly used suffixes have rather special pronunciation, but the pattern is the same; simply memorize them. For simplicity, phonetic annotation is omitted. As shown in Table 5:
Table 5 — Some Special Suffix Pronunciations
| Special suffix | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -sion, -tion | -sho̊n | impression, nation |
| vowel letter + -sion | -s̃o̊n | vision, decision |
| -s-tion | -s-cho̊n | question, suggestion |
| -sure | -shůre | pressure |
| vowel letter + -sure | -s̃ůre | pleasure, measure |
| -dure | -dgůre | procedure |
| -ture | -chůre | picture, culture |
| -tiate | -shiāte | initiate, negotiate |
| -tial | -shål | partial |
| -tuous | -chūo̊us | virtuous |
| -cious | -sho̊us | delicious, precious |
| -cial | -shål | official, racial |
| -ceous | -sho̊us | herbaceous, curvaceous |
| -cient | -she̊nt | ancient |
| -ciency | -shency | efficiency, proficiency |
The pronunciation rules for -ed and -s(-es) are fixed, so for simplicity this book does not annotate them; one should memorize the following two tables. As shown in Tables 6 and 7:
Table 6 — Pronunciation Rules for the -ed Suffix
| -ed pronunciation rule | Example |
|---|---|
| After voiced consonants and vowels [d] | called, borrowed, moved |
| After voiceless consonants [t] | asked, finished, helped |
| After the [t] sound [id] | wanted, started |
| After the [d] sound [id] | needed, counted |
Table 7 — Pronunciation Rules for the -s(-es) Suffix
| -s(-es) pronunciation rule | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| After consonants | after [s], [z], [sh], [s̃], [ch], [j] sounds add -es, pronounced [iz] | glasses, buzzes, washes, teaches |
| after voiceless consonants add s, pronounced [s] | books, types | |
| after voiced consonants add s, pronounced [z] | bags, lines, besides | |
| After vowels | after the letter o add -es, pronounced [z] | tomatoes, potatoes, does |
| change -y to i and add -es, pronounced [z] | ladies, flies | |
| otherwise pronounced [z] | news, days, boys, bees |
Some other suffixes, such as -ly, -ous, -ity, etc., are pronounced according to the rules; although this book annotates them all, since their pronunciation is uniform, they may for simplicity be left unmarked.
Silent Consonants
Silent consonant letters are indicated by a horizontal line through the middle of the letter; if the learner has already memorized the silent consonant rules, they may be left unmarked. As shown in Table 8:
Table 8 — Common Silent Consonants
| Combination | Example |
|---|---|
| cḥ | mecḥanic, Cḥrist |
| g̣ḥ | lig̣ḥt, hig̣ḥ, eig̣ḥt, sig̣ḥ, nig̣ḥt |
| gḥ | gḥost |
| g̣n | g̣nat, sig̣n |
| ḥ | ḥour, ḥonour |
| ḳn | ḳnife, ḳnow, ḳnee, ḳnock |
| mḅ | comḅ, lamḅ, thumḅ, dumḅ, climḅ |
| p̣n | p̣neumonia |
| p̣s | p̣sychology |
| rḥ | rḥyme, rḥythm |
| ẉr | ẉrong, ẉrist, ẉrite, ẉrap, ẉretch, ẉrench |
| ẉh | ẉho, ẉhose |
| wḥ | wḥat, wḥen, wḥere, wḥy |
| -sṭen | lisṭen, cḥrisṭen |
| -sṭle | whisṭle |
| Other | iṣland |
Differences Between American and British English
The difference between American and British English can be summed up in one sentence: American English is more regular than British English, both in spelling and in pronunciation.
In Spelling
Spelling Differences Between American and British English
| British | American | |
|---|---|---|
| catalogue | catalog | drop silent letters |
| kilogramme | kilogram | drop redundant letters |
| programme | program | drop redundant letters |
| cigarette | cigaret | drop redundant letters |
| judgement | judgment | dg is pronounced [j], the letter e can be dropped |
| acknowledgement | acknowledgment | dg is pronounced [j], the letter e can be dropped |
| honour | honor | drop redundant letters |
| labour | labor | drop redundant letters |
| jewellery | jewelry | drop silent letters |
| woollen | woolen | unstressed closed syllable, not doubled |
| traveller | traveler | unstressed closed syllable, not doubled |
| cheque | check | replace with a different letter combination for the same sound |
| aeroplane | airplane | replace with a different letter combination for the same sound |
| centre | center | replace -re with -er |
| fibre | fiber | replace -re with -er |
| metre | meter | replace -re with -er |
| theatre | theater | replace -re with -er |
| defence | defense/defence | both are acceptable |
| offence | offense/offence | both are acceptable |
| licence | license/licence | both are acceptable |
| pretence | pretense/pretense | both are acceptable |
| you/your | u / ur | internet slang, to save typing |
In Pronunciation
1) In American English, the letter a is not pronounced [à]. For example:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| àsk | ask |
| dànce | dance |
| fàst | fast |
| hàlf | half |
| pàth | path |
2) In American English, the letter i is not pronounced [ ĩ ]. For example:
| British | American |
|---|---|
| sàrdĩne | sàrdine |
| roūtĩne | roūtine |
| magåzĩne | magåzine |
| po̊lĩce | po̊lice |
| lĩte̊r | lite̊r |
3) American English tends to pronounce the retroflex (rhotic) sound. For example:
car, door, river, party, board, dirty, morning, etc.
| British | American |
|---|---|
| car | ca𝓻 |
| door | doo𝓻 |
| river | rive𝓻 |
| party | pa𝓻ty |
| board | boa𝓻d |
| dirty | di𝓻ty |
| morning | mo𝓻ning |
4) British English usually “stays weak to the end,” while American English still places stress near the end of the word, conforming better to the “stress-unstressed alternation” rule.
| British | American |
|---|---|
| dictio̊nårẏ | dictio̊narẏ |
| labo̊råto̊rẏ | labo̊råtorẏ |
| necėssårilẏ | necėsarilẏ |
| prėparåto̊rẏ | prėparåtorẏ |
| secre̊tårẏ | secre̊tarẏ |
5) Other
| British | American |
|---|---|
| clerk (er pronounced àr) | cle̊rk |
| eīthe̊r | ēithe̊r |
| neīthe̊r | nēithe̊r |
| lèisure | lēisure |
