{"id":181,"date":"2016-12-18T16:35:24","date_gmt":"2016-12-18T16:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/?p=181"},"modified":"2019-01-16T22:23:48","modified_gmt":"2019-01-16T22:23:48","slug":"spellings-letters-sounds-and-learning-to-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/spellings-letters-sounds-and-learning-to-read\/","title":{"rendered":"Spellings, Letters, Sounds and Learning to Read"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the 17th century, the spellings of English words were ‘set in stone’ when the first dictionaries were written. These spellings have not changed over time. It is because of this, that we can read books written in previous centuries.\u00a0However, the 26 letters of the English alphabet are pronounced in many different ways in written words.<\/p>\n

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If we consider the letters<\/strong> of the alphabet as they occur in common written words, we cannot help but\u00a0notice that\u00a0the letters are pronounced<\/strong>\u00a0in different ways in each set of words.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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a: \u00a0cat, a, baby, father, was, warm, farm, chair, heard, leaf, scare, any<\/p>\n

b: \u00a0bat, lamb, debt<\/p>\n

c: \u00a0cat, city, chip<\/p>\n

d: \u00a0dog, jumped, ledge<\/p>\n

e: \u00a0the, he, bed, her, sheep, dinner, flew, steak, sew, eyes,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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f: \u00a0off, of<\/p>\n

g: \u00a0got, orange, high, cough, through, gnat, thought<\/p>\n

h: \u00a0hot, chip, this, she, think, rough, through, phonic, whole<\/p>\n

i: \u00a0in, sign, piece, rain, soil, receive, fruit, friend<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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j: \u00a0jet<\/p>\n

k: \u00a0kitten, knee<\/p>\n

l: \u00a0lip, half, could<\/p>\n

m: \u00a0man<\/p>\n

n: \u00a0not, bang, autumn<\/p>\n

o: \u00a0hot, soon, took, storm, toad, town, thought, boy, one, to, come<\/p>\n

p: \u00a0pan, phonic, pneumonia<\/p>\n

q: \u00a0queen, cheque<\/p>\n

r: \u00a0run, farm, butter, curl, born, first, iron<\/p>\n

s: \u00a0is, sun, ship, island, sugar<\/p>\n

t: \u00a0top, them, think, catch<\/p>\n

u: \u00a0nut, you, out, august, through, build, curl, guard, busy<\/p>\n

v: \u00a0van<\/p>\n

w: \u00a0was, saw, down, flew, two, when, whole, sword<\/p>\n

x: \u00a0box, exam, xylophone<\/p>\n

y: \u00a0my, mummy, gym, yes<\/p>\n

z: \u00a0zebra
\nClearly, from this limited exercise, the letters j, m, v<\/strong> and z<\/strong> have\u00a0one pronunciation<\/strong> each. Every other letter of the alphabet has multiple pronunciations<\/strong>. It is because letters and sounds do not have one-to-one correspondences in writing and speaking that learning to read and write in English is very difficult.<\/p>\n

If we consider some of the common letter combinations we see in English words,\u00a0it is evident that most of these have multiple pronunciations<\/strong> too. Examples are:<\/p>\n

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ai: \u00a0rain, \u00a0said, \u00a0bargain<\/p>\n

ay: \u00a0play<\/p>\n

a-e: \u00a0came, \u00a0have, \u00a0camel<\/p>\n

ee: \u00a0sheep<\/p>\n

ea: \u00a0leaf, \u00a0head, \u00a0steak, \u00a0create,<\/p>\n

e-e: \u00a0these, \u00a0never, \u00a0there, \u00a0were, \u00a0here<\/p>\n

ie: \u00a0pie, \u00a0field, \u00a0quiet, \u00a0friend<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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i-e: \u00a0like, \u00a0give<\/p>\n

oa: \u00a0toad, \u00a0broad, \u00a0oasis<\/p>\n

o-e: \u00a0stone, \u00a0love, \u00a0move, \u00a0grovel<\/p>\n

oo: \u00a0took, \u00a0moon, \u00a0cooperate, \u00a0door<\/p>\n

u-e: \u00a0rule, \u00a0use, \u00a0cure<\/p>\n

ue: \u00a0true, \u00a0rescue, \u00a0tongue<\/p>\n

ew: \u00a0flew, \u00a0new, \u00a0reward, \u00a0sew<\/p>\n

ow: \u00a0down, \u00a0show, \u00a0towards<\/p>\n

ou: \u00a0out, \u00a0soup, \u00a0could, \u00a0though<\/p>\n

ar: \u00a0farm, \u00a0warm, \u00a0parallel<\/p>\n

er: \u00a0kerb, \u00a0butter, \u00a0very<\/p>\n

ir: \u00a0 girl, \u00a0direct, \u00a0mirror<\/p>\n

or: \u00a0storm, \u00a0worm, \u00a0borrow<\/p>\n

ur: \u00a0burn, \u00a0bury, \u00a0during<\/p>\n

oi: \u00a0soil, \u00a0going<\/p>\n

al: \u00a0ball, \u00a0shall, \u00a0half<\/p>\n

wa: \u00a0was, \u00a0wax<\/p>\n

ey: \u00a0key, \u00a0they<\/p>\n

oy: \u00a0boy<\/p>\n

igh: \u00a0high<\/p>\n

air: \u00a0hair<\/p>\n

are: \u00a0scare, \u00a0are<\/p>\n

ear: \u00a0near, \u00a0bear, \u00a0heard , heart<\/p>\n

ure: \u00a0 pure, \u00a0picture<\/p>\n

our: \u00a0hour, \u00a0pour, \u00a0colour<\/p>\n

ore: \u00a0more, \u00a0forest<\/p>\n

ck: \u00a0duck<\/p>\n

sh: \u00a0ship, \u00a0mishap<\/p>\n

ch: \u00a0chip, \u00a0chemist, \u00a0chef<\/p>\n

th: \u00a0this \u00a0think<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

From this analysis we can see that the letter combinations\u00a0‘ay, ee, oy, igh, air, ck’<\/strong> \u00a0<\/em>have one pronunciation each. There are multiple ways to pronounce the rest.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Synthetic phonic <\/strong>programmes arrange these spellings and sounds the other way round. They begin with sounds<\/strong>, shown in slash marks e.g. \/a\/, \/b\/ etc.,\u00a0<\/strong>and from there they show the different spellings <\/strong>of each sound in different words. The resulting charts are called \u2018alphabet code\u2019 charts. An example is here:<\/p>\n

\/a\/: \u00a0 cat<\/p>\n

\/e\/: \u00a0 bed, \u00a0 head, \u00a0 said, \u00a0 any<\/p>\n

\/i\/: \u00a0 pin, \u00a0 crystal, \u00a0 business, \u00a0 \u00a0monkey<\/p>\n

\/o\/: \u00a0 hot, \u00a0 sausage, \u00a0 was, \u00a0 yacht, \u00a0 cough<\/p>\n

\/u\/: \u00a0 \u00a0up, \u00a0 could, \u00a0 brother, \u00a0 blood<\/p>\n

\/ae\/: \u00a0 baby, \u00a0rain, \u00a0 gate, \u00a0 play, \u00a0steak, \u00a0 ballet, \u00a0vein, \u00a0debut, \u00a0suede, \u00a0dahlia,<\/p>\n

\/ee\/: \u00a0 \u00a0see, \u00a0 me, \u00a0 these, \u00a0 leaf, \u00a0 pony, \u00a0 field, \u00a0 radio, \u00a0 protein, \u00a0 money, \u00a0 people, \u00a0quay, \u00a0foetus<\/p>\n

\/ie\/: \u00a0 \u00a0my, \u00a0 pie, \u00a0 like, \u00a0 find, \u00a0 high, \u00a0eye<\/p>\n

\/oe\/: \u00a0 \u00a0toe, \u00a0 go, \u00a0 toad, \u00a0 glow, \u00a0bone, \u00a0sew, \u00a0 shoulder<\/p>\n

\/oo\/: \u00a0 \u00a0blue, \u00a0 moon, \u00a0 flew, \u00a0soup, \u00a0 fruit, \u00a0\u00a0shoe<\/p>\n

\/yoo\/: \u00a0use, \u00a0 new, \u00a0 statue, \u00a0 music, \u00a0beauty<\/p>\n

\/ar\/: \u00a0 \u00a0farm, \u00a0 half, \u00a0 father, \u00a0 heart<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\/schwa\/: the, \u00a0 dinner, \u00a0 tractor, \u00a0 centre, \u00a0 colour, \u00a0pizza, \u00a0 picture<\/p>\n

\/ur\/: \u00a0 \u00a0were, \u00a0 kerb, \u00a0 girl, \u00a0 curl, \u00a0 heard, \u00a0worm<\/p>\n

\/or\/: \u00a0 \u00a0for, \u00a0 \u00a0saw, \u00a0 autumn, \u00a0 fall, \u00a0 warm, \u00a0 \u00a0caught<\/p>\n

\/ow\/: \u00a0 down, \u00a0 out<\/p>\n

\/oo\/: \u00a0 \u00a0look, \u00a0 put<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\/oi\/: \u00a0 \u00a0soil , \u00a0royal<\/p>\n

\/ear\/: \u00a0 near, \u00a0 \u00a0here, \u00a0 deer , \u00a0pier<\/p>\n

\/air\/: \u00a0 \u00a0hair, \u00a0 bear, \u00a0 there, \u00a0stare, \u00a0 their<\/p>\n

\/b\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0bat, \u00a0 rabbit, \u00a0 build<\/p>\n

\/d\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 dog, \u00a0 \u00a0add<\/p>\n

\/f\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0fun, \u00a0 off, \u00a0 cough, \u00a0 phonic<\/p>\n

\/g\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0got, \u00a0 egg, \u00a0 guard, \u00a0 ghost<\/p>\n

\/h\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0hat, \u00a0whole<\/p>\n

\/j\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0jet, \u00a0 edge, \u00a0orange, \u00a0giant<\/p>\n

\/k\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 cat, \u00a0 kitten, \u00a0 black, \u00a0 chemist, \u00a0 plaque, \u00a0 \u00a0biscuit<\/p>\n

\/l\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0leg, \u00a0 doll, \u00a0 apple<\/p>\n

\/m\/: \u00a0 \u00a0man, \u00a0comma, \u00a0lamb, \u00a0come, \u00a0autumn<\/p>\n

\/n\/: \u00a0 \u00a0not, \u00a0 annual, \u00a0 gnome, \u00a0 know, \u00a0 engine, \u00a0 mnemonic<\/p>\n

\/p\/: \u00a0 \u00a0peg, \u00a0 happy<\/p>\n

\/r\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 rat, \u00a0 lorry, \u00a0 write, \u00a0 rhyme<\/p>\n

\/s\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0sun, \u00a0 mess, \u00a0 city, \u00a0 scent, \u00a0 fence, \u00a0castle, \u00a0 mouse<\/p>\n

\/t\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0top, \u00a0 letter<\/p>\n

\/v\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0van, \u00a0 of, \u00a0 have<\/p>\n

\/w\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 will, \u00a0 \u00a0one, \u00a0 \u00a0when, \u00a0 suite,<\/p>\n

\/y\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0yes<\/p>\n

\/z\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0zebra, \u00a0 is, \u00a0 cheese, \u00a0 freeze<\/p>\n

\/sh\/: \u00a0 \u00a0ship, \u00a0 chef, \u00a0 special, \u00a0 \u00a0admission, \u00a0 \u00a0attention<\/p>\n

\/ch\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 chip, \u00a0 picture, \u00a0 catch, \u00a0 tune, \u00a0 cello<\/p>\n

\/th\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0this, \u00a0 breathe<\/p>\n

\/th\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 thank<\/p>\n

\/ng\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0ring<\/p>\n

\/zh\/: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0treasure, \u00a0 \u00a0vision<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There are 174\u00a0common correspondences in the chart above, although Professor Greg Brooks has shown that there are 284 correspondences in his book The Dictionary of British English Spelling.<\/strong><\/div>\n
These alphabetic code charts have been\u00a0drawn up by\u00a0people analysing all the words of the English\u00a0language to find all the letter\/sound correspondences and the probability\u00a0of each correspondence\u00a0occurring.\u00a0They are ‘top down’<\/strong> constructs arrived at by people who are proficient\u00a0readers with years of literacy experience.<\/div>\n
However, children do not learn to read simply by matching sounds and spellings in this way. At age 5, they are only just becoming aware of the sounds within words. \u00a0Whilst they have been learning to speak they have been paying attention to the meaning of the words and phrases, not the sounds within them. Spoken language proceeds too fast in normal conversations to pay attention to the sounds in words.<\/div>\n
Children\u00a0learn to read and write by recognising a few words at a time, visually from the symbols, \u00a0and phonologically from the sounds, BUT<\/strong>\u00a0only if the words mean something to them<\/strong>.<\/div>\n
It is the\u00a0vocabulary of the learner that is the key to learning to read and write. \u00a0If the words\u00a0are meaningless to children, then the\u00a0whole exercise of sounds and symbols is meaningless too.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In the 17th century, the spellings of English words were ‘set in stone’ when the first dictionaries were written. These spellings have not changed over time. It is because of this, that we can read books written in previous centuries.\u00a0However, the 26 letters of the English alphabet are pronounced in many different ways in written […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":324,"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions\/324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jellyandbean.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}