SOUNDS AND SPELLING PATTERNS

To

get the pronunciations of some words correctly, phonetical rules are to be well studied. Sounds and spelling patterns expose you to the reasons why letters make different sounds in different words. The sound C makes in CENTRE is different from what it makes in CAMERA.

 The patterns shall be discussed below; 

CONSONANT SOUND /s/

 It's a fricative voiceless alveolar sound that attracts C, S and SC. 

Example; 

1. C: centre, face, cylinder etc. 

2. S: send, press, meets etc. 

3. SC: science, scene, scenario etc.

CONSONANT SOUND /ʃ/ 

It's a voiceless fricative palatal sound that attracts SH, CH, C, S, T etc. 

Example; 

1. SH: sheep, flesh, sharp etc. 

2. CH: chef, charlatan, creche etc. 

3. S: sugar, omission, admission etc. 

4. C: precious, gracious, ocean etc. 

5. T: rotation, caution, petition etc. 

 Note: In French words, CH sounds /ʃ/

CONSONANT SOUND /f/ 

It's a voiceless fricative labiodental sound that attracts F, PH, GH etc. 

Example; 

1. F: face, film, feature etc. 

2. PH: phonetic, physics, phase etc. 

3. GH: cough, laugh, tough etc. 

Note: GH is silent in right, fight, plough, bright, plight, weight etc. 

CONSONANT SOUND /dʒ/ 

It's a voiced palatal sound that attracts G, J, GE, DGE etc. 

Many a time, the letter that succeeded G determines the sound. 

Example; 

1. G: frigid, gym, gymnastics etc. 

2. J: joyful, jeep, juice etc. 

3. GE: large, divulge, marge etc. 

4. DGE: lodge, hedge, fudge etc. 

 Note: If G is followed by e, i or y, it sounds /dʒ/. If it does not followed by any of the letters, (e,i,y) it sounds /g/.

CONSONANT SOUND /tʃ/ 

It's a voiceless affricate palatal sound that attracts T, CH, TCH etc. 

Example; 

1. T: picture, rapture, venture etc. 

2. CH: church, chest, chap etc. 

3. TCH: catch, fetch, watch etc. 

CONSONANT SOUND /ʒ/ 

It's a voiced fricative palatal sound that attracts S and G.

Example; 

1. S: confusion, occasion, pleasure, measure, usual, erosion, television, vision, visual, evasion etc.  

2. G: garage, mirage, genre etc. 

CONSONANT SOUND /k/

It's a stop voiceless velar sound that attracts K, C, CH etc. 

Example; 

1. K: keg, kangaroo, kindergarten etc. 

2. C: calendar, capture, command etc. 

3. CH: chrome, chorus, chemistry etc. 

Note: CK could be combined to make the sound /k/, in words like; lock, cock, pluck, rock, buck, clock etc. If C on the other hand is followed by e, i or y; it makes /s/ (NOT /k/).

 In conclusion, many consonant sounds do not make a (one) sound, but two or more. Other consonant sounds attract digraph.