English alphabet uses Latin letters, consists of 26 letters (it can be noted children, which in the Russian alphabet, as many as 33 letters, 7 letters more).

English letters: A, E, I, O, U represent vowel sounds.

English letters: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z convey consonants.

The letter Y is a kind of defector-spy in English alphabet, can convey both a consonant (as in the words "yellow", "yacht", "yam", "yesterday"), and a vowel sound (for example, in the words "cry", "sky", "fly", "why" ).

It is good to show children how to distinguish vowels from consonants in English alphabet:

1) Firstly, we can sing vowels, for example: AAAA, but consonants cannot be pulled in the song, they do not stretch: B

2) Secondly, when pronouncing vowels, the mouth usually opens wider and nothing prevents the pronunciation of vowels, and when we pronounce consonants, the air meets various obstacles (lips, tongue, teeth).

Alphabet with transcription

A a	Bb	c c	D d
e e	F f	G g[ʤi:]	H h
I i	J j[ʤei]	Kk	l l
M m	N n	O o	Pp
Q q	R r	S s	T t
U u	Vv	W w[‘dablju:]
X x	Y y	Zz

English alphabet with approximate pronunciation in Russian.

	Letter (large / small)	Name pronunciation letters in English	Pronunciation of the name of the letter in Russian (approximate)

The phonetic system of many European languages ​​is generally of the same type and has a certain structure.

Of course, a big role in the pronunciation of vowels in English words intonation plays. There are certain rules for leading it up and down, as well as for individual revolutions, for example, there is and there are.

However, in phonology of English language the presentation of English letters and their corresponding phonemes is properly ordered.

Let's try to process and structure the existing extensive material for compact and easy assimilation, applying the principle of comparative studies - comparison with the phonetics of the Russian language, where possible.

There are 6 vowels in English:

If you look closely at the capital and uppercase versions of the same one, you can see that vowels such as O and U have identical spellings.

Transcription of vowels in English

Absolutely everyone who has encountered the study English phonetics, has difficulty in correctly understanding the transcription of vowels.

The fact is that in the transcriptional incarnation, the pronunciation of English vowels is not similar to, for example, identical Russian vowels. This circumstance is explained primarily by the different history of origin.

Thus, the system of English vowel phonemes goes back to diphthongic combinations of sounds.

Graphically, a transcribed sound is indicated by enclosing it in either square brackets () or slash brackets (/ /)

Consider the transcription of English letters:

Letter	Designated sound
— A a
—E e	*
— I i
— O o
— U u
— Y y

The sign ":" after the vowel indicates the so-called longitude. This means that the sound must be pronounced with a somewhat drawn-out continuation.

Read also

Rules for reading vowels in English

However, the table above does not yet indicate that all the sounds denoted by five English letters transcribed in the same way.

As you know, there are only six vowels, but there are much more sounds that can graphically denote these letters - about 24.

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Long vowels in English, examples

There are much more long vowels in the language. For the most part, they are pronounced in monophthongs - the articulation does not change during the entire time the sound is played.

As already mentioned, in transcription such vowels are indicated by the sign ":".

For example:

• Good
• Arduous

Long gone are the days when runic signs were used in English, like “thron” - “thorn”, “wynn” - “wynn”, “eth” - “et”, “ethel” - “ethel” or “ eng" - "eng". Then the question arises - how many letters were there in the English alphabet in ancient times, if there were others besides those that we know today? Old English had 23 letters of the alphabet. Over time, the English language, like any other, has undergone significant changes, and the modern generation will certainly not understand the meaning of the word "feohtan" (fight - struggle). Letters that look quite modern could previously have a completely different sound and be transmitted, say, with only one sound (unlike the vowels that we have today).

How many letters are in the English alphabet today?

The modern alphabet of the English language is based on the Latin alphabet (26 letters in total). Each of the 26 letters can be represented by one or more sounds. The name of a letter can also serve as one of its sounds. For example, the letter A can sound like a long a, ah, or ae. It can occupy different positions in a word. For example, A in various positions: ape (monkey), cat (cat), zebra (zebra).

A letter can be used more than once in the same word. If this happens, then the sounds in this word can be either the same or different from each other. Words that have repeated letters: clock (wall or table clock), kettle (kettle), airplane (airplane), apartment (room).

How many letters are in the English alphabet: how many vowels, how many consonants?

There are two types of letters: consonants and vowels. The main difference is in the articulation. When pronouncing consonants, the airflow is interrupted or restricted by the position of the tongue, teeth, or lips. Most of them are transmitted with only one sound and rarely sound like the name of the letter itself. Based on the knowledge of how many letters are in the English alphabet, we can conclude that most of the letters are consonants (21 letters).

Consonants with examples

B: boy (boy), bear (bear), ball (ball), blow (blow), boat (boat), boot (boot), back (back), bed (bed), bird (bird), bread (bread ), begin (start), breakfast (breakfast), bright (bright).

С: car (machine), candle (candle), centipede (centipede), cause (cause), cloth (fabric), container (container), cow (cow), crowd (crowd), city (city), command (order ).

D: dance (dance), date (date), describe (describe), destroy (destroy), dictionary (dictionary), difficult (difficult), direction (direction), district (district), dream (to dream).

F: face (face), fact (fact, event), finger (finger), fail (fail to do something), farm (farm), fear (fear), field (field), fight (fight), fire (the fire).

G: game (game, party), garden (garden, vegetable garden), gather (gather), glass (glass), goods (goods), government (government), grass (grass), greet (greet), ground (earth) , guest (guest).

H: hair (hair), handle (pen), half (half), happen (happen), hard (hard), hate (hate), health (health), heavy (heavy), holiday (holiday), hunger (hunger ).

J: job (work), join (connect), joke (joke), journey (trip, journey), jump (jump), just (just).

K: keep (keep, store), key (key), kill (kill), kind (kind), kiss (kiss), kitchen (kitchen), knife (knife), knock (knock), know (know), knowledge (knowledge).

L: labor (work), lamp (lamp), language (language), last (last), laugh (laugh), lazy (lazy), learn (learn), dufma (leave), lesson (lesson), lie (lie ), luck (luck).

M: make (do), manage (be able, succeed), map (map), mark (mark), marry (marry / get married), master (master any skills, knowledge), mood (mood).

N: narrow (narrow), native (native), neighbor (neighbor), news (news), next (next), night (night), noon (noon), nose (nose), note (note), notice (notice ), now (now).

P: page (page), parent (parent), pass (pass / pass / take the exam), patient (take the exam), perfect (perfect), pick (pick), pillow (pillow), press (press).

Q: quantity (quantity), quality (quality), quarrel (quarrel), quarter (quarter), question (question), quiet (calm), quick (quick), quite (quite / completely);

R: rain (rain), raw (raw), reach (reach out for something), receive (receive), refuse (refuse), repair (repair), reply (answer), rest (rest), roof (roof ).

S: safe (safe), sand (sand), seem (seem), sense (feeling), servant (servant), serve (serve), several (several), sheet (sheet), shut (close), skin (skin ), spoon (spoon), supper (dinner).

T: talk (to speak), term (term); thank (thank), title (title), tonight (today), train (train), translate (translate), trip (trip), trouble (care), turn (rotate).

V: vacation (vacation), value (value), various (various), vegetable (vegetable), victory (victory), visit (visit), voice (voice).

W: wait (wait), walk (walk), wall (wall), warm (warm), weak (weak), weigh (weigh, weigh), wet (wet), whistle (whistle), wool (wool), worth (standing).

X: xylophone (xylophone), x-ray (X-rays).

Y: yellow (yellow), year (year), yesterday (yesterday), yet (still / yet), young (young).

Z: zero (zero), zoo (zoo).

Vowels with examples

When vowels are sounded, the airflow flows freely through the mouth. How many letters are in the English vowel alphabet? Five of the 26 letters of the alphabet are vowels: A, E, I, O, and U. The letter Y is sometimes considered sixth on this list because it can sometimes sound like vowels.
Unlike consonants, each of the vowels is conveyed by more than one sound, or, conversely, may convey no sound at all. Let's take a closer look at how many letters are in the English alphabet (vowels, in our case), and study them with examples.

A: able (to be able), abroad (abroad), action (action), advice (advice), afterwards (later / subsequently), agree (agree), aim (aim / intend), allow (allow).

E: earth (earth), ear (ear), easy (light), enemy (enemy), enter (enter), event (event), except (except), exist (exist), explain (explain), eye ( eye), examine (examine).

I: ice (ice), idea (thought), ill (sick), important (important), indeed (really), interest (interest), interval (break), introduce (introduce), invite (invite), island (island ).

O: occupy (occupy), old (old), open (open), opposite (opposite), oral (oral), order (order), own (own).

U: uncle (uncle), unemployed (unemployed), unless (if not), useful (useful), usual (usual).

By adding consonants and vowels, you can calculate how many letters in the English alphabet - 26.

When the pronunciation of vowel sounds coincides with the name of the letters, then in this case we are talking about long sounds. Vowels can also be short. Whether a vowel is conveyed by a long sound, a short sound, or no sound at all depends on the position of the letter in the word and its proximity to other letters.

26 or 44?

Those who are just starting to learn a language, when reading, often get confused between the names of letters and the sounds that these letters are transmitted. It is worth distinguishing how many letters in the English alphabet and how many sounds - 26 letters and 44 English sounds (19 vowels and 25 consonants).

The English language is becoming more and more widespread every day. Today it is spoken by most of the world's population, which automatically makes it international language communication. In addition to the American continents, it is studied in Europe and Asia. Australia, being part of the former British Empire, has long recognized English official language. If in Western Europe American and British English are studied by children from a very early age, then in Russia, Ukraine and other CIS countries it is treated very mediocrely. The school curriculum casually goes through the most frequent words, while the children are not really explained the rules for their use. All this makes people learn on their own, which is much more difficult. Today we will look at how vowels are used. English alphabet in words. They affect the quality of pronunciation and perception of the language.

The consonants of the English alphabet are the basis of all words. Total letters - 26, of which 20 are consonants, and there are only 6 vowels in English. Despite such a meager number, they can take various forms pronunciation, as a result, from 6 letters, about 20-24 sounds are obtained. All vowels and consonants are listed in the table below:

As you can see in the picture, the vowels in the English alphabet are highlighted yellow. A transcription is written next to each letter, thanks to which you can learn how to pronounce this or that letter correctly. The need for transcription has always been due to the fact that to explain correct pronunciation on the example of the Russian language is simply impossible. If in Russian one letter is equal to one sound, then most of the vowels in the English alphabet are pronounced using a combination of two phonemes.

The last letter "Yy" can be a vowel or a consonant, depending on the type of syllable. This should be taken into account when reading morphemic analysis words. Which sound will determine this or that letter depends on its position in the word and syllable.

Types of syllables in the English alphabet

At the lessons of the Russian language, everyone studied an unshakable rule: how many vowels in a word, so many syllables in it. This also applies to the English language, which greatly simplifies its learning. For example, take the word "octopus", which means "octopus". Oc-to-pus - three vowels and three syllables. The example is remarkable in that it has everything we need: open and closed syllables.

open syllable

This concept means a syllable that ends in a vowel or consists of one vowel:

1. And [hey] - the indefinite article, consisting of one letter, is an open syllable. Therefore, the article is read as indicated in the transcription.
2. Rules (rules) - consists of two syllables, but only the first is open. Therefore, "u" is read as in transcription, and "e" practically disappears from the word during pronunciation.
3. Far (far) - the syllable is closed. Therefore, instead of [hey], a long [a] is pronounced.

Consonants and their combinations often change the phonetic meaning of vowels in the English alphabet, forming non-syllables of different types.

Closed syllable

Book, cook, root, meet, flat, and other words where a consonant closes a syllable are words with closed syllables. In the examples listed above, "oo" is read as Russian "u", "a" instead of [hey] is read as Russian "a".

Vowels of the English alphabet: reading features

You already know that there are far fewer vowels in the English alphabet than their sounds. What else can affect the quality of pronunciation of phonemes besides the type of syllable in a word? We will go over a few basic rules that will help you start pronouncing words correctly and improve your reading skills in a foreign language.

1. The presence of the letter "R" in the word. If the letter is present in open syllable, it is practically unreadable and merges with the adjacent vowel. This produces a sound similar to the Russian "e". If the letter is in a closed syllable, then it affects the duration of the pronunciation of the vowel: long sounds become short and vice versa.
2. stress. If the accent falls on the letters "a", "o" or "u", then their pronunciation is practically not performed. They are read casually, the duration of emphasis on these sounds is extremely short. The result is again a sound similar to the Russian "e". For example, the combination sofa-bed (sofa bed) is pronounced together, its transcription looks like [‘soufǝbǝd]. If the accent falls on "i", "e" or "y", they are pronounced like the Russian "i". For example: city, enemy.
3. Pronunciation speed. When speaking quickly, it may turn out that the stress in the word is not recognized at all. This results in the fact that a long vowel shortens the length of its pronunciation or disappears from the word altogether. All pronouns in English are pronounced with short vowels, although the rules are to speak with long phonemes.
4. Weak and strong forms. Short vowels are automatically considered weak, since they cannot take on stress, but in combination with other letters they can form new sounds. Weak short forms are mainly expressed in particles, articles and pronouns. In full-fledged words, strong long phonemes are much more common.

The most incomprehensible for a Russian-speaking person in the study of the vowels of the English alphabet is the analysis of diphthongs. The combination of two sounds for the pronunciation of one letter is new to the Russian language. For a general understanding, it is worth noting that all diphthongs are pronounced briefly, but their position in the word relative to consonants and the type of consonants themselves matter. Before deaf sounds like "f", "h", "s", "t" and others, diphthongs practically disappear from sound pronunciation and become very short.

English speech is proclaimed international. With its help, citizens living in all points communicate the globe. The vowels of the English alphabet are a significant phonetic branch that helps to gain skills in the formation of speech units. The alphabet contains 26 characters, 6 of which are vowels.

They are easily distinguished from consonants. First, vowels are components of the alphabet that are drawn and sung. They are pronounced smoothly, unhindered.

Formation of foreign speech units

Despite the fact that the vowel components are a minority in the English alphabet, they give rise to more than two dozen sound variations. The sound that a symbol gives rise to when reading is due to its position in the word. The sound may vary based on the combination of characters that include a vowel. The reading is influenced by the type of syllable in which the vowel is placed - open or closed. In Russian speech, each element makes one sound. In a foreign alphabet, the components give rise to a double sound. For a rational, accurate reading, it is necessary to resort to transcription.

The vowel characters of the English alphabet are: a, e, i, o, u. The symbol y belongs to both categories.

Transcription of vowels in the English alphabet

Symbols are reproduced in different ways, based on the type of syllable in which combinations of elements are placed. To determine how it reads, focus on transcription. This is a rational sound, enclosed in square brackets.

Symbol	Pronunciation	Russian version
a		hey
e		viscous and
i		ah
o		OU
u		viscous yu
y		ah

Criteria for sounding vowels of the English alphabet

In English, the principles of reading differ from those in Russian.

Principles

• The impact on the sound is expressed by the symbol "r" and the variation of part of the words.

In the open parts, the vowels of the English alphabet in conjunction with "r" create an indifferent pronunciation. In closed parts, they are pronounced at length.

• If the part in which the vowel is located falls under pressure, it turns into a very short one, it may not sound at all.
• If the part is not stressed, then the length is shortened during pronunciation.

English vowels in open syllables

• The foreign language "a" is available in the form of an independent speech unit - the article.

AT this case the symbol is located in the open part, chanted [hey].

• Characters located in open parts are pronounced as indicated in brackets.

Consonant symbols of the English alphabet, their combinations can radically change the reading of vowels.

Vowels in closed parts

A syllable ending in a consonant is considered closed. The vowel part of the alphabet, which is under pressure, is followed by one or two consonant characters. In closed parts, vowels are pronounced abruptly.

Inherent features of reading vowels in foreign speech

There are fewer vowels in the English alphabet. The option of reading them is formed by some indicators.

• The location in the word of the character "r".

If it is in the open part, then it is not pronounced, or it is connected with adjacent consonants. It turns out a pronunciation consonant with the Russian pronunciation "e". If it is located in closed parts, it affects the length of vowels: either lengthens or shortens them.

• stress.

If the letters “o”, “u”, “a” fall under stress, then they do not sound when reading, or they are pronounced blurry, indistinctly. If the letters “e”, “i”, “y” fall under the stress, then they are pronounced as “and”.

• Strong and weak variations.

Shortened vowels are called weak, they do not fall under stress, but in conjunction with other characters give rise to new sounds. Weak variations exist in additional particles, pronouns, articles. There are powerful variations in nouns and verbs.

Consonant components of the English alphabet

The consonants of the English alphabet are divided into two categories: voiced, deaf. Voiced are spoken in speech units, as self-sufficient sounds, and in combinations with some other symbols. For example, when (when), a combination of wh. The voiced category includes: sz, b, d, j, l, m, n, ng, r, th.

Deaf recognized: ch, f, k, p, s, sh, t, th.

Interesting facts about English characters

1. The alphabet element x generates two sounds - [x], [s].
2. The English alphabet is less than the Russian alphabet by 7 characters.
3. The most frequently used elements in foreign words– e and t. The least frequently used element of the alphabet is q.
4. The dot i is called tittle, which means "miniature drop".
5. The element of the English alphabet "y" is both a vowel and a consonant.

The vowels and consonants of the English alphabet have distinctive features. To speak rationally foreign words, it is necessary to consider phonetic requirements, transcription. It demonstrates how vowels are pronounced in syllables, bundles of symbols.