Spelling means forming a word with letters according to established rules. Normally, what we understand by spelling is to know which letters to use and in which pattern while writing a word. But phonetic spelling serves us a bit more than that. It teaches us how to pronounce a word!
For a person whoâ™s learning a new language, or struggling with name pronunciation, Phonetic spelling is invaluable. In this article, youâ™ll find out more about how to use this method to improve not only your spelling skill, but your speaking and listening skill too.
Letâ™s start with the basics. What is Phonetic Spelling? It is a device for pronunciation that requires writing out words according to how each syllable is spoken. In simple terms, phonetic spelling is a way to spell a word the way it sounds.
In phonetic spelling method, each sound is assigned at least one letter or a combination of letters. But there are cases where a letter or a combination of letters sounds differently or same sound is spelled differently. Phonetic spelling comes handy in these cases.
Consider the word â˜Paperâ™. The letter â˜Pâ™ is assigned the sound /p/. But if â˜Pâ™ is paired with â˜Hâ™, for example in â˜Photoâ™, â˜phâ™ sounds like /f/.
Similarly, â˜Tâ™ in â˜Tableâ™ is assigned the sound /t/. But when pairing with h, such as in â˜Thisâ™, it creates a new sound. But again, â˜thâ™ in â˜thisâ™ and â˜thâ™ in â˜thinâ™ makes different sound. It is difficult to know about the difference if youâ™re learning the word by reading.
Now, think about the word â˜Potatoâ™. You might be considering to pronounce it as â˜po-ta-toâ™ but the word is actually pronounced â˜puh-tei-towâ™.
Similarly, according to phonetic spelling, â˜bananaâ™ should be â˜buh-nAn-uhâ™. This spelling tells you to emphasize on the A in the middle of the word which couldnâ™t be known from traditional spelling.
English is not an easy language. There are many rules and patterns of spelling and the same amount of exceptions of those rules. A common problem we all face is that the spelling of a word is often different from how it sounds which makes both speaking and writing complicated.
Here are some cases for you to understand better:
The phonetic stage of spelling development is a very important stage for any new learner. Check out our additional article on the topic!
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system where each sound in English language is assigned a symbol. You can learn how to pronounce a certain word in English appropriately using this method.
Here are some examples of the alphabets:
 IPA Symbol |
Word examples |
e |
Bent, gentlemen, ten, better. |
æ |
Cat, and, cap, fat, have. |
Ê |
Run, love, honey, one, come, gone  |
Ê |
Put, Book, could, nook, would, mood, boot |
É’ |
Cob, pop, match, squat, sausage. |
É™ |
Alive, again, mother. |
 IPA Symbol |
Word examples |
i: |
Free, neat, beam, team |
É: |
Curse, heard, bird, burn. |
É”: |
Talk, paw, bored, dawn, jaw. |
u: |
Few, boot, lose, gloomy, fruit, chew. |
É: |
Fast, car, hard, bath. |
IPA Symbol |
Word examples |
ɪə |
Near, ear, clear, tear, beer, fear |
eÉ™ |
Hair, there, care, stairs, pear |
eɪ |
Face, space, rain , case, eight |
ɔɪ |
Joy, employ, toy, coil, oyster. |
aɪ |
My, sight, pride, kind, flight |
É™Ê |
No, donâ™t, stones, alone, hole |
aÊ |
Mouth, house, brown, cow, out |
IPA Symbol |
Word examples |
f |
Full, Friday, fish, knife. |
v |
Vest, village, view, cave. |
θ |
Thought, think, Bath. |
ð |
There, those, brothers, others. |
 |
Zoo, crazy, lazy, zigzag, nose. |
Ê |
Shirt, rush, shop, cash. |
Ê’ |
Television, delusion, casual |
h |
High, help, hello. |
IPA Symbol |
Word examples |
p |
Pin, cap, purpose, pause. |
b |
Bag, bubble, build, robe. |
t |
Time, train, tow, late. |
d |
Door, day, drive, down, feed. |
k |
Cash, quick, cricket, sock. |
g |
Girl, green, grass, flag. |
IPA Symbol |
Word examples |
ÊÊ |
Choose, cheese, church, watch. |
dÊ’ |
Joy, juggle, juice, stage. |
IPA Symbol |
Word examples |
m |
Room, mother, mad, more. |
n |
Now, nobody, knew, turn. |
Å |
King, thing, song, swimming. |
IPA Symbol |
Word examples |
r |
Road, roses, river, ring, ride. |
j |
Yellow, usual, tune, yesterday, yard. |
w |
Wall, walk, wine, world. |
l and É« |
Law, lots, leap, long, pill, cold, chill, melt. |
Many adults deal with difficulties related to spelling. Learn more about spelling difficulties in adults now!
Phonetic spelling charts are immensely helpful for teaching and personal use. You can make your own using these simple steps:
Below you can find the list of phonetic symbols used for sounds in English Language. There are also words as example included. They are divided based on vowel and consonant.
Phonetic Symbol for Consonant Sound |
Sounds Like |
IPA Symbol |
B |
bone, bulb |
/b/ |
Ch |
chicken, picture |
/tÊ/ |
D |
dodge, forbid |
/d/ |
Dh |
author, then |
/ð/ |
F |
feather, tough, ruffle |
/f/ |
G |
green, beg, egg |
/É¡/ |
H |
hint, redhead |
/h/ |
J |
jam, gentle, ledger |
/dÊ’/ |
K |
cot, kettle, skip, pickle |
/h/ |
Kh |
loch, Hanukah |
/x/ |
Phonetic Symbol for Vowel Sound |
Sounds Like |
IPA Symbol |
A |
Cap, slap |
/æ/ |
ah or aa |
mother, father |
/ÉË/ |
Air |
spare, pair |
/ÉÉ™r/ |
ay or ai |
cape, bait |
/eɪ/ |
e or eh |
nest, blessings |
/É/ |
ee |
Fleet, plead |
/i/ |
eer |
Pear, beer |
/ɪər/ |
You might be wondering about how to use the phonetic symbols to learn words. Have you ever tried to google how to pronounce a word, or meaning of a word? They use the IPA symbols to teach the pronunciation.
There are dictionaries such as Oxford Learnerâ™s Dictionary for Academic English or Oxford Advance Learners Dictionary which include the phonetic spelling of the word along with the traditional spelling and definition.
You may check out tophonetics which is a website that converts any text word given into the IPA phonetic transcription.
Also, easypronunciation gives you option to choose from American English and British English and offers phonetic spelling in both. This is a useful tool for you to understand the accents better. Macmillandictionary is an online dictionary that offers the same service.
Here are some examples of phonetic spelling for you to understand the use of phonetic symbols found in the phonetic spelling dictionaries:
iË |
see |
/siË/ |
i |
happy |
/Ëhæpi/ |
ɪ |
sit |
/sɪt/ |
e |
bed |
/bed/ |
æ |
cat |
/kæt/ |
ÉË |
father |
/ËfÉËðə(r)/ |
É’ |
got |
/ɡɒt/ |
É”Ë |
saw |
/sÉ”Ë/ |
Ê |
put |
/pÊt/ |
u |
actual |
/ËæktÊuÉ™l/ |
uË |
too |
/tuË/ |
Ê |
cup |
/kÊp/ |
ÉË |
fur |
/fÉË(r)/ |
É™ |
about |
/É™ËbaÊt/ |
eɪ |
say |
/seɪ/ |
É™Ê |
go |
/ɡəÊ/ |
aɪ |
my |
/maɪ/ |
ɔɪ |
boy |
/bɔɪ/ |
aÊ |
now |
/naÊ/ |
ɪə |
near |
/nɪə(r)/ |
eÉ™ |
hair |
/heÉ™(r)/ |
ÊÉ™ |
pure |
/pjÊÉ™(r)/ |
There are also other ways a student can learn the pronunciation of every words. Check out our spelling through morphographs guide to learn more about it.
p |
pen |
/pen/ |
b |
bad |
/bæd/ |
t |
tea |
/tiË/ |
d |
did |
/dɪd/ |
k |
cat |
/kæt/ |
É¡ |
get |
/ɡet/ |
tÊ |
chain |
/tÊeɪn/ |
dÊ’ |
jam |
/dʒæm/ |
f |
fall |
/fÉ”Ël/ |
v |
van |
/væn/ |
θ |
thin |
/θɪn/ |
ð |
this |
/ðɪs/ |
s |
see |
/siË/ |
z |
zoo |
/zuË/ |
Ê |
shoe |
/ÊuË/ |
Ê’ |
vision |
/Ëvɪʒn/ |
h |
hat |
/hæt/ |
m |
man |
/mæn/ |
n |
now |
/naÊ/ |
Å |
sing |
/sɪÅ/ |
l |
leg |
/leɡ/ |
r |
red |
/red/ |
j |
yes |
/jes/ |
w |
wet |
/wet/ |
apple |
Ap-uhl |
/Ëæp.É™l/ |
bottle |
bOt-l |
/ËbÉ’.tÉ™l/ |
diner |
dIn-uhr |
/ËdɪnÉ/ |
eaten |
EEt-n |
/ËitnÌ©/ |
fence |
fEnts |
/ËfÉnts/ |
Hannah |
HAN-uh |
/hËanÉ™/ |
John |
Jon |
/dâÊ’ËÉ’n/ |
puppy |
PUH·pee |
/ËpÊpi/ |
Sarah |
sehr-uh |
/sËÉËɹə/ |
Now that you have got a basic idea about how phonetic spelling works and how it might be useful to you, explore it more to strengthen your pronunciation skill. Donâ™t forget to maintain a notebook for what you have learn and review them once in a while. Check SpellQuiz Vocabulary test to assess your vocabulary range. You can also check out SpellQuizâ™s Spelling Bee Online (SBO) test to check out your true spelling potential. Good Luck!
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