Phonics Generalizations

Consonant Generalizations

1. Consonant letters are fairly reliable: There is a high relationship between the letter and the sound (/ /) we expect it to represent. However there are irregularities:

a. A letter may represent more than one phoneme. Some common patterns are:

• c: / k / , / s /
• d: / d /, / t /
• g: / g /, / j /
• n: / n / , / ng /
• s: / s /, /sh/, / z /, / zh /
• z: /z/, / s /, / zh /

b. A phoneme may be represented by more than one letter. Some common patterns are:

• / f /: f, gh, ph
• / j /: j, g, dg, d
• / k /: k, ch, q
• / s /: s, z
• / w /: w, u
• / z /: z, s

c. A letter may represent no phoneme, that is, it may be silent. When two like-consonants appear together, the second usually is silent. Some common silent letter patterns occurring in the same syllable are:

• b following m
• b followed by t
• c following s
• c followed by k
• g followed by n
• h following k, g, r, following a vowel and as the initial letter in certain words
• k followed by n
• l followed by m, k, d
• p followed by s, t, n
• t following f; followed by ch

2. When the letter c or g is followed by e, i, or y, it usually represents its soft sound as in city or gem; when c or g is followed by any other letter or appears at the end of a word, it usually represents its hard sound as in cup or go.

3. The suffix ed usually forms a separate syllable when it is preceded by t or d. When ed does not form a separate syllable, the d may represent / t / or / d /.

4. The letter q always represents / k /.

5. The letters c, q, and x have no distinctive phonemes of their own.

6. The consonants w and y are positioned before the vowel in a syllable, The consonant y is never silent.

7. We use two-letter combinations (digraphs) to represent the seven consonant phonemes not represented by single letters

Vowel Generalizations

1. A letter may represent more than one phoneme.
2. A phoneme may be represented by more than one vowel letter.
3. A letter may represent no phoneme, that is, it may be silent.
4. When a one-syllable word or accented syllable contains two vowels, one of which is a final e , the first vowel usually represents its long sound and the final e is silent.
5. A single vowel in an open accented syllable often represents its long sound.
6. A single vowel in a closed accented syllable usually represents its short sound.
7. When i is followed by gh or when i or o is followed by ld, the vowel usually represents its long sound.
8. If the only vowel letter in a word is followed by r, the vowel sound will be affected by that r.
9. If the only vowel in a word or syllable is an a followed by l or w, the sound of the a is usually that heard in tall.
10. When two vowel letters appear together in a one-syllable word or in an accented syllable, the first vowel often represents its long sound and the second is silent. This holds true most often for ai, oa, ee, ey, ay combinations.
11. The vowel y always follows the vowel or is the only vowel in a syllable and is silent or represents the phonemes we associate with i or e.
12. Although a syllable may have more than one vowel letter, there is only one vowel phoneme in a syllable.
13. The vowel phoneme is the most prominent part of the syllable.
14. Vowels behave differently in accented and unaccented syllables. The vowel is most clearly heard in the accented syllable.
15. The vowel in most unaccented syllables represents the /
16. /or //.