ENGLISH PHONOGRAMS
Because many speech sounds in English can be spelled more than one way, largely due to the
heavy influence of foreign words in our language, the learner may encounter some difficulty
pronouncing and spelling certain words, Although the major English phonograms (letters and
sounds they represent) have been covered in the Alpha-Phonics Workbook, the following table of
phonograms can further assist the student with spelling and dictionary use This list includes
common as well as no-so-common spelling forms.
We suggest use of this table after the learner has achieved mastery of the Alpha-Phonics
program.
Sound Spelling Sample Words
a ai plaid
(as in pat) al calf, half
au laugh
s ai rain, paid, pain
(a as in fade) au gauge
ay day, payment, tray
e bouquet, suede
ea great, steak, break
ei reindeer, veil, beige
eig reign, feign
eigh eight, weight, sleigh
ey they, obey
a ae aerobatics, aerosol
(as in rare) ai air, fair, chair
ay prayer
e there, where
ea bear, pear, wear
ei their
hei heir
a ah ah, hah
(as in father) al calm, palm
e sergeant
ea heart
b bb cabbage, ebb, robber
(as in Bob) pb cupboard, raspberry
ch c cello, Leonardo da Vinci
(as in chin) c Czech
tch batch, catch, wretched
ti suggestion, retention
tu venture, nature
d ed played, sailed
(as in did) dd ladder, saddle
e a any, many
(as in pen) ae aesthetic
ai again, said
ay says
ea bread, measure, sweater
ee been
eo leopard
ie friend
u burial
e ae Caesar
(as in she) ea beach, each, sea
ee beet, sleep
ei conceit, receive
eo people
ey key, money
i mini, piano
ie believer, niece
oe phoenix
y funny, study, pretty
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f ff huff, sniff
(as in fifteen) gh enough, rough
lf calf, half
ph alphabet, phonics, Ralph
g gg bragged, dragged
(as in gas) gh ghastly, ghost
gue guerrilla, guess, catalogue
h wh Who, whole
(as in hot) j San Jose, La Jolla
i a climate, village
(as in sit e enough, recite
ee been
ia marriage
o women
u busy
ui built, guilt
y cyst, syllable, system
i ai aisle
(as in time) ay aye, bayou
ei height, seismograph
ey eye
ie pie, tie
igh high, night, right
is isle, island
ui guise
uy buy
y sky, try
ye rye
i e here, mere
(a in pier) ea ear, near
ee deer, steer
ei weird
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j d graduate, individual
(as in jam) dg/dge fudge, judgment, smudge
di soldier
dj adjective
g gem, ginger, register
ge merge, surge
gg exaggerate
k c cat, crop, zinc
(a in king) cc accord, accomplish
cch saccharin
ch ache, chaos, chrome, school
ck crack, knack, pickle
cqu lacquer
cu biscuit, circuit
lk talk, walking
qu/que plaque, liquor, torque
kw ch choir
(as in quit) cqu acquaint, acquire, acquit
l ll Lloyd, tall
(l as in lip)
m gm paradigm, phlegm
(as in mom) lm calm, psalm
mb crumb, thumb
mm hammer, tummy
mn autumn, hymn
n gn align, gnat
(as in no) kn knee, knife, knowledge
nn funny, winner
pn pneumonia
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ng ngue tongue
(as in sing)
o a watch, waffle
(as in hot) ho honest, honor
o eau beau, bureau
(as in so) eo yeoman
ew sew
oa coach, goal, toast
oe foe, Joe
oh oh, ohm
ou boulder, shoulder
ough dough, though, through
ow/owe low, snow, owe
o a tall, water
(as in saw) al talk, salt
ah Utah
ar swarm, warm
as Arkansas
au caught, daughter
aw awful, brawl
oa broad
ough bought, thought
oi oy boy, joy
(as in noise)
ou au sauerkraut
(as in out) hou hour
ou doubt, shout
ow cow, flower
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oo o wolf, woman
(as in cook) ou could, would
u bush, cushion
o a watch, waffle
(as in hot) ho honest, honor
oo eu deuce, maneuver
(as in zoo) ew flew, new
ieu lieu, lieutenant
o do, move
oe canoe
ou group, you, youth
ough through
u crude, rude
ue blue, flue
ui fruit, juice
o a tall, water
(as in saw) al talk, salt
ah Utah
ar swarm, warm
as Arkansas
au caught, daughter
aw awful, brawl
oa broad
ough bought, thought
p pp happy, dipper
(as in pop)
r rh rhyme, rhythm
(a in run) rr carry, sorry
wr write, wrist, wrote
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s c cent, cycle
(as in sat) ce face, practice
ps psychology, psychic
sc fascinate, scene, science
ss messy, pass
st listen whistle
sth asthmatic, isthmus
sh ce ocean
(as in ship) ch chef
ci ferocious, special
s sugar, sugar
sc conscience, conscious
sch schwa
se gaseous, nauseous
si emulsion, mansion, pension
ss issue, mission, session
ti action, national, vibration
t bt debt, doubt
(as in tie) ed dumped, pushed
ght bought, fought, night
pt pterodactyl
th Thomas
tt better, hotter
tw two
th th thin, both (voiceless)
(as in think) th then, smooth (voiced)
u o some, son
(as in cut) oe does
oo blood, flood
ou double, trouble
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u eau beautiful
(as in use) eu Europe, feud
ew few, pew
iew review, view
u cute, pure
ue cue, rescue
you bayou, you, youth
yu Cayuga, yule
ur ear earn, learn, search
(as in burn) er serve, term
eur restaurateur
ir bird, first, third
or word, work
our journal, journey
v f of
(as in vet) ph Stephen
w o one, once
(as in with) u guava, suede
x x Note: the letter x spells six
(as in fox) sounds in English: ks as in
wax; gz as in example, exist:
sh as in anxious; ghz as in
luxury; ksh as in noxious;
and z as in anxiety,
xylophone.
y io onion, opinion
(as in yes)
z cz Czar
(as in zigzag) s hers, his, pleasant, was
ss dessert
x Xerox, xylophone
zz buzz, fuzz
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zh ge beige, garage, mirage
s measure, pleasure, vision
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Note from Internet Publisher: Donald L. Potter
May 18, 2020
This phonogram approach to English orthography (spelling) dispenses with silent letters. I am not
sure who prepared this document. I found it at the back of the Literacy Unlimited edition of Alpha-
Phonics. As far as I can recall, Sam never mentioned this to me. Perhaps Sam himself or linguist
involved in the Literacy Unlimited project created it.
I notice that this approach is similar to Romald Spalding’s Writing Road to Reading. Her unique
approach to phonograms “swallows up” the silent letters in the phonogram. For example: instead
of considering k in kn as a silent letter, this approach considers the unit [kn] as representing the
phonogram (irreducible speech sound) /n/. Spalding would call it a “two letter /n/.”
For more information on the work of Samuel L. Blumenfeld, you can visit my webpage dedicate
to promoting his brilliant work. I cannot imagine - nor do I care to imagine - what my career as a
reading teacher might have been without his influence.
www.donpotter.net
http://donpotter.net/reading_clinic.html
Mr. Blumenfeld was born in 1927. He passed away on June 1, 2015.
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