What is phonetic spelling of a word

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 who’s learning a new language, or struggling with name pronunciation, Phonetic spelling is invaluable. In this article, you’ll find out more about how to use this method to improve not only your spelling skill, but your speaking and listening skill too.

Phonetic Spelling Definition

Let’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 Paper’. The letter P’ is assigned the sound /p/. But if P’ is paired with H’, for example in Photo’, ph’ sounds like /f/.

Similarly, T’ in Table’ is assigned the sound /t/. But when pairing with h, such as in This’, it creates a new sound. But again, th’ in this’ and th’ in thin’ makes different sound. It is difficult to know about the difference if you’re learning the word by reading.

Now, think about the word Potato’. You might be considering to pronounce it as po-ta-to’ but the word is actually pronounced puh-tei-tow’.

Similarly, according to phonetic spelling, banana’ should be buh-nAn-uh’. This spelling tells you to emphasize on the A in the middle of the word which couldn’t be known from traditional spelling.

How is Phonetic Spelling Useful?

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.

But How does Phonetic Spelling Help in This Situation?

Here are some cases for you to understand better:

• In cases of public speaking, such as giving speeches, news reading, announcing names at graduation ceremonies or sports events, phonetic spelling is of great help.
• It is a sound-based guide for pronunciation that is especially helpful for uncommon terms such as medical or engineering terminology, culinary terms etc.
• The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) provides symbols for different sounds that are common for all languages. So if you are learning a new language beside your native one, it would help you in many extent.
• Phonetic spelling is easy to use for all levels of learners.
  • Kindergarten students find it easy to spell words with phonetic spelling. For example: Bat’ sounds exactly how it’s spelled.
  • ESL students can break down the words into their sounds to learn the words.
  • If you are a native speaker or in an advance level, try this method to improve your fluency and vocabulary.
• Along with learning to pronounce better, you get a clearer idea about the speaking style of a language. That way, you can improve your speaking skill while learning a new language.
• Phonetic spelling helps you with your listening skill too. You would have a better idea about accents and will be able to understand speeches better. This particular skill comes handy in listening tests.
  For example, let’s consider you are using SpellQuiz Spelling Test to test your spelling skill. In this test, you have to spell the words you are hearing. So if you know how the word sounds and which accent the speaker is using, you’ll have no problem answering and will level up in no time!

The phonetic stage of spelling development is a very important stage for any new learner. Check out our additional article on the topic!

Phonetic Spelling Alphabet

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:

Short Vowels

IPA Symbol	Word examples
e	Bent, gentlemen, ten, better.
æ	Cat, and, cap, fat, have.
?	Run, love, honey, one, come, gone
?	Put, Book, could, nook, would, mood, boot
?	Cob, pop, match, squat, sausage.
?	Alive, again, mother.

Long Vowels

IPA Symbol	Word examples
i:	Free, neat, beam, team
?:	Curse, heard, bird, burn.
?:	Talk, paw, bored, dawn, jaw.
u:	Few, boot, lose, gloomy, fruit, chew.
?:	Fast, car, hard, bath.

Diphthong Vowels

IPA Symbol	Word examples
??	Near, ear, clear, tear, beer, fear
e?	Hair, there, care, stairs, pear
e?	Face, space, rain , case, eight
??	Joy, employ, toy, coil, oyster.
a?	My, sight, pride, kind, flight
??	No, don’t, stones, alone, hole
a?	Mouth, house, brown, cow, out

Fricative Consonants

IPA Symbol	Word examples
f	Full, Friday, fish, knife.
v	Vest, village, view, cave.
?	Thought, think, Bath.
ð	There, those, brothers, others.
	Zoo, crazy, lazy, zigzag, nose.
?	Shirt, rush, shop, cash.
?	Television, delusion, casual
h	High, help, hello.

Plosive Consonants

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.

Affricate Consonants

IPA Symbol	Word examples
??	Choose, cheese, church, watch.
d?	Joy, juggle, juice, stage.

Nasal Consonants

IPA Symbol	Word examples
m	Room, mother, mad, more.
n	Now, nobody, knew, turn.
?	King, thing, song, swimming.

Approximant Consonants

IPA Symbol	Word examples
r	Road, roses, river, ring, ride.
j	Yellow, usual, tune, yesterday, yard.
w	Wall, walk, wine, world.
l and ?	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 Chart

Phonetic spelling charts are immensely helpful for teaching and personal use. You can make your own using these simple steps:

• Find out the sounds in your language. For example, British English Speech has 44 sounds.
• Find out the IPA symbols of those sound.
• Write them in one column and exemplary words in another.
• You can hang this chart in your class to teach the student or near your desk for quick reference.

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 Spelling Chart: Consonant

Phonetic Symbol for Consonant Sound	Sounds Like	IPA Symbol
B	bone, bulb	/b/
Ch	chicken, picture	/t?/
D	dodge, forbid	/d/
Dh	author, then	/ð/
F	feather, tough, ruffle	/f/
G	green, beg, egg	/?/
H	hint, redhead	/h/
J	jam, gentle, ledger	/d?/
K	cot, kettle, skip, pickle	/h/
Kh	loch, Hanukah	/x/

Phonetic Spelling Chart: Vowel

Phonetic Symbol for Vowel Sound	Sounds Like	IPA Symbol
A	Cap, slap	/æ/
ah or aa	mother, father	/??/
Air	spare, pair	/??r/
ay or ai	cape, bait	/e?/
e or eh	nest, blessings	/?/
ee	Fleet, plead	/i/
eer	Pear, beer	/??r/

Phonetic Spelling Dictionary

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 Learner’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:

Vowels

i?	see	/si?/
i	happy	/?hæpi/
?	sit	/s?t/
e	bed	/bed/
æ	cat	/kæt/
??	father	/?f??ð?(r)/
?	got	/??t/
??	saw	/s??/
?	put	/p?t/
u	actual	/?ækt?u?l/
u?	too	/tu?/
?	cup	/k?p/
??	fur	/f??(r)/
?	about	/??ba?t/
e?	say	/se?/
??	go	/???/
a?	my	/ma?/
??	boy	/b??/
a?	now	/na?/
??	near	/n??(r)/
e?	hair	/he?(r)/
??	pure	/pj??(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.

Consonants

p	pen	/pen/
b	bad	/bæd/
t	tea	/ti?/
d	did	/d?d/
k	cat	/kæt/
?	get	/?et/
t?	chain	/t?e?n/
d?	jam	/d?æm/
f	fall	/f??l/
v	van	/væn/
?	thin	/??n/
ð	this	/ð?s/
s	see	/si?/
z	zoo	/zu?/
?	shoe	/?u?/
?	vision	/?v??n/
h	hat	/hæt/
m	man	/mæn/
n	now	/na?/
?	sing	/s??/
l	leg	/le?/
r	red	/red/
j	yes	/jes/
w	wet	/wet/

More Examples

apple	Ap-uhl	/?æp.?l/
bottle	bOt-l	/?b?.t?l/
diner	dIn-uhr	/?d?n?/
eaten	EEt-n	/?itn?/
fence	fEnts	/?f?nts/
Hannah	HAN-uh	/h?an?/
John	Jon	/d????n/
puppy	PUH·pee	/?p?pi/
Sarah	sehr-uh	/s?????/

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. Don’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 SpellQuiz’s Spelling Bee Online (SBO) test to check out your true spelling potential. Good Luck!

Asked by: Lucie Eichmann

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Pronunciations are given in a text-based phonetic spelling system based on English spelling conventions. It is based on English sounds with the addition of some other sounds such as Welsh ll and the front rounded vowels found in French and German. Syllables are separated by hyphens.

What is the Respelling of a word?

A pronunciation respelling is a regular phonetic respelling of a word that has a standard spelling but whose pronunciation according to that spelling may be ambiguous, which is used to indicate the pronunciation of that word. Pronunciation respellings are sometimes seen in word dictionaries.

Why is the phonetic Respelling included in a word entry?

Pronunciation respelling systems for English have been developed primarily for use in dictionaries. They are used there because it is not possible to predict with certainty the sound of a written English word from its spelling or the spelling of a spoken English word from its sound.

What is an example of a phonetic word?

An example of phonetic is the word «dad» being spelled the way it sounds. Representing the sounds of speech with a set of distinct symbols, each designating a single sound.

What are phonetically spelled words?

Simply put, phonetic spelling is spelling words the way they sound. While each letter in English is assigned at least one sound, there are lots of letters or letter combinations that are pronounced differently in different words.

39 related questions found

Phonetic Spelling in English! Spelling is one of the more difficult parts of learning a new language. There are many spelling rules and special cases that make it hard to spell correctly. Words often sound very different from the way in which they are written. This makes both speaking and writing a difficult challenge. Many people use a form of writing called phonetic spelling to better reflect the spoken language. Phonetic spelling is a very useful tool for anyone learning a new language, as well as for native speakers to learn new names and vocabulary.

English Phonetics

Phonetics is part of a larger field of study called phonology. Phonology studies how words are pronounced in order to determine standardization and how accents vary from region to region. As with many languages, English has a wide range of dialects. American English differs from British English, and both differ from Australian English. Within these dialects, there are even more accents and variations of pronunciation. Phonology helps to preserve language pronunciation and study how it evolves and varies.

As an auditory quality of language, pronunciation is one of the most difficult things to preserve. Scholars still debate how ancient peoples pronounced their words. Phonetics is an important element of phonology that helps to document these aspects of speaking and make pronunciation tangible. It also helps facilitate communication between cultures by clarifying the meanings of words when they do vary.

Types of Phonetic Spelling

Phonetics focuses on how humans communicate through speech, or signing in the case of sign language. Before modern recording tools like microphones were available, phoneticians used systems to transcribe speech sounds in order to preserve and study data. These systems evolved into phonetic dictionaries and alphabets. The two main types of phonetic spelling are the Americanist Phonetic Notation and the International Phonetic Alphabet. These are complex systems with their own unique alphabets that professional phoneticians still use today.

• The Americanist Phonetic Notation was originally created to transcribe indigenous languages. This alphabet was developed specifically for indigenous peoples of the Americas and Europe, but it has become useful for phoneticians studying languages outside of these areas as well. The symbols in Americanist Phonetic Notation are taken from both Greek and Latin.
• More commonly used than the Americanist Phonetic Notation is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). While both systems translate speech sounds into symbols, the IPA only uses Latin symbols. It was first developed in the 19th century and is still used today. Both alphabets, but mainly IPA, are used by phoneticians, as well as by actors, singers, and public speakers to improve their articulation. It is also used in some advanced forms of language teaching to help students with their pronunciation and fluency.

Both of these two main types of phonetics are complex, and their rules are not always set in stone. Phoneticians have on occasion reviewed and amended these systems as the field evolves. More commonly, phonetic spelling is used by new English learners to learn pronunciation. For this use of phonetics, there is no special system or lexicon of symbols. Rather, the standard English alphabet is used to sound out each word.

Phonetic spelling is a straightforward, useful tool that can help improve speaking and make new learners more confident. The technical description of phonetic spelling is a one-to-one relationship between the way a word is articulated and the way it is written. These two forms of the word are called the phonemes, which is the spoken form, and the graphemes, or the written form. In the case of phonetic spelling, the graphemes is dictated by the phonemes, meaning the way the word is written is determined by the way it is spoken.

Examples of Phonetic Spelling

Writing using phonetic spelling is a good exercise to remember how a word is pronounced. As such, phonetic spelling is often for personal use. Many students find phonetic spelling to be very useful in note-taking in order to clarify names or difficult new vocabulary. Take, for example, the word “banana.” When written, it may be difficult to know which A to emphasize. With phonetic spelling, the word would be “buh-nAn-uh.” This tells you that the emphasis is on the second A, which is pronounced as a hard A, while the first and last are pronounced like the sound “uh.” Similarly, the word “hog” would be written as “hagh.” “Potato” would be “puh-tei-tow,” “grocery” would be “grow-sr-ee,” and “education” would be “eh-juh-kei-shn.”

One of the benefits of phonetic spelling is that it is easy to use for all levels of learning. New English speakers can benefit from the straightforward breaking down of words into their sounds, and advanced or native speakers can improve their fluency and add new or uncommon vocabulary words. There are many tools online to become more familiar with phonetic speaking, including some that have the option to pronounce words out loud so you can further solidify the information.

Phonetic Spelling vs Phonetic Pronunciation

While phonetic spelling transcribes spoken language into written words, phonetic pronunciation is useful to help remember how to spell difficult words. Phonetic pronunciation is the act of saying words as they are written, not as they should sound. The goal is to teach people learning English how to spell a word that has silent letters. The word “subtle,” for example, would be pronounced “sub-” “-tle” in phonetic pronunciation in order to emphasize the silent B. Another common example of phonetic pronunciation is the word “Wednesday.” As written in its grapheme, Wednesday looks like it would be pronounced different from it actually is. With phonetic pronunciation, “Wednesday” is “Wed-nes-day.” The S is pronounced even though it is actually silent.

Learning a new language is a challenging task that takes time and patience. There are many resources available to learn and practice a new language, and phonetic spelling is a great option. Speaking is one of the more intimidating aspects of language learning. Practicing phonetic spelling can help you remember the pronunciation of difficult words and increase your confidence. Even for native speakers, phonetic spelling is a useful skill to use to improve your vocabulary and communication skills.

Phonetic Spelling Infographic

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Last Updated on January 5, 2021

Phonetic transcription is the visual representation of the sounds of speech. It is usually written using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) where each English sound has its own symbol. Phonetic transcription is usually given within forward slashes /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ / or within square brackets [ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ]. Each sound in the phonetic transcription is written separately. Phonetic Transcription

Why is Phonetic Transcription important?

Phonetic transcription is very important because it helps to pronounce words correctly. It is necessary, especially for the English language. As we know, the same English letter or combination of letters can be pronounced or read differently in different sentences. Of course, there are reading rules in the English language, but there are many exceptions as well. The spelling of a word in English will not always tell you how the word is read or pronounced. But if you can read the phonetic transcription, you will be able to pronounce any English word correctly without hearing its audio pronunciation. This tool will help you find the transcript online and read English words without mistakes. Phonetic Transcription

Why should you worry about having the correct pronunciation?

Pronunciation is important for people who are learning English. This helps to communicate in English. If your pronunciation is wrong, you may be misunderstood by other people or it will be difficult for them to understand what you mean. At Myefe.com you can practice your English pronunciation online by listening to how English words are pronounced correctly.

Pronunciation in English Phonetic Transcription

English phonetics is the basis for the pronunciation of each of the words in the language; Spanish is pronounced as it is read, but this, as you know, is not so with English. The different ways of pronouncing certain vowels, consonants, diphthongs … make you have to pay special attention to this part of the language. Phonetic Transcription

The first effective tip and trick to pronounce well is to loosen up and shame yourself when it comes to pronouncing. As we said in the introduction, your pronunciation or your accent may give you some trouble: don’t suffer, they all have different accents! As in Spain, a Basque and an Andalusian have very different accents, native or foreign people who speak English also have their own accent and way of pronouncing.

English phonetics: symbols and transcriptions Phonetic Transcription

Once embarrassment is no longer a problem, he gets to work to learn more about English phonetics, its symbols and how to pronounce them. Let’s see a very illustrative table about how each letter of the alphabet should be pronounced in English:

LYRICS	PRONUNCIATION	PHONEME		EXAMPLE
A	[ei]	/ ɑ: /		Father
A	[ei]	/ æ /		Cat
B	[bi:]	/ b /		Crab
C	[Yes:]	/ k /		Certain
D	[gave:]	/ d /		Door
E	[i:]	/and/		Bed
F	[ef]	/F/		Follow
G	[i:]	/ g /		German
H	[ei]	/ h /		Happy
I	[ai]	/ ɪ /		Little
J	[ei]	/ dʒ /		Jump
K	[kei]	/ k /		Key
L	[the]	/ l /		Eleven
L	[the]	/ l̩ /		Tidal
M	[em]	/ m /		Meeting
N	[on]	/ n /		Nice
N	[on]	/ n̩ /		Oven
N	[on]	/ ŋ /		Song
O	[ou]	/ ɒ /		Dog
P	[pi:]	/ p /		Parrot
Q	[kju:]	/ k /		Question
R	[to:]	/ r /		Rock
S	[it is]	/ s /		Saint
Sh	[it is]	/ ʃ /		Shoulder
T	[you:]	/ t /		Train
U	[Thu:]	/ ɜ: /		Fury
V	[saw:]	/ v /		Came
W	[d blju:]	/ w /		Woman
X	[eks]	/ ks /		Appendix
Y	[wai]	/ j /		Yellow
Z	[zed]	/ z /		Zero