Vowel sounds

Front

Slide 2: What Are Vowels?

• English has 5 vowel letters: A, E, I, O, U

• But vowels can have many different sounds!

• There is no one fixed sound for each vowel letter.

Back

Example for A

cat short vowel sound /æ/

cake long vowel sound/diphthong /eɪ/

car long vowel sound /ɑː/

Front

Slide 3: What Are Consonants?

• English has 21 consonant letters.

• Consonants can be voiced or voiceless.

• Each consonant has a unique sound.

Back

Example for B

bat voiced sound /b/

pat voiceless sound /p/

cab voiced sound /k/

Front

Slide 4: What Are Diphthongs?

• A diphthong is a complex vowel sound that begins with one vowel sound and glides into another.

• They are often found in English words.

Back

Example for AI

rain diphthong sound /eɪ/

coin diphthong sound /ɔɪ/

out diphthong sound /aʊ/

Front

Slide 5: What Are Silent Letters?

• Silent letters are letters that are not pronounced in a word.

• They can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of words.

Back

Example for K

knife silent letter /nʌɪf/

knight silent letter /naɪt/

know silent letter /noʊ/

Front

Slide 7: What Are Syllables?

• A syllable is a single, unbroken sound of a spoken (or written) word.

• Every syllable has a vowel sound.

Back

Example for Cat

cat one syllable /kæt/

happy two syllables /ˈhæpi/

banana three syllables /bəˈnænə/