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Making English Decodable

What if every English word told you exactly how to say it?

Fonetic English adds pronunciation, syllable breaks, and stress to standard spelling — without changing a single letter. Developed with Professor John Sweller. Backed by seven research frameworks. Used by tutors, schools, and ESL colleges worldwide.

English Letter Names and Usual Sounds

English letters have 2 sounds:

  1. Letter Name (column 1): The names of English letters are used to spell out an abbreviation or a word. The word “cat” is spelled C A T.
  2. The sound of the letter in a word (column 3): The sound “cat” is made up of the Sounds /c/ /a/ /t/, which are the Usual Sounds of the letters C A T. (The usual sound of the letter “c” in a word is shown as /c/.)
  3. IPA representation of the sound (column 4, only useful for those who know the IPA).

Plosives (6)

Block airflow completely, then release.

/p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/

Fricatives (9)

Force air through a narrow gap.

/f/ /v/ /θ/ /ð/ /s/ /z/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /h/

Affricates (2)

Start as plosive, release as fricative.

/tʃ/ /dʒ/

Nasals (3)

Air directed through the nose.

/m/ /n/ /ŋ/

Approximants (4)

Articulators approach but don't touch.

/l/ /r/ /w/ /j/

Vowels (18+)

Open sounds shaped by tongue and lips.

/æ/ /e/ /ɪ/ /ɒ/ /ʌ/ /ə/ /iː/ /uː/ +10
English Letter NamesFo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish Spelling of English Letter NamesUsual Sound of English Letter in EnglishIPA Spelling of usual sound
A, aâA, aæ
B, bbêB, bb
C,ccêC,ck
D,ddêD,dd
E,eêE,eɛ
F,fefF,ff
G,ggêG,gg
H,hâchH,hh
I,iíI,iI
J,jjâJ,jdʒ
K,kkâK,kk
L,lelL,ll
M, memM, mm
N, nenN, nn
O, oõO, oɒ
P, ppêP, pp
Q, qkůQ, qk
R, rarR, rr
S, sesS, ss
T, ttêT, tt
U, uůU, uʌ
V, vvêV, vv
W, w√du…bul ůW, ww
X, xeksX, xks
Y, ywíY, yj
Z, zzedZ, zz

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