Listen To The Letter Sounds
On this page you can listen to the sound or sounds for each letter of the alphabet. The sound bars for each letter are shown below it. Click on the triangle to hear each sound. Some letters can represent more than one sound. Beginners can just listen to just the first sound for each letter.
If you are just starting this program, do not be discouraged by all of the sounds. The letter sounds are taught one at a time over a long period, with enough practice to help you remember them.
Information About Vowel Sounds
There are five vowels in English, a, e, i, o, and u, with the consonant y sometimes representing a vowel sound in words. Each vowel can represent several different sounds. You can hear each sound for a, e, i, o, and u by clicking the sound bars below each vowel.
The first sound bar demonstrates the short vowel sound.
The second sound bar demonstrates the long vowel sound. It is easy to remember the long vowel sounds because they are the same as the names of the letters. Note that the terms long and short do not apply to the size of the printed vowel or the amount of time that it takes to pronounce the sounds.
The third sound bar demonstrates a third vowel sound that is neither the short or the long sound. These sounds are less common. In this program, we call these dotted vowel sounds. Two dots are placed above the vowel to indicate the dotted sound. The dots look like a German umlaut, which means "not the usual sound."
The first sound bar demonstrates the short vowel sound.
The second sound bar demonstrates the long vowel sound. It is easy to remember the long vowel sounds because they are the same as the names of the letters. Note that the terms long and short do not apply to the size of the printed vowel or the amount of time that it takes to pronounce the sounds.
The third sound bar demonstrates a third vowel sound that is neither the short or the long sound. These sounds are less common. In this program, we call these dotted vowel sounds. Two dots are placed above the vowel to indicate the dotted sound. The dots look like a German umlaut, which means "not the usual sound."
Information About Consonant Sounds
A few consonants can represent more than one sound.
The letter c sound like s when it is followed by e, i, or y.
The letter g usually sounds like j when it is followed by e, i, or y.
The letter s sometimes sounds like the letter z.
The letter x sounds like the letter z when it is at the beginning of a word.
In some words the letter x sound like the a combination of the g and z sounds, gz.
The letter u always follows the letter Q q in words. In this case, the letter u is not pronounced as a vowel.
The letter c sound like s when it is followed by e, i, or y.
The letter g usually sounds like j when it is followed by e, i, or y.
The letter s sometimes sounds like the letter z.
The letter x sounds like the letter z when it is at the beginning of a word.
In some words the letter x sound like the a combination of the g and z sounds, gz.
The letter u always follows the letter Q q in words. In this case, the letter u is not pronounced as a vowel.
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A a
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B b
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C c
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D d
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E e
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F f
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G g
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H h
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I i
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J j
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K k
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L l
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M m
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N n
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O o
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P p
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Qu qu
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R r
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S s
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T t
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U u
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V v
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W w
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X x
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Y y
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Z z
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