The Sounds of Syllables - eAge Tutor
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The Sounds of Syllables

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Hello people, we are back with a yet new blog to take you further in your quest of learning English. We have given you tips on learning grammar, using tenses, how to form sentences, pronounce words and ideas on conversations as well.

Now that you are adept with the basics, it is time to learn the finer nuances of the English language.

As we have already enunciated a number of times, English, besides being funny, is also a confusing language. Certain words are spelled one way, and pronounced the other. The spellings are sometimes misguiding, and many times, a whole letter is rendered useless by making it silent in the word! Then there are words in which the letters used are given an altogether different sound! Confused? Let us make it clear with the following examples:

CycleCycle: In this word, the letter 'C' appears twice, and in both the instances, it carries a different sound! The first 'C' has the sound of 'S', while the second 'C' sounds like 'K'. The word 'cycle' is a perfect example of the various sounds that a single, or multiple, letter can carry. Hence, deducing the real sound of 'C' is quite difficult, given that a single word carries two different sounds of the letter. There are many other words that use the two different sounds of 'C'. Words like Carom, canyon, cattle, crop have 'K' kind of sound. While words like cyst, chance, cease, imply a 'S' kind of sound. Can you think of more such words?

Enough: The sound of 'G' is how you pronounce it in 'goat', 'geese', or 'ground'. The sound of 'H' is the way you say it in 'horse', 'house', 'hat'. However, when these two words are merged together, they produce the sound similar to 'F', as in 'enough'. The English language is filled with such words where 'gh' produces the sound of 'F'. Cough, tough, laugh, are some good examples. However, many times, these letters together are used silently. Pronounce the word night, thigh, through, weigh – can you identify any sound associated with 'gh'?

Phone: Many people spell 'phone' as 'fone', especially in chats or other casual conversations. Given the sound of 'PH' in this word, it is no wonder that people get confused and actually use an 'F'. Other similar examples would be 'Philip', 'Phosphorous', 'physics', and 'phantom'.

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The English language is abundant with such amusing and unique words, and it is a fun activity to discover and learn new ones. For people wondering, 'How to improve your English?' the answer is this – the ways of learning English are many, each more creative than the other. All you have to do is set a goal, focus, and learn what works for you. There are many online spoken English classes like eAgeTutor, that help the students learn English, polish their pronunciation and learn various idioms and phrases.

English fluency is a requisite to excel in today's competitive world, and to develop that skill you need the support of a good online English learning course.

    

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