Consonant spelling patterns
English spelling is notoriously complex, with complex mappings of spelling patterns onto sounds. This is due to the complex history of English, having been influenced by Old German, Old French, modern French, Latin, Greek, Spanish, and other languages. Thus, English spelling reflects the sounds and spellings of the various languages from which much of its vocabulary has derived. Unfortunately, these are not generally taught in academic English courses.
The following are fairly common sound-spelling or orthographic-phonological correspondences in English sounds, especially in academic English. Some of these are place names transcribed in other languages, e.g., 'Chicago' is a native American word transcribed by French settlers, hence the spelling. Caveat: Complex word derivations across multiple languages and complex phonological histories mean that this chart may be a bit oversimplified.
| Spelling | Sound | Pattern/source | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| c | /s/ | Latin | ceiling, century |
| c | /k/ | Latin | cantata, recant |
| ch | /ʧ/ | Old English | charming, chance, change, chart, cherry |
| ch | /k/ | Greek | psychology, psychiatric, chiasm, ischiatic |
| ch | /ʃ/ | French (Old & Modern) | Michelle, chanson, champaign, Chicago, Michigan |
| g | /g/ | Old English | great |
| g | /g/ | Latin | aggregate |
| g | /ʤ/ | Latin | intelligent |
| g | /ʤ/ | Greek | genetic, androgynous |
| g | /ʒ/ | French (Modern) | rouge, beige |
| g | /g/ | Greek, via German | gynecology |
| gh | (silent) | Old English | though, sigh, sight, thought |
| gh | /f/ | Old English | tough, rough; trough |
| gh | /g/ | Old English | ghost, ghoul |
| gh | /g/ | various languages | ghurka, ghetto |
| gn- | /n/ | Old English / Old Germanic | gnaw |
| gn- | /n/ | Greek | gnostic (cf. non-initial, e.g., agnostic) |
| j | /ʤ/ | Latin | eject |
| kn- | /n/ | Old English / Old Germanic | know, knave |
| ph | /f/ | Greek | physics, phenomenon, schizophrenic, phycology, nephritic, anaphase, anaphylactic, acrophobia |
| pn | /n/ | Greek | pneumatic, pneumonia, pneumonococcus |
| ps | /s/ | Greek | psychiatric, psoriasis, psychological, pseudonym |
| q(u) | /kw/ | Latin | query, quote, quadratic, eloquent |
| q | /k/ | Arabic (& Hebrew) | Qatar; burqa (burka); qoph |
| rh | /r/ | Greek | rhythm, diarrhea, rhetoric, rhotic, rhinology, hemorrhagic |
| x | /z/ | Greek | xylophone, xylose |
| x | /ks/ | Latin | ataxia, taxonomy. laxity, extra, fix, exaggerate |
| x | /ks/ | Old English, Latin | box, X-ray |
| y | /y/ | Old English | yelp, yellow |
| y | /i/ | Greek | dysentery, mycology |
| y | /i/ | Old English | healthy |
| z | /ts/ | Greek | schizoid, schizophrenic |
| z | /ts/ | Italian | pizza, mozzarella |
| z | /z/ | Old English | buzz, buzzard |
1 See also
