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The English Alphabet

The English alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet and consists of 26 letters: 5 vowels and 20 consonants, the letter y can represent both a consonant and a vowel;

  • copy [kɔpɪ] – the letter y is read as [ɪ]
  • year [jɪər] – the letter y is read as [j]

Twenty-six letters of the English language convey 44 sounds: 12 simple vowels, 8 diphthongs and 24 consonants. The same letter in different positions can represent different sounds, and the same sound can be represented by different letters. In this regard, transcription is used in English dictionaries.

The English Alphabet
# letter name pronunciation # letter name pronunciation
1 A a a [eɪ] 14 N n en [en]
2 B b bee [bɪ:] 15 O o o [ou]
3 C c cee [sɪ:] 16 P p pee [pɪ:]
4 D d dee [dɪ:] 17 Q q cue [kju:]
5 E e e [ɪ:] 18 R r ar [ʌɹ]
6 F f ef [ef] 19 S s ess(*) [es]
7 G g gee [dʒɪ:] 20 T t tee [tɪ:]
8 H h aitch, haitch(**) [eɪtʃ], [heɪtʃ] 21 U u u [ju:]
9 I i i [aɪ] 22 V v vee [vɪ:]
10 J j jay [dʒeɪ] 23 W w double-u [ˈdʌb(ə)l ju:]
11 K k kay [keɪ] 24 X x ex [eks]
12 L l el [el] 25 Y y wy [wʌɪ]
13 M m em [em] 26 Z z zed, zee(***) [zed], [zɪ:]

*] As part of a compound word – es: "es-hook" (hook in the form of the letter "s"); "Wiktionary": ess см. "Alternative forms", date of the application 05.03.2016.
**] Hiberno-English and sometimes Australian English.
***] American English.

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