The Pronunciation Rules and The Writing System

[M.Mozaffary]

hi dear reader

about three years ago i asked one of my teachers that is it possible to find out the pronunciation of the English words without using dictionary or any program? and he said NO.
and that's why i started to find out these rules and now after 3 years researches i think that i finally find some of these rules. with these rules you can predict the place of the stress and the pronunciation.
but how its work? first you should be able to separate the prefixed and the suffixes from the base word, e.g. Mirror ===> prefix= NO base word=Mir suffix=or.
then you can find the pronunciation of each letters (that is m,i,r) and find pronunciation of the suffix (i have a complete list of suffixes and prefixes with its pronunciation http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/as...root-list.html) and the stress. about the stress it's good to know that the prefixes and the suffixes are the most important thing that can change or even make the stress! the words that are base word and doesn't have any prefix or suffix, doesn't have any stress too, like: Stop, Count, pot ... the words that have only base word and suffix(es) (base word + Suffix(es)) have stress on the first syllable like: later, common, Credit. the words that have prefix(es) and base word (Prefix(es) + base word) or prefix(es) and base word and suffix(es) (Prefix(es) + base word + Suffix(es)) have stress on the syllable between the prefix(es) and base word so if the word has one prefix so it has stress on the second syllables and the word that has two prefixes, has stress on the third syllables and ... . of course there is so many things else that i can't write cause you should read the rules first. the pronunciation rules has over 100 rules that is helpful for the guys that wants to pronounce the new words better and having problem in writing. these rules can be use for 83% of the English words and the other 17% is for the words that had been changed its writing (mistyped) or the words that completely translate from the other language recently. i wrote a book about these rules but i didn't publish it yet so i can't send all of these rules. here is some of that rules.

Mehrdad Mozaffary,
all right recieved by Mehrdad Mozaffary.

***please send me your idea***

1- Consonant(s) (except W) + A + 1 or 2 Consonant (except R, L and Y for the first consonant) =/æ/

1- Ash
Prefix= No Suffix= No base word=Ash
Used rules: numbers 1, 107
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 107 sh=/∫/ in Bre and AmE
the word "Ash" pronounce /æ∫/ in BrE and AmE

2- Active
Prefix= No Suffix= -ive base word = Act
Used rules: numbers 1, 80, 108
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 80 c=/k/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 108 t=/t/ in BrE and AmE
-ive=/ґv/ in BrE and AmE
the word "Active" pronounce /'æktґv/ in BrE and AmE

3- Damage
Prefix= No Suffix= -age base word= Dam
Used rules: numbers 84, 1, 99
According to the rule number 84 d=/d/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 99 m=/m/ in BrE and AmE
-age =/eґdґ/ in BrE and AmE
the word "Damage" pronounce /'dæmeґdґ/ in BrE and AmE

4- Ladder
Prefix= No Suffix= -er base word= Lad
Used rules: numbers 98, 1, 84
According to the rule number 98 l=/l/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 84 d=/d/ in BrE and AmE
-er=/ґ/ in BrE and /ґr/ in AmE
the word "Ladder" pronounce /'lædґ/ in BrE and /'lædґr/ AmE
************************************************** ***
3-Consonant(s) + w + A + Consonant(s) (except R) =// $ /α:/
1-Wash
Prefix= No Suffix= No Root= Wash
Used rules: numbers 107, 3, 102
According to the rule number 107 w=/w/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 3 a=// in BrE and /α:/ in AmE
According to the rule number 102 sh=/∫/ in Bre and AmE
the word "Wash" pronounce "w∫" in BrE and "wα:∫" in AmE
2-Watch
Prefix= No Suffix= No Root= Watch
Used rules: numbers 107, 3, 103, 80
According to the rule number 107 w=/w/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 3 a=// in BrE and /α:/ in AmE
According to the rule number 103 t=/t/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 80 ch=/t∫/ in BrE and /α:/ in AmE
the word "Watch" pronounce "wtt∫" in BrE and "wα:tt∫" in AmE
Note : we can't pronounce "wtt∫" or "wα:tt∫" as it noted before so it change to "wt∫" or "wα:t∫".

3-Wand
Prefix= No Suffix= No Root= Wand
Used rules: numbers 107, 3, 97, 82
According to the rule number 107 w=/w/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 3 a=// in BrE and /α:/ in AmE
According to the rule number 97 n=/n/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 82 d=/d/ in BrE and AmE the word "Wand" pronounce "wnd" in BrE and "wα:nd" in AmE
************************************************** ********
8-Consonant(s) + A + I + R =/eə/ $ /er/

1-Airport
Prefix= No Suffix= No Root= Air, Port
Used rules: numbers 8, 98, 52, 103
According to the rule number 8 air=/eə/ in BrE and /er/ in AmE
According to the rule number 98 p=/p/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 52 or=/э:/ in BrE and /э:r/ in AmE
According to the rule number 103 t=/t/ in BrE and AmE
the word "airport" pronounce "eəpэ:t" in BrE and "erpэ:rt" in AmE
**************************************************
76- Consonant(s) + U + R + Consonant(s) =/3:/ $ /3:r/

1- Accursed
Prefix= ac- Suffix= -ed base word= Curs
Used rules: number 80, 76, 106
According to the rule number 80 c=/k/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 76 ur= /3:/ in BrE and /3:r/ in AmE
According to the rule number 106 s=/s/ in BrE and AmE
ac- =/ґk/ in BrE and AmE
-ed=/t/ in BrE and AmE
the word "accursed" pronounce /ґk'3:st/ in BrE and /'ґk3:rst/ in AmE

2- Blurb
Prefix= No Suffix= No base word= Blurb
Used rules: number 79, 98, 76
According to the rule number 79 b=/b/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 98 l=/l/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 76 ur= /3:/ in BrE and /3:r/ in AmE
the word "blurb" pronounce /bl3:b/ in BrE and /bl3:rb/ in AmE

3- Concur
Prefix= con- Suffix= No base word= Cur
Used rules: number 80, 76
According to the rule number 80 c=/k/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 76 ur= /3:/ in BrE and /3:r/ in AmE
con- =/kґn, kґn $ kґn, kα:n/ in BrE and AmE
the word "concur" pronounce /kґn'k3:, kґn'k3:/ in BrE and /kґn'k3:r,
kα:n'k3:r/ in AmE
in AmE
************************************************** ***
87- Word(s) + G + Word (except E, H, N)=/g/

1- Gun
Prefix= No Suffix= No base word= gun
Used rules: number 87, 74, 101
According to the rule number 87 g=/g/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 74 u=/Λ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 101 n=/n/ in BrE and AmE
the word "gun" pronounce /gΛn/ in BrE and AmE

************************************************** ****
105- Word(s)(it's necessary to at list have one word) + R + Word(s) =/--/ $ /r/ (if R is in first then =/r/) (if Consonant(s) + R + Word(s) =/r/)

1- Rest
Prefix= No Suffix= No base word= rest
Used rules: number 105, 20, 106, 108
According to the rule number 105 r=/r/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 20 e=/e/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 106 s=/s/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 108 t=/t/ in BrE and AmE
the word "rest" pronounce /rest/ in BrE and AmE

2- Cart
Prefix= No Suffix= No base word= cart
Used rules: number 80, 11 + 105, 108
According to the rule number 80 c=/k/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 11 +105 ar=/α:/ in BrE /α:r/ in AmE
According to the rule number 108 t=/t/ in BrE and AmE
the word "cart" pronounce /kα:t/ in BrE and /kα:rt/ in AmE

3- Bring
Prefix= No Suffix= No base word= bring
Used rules: number 79, 105, 37, 101, 87
According to the rule number 79 b=/b/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 105 r=/r/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 37 i=/ґ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 101 n=/n/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 87 g=/g/ in BrE and AmE
the word "bring" pronounce /brґng/ in BrE and AmE

***please send me your idea***

[Tdol]

You say that people should find the pronunciation of each letter (m-i-r is your example). How would this workfor leter groups like 'th'?

[M.Mozaffary]

hi

in these rules you can find even the combined letters like th, sh, ch, ae, au, eo ....

so what do yo think about this? do you think these rules are useful or not?

[Rimah]

Dear Mr Mozaffary, I am not a teacher but I am a native and middle-aged English speaker who has a comment:

When I am faced with an unfamiliar word in a block of text I think the first thing that happens in my mind is this: I look at the general form of the word and assign it to one of few classes. (1) it's an old "English" word, or (2) it's a Latin word that got absorbed into the English language, or (3) it's from some other language, or an abbreviation, or a typo (= typographical error, that is, wrongly written).

I don't consciously think about this, it just happens. How does the form help me? Well, firstly if it's longer than about seven letters the odds are it's Latin or other "non-English". If it's long but I can break it down into two short familiar words (eg "paperback") it's "English". You don't have to know the names, "type 1", "type 2" and "type 3" would be equally good.

If it ends in "tion", "able / ible", "ate / ite", (etc.) it's probably Latin. If its prefix is "un" it's probably "English". If its prefix is "in" or "en" it's probably Latin. And of course there are some English "specials" such as "kn..." and "..gh".

The English and the Latin sets have different rules. For a start, the Latin words are much more regular. You don't get ambiguities such as "ea" in "meat / bread" (and what about "lead" = go in front vs. "lead" = heavy soft metal?), these are only in the English words. English words have a double-letter rule ("laden" has long "a", "ladder" has short "a"), Latin words don't. My guess is that the 83% of words you can predict has a very high proportion of Latin words.

Non-English words that came into the language recently tend to keep their original pronunciation (eg. "spaghetti", "bungalow") - a third set of rules.

What I want to say here is that I start with the whole word and early on I make a choice which is almost like a choice between two languages. I think that your rules focus very much on taking one or two letters at a time, building up from small to large.

I wish you good luck! Please continue your efforts.

[Raymott]

Originally Posted by M.Mozaffary

1- Ash Prefix= No Suffix= No base word=Ash
Used rules: numbers 1, 107
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
How about “Ask” = /a:sk/ BrE /æsk/ AmE
According to the rule number 107 sh=/∫/ in Bre and AmE
the word "Ash" pronounce /æ∫/ in BrE and AmE

2- Active
Prefix= No Suffix= -ive base word = Act
Used rules: numbers 1, 80, 108
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 80 c=/k/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 108 t=/t/ in BrE and AmE
-ive=/ґv/ in BrE and AmE Why the /r/ Should be /ɪ/
the word "Active" pronounce /'æktґv/ in BrE and AmE


3- Damage
Prefix= No Suffix= -age base word= Dam
Used rules: numbers 84, 1, 99
According to the rule number 84 d=/d/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 99 m=/m/ in BrE and AmE
-age =/eґdґ/ in BrE and AmE
the word "Damage" pronounce /'dæmeґdґ/ in BrE and AmE
You have two /r/ here. There is no /r/ is “damage” /dæmədʒ/
4- Ladder
Prefix= No Suffix= -er base word= Lad
Used rules: numbers 98, 1, 84
According to the rule number 98 l=/l/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 84 d=/d/ in BrE and AmE
-er=/ґ/ in BrE and /ґr/ in AmE
the word "Ladder" pronounce /'lædґ/ in BrE and /'lædґr/ AmE
“Ladder” is either /lædə/ or /lædɚ/
(Perhaps your fonts aren’t displaying properly?)
Or do think your pronunciations are correct as shown?

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Tdol

You say that people should find the pronunciation of each letter (m-i-r is your example). How would this work for leter groups like 'th'?

What is your rule that starts "th="? How does it account for the variation between /ɵ/ and /ð/? Have you thought about this?

b

[BobK]

PS - And what about silent letters, if readers have to start by considering the pronunciation of each letter (whatever "the pronunciation of each letter" may mean? Have you thought this through (and another thing - in the same example how do you account for the different pronunciations of "ou"?)

b

[M.Mozaffary]

Originally Posted by BobK

PS - And what about silent letters, if readers have to start by considering the pronunciation of each letter (whatever "the pronunciation of each letter" may mean? Have you thought this through (and another thing - in the same example how do you account for the different pronunciations of "ou"?)

b

well i didn't find anything just fix for the th or s that can pronounce /s/ and /z/, but tell me if you find it

thanks
Sam

[M.Mozaffary]

Originally Posted by Raymott

1- Ash Prefix= No Suffix= No base word=Ash
Used rules: numbers 1, 107
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
How about “Ask” = /a:sk/ BrE /æsk/ AmE
According to the rule number 107 sh=/∫/ in Bre and AmE
the word "Ash" pronounce /æ∫/ in BrE and AmE

2- Active
Prefix= No Suffix= -ive base word = Act
Used rules: numbers 1, 80, 108
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 80 c=/k/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 108 t=/t/ in BrE and AmE
-ive=/ґv/ in BrE and AmE Why the /r/ Should be /ɪ/
the word "Active" pronounce /'æktґv/ in BrE and AmE


3- Damage
Prefix= No Suffix= -age base word= Dam
Used rules: numbers 84, 1, 99
According to the rule number 84 d=/d/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 99 m=/m/ in BrE and AmE
-age =/eґdґ/ in BrE and AmE
the word "Damage" pronounce /'dæmeґdґ/ in BrE and AmE
You have two /r/ here. There is no /r/ is “damage” /dæmədʒ/
4- Ladder
Prefix= No Suffix= -er base word= Lad
Used rules: numbers 98, 1, 84
According to the rule number 98 l=/l/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 1 a=/æ/ in BrE and AmE
According to the rule number 84 d=/d/ in BrE and AmE
-er=/ґ/ in BrE and /ґr/ in AmE
the word "Ladder" pronounce /'lædґ/ in BrE and /'lædґr/ AmE
“Ladder” is either /lædə/ or /lædɚ/
(Perhaps your fonts aren’t displaying properly?)
Or do think your pronunciations are correct as shown?

that's the font problem cause i import it from office word 2005

[Jimmy_Q]

English is quite well-known for NOT having coherent pronounciation rules :) Nice idea in the first post, though.