when..... and when......???
I want to if there are particular rules for the Differences in Pronunciation of these sounds and letters:-e.g.
- th:/ θ/ THing, auTHor, paTH AND th in the oTHer hand /ð /THis, smooTH.
-CH : sometimes pronounce tsh e.g. /tʃ /CHurCH, matCH , sometimes like /K/ like in CHaracter , CHorus .
- S sometime pronounce like /z/ like in RoSe ,muSic and as it is S like in SiSter , ...,, AND we see these differences obvious in the Plural e.g. Sometimes Like Z e.g. KidS , RoseS,..
-Gh: Sometimes Pronounce like G like in GHost , Sometimes F like in LauGH , and Sometimes without voicelss like in RiGHt , thouGHt , AlthouGH,..!!!
That was Confusing me so much at the beginning , So I was Study them word by word to get the Difference , Now I become so curious to know why all these Difference are there Specific Rules for these Sounds , also to help Friends to be easier in Learning and getting that .
Thank you in advance for your help ^_^

Question

when..... and when......???
I want to if there are  particular rules for the  Differences in Pronunciation of these sounds and letters:-e.g.
- th:/ θ/ THing, auTHor, paTH  AND  th in the oTHer hand /ð /THis, smooTH.
-CH : sometimes pronounce tsh e.g. /tʃ /CHurCH, matCH , sometimes like /K/ like in CHaracter , CHorus . 
- S sometime pronounce like /z/ like in RoSe ,muSic and as it is S like in SiSter , ...,, AND we see these differences  obvious in the Plural e.g. Sometimes Like Z e.g. KidS , RoseS,..
-Gh: Sometimes Pronounce like G like in GHost , Sometimes F like in LauGH , and Sometimes without voicelss like in  RiGHt , thouGHt , AlthouGH,..!!!
That was Confusing  me so much at the beginning , So I was Study them word by word to get the Difference , Now I become so  curious to know why all these Difference are there Specific Rules for these Sounds , also to help Friends to be easier in Learning and getting that .
Thank you in advance for your help ^_^

Answer

There are no specific rules for the differences and it's one of the things that most people have trouble with. There was an article in The Economist of August, if I remember correctly, which was about this phenomenon. There's basically a group of people who want revise English spelling to deal with the insane amount of discrepancies.

Here is the article:
http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11920829

Answer

مساء الخير

The bad news is that for many of these illogical spellings, there is no logical explanation.

That is definitely the case with the two 'th' sounds.

The 'ch' sounding like a 'k' is only in foreign loan words if I'm not mistaken.

As to the 's', is it always pronounced like an 's' at the beginning of a word.
It is pronounced as a 'z' if it comes in between two vowels.
At the end of a word, it depends on the letter before it.
After a vowel or a 'voiced' consonant (b, d, l, m, n, r, v, w) it's a 'z', otherwise an 's'.

Many words in English have strange spellings that reflect the way the word used to be ronounced in Old English.

Both the words 'night' and 'knight' (both pronounced as if they were written 'nite') نَيت
used to be pronounced 'nikht' and 'knecht' respectively.
compare with Dutch 'nacht' (German Nacht) and 'knecht'

nother rule that we are taught at school.
When you are in doubt as to whether to write 'ie' or 'ei'
The rule is :
I before E, except after C.

friend, receive,

Only ONE exception to that rule - the word 'weird'

As to the many other inconsistencies, you just have to learn them, basically.

Brian

Answers · 2

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