If we were sitting across from each other at Starbucks, sipping our favorite caffeinated beverage (I like anything with oat milk) chatting about literacy, and I asked you what a vowel is, what would you say?
Would you say a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y? Yeah, I learned that too. But what is a vowel really? Let's explore and learn together...
What is a vowel?
A vowel is a sound when the mouth is open and not blocked by the lips, teeth, or tongue.
What are consonants?
Did you say all the other letters? You're funny, but in all seriousness, consonants are sounds that are blocked by the lips, teeth, or tongue.
But what about y?
Did you learn that y is sometimes a vowel? Well, actually, y is a vowel most of the time. It has 4 sounds (1 consonant sound /y/ and 3 vowel sounds short /i/, long /i/, long/e/).
When is y a consonant?
Y can only be a consonant at the beginning of a word or syllable. There are only 57 words where y is a consonant, that's only about 3% of the time! SO let's shift how we talk about vowels as a, e, i, o, u, and almost always y.
How can I tell a vowel sound from a consonant sound?
If the sound can be sung or shouted and the mouth is open, then it is a vowel sound. Try it now with the basic 26 phonograms. Be careful, though! Don't add an "uh" (short u sound) to the end of a sound. That's adding a schwa (we'll go over the meaning of that next week), and can really confuse kids. (For example, when spelling the word bat, they may write b-u-a-t because they hear the /b/ and /u/ sound.)
How many vowel sounds are there in English?
There are 15 vowel sounds. (That's right, more than the 10 short and long vowel sounds for a, e, i, o, and u that you learned in school!) As we learned a few weeks ago when talking about syllables, every word must have one vowel sound.
How many ways are there to spell the vowel sounds in English?
There are 28 ways to spell the 15 vowel sounds.
Why are vowels so darn difficult to teach and learn?
We've learned that there are 15 vowel sounds and 28 ways to spell those sounds (phonograms). Of those 28 vowel phonograms, 16 say more than one sound. Not to mention, that vowel sounds are often distorted by dialect, changing the pronunciation.
Let's dispel some myths...
There are also a lot of misconceptions and oversimplifications about vowels. For example, have you ever heard the phrase, "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking?" Yeah, before we started to homeschool our school said that too. You know what? This "rule" is only true 40% of the time! Just watch what Marie Rippel creator of All About Reading and All About Spelling, says by clicking here.
Is English just a crazy language then? How will I ever teach my child to read and spell?!
Luckily, there are better foundational rules that explain 98% of English words that help our kids become better readers and spellers.
Still have questions? E-mail me at aoife@thereadersdropinn.com and join me for our Friday Facebook LIVE at 9:00 am PST for a Q & A all about vowels and consonants. Join us by clicking here. Can't wait to connect with you there!
Reference:
Eide, Denise. Uncovering the Logic of English a Common-Sense Approach to Reading, Spelling, and Literacy. Logic of Enlgish, Inc, 2012.