The vowels are these sounds that are made with the tongue that does not touch your lips or your throat and any other part. These are sounds made with the open mouth and the tongue suspended in the middle; There are not many air flows while pronouncing vowels.
The consonants, on the other hand, such as \ b \, \ d \, \ g \, \ p \, and \ s \ are sounds which are made by partially or completely stopped the mouth with the teeth, the tongue, the lips, the cheek, etc.
“Y is there a vowel or a consonant?
The specialty of the letter “Y” depends on the position of the letter in the syllable or the word, it can take the pronunciation of a vowel or a consonant.
Each English syllable should be a vowel; But the word “Andy” has two syllables “an” and “dy” and the second syllable has no vowel. Indeed, the second syllable has “y” at the end acting as a vowel. In the word “disgusting”, the first “y” is a consonant and the second “y” (the last alphabet of the second syllable) is a vowel.
The rule of pronunciation “Y”
- There is at the end of a word and has a single syllable – this rule in phonetics indicates that if a word has a single syllable and ends with Y, then there that I sound. For example, dry, fly, my, para.
- Y at the end of a word and has two syllables – he also indicates that if a word has two syllables and ends with “y”, then “y” generally makes the long sound e. For example – Candy, soft and puppy.
- Y in the middle of a word – the letter “y” is also used in the medial position of the word and it is pronounced with the sound of short i. For example – symbol, mystical, rhythm, gym.
The following words must be read according to the rule y
- D + R + Y = dry
- S + p + y = spy
- P + l + y = fold
The above words have a single syllable and end with Y. Here, the letter borrows the sound of Long i.
- H + A + pp + y = happy
- S + i + ll + y = idiot
- E + m + p + t + y = empty
Here, the words have two syllables and end with Y. The letter makes the sound of a long e.
Now, the words below have there in the middle of the word and therefore we pronounce there as short i
- M + y + s + t + i + c = mystical
- G + y + m = gym
Exceptions to the above rules
There is always an exception to the rules. Here are some exceptions to rule Y.
- When the letter is in the middle of the word, but is the first letter of the syllable, it is pronounced like / y /. For example – canyon, beyond,
- In a few words, where the word has two syllables and ends with the y, the letter is pronounced with the sound of long i rather than long e. For example – Learn, answer, July.
- There are few words where the letter is in the middle of the word and is pronounced with the long i. For example – style, type, pylon, tyrant and rhyme.
Current words with the rule
- Long i words: fry, cry, sly, fold, by, shy, try, why, ironia, sky.
- Long e words: lacy, comfortable, well tidy, pony, empty, a lot, lady, door.
- Y in the middle: hymn, myth, crypt, lyrical, mystery, pyramid.
Do the preparation exercises to read our foundations of literacy in English and gain confidence in English pronunciation. Each of these subjects is covered in detail with several activities and calculation sheets to strengthen learning.
I hope you found this post useful, thank you for reading!
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At Learnopoly, Finn has championed a mission to deliver unbiased, in-depth reviews of online courses that empower learners to make well-informed decisions. With over a decade of experience in financial services, he has honed his expertise in strategic partnerships and business development, cultivating both a sharp analytical perspective and a collaborative spirit. A lifelong learner, Finn’s commitment to creating a trusted guide for online education was ignited by a frustrating encounter with biased course reviews.