Phonemes are the sounds that represent each letter - the graphic signs of our language, that is, phonemes are sound units.
For example, the word “fixed” is pronounced as follows:
/f/ /i/ /k/ /s/ /o/
Note that it has 4 letters, but 5 phonemes, which is the number of sounds made in this word, which are represented by slashes ( // ).
Phoneme Examples
taxi
/t/ /a/ /k/ /s/ /i/
The word taxi has 4 letters and 5 phonemes.
good
/b/ /ẽ/
The word well has 3 letters and 2 phonemes.
what
/what/
A word that has 3 letters and 2 phonemes.
war
/gu/ /e/ rr/ /a/
The word war has 6 letters and 4 phonemes.
also
/t/ /ã/ /b/ /ẽ/
The word well has 6 letters and 4 phonemes.
Red
/Red/
The word red has 8 letters and 7 phonemes.
propeller
/e/ /l/ /i / w/ /e/
The word helix has 6 letters and 5 phonemes.
blood
/s/ ã/ /gu/ /e/
The word blood has 6 letters and 4 phonemes.
skin
/skin/
The word skin has 4 letters and 4 phonemes.
fan
/v/ /ẽ/ /t/ /i/ /l/ /a/ d/ /o/ /r/
The word skin has 10 letters and 9 phonemes.
school
/school/
The word school has 6 letters and 6 phonemes.
car
car/
The word car has 5 letters and 4 phonemes.
book
/book/
The word book has 5 letters and 5 phonemes.
cheese
/cheese/
The word cheese has 6 letters and 5 phonemes.
When
/qu/ /ã/ /d/ /o/
The word when has 6 letters and 4 phonemes.
locksmith
/locksmith/
The word keychain has 8 letters and 7 phonemes.
Earth
/Earth/
The word earth has 5 letters and 4 phonemes.
Phoneme classification
Phonemes are classified into: vowels, semivowels and consonants.
At vowels are phonemes that cause the vocal cords to vibrate and are pronounced without any hindrance, acting as the base of the syllables, for example:
- sa-po = /s/ /a/ /p/ /o/
- bo-la = /b/ /o/ /l/ /a/
- pi-pa = /p/ /i/ /p/ /a/
At semivowels are the phonemes /i/ and /u/ that join a vowel to form a syllable, for example:
- bai-le = /b/ /a/ /i/ /l/ /e/
- plank = /t/ /a/ /b/ /u/ /a/
- king = /r/ /e/ /i/
At consonants are phonemes that find obstacles to be pronounced and only form a syllable when accompanied by a vowel, for example:
- if it = /s/ /e/ /l/ /o/
- a-mor = /a/ /m/ /o/ /r/
- vi-si-ta = /v/ /i/ /z/ /i/ /t/ /a/
For you to understand better:
vowel, semivowel and consonant
Phoneme and lyrics