How to Pronounce English Alphabets - Part I: Consonants (N P Q)

Introduction

You have heard voice of British and American Adult Male in the last four articles. You will hear the voice of a British Adult Female in this article. Please, listen 3-4 times. Definition of: (a) Stem: The main part of a verb or other word to which inflexions and other suffixes are added e.g. (un) limit (ed). (b) Inflexion: A change in the form of a word (usually by adding a suffix) e.g. –ed, to indicate a change in its grammatical function.

By: Rattanji

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Instructions

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Difficulty: Moderate

Tips & Warnings:

Remember ‘e’ is silent at the end of a word and makes the consonant in front of it say its alphabet name as in Apple, Before, Close, Handle, Range.
Make a list of the words and add new words.
Listen news, read good books loudly to learn pronunciation of words.
It is impossible to make a set of rules that help correct pronunciation of every word, since the pronunciation is continually changing.
Therefore, Consult books when in doubt.

Step1

Alphabet N: (a) ‘n’ has the same sound wherever it occurs in a word as in Abound, Brand, Immunize, Lemon, Menthol, Monarch, Ring, Wrong. (b) ‘nn’, has the same sound wherever it occurs in a word as in Banner, Bonn, Funnel, Funny, Henna, Inn, Nanny, Penny, Runner, Winnow. (However there are some exceptions)

Step2

Alphabet N: (a) If ‘n’ is before ‘k’ sound, (e.g. sound ‘k’ produced by ‘c’, ‘k’, ‘q’ and ‘x’), it has ‘ng’ sound as in Anxious (a-ng-kshus), Conquer, Ink, Lynx, Thanks, Think, Tranquil, Uncle, Zinc. (b) If ‘n’ is before hard ‘g’ sound, it has ‘ng’ sound as in Anger (a-ng-gur), Bangle, Dengue, Hunger, Mongol, Wangle.

Step3

Summary Alphabet N (continued): At the beginning of a word, ‘p’ and ‘n’ when pronounced together, sound ‘n’ as in Pneumatic, Pneumococcus, Pneumonia, Pneumonias, Pneumonic. (i.e. ‘p’ is silent)

Step4

Alphabet N (continued): ‘n’ and ‘g’ when pronounced together, sound: (a) ‘ng’ as in Gangly (ga-ng-le), Gonging, Kingpin, Langley, Long, Mango, Penguin, Singing, Tongue. (b) ‘ngg’ as in Bangle (ba-ngg-ul), Congress, Fungal, Hunger, Languid, Monger, Mongrel, Singular. (c) ‘nj’ as in Ginger (ji-nj-ur), Hinge, Manger, Pungent, Strange.

Step5

Alphabet N (continued): (a) At the end of a word, ‘n’ and ‘g’ when pronounced together, sound ‘ng’ as in Among, Bang, Gang, Hang, Young. (b) In the middle of a word (but generally in words that are compound of a word ending in –ng plus a suffix), ‘n’ and ‘g’ when pronounced together, sound ‘ng’ as in Bringing (bri-ng-ing), Ganger, Hanged, Kingly, Longish, Singer, Strongly, Winger, Wrongful.

Step6

Summary Alphabet N (continued): In the middle of a word (and not at the end of a stem), ‘n’ and ‘g’ when pronounced together, sound ‘ngg’ as in Congo, Finger, Hungry, Mangle, Single.

Step7

Alphabet N (continued): At the end of a word, ‘n’, ‘g’ and ‘e’ when pronounced together, sound ‘nj’ as in Challenge, Hinge, Lounge, Orange, Range, Revenge, Syringe. (i.e. ‘e’ is silent at the end of the word)

Step8

Alphabet N (continued): In the middle of a word, ‘ng’ and ‘e’, or, ‘i’, or ‘y’ when pronounced together, sound ‘nj’ as in Angel, Bungee, Changeable, Dingily, Frangible.

Step9

Alphabet N (continued): At the beginning of a word, ‘k’ and ‘n’, when pronounced together sound ‘n’ as in Knee, Kneel, Knife, Knit, Knock, Knot, Know. (i.e. ‘k’ is silent)

Step10

Alphabet N (continued): At the beginning of a word, ‘g’ and ‘n’ when pronounced together, sound ‘n’ as in Gnarl, Gnat, Gnaw, Gnome, Gnu. (i.e. ‘g’ is silent)

Step11

Summary Alphabet N (continued): If ‘n’ is behind ‘m’, at the end of a word, it is silent as in Autumn, Bedamn, Column, Condemn, Contemn, Damn, Goddamn, Hymn, Limn, Multicolumn, Solemn,

Step12

Alphabet N (continued): If ‘n’ is behind ‘m’, in the middle of a word, it is silent as in Condemned, Damned, Solemner, Solemnest. (But not in Hymnal)

Step13

Alphabet N (continued): ‘n’ is silent in Monsieur.

Step14

Summary Alphabet P: (a) ‘p’ has the same sound wherever it occurs in a word as in Ample, Apollo, Cheap, Dupe, Gipsy, Kept, Municipal, Rapture. (b) ‘pp’ has the same sound wherever it occurs in a word as in Apple, Copper, Happy, Ripple, Tapping, Topper, Upper, Zippy. (However there are some exceptions.)

Step15

Alphabet P (continued): (a) ‘p’ and ‘h’, when pronounced together, regularly sound ‘f’ in the words as in Alpha, Biography, Dolphin, Hyphen, Murphy, Nymph, Photograph, Siphon, Triumph, Zephyr. (b) ‘p’ and ‘h’, when pronounced together, sound ‘p’ in some words (which are not digraphs) as in Shepherd. (c) ‘p’ and ‘h’, when pronounced together, sound ‘v’ in some words as in Stephen. (d) ‘ph’ and ‘th’, when pronounced together, sound ‘fth’ as in Diphtheria, Diphthong, Monophthong, Naphtha, Ophthalmia. Ophthalmic. (but ‘ph’ is usually silent in some words as in Phthisic, Phthisis, Apophthegm)

Step16

Summary Alphabet P (continued): ‘p’ is normally silent in the words beginning with ‘pn’ – Pneumatic, Pneumatically, Pneumococcal, Pneumococcal, Pneumoconiosis Pneumonia, Pneumonias, Pneumonic.

Step17

Alphabet P (continued): ‘p’ is normally silent in the words beginning with ‘pt’ as in Ptarmigan, Pteridine, Ptomaine, Ptosis, Ptyalin, Ptyalism.

Step18

Alphabet P (continued): ‘p’ is normally silent in the words beginning with ‘ps’ as in Pseudopodia, Psyche, Psychiatrist, Psychology, Psychosis.

Step19

Alphabet P (continued): ‘p’ is silent in these words Corps, Coup, Cupboard, Receipt.

Step20

Summary Alphabet Q: ‘q’ is always followed by ‘u’ except in some words of foreign languages. ‘q’ and ‘u’, when pronounced together, sound ‘kw’ as in Eloquent, Frequent, Liquid, Marquis, Queen, Quest, Question, Quit, Request. (However there are some exceptions.)

Step21

Alphabet Q (continued): ‘q’ and ‘u’ when pronounced together, sound ‘k’ in some words as in Briquette, Croquet, Jacquard, Liquor, Macaques, Marquees Mosquito, Racquet.

Step22

Alphabet Q (continued): At the end of a word, ‘q’ and ‘ue’ when pronounced together, sound ‘k’, as in Clique, Basque Bisque, Cheque, Oblique, Picturesque, Pique, Plaque, Queue, Toque.

Step23

Alphabet Q (continued): ‘c’, ‘q’ and ‘u’, when pronounced together, sound ‘kw’ as in Acquaintance, Acquire, Acquit, Reacquaint, Reacquire.

Step24

Summary Alphabet Q (continued): ‘c’, ‘q’ and ‘u’, when pronounced together, sound ‘k’ in some words as in Jacquard, Jacques, Lacquer, Racquet.

Step25

Alphabet N, P, Q: Pronunciation of these foreign language words should be remembered – Ab initio, Ad interim, Alumnus, Analogous, Androgynous, Apophthegm, Apophthegmatic, Colporteur, Congeries, Connoisseur, Diaphragm, Enigma, Entrepreneur, Gypsophila, Gypsum, Gyration, Gyrfalcon, Hegemony, Laryngitis, Lingua franca, Meningitis, Misogynist, Monsieur, Panegyric, Paradigm, Parole, Pedagogic, Performa, Phlegm, Phlegmatic, Poseur, Provocateur, Raconteur, Seigneur. (See Video)