Learning phonics

Question

Hi. I'm learning phonics and there's some things that cause me difficulty. I think if you listen to most of what you call phonics songs online, the sound for the letter "i" is the short sound, as in "pig," not the long sound, as in "dice." Why is it? Also, when you want to pronounce words like "circus," neither sound seems to fit. I think the sound for "i" here has the sound of "uh." Does that mean generally sounds covered in phonics lessons do not cover all the variations in sounds that words have? I hope my questions are clear to you. Anyway, thank you in advance for your help.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

AnonymousI think if you listen to most of what you call phonics songs online, the sound for the letter "i" is the short sound, as in "pig," not the long sound, as in "dice." Why is that?

There is no particular reason. There are various ways of teaching this topic.

AnonymousAlso, when you want to pronounce words like "circus," neither sound seems to fit.

Right. A vowel letter followed by "r" is pronounced differently from the same letter when it is not followed by "r".

"er", "ir", and "ur" are all pronounced the same when final or when followed by a consonant. Use the same sound for all of these:

her, sir, cur, fern, term, shirt, bird, curt, turn

The combination "wor" contains the same sound (preceded by the "w" sound):

word, worth, worm, work

AnonymousDoes that mean generally sounds covered in phonics lessons do not cover all the variations in sounds that words have?

Correct. Phonics lessons usually cover only the basics of pronunciation.

CJ

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