The English Alphabetic Code

simple code
phonemes
and
key pictures

graphemes
and
key words

/s/

s
snake

/a/

complex code

-ss -ce -se ce ci cy sc

glass

palace

house

cents city bicycle

/i/

scissors castle

ps

pseudonym

apple
/t/

-st-

-tt -ed

teddy

letter

-y

insect

cymbals

skipped

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/p/

/n/

-pp

pan

puppet

-nn kn gn -ine

net
/k/

/e/

/h/

bonnet knot

gnome

engine

-ck ch qu que

kit

cat

duck

ea ai

egg

head

chameleon

bouquet plaque

said

h
hat

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/r/

/m/

/d/

/g/

/o/

-rr wr rh

rat

arrow

mm -mb -mn -me

map

hammer

-dd -ed

dig

puddle

-gg gu gh gue

girl

juggle

wa qua alt

orange watch

write

thumb

rhino

columns

welcome

rained

guitar

qualify

ghost

catalogue

salt

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/u/

umbrella son

/l/
/ul/

/f/

-ll

ladder

shell

touch

thoroughfare

-le -il

-al -el

kettle

hospital camel

pencil

-ff ph -gh

feathers cliff
/b/

-ou -ough

photo

-bb bu

bat

rabbit

laugh

building

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/j/

j
jug

/y/

-ge ge gi gy dge
cabbage gerbil giraffe gymnast fridge

y
yawn

/ai/

/w/

/oa/

ai

ay a

ae a-e -ey eigh -ea

aid

tray

sundae cakes

wh

web

wheel

table

prey

eight

break

oa ow o

oe o-e -ough

eau

oak

oboe

plateau

bow

yo-yo

rope

dough

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/igh/

/ee/

-igh -ie i

-y

i-e ei

night

shy

bike

/z/

/ng/

behind

ee ea e
eel

/or/

tie

eat

emu

-y e-e

eider
*

-ey * -ie -ine

chief
*sunny concrete key
*monkey *movie

sardines

or aw au al

oar oor ore our

fork

dawn

oars

-zz -s

-se -ze

zebra

jazz

cheese

-ng -n
gong

jungle

sauce

fries

chalk

door

breeze

snore
/or/

four

war

O L P wardrobe

augh ough quar

caught
Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

thought quarter

/ngk/

-nk
ink

/v/

/oo/

-ve

violin

dove

oo oul
book

/oo/

/ks/

should

oo -ue u-e -ew -ui -ou -o

ough

moon

blue

through

-x

-ks -cks -kes

move
/gz/

fox

books

exam

exact

flute

ducks

crew

fruit

soup

cakes

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

-x

/ch/

ch -tch
chairs

/sh/

sh ch -ti -ci -ssi

sheep

/th/

patch

chef

station

magician mission

th
thistle

/th/

th
there

/kw/

qu
queen

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

/chu/

ture

picture

vulture

/ou/

/oi/

ou ow -ough
ouch

owl

oi

oy

plough

ointment toy

/yoo/

/er/

-ue u

u-e ew eu

statue

unicorn tube

er

ir

ar a
artist

father

deuce

ur ear wor

mermaid birthday nurse

/ar/

new

earth

world

schwa

mixer

alm alf alv

palm

half

/er/

calves

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com

-our -re
humour theatre

/air/

air are ear ere

hair

/eer/

bear

where

eer ear ere ier

deer

/zh/

hare

ears

adhere

cashier

-si -s

-z

-g

television treasure

azure

courgette collage

-ge

*-y, *-ey, *-ie as word endings are often pronounced between /i/ and /ee/. On this chart examples appear in the /ee/ row.

The complexities of the English Alphabetic Code include:

1. one sound (phoneme) can be represented by one, two, three or four letters: e.g. k, sh, ng, igh, eigh
2. one sound can be represented by different spellings (graphemes): e.g. /oa/ is represented by o, oa, ow, oe, o-e, eau, ough
3. one spelling can represent multiple sounds: e.g. ough: /oa/ though, /or/ thought, /oo/ through, /ou/ plough, /u/ thorough
Key to the 12 units of Debbie Hepplewhites Phonics International online synthetic phonics programme:
units1-5 Mainly simple code with options to extend
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
6-12 /air/, /eer/, /zh/, split digraphs, complex code 6th
7th
8th
9th

5th
10th

11th

12th

Debbies programme introduces a simple code of at least one letter/s-sound correspondence for each of the 44+ sounds of speech of the English language.
The programme then expands to teach further spelling and pronunciation variations of the complex Alphabetic Code.

Copyright 2008 Debbie Hepplewhite and www.PhonicsInternational.com