(As mentioned in a few of my other blogs, the heading font on this website doesn't contain the symbol we need to use. In this case, the correct phonetic symbol is: / j /.)
/ j / is also our final phonetic symbol. So let’s celebrate by shouting, “Yes!!!” (but not if you’re in a quiet office and are meant to be working).
/ j / is found in the following words:
As you can see, the / j / sound is often represented by the alphabet letter ‘y’. This can be a bit confusing if you’re used to the alphabet letter ‘j’ representing the sound / ʤ /, for example in joy, join and judge. In fact, the phonetic symbol / j / is the only alphabet letter used as a phonetic symbol that does not represent the sound we are used to pronouncing when we see it in English.
Further, the / j / sound is represented by more letters than just ‘y’ at the beginning of words. Take a look at these:
Here the letter ‘u’ is representing (or partly representing) the sound / j /.
Now try reading these two sentences (answers below):
/ juː ʃʊd hæv sed jes tuː ðə ˈjeləʊ jɒt ɪn nu: jɔːk / !
/ juːʒʊəli, ʃiː raɪts əˈbaʊt ˈhjuːmən ˈvæljuːz ɪn hɜː ˈbjuːtəfʊl ˈmjuːzɪk /.
So there you have it – all the sounds in the English language! If you’ve followed this entire blog series about phonetics and their sounds, you may now need time to re-read some, listen to the sounds and practise both saying and writing them – it could take a while before you know all of the symbols by heart. But once you do, you’ll be able to look at the phonetic symbols in an English dictionary and know how any English word is pronounced. And when you’re not sure how to pronounce a word, you can listen to it, write it down in phonetic symbols and be able to go back and correctly read the sounds of that word again, rather than trying to guess from the spelling.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions, comments or suggestions. You can do so in the comments section below.
If you’d like more information about listening to, watching and practising the sounds of English, please click here.
And of course you can always contact me if you're looking for a qualified English language teacher who will personalise your lessons and offer feedback sheets at the end of every class.
In any case, I wish you all the very best in your language learning! Remember:
Communicate as well as you can. Keep learning. Keep improving. Be patient with yourself. Don't be embarrassed. Have fun! Communicate as well as you can...
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Answers to phonetic sentences above:
You should have said yes to the yellow yacht in New York!
Usually, she writes about human values in her beautiful music.
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