英語発音ルール完全ガイド

母音のルール

"Magic E Rule"

A silent final -e makes the preceding vowel say its letter name

""cap" → "cape"; the e is silent but changes the vowel sound"

母音のルール

"Vowel Digraph "ai" / "ay""

"ai" appears mid-word; "ay" appears at the end

""rain", "train" vs "play", "say""

母音のルール

"Open Syllable Rule"

A vowel at the end of a syllable is usually long

""go", "be", "hi", "no", "by""

母音のルール

"Closed Syllable Rule"

A vowel followed by a consonant in the same syllable is usually short

""cat", "hit", "lot", "cup""

母音のルール

""oo" Sounds"

"oo" can be /uː/ (long) or /ʊ/ (short) depending on the word

""food" /uː/ vs "foot" /ʊ/"

母音のルール

""ea" Digraph"

"ea" is usually /iː/ but can be /ɛ/ before certain consonants

""beach" /iː/ vs "bread" /ɛ/"

母音のルール

""ow" Diphthong"

"ow" can represent /aʊ/ or /oʊ/ depending on the word

""cow" /aʊ/ vs "snow" /oʊ/"

母音のルール

"Schwa Reduction"

Unstressed vowels in multi-syllable words often reduce to /ə/

""about" = /əˈbaʊt/; "sofa" = /ˈsoʊfə/"

子音のルール

"Soft C Rule"

"c" is pronounced /s/ before e, i, or y; otherwise /k/

""city" /s/, "cycle" /s/ vs "cat" /k/, "coat" /k/"

子音のルール

"Soft G Rule"

"g" is pronounced /dʒ/ before e, i, or y; otherwise /ɡ/

""gem" /dʒ/, "gym" /dʒ/ vs "gap" /ɡ/, "got" /ɡ/"

子音のルール

"TH Sounds"

"th" is voiced /ð/ in function words and voiceless /θ/ in content words

""the", "this" /ð/ vs "think", "bath" /θ/"

子音のルール

"Flap T (American)"

In American English, /t/ between vowels is often pronounced as a quick /d/-like flap

""butter" sounds like "budder"; "water" like "wader""

子音のルール

"Glottal Stop"

In British English, /t/ before an unstressed syllable or at word end is often replaced by a glottal stop /ʔ/

""bottle" = /ˈbɒʔl/; "button" = /ˈbʌʔn/"

子音のルール

"Final -ed Pronunciations"

Past tense -ed is /t/ after voiceless consonants, /d/ after voiced, /ɪd/ after t/d

""jumped" /t/, "called" /d/, "wanted" /ɪd/"

子音のルール

"CH and SH Digraphs"

"ch" is usually /tʃ/ and "sh" is always /ʃ/; never pronounce each letter separately

""church" /tʃ/, "ship" /ʃ/"

子音のルール

"Nasal Assimilation"

"n" before /p/, /b/, /m/ often shifts articulation to /m/; before /k/, /ɡ/ it becomes /ŋ/

""input" → /ɪmˈpʊt/; "income" → /ˈɪŋkʌm/"

無音の文字

"Silent K"

"k" is silent before "n" at the start of a word

""knife" /naɪf/, "know" /noʊ/, "knight" /naɪt/"

無音の文字

"Silent W"

"w" is silent before "r" at the start of a word and in "who", "whole", "write"

""write" /raɪt/, "who" /huː/, "wrong" /rɒŋ/"

無音の文字

"Silent GH"

"gh" after a vowel is usually silent, making the preceding vowel long

""night" /naɪt/, "light" /laɪt/, "through" /θruː/"

無音の文字

"Silent B"

"b" is silent after "m" at the end of a word

""lamb" /læm/, "bomb" /bɒm/, "thumb" /θʌm/"

無音の文字

"Silent L"

"l" is silent before "f", "k", "m", and "d" in certain words

""half" /hæf/, "talk" /tɔːk/, "calm" /kɑːm/"

無音の文字

"Silent H"

"h" is silent at the start of certain words, especially of French origin

""hour" /ˈaʊər/, "honest" /ˈɒnɪst/, "heir" /ɛər/"

無音の文字

"Silent P"

"p" is silent before "n", "s", or "t" in Greek-origin words

""pneumonia" /njuːˈmoʊniə/, "psalm" /sɑːm/, "pterodactyl" /ˌtɛrəˈdæktɪl/"

無音の文字

"Silent T"

"t" is silent in many words of French origin and fixed English expressions

""castle" /ˈkæsəl/, "listen" /ˈlɪsən/, "often" /ˈɒfən/"

ストレスのルール

"Two-Syllable Nouns"

In two-syllable nouns, stress usually falls on the first syllable

""TAble", "PEOple", "WINdow", "CIty""

ストレスのルール

"Two-Syllable Verbs"

In two-syllable verbs, stress often falls on the second syllable

""reLAX", "beGIN", "deCIDE", "conTROL""

ストレスのルール

"Noun/Verb Stress Shift"

Some words change stress depending on whether they are a noun or verb

""REcord" (noun) vs "reCORD" (verb); "PROtest" vs "proTEST""

ストレスのルール

"-tion / -sion Suffix Rule"

Stress always falls on the syllable immediately before -tion or -sion

""naˈtion", "inforˈmation", "teleˈvision""

ストレスのルール

"-ic Suffix Rule"

Stress falls on the syllable before -ic

""elecˈtric", "ecoˈnomic", "scienˈtific""

ストレスのルール

"Compound Noun Stress"

In compound nouns, the first element carries primary stress

""BLACKbird" (a bird) vs "black BIRD" (a bird that is black)"

ストレスのルール

"Content vs Function Words"

Content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are stressed; function words are usually reduced

""I WANT to GO to the SHOP" — "to" and "the" are unstressed"

ストレスのルール

"-ate Suffix Stress"

Nouns/adjectives ending in -ate are stressed on the first syllable; verbs on the last

""COMplicate" (adj) vs "complicATE" (verb); "CERtificate" vs "cerTIFicate""

イントネーションのルール

"Falling Intonation"

Statements and wh- questions end with falling pitch — this sounds definite and complete

""I live in London." ↘ "Where do you work?" ↘"

イントネーションのルール

"Rising Intonation"

Yes/no questions and lists (except the last item) use rising pitch

""Do you speak English?" ↗ "coffee ↗, tea ↗, or juice ↘""

イントネーションのルール

"Fall-Rise Intonation"

A fall-rise signals reservation, contrast, or implication — something is left unsaid

""I passed the exam." ↘↗ (but I didn't do well)"

イントネーションのルール

"Tonic Stress Placement"

The word carrying new information receives the nucleus — the main pitch movement of the tone unit

""I SAW John." (not someone else); "I saw JOHN." (not someone else)"

イントネーションのルール

"Tag Questions Intonation"

Genuine tag questions rise; rhetorical ones (expecting agreement) fall

""It's cold, isn't it?" ↗ (genuine); "You can't miss it, can you?" ↘ (rhetorical)"

イントネーションのルール

"Listing Intonation"

Each item in a list rises except the final one, which falls to signal the list is complete

""I need eggs ↗, milk ↗, bread ↗, and butter ↘.""

イントネーションのルール

"Attitude Through Intonation"

The same words spoken with different intonation patterns carry completely different meanings

""Really?" with rise = interest; with fall = scepticism; with fall-rise = mild surprise"

イントネーションのルール

"Pausing and Chunking"

Speakers divide speech into tone units — each chunk has one main stress; pauses mark boundaries

""When I arrived / the meeting / had already started ↘.""

つながった発音

"Linking (Consonant + Vowel)"

When a word ends in a consonant and the next begins with a vowel, the sounds link smoothly

""turn off" sounds like "tur-noff"; "an apple" → "a-napple""

つながった発音

"Linking R (British)"

In non-rhotic accents, a final -r is pronounced when followed by a vowel-initial word

""here and there" → "here-r-and there-r-and…""

つながった発音

"Intrusive R (British)"

A /r/ sound is inserted between two vowels even when no r is spelled

""the idea of" → "the idea-r-of"; "law and order" → "law-r-and order""

つながった発音

"Elision"

Sounds are dropped entirely in fast speech, especially /t/ and /d/ between consonants

""last night" → "las' night"; "next day" → "nex' day""

つながった発音

"Assimilation"

A sound changes to become more like a neighbouring sound

""ten people" → "tem people" (/n/ → /m/ before /p/)"

つながった発音

"Weak Forms"

Function words are reduced to a shorter, quieter form in normal speech

""and" → /ən/, "to" → /tə/, "for" → /fər/, "of" → /əv/"

つながった発音

"Gemination (Double Consonants)"

When two identical sounds meet at a word boundary, one elongated sound is produced, not two

""good day" → one long /d/; "black cat" → one long /k/"

つながった発音

"Yod Coalescence"

/t/, /d/, /s/, /z/ merge with a following /j/ to create new sounds in connected speech

""did you" → "didja" /dɪdʒə/; "meet you" → "meetcha" /miːtʃə/"