The pronunciation of the letter C in English

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In English one of the most important elements to consider during study is pronunciation and sound production. This is something you cannot overlook, because in reality, many people complain that ‘English is not pronounced as it is written’. And the truth is that some sounds need more study and practice than others.

As with some other letters in English, to learn how to pronounce the letter C in English you shouldn’t have many difficulties since it is very similar to the pronunciation we use in Spanish. In this post ABA English offers you some examples so you can easily learn the pronunciation of the letter C in English and, also, expand your vocabulary with new English words.

THE ENGLISH PHONETICS OF THE LETTER C

Among the phonemes included in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), we will find those that represent the sounds of English phonetics. Interpreting the symbols of the phonetic alphabet is one of the most important tools when knowing how a word is pronounced in English. That is, each of those symbols will give you the necessary indications to pronounce the letter C in any position in a word.

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The Pronunciation of the Letter C in English

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION: HOW THE LETTER C IS WRITTEN IN ENGLISH

As we have already told you, knowing how the letter C is pronounced and written in English is not very complicated. First of all, the letter C, whose phonetic transcription is /k/, sounds like in Spanish when it is alone. If it is part of a word, it will sound like the C in ‘casa’ or ‘acuerdo’ does in Spanish.

Here are some examples. We will start with cat (gato) and its phonetic transcription, /kæt/; which is pronounced ‘cat’, just as if you read it in Spanish. What happens when there are two consecutive Cs like in accuracy (precisión), /ˈæk.jə.rə.si/? Well, nothing different; double C in English will sound like a Spanish C. In the case of C followed by H you will do the same as with the Spanish ‘ch’ sound of ‘choclo’, so child (child), /tʃaɪld/, will sound like ‘chaild’. Finally, when you find a c followed by the vowels e or i, the sound will change as it happens in Spanish, center (center) is pronounced /ˈsen.tər/ and city (city) is pronounced /ˈsɪt.i/. So we can see that the only thing that varies is the pronunciation of the rest of the letters that make up the English words, but the letter C sounds exactly as it does in Spanish.

HOW THE LETTER C IS PRONOUNCED IN ENGLISH

To practice the pronunciation of the letter C in English we suggest you start with the example words in this post and then you can add accountant (accountant), /əˈkaʊn.tənt/; call (call) /kɔːl/, and actress (actress) /ˈæk.trəs/, to expand your vocabulary.

We also suggest you pay attention to the pronunciation native speakers use when they say these words and others containing the letter C so you can recognize the correct way to say them.

To improve your pronunciation even more you can record yourself saying the words you want to learn to pronounce and then listen to the recording to see where you need to correct your way of saying them.

Pronunciation of the letter C as /s/

Some words with the letter C are pronounced with the /s/ sound. See the following examples:

Cent /sɛnt/ (Cent)

Sicily /ˈsɪsəli/ (Sicily)

Race /reɪs/ (Race)

Science /ˈsaɪəns/ (Science)

Force /fɔrs/ (Force)

Dice /daɪs/ (Dice)

Practice pronouncing the following sentences aloud:

The racer ran a race in Sicily. (The racer ran a race in Sicily).

Science says health costs cents if you practice sports. (Science says health costs cents if you practice sports).

I rolled the dice twice and I thought it was nice. (I rolled the dice twice and I thought it was nice).

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Pronunciation of C as /k/

The main sound of the letter C corresponds to /k/. Here are some examples for you:

Care /kɛr / (Care)

Cure /kjʊr/ (Cure)

Cute /kjut/ (Cute)

Cantaloupe /ˈkæntəˌloʊp/ (Cantaloupe)

Cucumber /ˈkjukəmbər/ (Cucumber)

Crow /kroʊ/ (Crow)

Now practice the following sentences aloud:

Although the cure for cancer hasn’t been found yet, medical care is necessary for patients. (Although the cure for cancer hasn’t been found yet, medical care is necessary for patients).

Usually crows love eating cantaloupe and cucumbers. (Usually, crows love eating cantaloupe and cucumbers).