Many claim that the English Language is difficult to grasp and its many rules add to its complexity. The English alphabet consists of 26 letters from 

Many claim that the English Language is difficult to grasp and its many rules add to its complexity. The English alphabet consists of 26 letters from a to z but has 44 sounds because the letters do not always represent the same sound. To decode and spell words correctly, it is important to have a good understanding of phonemic awareness, that is, the sounds of the letters. The English alphabet can be made easier by making a few improvements. Here are 5 easy ways that this can be done.   1. Remove the Letter “C” The letter “c” has the identical sound of k and s and doesn’t have a sound of its own. That makes the letter “c” redundant and can therefore be removed. Based on our understanding of phonemic awareness, the letter “c” carries a hard sound as in the word can and a soft sound as in the word cent. If we isolate these two sounds of c, we recognize that they correspond with the letters “k” and “s” respectively. Benjamin Franklin once sought to have “c” removed in the 18th century when he developed an alphabet with certain letters from the English alphabet removed. 2. Sort Out “G” and “J” The sounds for “g” and “j” are often confused. “G” has two sounds, that is, the /g/sound in the word gold and /g/ as in gym. But yes, the letter “j” has the same sound as “g” in gym. So why not spell the word gym with the letter “j”? There is a rule for this. The letter “g” is pronounced as /j/ when followed by the letters “e”, “i” or “y”. The use of the letter “g” also has to do with the origin or the words. All these rules can be difficult to learn and apply; therefore, some have proposed that /j/ and /g/ sounds be sorted out and that there be some consistency with their use of “g”.   3. Decide the Fate of “y” We have been taught that of the 26 letters of the alphabet, there are vowels (a, e, i, o u) and the remaining letters are consonants. However, there are times where the letter “y” is considered a vowel. So when is “y” a vowel and when is it a consonant? “Y” is a vowel when there are no other vowels in the word like in the word hymn and when the word ends in “y”. “Y” is a consonant when used at the beginning of the word as in yam. It would make things easier for users if “y” had a constant status.           4. Remove the Letter “Q” The letter “q” is redundant and therefore it would make sense to just get rid of it in the English alphabet. “Q” is often followed by “u,” because of its Latin invention that has a Greek origin. “Qu” gives the sound of “k” and “w” together: /kw/. So the word question could be spelt as kwestion. The letter “q” makes the sound /k/ as with the word etiquette. Therefore, the letter “q” can simply be replaced by “k”. 5. Have a Letter For “TH” English spelling and decoding is often challenging when two consonants are combined but neither of them make their sound. These are consonant digraphs such as “th” like in the word thirst. Neither the /t/ or /h/ sound can be heard. In other languages such as Czech, there are letters to represent the sounds of such combinations of letters. So why can’t the same be done for the English alphabet?

Easy Ways We Can Improve the English Alphabet

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