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Phonologie anglaise | From Spelling to Sound : Module de Graphématique
Introduction : How irregular or regular is English spelling? 

A| English spelling is often predictable

English spelling is often considered quite “chaotic” by a lot of people and especially students. However, as in any language, there are both regularities as well as irregularities. It is important to bear in mind that the irregularity percentage is rather small compared to the thousands of words whose spelling is predictable and regular. To give you some figures, there are only about 400 words used in everyday English whose spelling is irregular. And because these words are amongst the most frequently used, this gives students the impression that the English spelling system is more irregular than it truly is. As the well-known British linguist David Crystal wrote in his book “The English Language”: 
“A major American study, published in the early 1970s […] showed that 84% of the words were spelled according to regular pattern, and that only 3% were so unpredictable that they would have to be learned by heart. Several other studies reported comparable results of 75% regularity or more”[1]. 
[1] David Crystal, The English Language: a Guided Tour of the Language, 2002
Thus, it can easily be affirmed that the English spelling is not chaotic at all and that there are indeed rules that govern the spelling pattern. Spelling is about drawing links between letters and sounds; and there are some predictable links between spelling and English pronunciation. 

​B | Graphemics or Graphematics

​Graphemics or Graphematics is defined as the linguistic study of writing systems and how spelling can be related to sounds. It examines the specifics of written words and their correspondence to the spoken language. Its purpose is to examine regularities in written words to establish rules that explain how spelling can be related to sounds. And there are indeed a substantial number of words whose spelling is predictable. 
Thus, instead of focusing on irregularities, one should focus on regularities and learn the rules that govern the English spelling system, and learn by heart the few irregularities. This approach is more beneficial for students who want to improve their English pronunciation. 

C | Conclusion

Ainsi, plutôt que d'insister sur les irrégularités, je vous propose de nous concentrer sur ce qui fonctionne. Nous pourrons ensuite retenir les quelques irrégularités. Apprendre les règles qui fonctionnent, en retenant les quelques exceptions, vous permettra d'acquérir une meilleure prononciation.
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