English Simplified Spelling
 

Vowels


IPA
as in...
ESS
a [æ] cat
cat
á [a] father
fáther
ár [ar/a:] car
cár
ai 
[ei] bait
bait
air [eir/er/ɛr/ɛə] air
air
au [ɔ] caught
caut
e [ɛ] bet
bet
er [ər/ə] worker
wurker
é [i:] beet
bét
i [ɪ] bit
bit
ir [ir/ɪr/ɪə] beer bir
í [ai] kite
kít
ír [air/aɪə] fire
fír
o [ɒ/a] cot
cot
or [ɔr/ɔ:] or
or
ó [ou/əu] coat
cót
oi [ɔi] coil
coil
oo [ʊ] cook
cook
oor
[ur/ʊr] boor
boor
ou [au] out
out
u [ʌ] cut
cut
ur [ɜr/ɜ:] burn
burn
yur [jɜr/jɜ:] cure cyur
ú [u:] coot
cút
yú  [ju:] cute
cyút




a, e, i, o, and u  are pronounced [ə] in most unaccented syllables


Consonants


IPA
as in...
ESS
b [b] bib
bib

[k/s] cat, Cecil
cat, Cécil
ch  
[tʃ] church
church
d  
[d] dad
dad
f  
[f] fluff
fluf
g  
[g] giggle
gigel

[h] hi
hi
j  
[dʒ] judge
juj
k  
[k] kick
kik
l  
[l] lock
lok
m  
[m] mom
mom
n  
[n] nun
nun
ng  
[ŋ/ŋg] ring, finger
ring,
finger
nk  
[ŋk] think
think

[p] pop
pop
qu  
[kw] quick
quik
r  
[r] roar
ror
s  
[s] sat
sat
sh  
[ʃ] shush
shush
t  
[t] tot
tot
th  
[θ/ð] thin, then
thin, then
v  
[v] verve
vurv
w  
[w] win
win

[ks/gz] extra, exact
extra, exact

[j] yes
yes
z  
[z] zigzag
zigzag
zh 
[ʒ] vision
vizhon

Concessions to tradition
Notes


Hamlet's Soliloquy -- William Shakespeare

Tu be or not tu be, that iz tha queschon:
Wether tiz nóbler in tha mínd tu sufer
Tha slingz and aróz uv outraijos forchún,
Or tu taik ármz agenst a se uv trubelz,
And by opózing, end them.  Tu di, tu slép -
No mor, and bi a slép tu say we end
Tha hart-aik and tha thouzand nachural shoks
That flesh iz air tu; tiz a consúmaishon
Devoutly tu be wisht.  Tu di, tu slép -
Tu slép, perchans tu drém - i, therz  tha rub,
For in that slép uv deth wát drémz may cum,
Wen we hav shufeld of this mortal coil,
Must giv us pauz; therz tha respect
That maiks calamity uv so long líf:
Tha ópresorz rong, tha proud manz contúmely,
Tha pangz uv despízd luv, tha lawz delay,
Tha insolens uv ofis, and tha spurnz
That paishent merit uv tha unwurthy taiks,
Wen he himself mít hiz quietus maik
With a bair bodkin; hu wood fárdelz ber,
Tu grunt and swet under a wiry líf,
But that tha dred uv sumthing after deth,
Tha undiscuverd cuntry, frum húz born
No traveler returnz, puzelz tha wil,
And maiks us rather ber thoz ilz we hav,
Than fli tu utherz that we no not uv?
Thus conshens duz maik cowardz uv us aul,
And thus tha naitiv hyu uv rezolúshon
Iz siklyd ór with tha pail cast uv thaut,
And enterprízez uv grait pich and móment
With this regárd thair curents turn ari,
And lúz tha naim uv acshon. - Soft u now,
Tha fair Ophelia.  Nimf, in thi orizonz
Be aul mi sinz rememberd.
Tha Gettysburg Adres -- Abraham Lincoln

For scor and seven yirz ago, our fátherz braut forth on this continent a nu naishon, consévd in liberty and dedicaited tu tha propozishon that aul men ar creaited équal.  Now we ar engaijd in a grait sivil wor, testing wether that naishon or eny naishon so consévd and so dedicaited can long endur.  We ar met on a grait batelféld uv that wor.  We hav cum tu dedicait a porshon uv that féld az a fínal resting-plais for thóz hu hir gaiv thair lívz that that naishon mít liv.  It is aultúgether fiting and proper that we shood du this.  But in a larjer sens, we canot dedicait, we canot consecrait, we canot halo this ground.  Tha braiv men, living and ded, hu strugeld hir hav consecraited it far abuv our por power to ad or detract.  Tha wurld wil litel nót nor long remember wát we say hir, but it can never forget wát thay did hir.  It iz for us tha living rather tu be dedicaited hir tu the unfinisht wurk wich thay hu faut hir hav thus far so nóbly advanst.  It iz rather for us tu be hir dedicaited tu tha grait task remaining befor us - that frum théz onord ded we taik incrést devóshon tu that cauz for wich thay gaiv tha last fool mezhur uv devóshon - that we hir híly rezolv that théz ded shal not hav díd in vain, that this naishon under God shal hav a nu burth uv frédom, and that guvernment uv tha pépel, bi tha pépel, for tha pépel shal not perish frum tha urth.

Tha Lordz Prayer

Our fáther, hu árt in heven,
halód be thi naim.
Thi kingdom cum, thi will be dun,
on urth az it iz in heven.
Giv us this day our daily bred,
And forgiv us our trespasez
az we forgiv thóz hu trespas agenst us.
Léd us not intu temtaishon,
but deliver us frum évil
For thín is tha power, tha glory,
and tha kingdom, forever.
Amen.