Two letters, one sound
Until now, every letter said its own sound. In ship that rule changes: s and h do not say /s/ /h/; together they say /sh/. Two letters, one sound. That pair is called a *digraph* ("di" means two, "graph" means writing).
The words in this guide are easy to sound out once a child sees the pair as a single unit. A helpful habit: draw a short line under the two letters, instead of a dot under each, to show they go together.
The digraphs and their Malayalam twins
| Letters | Sounds like | Words |
|---|---|---|
| sh | ഷ് |  ship (കപ്പൽ),  shell (ചിപ്പി),  shark (സ്രാവ്),  fish (മീൻ) |
| ch | ച് |  chair (കസേര),  cheese (ചീസ്),  cherry (ചെറി),  chick (കോഴിക്കുഞ്ഞ്) |
| th | ത് |  thumb (തള്ളവിരൽ),  three (മൂന്ന്),  thread (നൂൽ),  bath (കുളി) |
| th | ദ് |  this (ഇത്),  that (അത്),  feather (തൂവൽ) |
| ng | ങ് |  ring (മോതിരം),  king (രാജാവ്),  wing (ചിറക്),  flamingo (രാജഹംസം) |
| ck | ക് |  duck (താറാവ്),  sock (സോക്സ്),  clock (ഘടികാരം),  lock (പൂട്ട്) |
| qu | ക്വ |  queen (രാജ്ഞി),  question (ചോദ്യം),  squid (കണവ),  mosquito (കൊതുക്) |
Teaching tips for each one
sh: the quiet sound
Malayalam ഷ് is very close. Put a finger on the lips: "shhh", the sound for a sleeping baby. Words: ship, shop, fish, dish, brush.
ch: the sneeze sound
Like ച്. A short, sharp sound, as in "a-choo". Words: chin, chop, chips, lunch, much.
th: tongue out (two sounds)
Malayalam has no exact twin for either th, and Kerala English often uses ത and ദ instead. For both, the tongue tip goes lightly between the teeth.
- thumb, three, thin, bath: blow air, no voice.
- this, that, then, feather: the same, with the voice buzzing.
Children usually find this one fun: it is the only sound where sticking your tongue out is the right answer. More practice in the sounds Malayali children mix up.
ng: already in Malayalam
ങ in മാങ്ങ is the same sound. The one thing to watch: do not add a hard g at the end. King ends on the humming sound, not "king-g".
ck: two letters for /k/
ck comes at the end of short words after a short vowel: duck, sock, back, neck, kick. It says the same /k/ as c and k. A handy rule: after a short vowel at the end of a word, /k/ is usually spelt ck.
qu: a team that never splits
q almost never appears without u, and together they say /kw/, like ക്വ: queen, quiz, quick.
Practice ideas
- Sorting baskets: make two labels, sh and ch. Say a word and let your child put a token in the right basket.
- Find the pair: in a picture book, hunt for sh, ch or th on a page.
- Change the digraph: ship, chip; shop, chop; shin, chin, thin.
In Kutty Phonics, sh, ch, ng and qu are taught in world 5 (Thrissur Pooram), along with x and z. ck comes earlier, in world 3 (Kovalam Beach), and world 6 (Vallam Kali) adds both th sounds. The Fish Sort game in world 5 sorts sh words from ch words.
