The Invisible Y: A Case for Spelling in Pronunciation Learning

What can a teacher say to help the student whose rendering of community sounds like come‐moon‐ity and whose ridiculous rhymes with tickle us? One possibility is, “Go to a dictionary and look up the pronunciation of these words.” Another, more helpful possibility is, “Let me show you whereto use the Invisible Y in English,” The Invisible Y is the unwritten /y/ that is required in continue , omitted in construe , optional in continuity , and in issue , combines to make /s̆/ in American English speech but remains /sy/ in some British English speech. Its apparent erratic behavior is a point of frustration for ESL learners, for whom there is virtually no guidance. This article 1) shows that the learner's mistakes in this area ordinarily arise, not from a lack of articulatory skill, but from a lack of information about the system; 2) presents the simple rules governing the use of the Invisible Y, rules accessible to learners through standard orthography; and 3) discusses how standard orthography can be used as a pronunciation resource for learners.