Some consonant phonemes are represented by DIGRAPHS. Digraphs are two different consonant letters that represent a single consonant phoneme. (In the chart of consonant sounds found in Part III, Lesson I, you may have noticed individual phonemes like /th/, /sh/, and /ch/. These are digraphs.)

The most common digraphs in English are:

Consonants often occur as BLENDS. Sometimes called "clusters," consonant blends are two or three letters that represent separate but closely associated sounds.

Common consonant blends that occur in initial position in English words are
• Those that include the letter l--plan, clean, flap, black, glad
• Those that include the letter r--prize, tree, green, cry, broom, dry, free
• Those that include the letter s--swim, score, small, sky, snap, stop, slow

Common consonant blends that occur in final position in English words are
• Those that involve the letter t--lift, last, kept, lilt, pact
• Those that involve the letter n--rent, end, ink
• Those that involve the letter l--help, elm, cold, calm, felt
• Those that involve the letter s--desk, clasp

Consonant blends also occur in three-letter combinations.

EXAMPLE:street, splash, scrape, spring

Sometimes, consonant digraphs and blends occur together at the beginning of a word:

EXAMPLE:     sh  +  r    shred        s  +  qu    square        th  +  r    throw

Consonant letters that have no corresponding sounds in words are called SILENT LETTERS. Silent letters occur in words like wrap, knee, gnat, psalm, talk, and lamb. These letters don’t represent a particular sound, so they are called "silent." (Since silent letter combinations such as wr and kn represent a single sound, they are sometimes considered digraphs.)