- The letter 'y' can work as both a vowel and a consonant with the location of the letter in the word impacting its usage. When 'y' is at the end of a word, spelling the /ī/ sound, it is making sure that an English word does not end in an 'i'. When 'y' spells the /ĭ/ sound, it typically comes from Greek origin (Stone, 2021).
- At the end of the first syllable in a multisyllabic word, 'y' can spell both the /ĭ/ and /ī/ sound, like in physical or typo (Eide, 2011).
- 'y' will spell /ē/ in an unstressed syllable that comes at the end of a multisyllabic word (Eide, 2011) and used in a stressed syllable the letter 'y' will spell the /ī/ sound (Bishop, 1986).
- Only 57 English words have the letter 'y' used as a consonant (Bishop, 1986).
References
Bishop, M. M. (1986). The complete reference book of phonics and spelling: The ABC's and all their tricks. Mott Media, Inc.
Eide, D. (2011). Uncovering the logic of English: A common sense solution to America's literacy crisis. Pedia Learning Inc.
Kilpatrick, D. A. (2015). Essentials of assessing, preventing, and overcoming reading difficulties. Wiley.
Stone, L. (2021). Spelling for life: Uncovering the simplicity and science of spelling. Routledge.
