Spelling the sound [ ]

The spelling of a sound may be influenced by several factors:

  •   syllable structure: open or closed
  •   environment
  •   the position of the sound within a word: initial, middle, final
  •   a combination of two or more of the above

Conversely, how letters and letter groupings are pronounced may depend on different
factors:
  •   syllable structure: open or closed
  •   environment
  •   the position of the letter within a word: initial, middle, final
  •   a combination of two or more of the above


For the sound [ ], spelling is based on environment and position.

How to spell it?


The sound [ ] can be represented by the following letters:
  •   "c" in initial, middle or final position
            café, école, écrire, sac

  •   "cc" in middle position when followed by a consonant or the vowels a, o, u
            accrocher, accabler, accueillir

  •   "ch" in initial or middle position, in scientific words derived from Greek
            chorégraphe, archéologue

  •   "qu" in initial or middle position
            quai, coquillage

"q" est toujours suivi du "u" sauf dans "cinq" et "coq"?

  •   "k" in initial or middle position
            kaki