Handywrite System Summary
 
To
 better understand the above, study the following. Notice how, in the 
examples, each sound is often spelled several different ways.
Consonants: (as in....)
n m  knit—mit
   knit—mit  , knife—calm (no l sound)
, knife—calm (no l sound)
 
t d  two—do
 two—do  , stopped (one p, ends in t)—fiddle
, stopped (one p, ends in t)—fiddle 
 
k g  coat—goat
 coat—goat  , back—ghost
, back—ghost 
 
r l  rake—lake
 rake—lake  , wrong—tell
, wrong—tell 
 
p b  pin—been
 pin—been  , happy (only one p sound)—rabbit
, happy (only one p sound)—rabbit 
 
f v  fairy—very
 fairy—very  , laugh—of (v not f)
, laugh—of (v not f)
 
h w  how—wow
 how—wow  , who (starts with h)—wine
, who (starts with h)—wine 
 
sh ch  shin—chin
 shin—chin  , ocean—watch
, ocean—watch 
 
("ch" is the sound of t+sh, but gets a symbol of its own)
zh j  azure—jam
  azure—jam  , measure—bridge
, measure—bridge
 
("j" is the sound of d+zh as in "edge")
ng nk  sing—sink
 sing—sink  , long—lank
, long—lank 
 
("nk" is the sound of ng+k)
Th th  thin—then (same vowel)
 thin—then (same vowel)  , thigh—breathe
, thigh—breathe 
 
("Thin"
 and "then" are the only two common words distinguished solely by the 
two forms of th, so if you get them mixed up writing other words, no big
 deal. By the way, the "th" in "then" or "the" occurs about ten times 
more often in writing than "Th" in "thin" or "think")
(s, z, and x may curve two ways, whichever seems best)
x y 
 example—yet
 example—yet  , extra—onion
, extra—onion 
 
("x"
 is the sound of k+s in fox, eh+k+s in extra, or eh+g+z in exact—if you 
need to be excruciatingly exact you could write extra as  )
) 
(These
 sounds are from foreign words such as "llama" when pronounced like "y" 
instead of "l." In Spain "ll" is like the "lli" in "million." The "ny" 
sound is the "ñ" in "mañana" or "canyon")
Vowels: (as in...)
ae  bat
   bat  , plaid
, plaid  , half
, half  , laugh
, laugh , can
, can  ,
, 
glad 
 
eh  bet
  bet  , many
, many  , said
, said  , says
, says  , bread
, bread  ,
, 
leopard 
 
ih  bit
  bit  , mini
, mini  , Sid
, Sid  , busy
, busy  , women
, women  ,
, 
hymn
 
a  bot or bought
  bot or bought , father
, father  , Don
, Don  , far
, far  , caught
, caught  ,
, 
heart 
 
uh  but
  but  , done
, done  , alone
, alone  , circus
, circus  , pencil
, pencil 
 
ey  bait
   bait  , age
, age  , aid
, aid  , say
, say  , they
, they  , vein
, vein 
 
i  beet
   beet  , team
, team  , people
, people  , key
, key  , equal
, equal 
 
ay  bite
   bite  , height
, height  , aisle
, aisle  , eye
, eye  , lie
, lie  , high
, high 
 
(may be written with a forward or backward slant, but generally down)
o  boat
   boat  , sew
, sew  , open
, open  , toe
, toe  , beau
, beau  , yeoman
, yeoman 
 
yu  butte
   butte  , new
, new  , few
, few  , feud
, feud  , beauty
, beauty  , view
, view 
 
u  boot
   boot  , shoe
, shoe  , rule
, rule  , blue
, blue  , fruit
, fruit  , adieu
, adieu 
 
c  book, put
   book, put  , full
, full  , wolf
, wolf  , good
, good  , should
, should 
 
au  bout
  bout  , house
, house  , bough
, bough  , now
, now , towel
, towel 
 
oy  boil
   boil  , boy
, boy  , toil
, toil  , voice
, voice  , oil
, oil 
 
aw  bawl
  bawl  , dawn
, dawn  , law
, law  , yawl—y'all
, yawl—y'all  ,
, 
drawl 
 
(This is a minor vowel very close to the "short o" in Don. In practice this vowel sound can be represented by the  symbol without confusion. So "all" or "awl" could be written
 symbol without confusion. So "all" or "awl" could be written  or
or  and
 so forth, but if you need to distinguish between "dawn" and "Don" or 
"la" and "law," "tock" and "talk," then you can—these being the among 
the few examples I have encountered that differ solely on the basis of 
these vowel sounds. Some words, like "bought" (bawt) and "bot" (baht) 
may be pronounced the same by some people, and so may be written the 
same. Note that when writing this symbol there is always at least one 
sharp angle between it and a consonant to distinguish it from the 
vowels
and
 so forth, but if you need to distinguish between "dawn" and "Don" or 
"la" and "law," "tock" and "talk," then you can—these being the among 
the few examples I have encountered that differ solely on the basis of 
these vowel sounds. Some words, like "bought" (bawt) and "bot" (baht) 
may be pronounced the same by some people, and so may be written the 
same. Note that when writing this symbol there is always at least one 
sharp angle between it and a consonant to distinguish it from the 
vowels  and
and  which may also be tear shaped when they sometimes blend in with two consonants— in which case there is no angle.)
which may also be tear shaped when they sometimes blend in with two consonants— in which case there is no angle.) 
r  bur
bur  , bird
, bird  , first
, first  , word
, word  , honor
, honor  , zephyr
, zephyr 
 
(A
 little known or acknowledged fact: "r" is a vowel, not a consonant. 
Generations of English teachers have mislead you. While I did list "r" 
with the consonants, I'm now giving you the straight dope. A vowel sound
 is one you can make in a continuous manner using your vocal cords with 
mouth open until you run out of breath. Try it. Consonants are the 
various ways vowels can be modified at the beginning or end of them. Say
 "ahahahahahahahah," now say "rrrrrrrrrrrrr." Obviously "R" is a vowel. 
Some admit only that it's a semivowel, but I prefer to say the emperor 
has no clothes and claim it's a vowel. Next time you're around an 
English teacher or other language expert, argue this point ad nausium until they concede.)