The symbols & concepts used throughout Camilia's Program™

• Dots inside words indicate a division of words into syllables, as in "win·dow."
• Italic letters represent silent letters, like the italic silent "p" in "receipt."
• Vowels are a, e, i, o, u, sometimes "y" as in "sky," and sometimes "w" as in "few." Always remember that: 1-Vowels are the important letters and they rule the language. 2-Vowels help ech other. 3-Vowels are the most inconsistent letters; they change drastically. 
• Vowels Inconsistency: In addition to being an author, Camilia Sadik is a discoverer of endless solutions to every problem associated with spelling, phonics, and dyslexia. She discovered that vowels make over 38 sounds that are spelled in 78 major ways we call phonics. In her book Learn to Spell 500 Words a Day, the vowel A has five sounds that are spelled in 12 ways, the vowel E has seven sounds that are spelled in 17 ways, the vowel I has eight sounds that are spelled in 19 ways, the vowel O has twelve sounds that are spelled in 20 ways, and the vowel U has six sounds that are spelled in 28 ways. The consonants c, g, h, q, s, x, w, and y are also inconsistent and they make over 50 sounds that are spelled in 60 major ways.
• Long vowels' symbols are ā, ē, ī, ō, and ū.
• Short vowels' symbols are ă, ĕ, ĭ, ŏ, and ŭ.
• Consonants are b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, and z. The consonants c, g, h, q, s, x, w, and y are also inconsistent and they make over 50 sounds that are spelled in 60 major ways.
• The difference between vowels and consonants is that vowels have sounds, but consonants are soundless unless they are said with a vowel.

Examples of syllables: There are two syllables in "win·dow," "win" and "dow." There is only one syllable in the word "cake." There are three syllables in "i·de·a." There are four syllables in "dic·tion·ar·y." There are five syllables in "so·phis·ti·cat·ed." There are three syllables in "beau·ti·ful."

Meaning of a syllable: A syllable can be a small word like the word "me" or a part of a word like the syllable "me" in "me·di·a." The word "me" and the syllable "me" in "me·di·a" sound alike and are spelled alike; the syllable "me" in "media" is like the small word "me."

A syllable may contain one or more than one vowel, but it cannot have more than one vowel sound. It is not the number of vowels in a syllable that matters, as long as those vowels make one sound. For instance, the syllable "beau" in "beau·ti·ful" contains three vowels, but only one vowel sound is heard, namely the sound of "u" is heard, and the vowels "e" and "a" in "beau" are silent vowels; the "e" and "a" do not count here because they are silent vowels and cannot break free to form a new syllable. Likewise, there is only one vowel sound in "cake" and the only vowel sound heard in "cake" is the "a" sound and the "e" is silent. Because the "e" is silent in "cake," the word "cake" cannot be divided into "ca" and "ke" because "ke" would be soundless, and therefore the silent "e" cannot count as a sounding vowel to form its own syllable.

Meaning of a schwa: The schwa is a name given to the weak sound of any vowel. It is this weak sound of a vowel that is often confused with a different vowel sound. For instance, the "a" sound in "sep·a·rate" is weak and thus it is often confused with an "e" sound. It is this weak sound of an "a" that is called a "schwa" sound. The stress in a word is on other syllables, but not on the syllable where the schwa is. The dictionary symbol for the schwa looks like this upside-down e: ə

Again, the schwa is the unstressed vowel sound in a word, which is vaguely heard. Examples:

Phonics: The various English sounds are spelled in approximately 180 spelling patterns that we call phonics. A phonic is a spelling pattern of a single sound produced by any of the 26 English letters. For instance, the "s" is a letter and the "h" is a letter, but the "sh" as in "ship" is a single sound produced by a combination of two letters; the single sound of the "sh" is a phonic, not a letter.

Similarly, the phonic "au" as in "auction" is a single sound produced by two letters. Likewise, the phonic "sion" as in "mission" is a single sound produced by four letters. The four types of phonics are:

1. Phonics made of consonants like the "sh" in "ship."

2. Phonics made of vowels like the "au" in "auto."

3. Phonics made of vowels and consonants like the "ture" in "culture." 

4. A letter that does not sound like its letter name is also a phonic, like the "y" in "fly."

Phonics made by vowels: Each vowel has, at least, four sounds and these four sounds are spelled in more than 12 spelling patterns; each spelling pattern is called a phonic. For instance, the vowel "e" has three major sounds and the three sounds are spelled in 13 spelling patterns we call phonics. One example of the phonics made by the "e" is the ie as in "chief," which produces the single sound of the long "e." Not counting the consonants, the five vowels alone make 38 major sounds that are spelled in 96 ways; it is the ways that sounds are spelled that is called phonics.

Value of teaching phonics: The 26 English letters produce over 100 sounds that are spelled in approximately 180 spelling patterns we call phonics. For instance and because English did not have a single letter to represent the ch sound as in "chips," the "ch" phonic was created to spell this sound. Similarly, English did not have a single letter to represent the sion sound as in "vision"; thus, the "sion" phonic was created or accepted into the language to spell this sound. Remembering the different spelling patterns (different ways) of the 100 sounds in thousands of English words is just as important as remembering the 26 letters. Therefore, teaching only some of the phonics is like teaching only some of the letters.

It is unacceptable to teach only "some" of the 26 letters and then expect students to read and spell using all of the 26 letters. Likewise, it is unacceptable to teach only some of phonics or not teach them at all, and then expect students to read and spell words correctly. To ensure that all students learn to read and spell, each combination of letters producing a single sound, i.e. each phonic and each spelling of a sound must be learned beforehand similar to the way each letter is learned beforehand. Without learning each phonic right after learning the letters, approximately half of the population will not memorize phonics while reading for comprehension; this half of the population will always have difficulties remembering which spelling pattern to choose when spelling English words, or they may not be able to read at all. Reliable statistics prove that less than half of the people memorize the spelling of English words, and the rest do not. Unlike memorizers, analyzers are logical learners and they cannot memorize without questioning why a single sound should be spelled one-way, and not the other. Phonics must be made logical before they can be memorized; this is the reason Camilia's Program was created.

The Semivowel Theory by Camilia Sadik: Unless said with a vowel sound, a consonant is usually soundless. However, vowels are filled with sounds, and they are responsible for the sounds in our speech. But and in spite of being consonants, the l, m, n, r, and s have some sounds of their own, and thus can sometime act like vowels or have various effects on the vowels that precede them.

For instance, the "l" makes the "o" long in "hold," the "m" makes the "o" long in "comb," the "n" makes the "i" long in "mind," the "r" makes the "o" long in "sort," and the "s" makes the "a" long in "taste."

What was traditionally referred to as "sight words" is now explained by this Semivowel Theory. The semivowel "r" is particularly controlling of the vowels that precede it. It is responsible for the vast majority of the schwas as in the "a" sound in "beggar." The semivowels can sometimes cause the preceding vowels to sound like another vowel, like the "u" in "burn," wherein the "u" is not short nor is it a schwa.

For the complete Semivowels Theory, please review Lesson 94 in the 100 Spelling Rules book by Camilia Sadik.

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