PhonaTick - A Word List for Confusing Pronunciations

The English language is full of surprises, especially when it comes to pronunciation. With more than 19 vowel sounds represented by just five vowels (plus sometimes “y”), English can be a challenge—especially for non-native speakers.

Many words contain silent or extra letters that make pronunciation tricky. If your native language follows phonetic spelling (where words are pronounced as they are written), you might instinctively apply the same logic to English. This can lead to unexpected mistakes—like pronouncing the “t” in ballet or being puzzled by why colonel is pronounced ker-nil.

To help with this, I started compiling a list of such tricky words in a Google Spreadsheet. Then, I learned that Google Sheets can function as a read-only database, so I built a simple web app using the Google Sheets API and JavaScript to display the list online. Check it out!

The pronunciations are from Google & WordWeb (created by a physicist, Antony Lewis). 

Switching to Datasette

Recently, I discovered Datasette, a fantastic open-source tool that converts CSV files into SQLite database tables, allowing you to view, facet, filter, share, and explore data. 

Datasette also exposes the contents of a CSV file as a JSON API. I wanted to adapt my original app, which relied on Google Sheets, to use this capability. I downloaded the list as a CSV file and uploaded it to Datasette, which I self-hosted on Glitch. Glitch.com is a platform that lets you create, remix, and host web apps without worrying about servers or complex setup.

Building the Web App with GitHub Copilot

Instead of coding everything from scratch, I used GitHub Copilot inside Visual Studio Code. I simply entered this prompt into Claude 3.5 Sonnet in Copilot Chat:

Use this JSON endpoint: https://rightful-veiled-lyr.glitch.me/data.json?sql=select+word%2C+pronunciation+from+aphonetic and display the key-value pairs on a web page.

Within seconds, Copilot generated a working sample, which I then deployed on Glitch.

🚀 Try It Out!

I’ve shared the app on Glitch—give it a try and let me know what you think!