The word "fowlkes" is a surname and its pronunciation is a bit tricky. In IPA phonetic transcription, it is pronounced as /faʊ̯lks/. The first sound /f/ is followed by a diphthong /aʊ̯/ which sounds like "ow" in "cow". The letter "l" is pronounced as usual and followed by a voiceless sound /k/ which sounds like "k" in "kite". The last sound is "s" which is pronounced as usual. To spell "fowlkes" correctly, one needs to pay attention to these phonetic sounds.