Identify the sounds in the following words.

How many sounds can you find in each

word? Try and rewrite the words using the phonetic symbols.

1. added =>added: /ædəd/

2. project project: /prəʤekt/
3. man man: /mæn/
4. king king: /kɪŋ/
5 duck duck: /dʌk/
6.come come: /kʌm/
7.here here: /hɪər/
8.chocolate chocolate: /ʧɔ: klət/
9.comfortable comfortable: /kʌmfətəbəl/
10.environment environment: /ənvairənmənt/
11.technology technology: /teknaliʤi/
12.bear bear: /bɪər/
13.computer computer: /kəmpju: tə/
14.English English: /ɪŋglɪʃ/
15.Manager Manager: /mænəʤə/

2. What do you understand by the term schwa? Explain what you have understood
with the help of examples.

=>”Schwa” is the name for the most common sound in English. It is a weak, unstressed sound and it occurs
in many words. It is often the sound in grammar words such as articles and prepositions.

Getting the “schwa” sound correct is a good way of making your pronunciation more accurate and natural.

The phonemic symbol for this sound is . Any vowel letter can be pronounced as schwa and the
pronunciation of a vowel letter can change depending on whether the syllable in which it occurs is stressed
or not.
In the word 'man' the letter 'a' has its full sound - represented by the symbol /æ/.

In 'postman' the syllable 'man' is not stressed and the letter 'a' is pronounced as schwa, represented by the

symbol .
The sound schwa does not only represent a single letter. In some words it is the sound of several letters or
even a whole syllable.

This is often, but not only, seen in words which have a syllable made up of a vowel letter followed by the
letter 'r'. Remember the schwa sound is only used if the syllable which it is in is not stressed. “This present
is for my brother. It's a book about a boy wizard. “

3. How many sounds do we have in English?

It's important to note that the spelling of a word is not always an accurate guide to how it is pronounced.
Similarly the pronunciation of a word is not always helpful when working out how that word should be spelt.

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet but there are many more sounds [44 sounds] in the English
language. This means that the number of sounds in a word is not always the same as the number of letters.

For example, the word 'CAT' has three letters and three sounds but the word 'CATCH' has five letters but
still only three sounds.
 If we write these words using sound symbols, we can see exactly how many sounds they have.

CAT is written -

vowels
co
ns IPA examples listen
IP
ex
list
on
A
am
en ʌ cup, luck
ant
ba b
ple
sd,
sdid arm,
d ɑ:
lab father
,
fin
lad f æ cat, black
d,
ygiv
ifg e met, bed 1

e,
ho
fla h away, 2

w, ə
gyes j cinema
hel
,loy turn, 2
cat
ell k ɜ:ʳ
,ow learn
leg
bal
,cklit hit,
ɪ
ma
tle m sitting
n,
no,
len i: see, heat
ten
mo
sin ŋ ɒ hot, rock 3
ng,
pet
fin p ɔ: call, four 45

,ger
red
ma r ʊ put, could
,p
su
try s blue,
u:
n, food
she
mi ʃ
,ss aɪ five, eye
tea
8t
cra
,sh aʊ now, out
ch
get tʃ
ec
tin eɪ say, eight
thi
k, θ
gnk,
ch oʊ go, home 6
thi
bot ð
urc
s,
hvoi
hmo v
ɔɪ boy, join
ce,
the eəʳ where, air 17
we
fiv w
rt,
ezo z ɪəʳ near, here 7
wi
o,
nd pure,
ple
lazʒ ʊəʳ
ow
asu tourist
yjus
dʒ
re,
t,
vis
lar
ion CATCH is written - In 'CATCH' the three letters TCH are one
ge
sound represented by one symbol

44 sounds….
4. 'Put'and 'Cut'are spelt in a similar fashion but pronounced differently. Could you
explain why?

put /pʊt/
cut/kʌt/

5. Could you explain connected speech?

When we speak naturally we do not pronounce a word, stop, then say the next word in the sentence. Fluent
speech flows with a rhythm and the words bump into each other. To make speech flow smoothly the way we
pronounce the end and beginning of some words can change depending on the sounds at the beginning and
end of those words.

Consonant to vowel linking - when the first word ends with a consonant sound and the second word
begins with a vowel sound. Vowel to vowel linking - when certain vowels come next to each other an
extra sound is added to make the link smooth. Sounds disappear
When the sounds /t/ or /d/ occur between two consonant sounds, they will often disappear completely from
the pronunciation.

6. Why does 'Who is' sound as who(w)iz is connected speech?

Vowel to vowel linking

When one word ends with a vowel sound and the next word begins with a vowel, another sound, a /w/ or /j/
can be added depending on the particular sounds to make a smooth transition. In these examples the link is
shown in red along with the phonemic symbol for the sound which is added to make the link smooth.

7. Why does Visit us sound as 'Visi tas'?

Consonant to vowel linking

When one word ends with a consonant sound and the next word begins with a vowel sound there is a
smooth link between the two. In these examples the link is shown in red joining the linked words. These
examples also show where the weak form schwa would be pronounced.

8. Based on the lessons you have accessed, write a brief note on what you have
understood
about pronunciation in English.

9. What is linking /r/?

Linking 'r'
In standard British English (RP) the letter 'r' after a vowel sound at the end of word is often not pronounced.
However, when the following word begins with a vowel the /r/ sound is pronounced to make a smooth link.