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From Kenneth Beare, The following series of pronunciation exercises combines words beginning with the same diphthong sound followed by similar diphthong sounds. Voiced and voiceless consonants are paired (b - voiced / p - voiceless, d - voiced / t - voiceless, etc.) to help students compare and contrast similar consonant formation. 1. Repeat each line slowly, listen for the minor differences between the vowel and consonant sounds. 2. Repeat each line three times. Each time repeat more quickly trying to keep the sounds distinct. 3. Find a partner and listen to each other repeat the lines. 4. Try to invent sentences using each sound at least once. For example: We ate cake and flew a kite on my birthday. - Don't worry too much about the sentence making much sense! 'ay' as in 'day' bay pay day table gay cake say zany shape Jake chase hey! 'ai' as in 'die' buy pie die tie guy kite sigh Zaire shy jive child hi
Vowel Sounds 'eh' - as in 'let', 'ih' - as in 'hit', 'ee' - as in 'see', and 'ae'- as in 'cat' 'long ah' - as in 'car', 'short ah' - as in 'got' 'long uh' - as in 'put', 'short uh' - as in 'up', 'oo' - as in 'through' Diphthong Sounds 'ay' - as in 'day', 'ai' - as in 'sky' 'ou' - as in 'home', 'ow' - as in 'mouse', 'oi' - as in 'boy' 'ieh(r)' - as in 'near', 'ehi(r)' - as in 'hair'
Vowel Sounds 'eh' - as in 'let', 'ih' - as in 'hit', 'ee' - as in 'see', and 'ae'- as in 'cat' 'long ah' - as in 'car', 'short ah' - as in 'got' 'long uh' - as in 'put', 'short uh' - as in 'up', 'oo' - as in 'through' Diphthong Sounds 'ay' - as in 'day', 'ai' - as in 'sky' 'ou' - as in 'home', 'ow' - as in 'mouse', 'oi' - as in 'boy' 'ieh(r)' - as in 'near', 'ehi(r)' - as in 'hair'
Well, first of all, you need to understand which words we generally stress and which we do not stress. Basically, stress words are considered CONTENT WORDS such as Nouns e.g. kitchen, Peter (most) principal verbs e.g. visit, construct Adjectives e.g. beautiful, interesting Adverbs e.g. often, carefully
Non-stressed words are considered FUNCTION WORDS such as Determiners e.g. the, a, some, a few Auxiliary verbs e.g. don't, am, can, were Prepositions e.g. before, next to, opposite Conjunctions e.g. but, while, as Pronouns e.g. they, she, us
Let's return to the beginning example to demonstrate how this affects speech. The beautiful Mountain appeared transfixed in the distance. (14 syllables) He can come on Sundays as long as he doesn't have to do any homework in the evening. (22 syllables) Even though the second sentence is approximately 30% longer than the first, the sentences take the same time to speak. This is because there are 5 stressed words in each sentence. From this example, you can see that you needn't worry about pronouncing every word clearly to be understood (we native speakers certainly don't). You should however, concentrate on pronouncing the stressed words clearly. Now, do some listening comprehension or go speak to your native English speaking friends and listen to how we concentrate on the stressed words rather than giving importance to each syllable. You will soon find that you can understand and communicate more because you begin to listen for (and use in speaking) stressed words. All those words that you thought you didn't understand are really not crucial for understanding the sense or making yourself understood. Stressed words are the key to excellent pronunciation and understanding of English. I hope this short introduction to the importance of stress in English will help you to improve your understanding and speaking skills. Make sure to come to our chat lessons on Monday and Thursday evening to discuss these and other ideas. Email for any suggestions or topics that you would like to work on in the future.
Index to number references and vowel / consonant sounds Vowel Phonemes 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 pit pet pat pot luck good ago meat car door 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Consonant Phonemes pit bit time door cat get fan van think that
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44
send zip man nice ring leg rat wet hat yet shop leisure chop jump
Phonetic Transcription
For students who have mastered the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) phonetic transcriptions can help improve their understanding of the importance of connected speech when speaking English. Dictionaries give single word phonetic transcriptions which can greatly improve students pronunciation skills. However, when speaking to native speakers, students are often surprised at how the phonetic transcriptions seem to not always match pronunciation used in connected speech. This is in great part due to the fact that English is a time stressed language, as opposed to a syllabic language (See "Stress and Intonation: Key to Understanding"). This manner of speaking greatly influences, and sometimes even changes, the pronunciation of single words. The following lesson provides students with an opportunity to examine how connected speech can change pronunciation. Aim: Greater understanding of influence of connected speech on pronunciation through the use of phonetic transcription. Gaining experience in the use of the IPA to transcribe speech. Activity: Comparison of written text with example of IPA transcription of text as it would be spoken Level: Advanced Outline: If necessary quickly review the IPA, ask students to transcribe various words written on the board. Lead a short discussion about the difference in pronunciation between various words spoken by themselves and in phrases. Examine worksheet of text transcribed in IPA Ask students to note differences between what the single word pronunciation should be and the manner in which it has been transcribed. Discuss the various changes, by giving aural examples as well as written descriptions on the board. Have students break up into small groups of 3-4. Give groups text to be transcribed into the IPA - stress that they should practice speaking each phrase before they begin the transcription process. Have groups compare their work with the transcribed text handout. Discuss differences and problematic areas as a class.
Frustration is a burst hot-water bottle, or loathing every moment of a holiday you're paying a fortune for. It's using the wrong side of the Sellotape, forgetting what you were going to say, or locking yourself out. Frustration is other people parking in front of your garage, or a stranger reading a riveting letter on the bus and turning over before you get to the bottom of the page. Text To Transcribe
The weather today will be warm for the time of year and fine on the whole. There will be showers here and there though some places will miss out completely. The good spell should hold over the next two days but there may be fog over low ground in the early mornings. That is the end of the general forecast.
//
"ran"
//
"run"
"full"
/u:/
"fool"
/:/
"bird"
//
"note"
//
"not"
/b/
"bet"
/v/
"vet"
//
"clothe"
//
"cloth"
/d/
"laid"
//
"lathe"
Voiceless: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction. Relax the mouth and keep sound short.
/s/
"mass"
//
"mash"
//
"sit"
/i:/
"seat"
//
"push"
/s/
"puss"
/h/
"hot"
"ch" in "loch"
//
"wage"
//
"Jerry"
//
"sherry"
Voiceless stop: back of tongue to back roof. Voiceless stop: back of tongue to back roof.
/k/ /k/
"could" "come"
/w/ /g/
"would" "gum"
// + /g/
"thing"
// + /k/
"think"
// + /k/
"think"
// + /g/
silent
"survivor" /r/
/j/
"yam"
//
"jam"
Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround & glide. Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround & glide. Voiceless: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction.
/w/
"win"
"(g)win"
/w/
"will"
/b/
"bill"
/s/
"rice"
/z/
"rise"
This text is the following: There is a police message for motorists in the Barnet area of London. A lorry has shed its load at the Apex Corner roundabout on the A1. You are asked to avoid the area as much as possible. Southbound traffic will be diverted for the next two hours. That is the end of the message.
As you can see, the phonetic alphabet seems like another language entirely, however, with patience, it can serve you well in improving your pronunciation.