Ngữ Âm - Âm vị học
Ngữ Âm - Âm vị học
Ngữ Âm - Âm vị học
LESSON 1
All the sounds we make when we speak are produced by a flow of air which comes from the
lungs into the throat and then passes through the nose or mouth. This stream of air is
modified (changed) along the passage in order to produced different sounds. The different
parts of the vocal tract that can make changes to the flow of air are called the organs of
speech/ articulators.
II. DESCRIPTION
THE ARTICULATORS
1. The lips, consisting of upper lips and lower lips, can form different shapes, be pressed
together, or brought in contact with the teeth.
2. The teeth (upper and lower) are usually shown in the diagram immediately behind the
lips.
3. The tongue, usually divided into tip, front, middle and back, can be moved into different
places and different shapes.
4. The tooth ridge or the alveolar ridge is just behind the upper teeth.
5. The hard palate is often called the „roof of the mouth‟.
6. The velum or the soft palate is the extreme back of the roof of the mouth. It can be
raised or lowered to open or close the passage to the nasal cavity.
7. The vocal cords or the vocal folds are in the throat (Adam‟s apple). They may open or
close and let the air pass through the opening between them. When they are apart, the
air can pass out freely without the vibration and produce voiceless sounds. When they
close tightly and open rapidly causing vibration, we have voiced sound.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
The word glottis is used to refer to the opening between the vocal folds/ cords. The changes
of the vocal folds and their position (glottis) are often important in speech. In general, vocal
cords can be moved into four different positions.
The seven articulators described above are the main ones used in speech, but there are three
other things to remember. Although these are important in making sounds, they cannot be
described as articulators in the same sense as the lips or the vocal cords.
8. The pharynx is a tube which begins just above the larynx. At its top end it is divided into
two, one part being the back of the mouth and the other being the beginning of the way
through the nasal cavity.
9. The lower jaw can move up or down to change the size of oral cavity.
10. The nose and nasal cavity are important in making nasal sounds such as /m, n/.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON TWO
VOWELS
I. GENERAL
In the most common view, vowels are voiced sounds in which there is no obstruction to the
flow of air as it passes from the lungs to the lips. Moreover, other important differences
between vowels and consonants are in their different distributions, the different contexts and
positions in which they occur.
All of the vowels are syllabic, for they form the centre of a syllable. Whenever a vowel occurs in
a word, there is a syllable.
There are 20 vowels in the English language: 12 cardinal-single vowels /, , , , , ,,
, , , , / and 8 diphthongs /, , , , , , , /.
II. CLASSIFICATION
It has become traditional to locate cardinal vowels on a four-sided figure to help students learn
a way of describing, classifying and comparing vowels.
RP VOWEL CHART
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
3. Lip position: The lips can have three main shapes: rounded, spread and neutral.
- When the vowel is produced with the corners of the lips brought towards each other
and the lips pushed forwards, it is rounded.
- When the vowel is produced with the corners of the lips moved away from each
other, it is spread.
- When the vowel is produced with lips not noticeable rounded or spread, it is neutral.
4. Length
- When some vowels are produced and sustained over a longer time than others, they
are long vowels.
- The vowels which are relatively short are short vowels.
5. Muscle tension
- When we produce a vowel with great tension of the jaw and the throat, we have a
tense vowel.
- When we produce a vowel with great relaxation of the jaw and the throat, we have
a relaxed vowel.
III. DIPHTHONGS
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON THREE
FRONT VOWELS
I. DESCRIPTION
It is only the front part of the tongue that is raised or lowered to produce the front vowels.
- When the front part of the tongue is raised close to the palate and the air passage is
narrow, we have // and //. The lips are slightly spread. The sound // is longer
than the sound //.
- When the front part of the tongue is half between its low and high position, we have
//. The lips are slightly spread. The sound is short and relaxed.
- When the front part of the tongue is very low and the air passage is wide, we have
//. The lips are slightly spread. The sound is short is rather tense.
II. DRILL
1. Target sound / /
A. Listen to the sound.
Listen and repeat the sound.
B. Listen and repeat the words with sound / /, then the sentences.
sheep Look out for that sheep.
leak Stop it leaking
cheeks What lovely cheeks!
peel This peel‟s got vitamin C in it.
bean Throw out that bean.
leave He‟s going to leave.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
C. Listen to the dialogue and pay attention to the words with the target sound. Then
practice reading it aloud.
2. Target sound / /
B. Minimal pairs
/ / / /
sheep ship
leak lick
cheeks chicks
peel pill
bean bin
leave live
Look out for that sheep. Look out for that ship.
Stop it leaking! Stop it licking!
What lovely cheeks. What lovely chicks.
This peel‟s got vitamin C in it. This pill‟s got vitamin C in it.
Throw out that bean. Throw out that bin.
He‟s going to leave. He‟s going to live.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
C. Dialogue: Listen to the following dialogue and complete it with the words in the box.
history festival cinema interesting prize-winning gorilla
Africa gymnastics Olympic excited beginning terrific chimpanzee
3. Target sound / /
B. Minimal pairs
/ / //
pin pen
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
bin Ben
tin ten
pig peg
bill bell
chick cheque
I need a pin. I need a pen.
That‟s my bin. That‟s my Ben.
It‟s a big tin. It‟s a big ten.
Where‟s the pig? Where‟s the peg?
There‟s the bill. There‟s the bell.
She wants a chick. She wants a cheque.
C. Listen to the dialogue and fill the gaps with the correct questions (a – g) below.
a) Can I get you a drink, Adele?
b) Is that better?
c) Was it expensive?
d) Are you listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers?
e) How did you spend your holiday, Adele?
f) Are you a friend of Emma‟s?
g) Have you met my friend Adele yet, Kevin?
FRIENDS
ADELE: Hi, Emma! Hi, Ben! Hello, Emily! Hello, Eddie! Hi, everybody!
EVERYBODY EXCEPT Hi, Adele!
KEVIN:
EMILY: Nice to see you again, Adele. Kevin, this is Adele. Adele, this is Kevin.
ADELE: Hi, Kevin. (1)…………? It‟s terribly loud.
KEVIN: Yes ...(turns the music down) (2) ………? (Adele nods her head)
(3)…………?
ADELE: Yes.
KEVIN: Emma said she had a friend called Adele.
EDDIE: Help yourself to Mexican food, Adele. It‟s on the kitchen bench.
EMILY: And there‟s French bread on the shelf.
BEN: (4) ……………………?
ADELE: Yes, thanks, Ben. Some lemonade with a bit of ice in it.
EMMA: (5) ……………………?
KEVIN: Yes. I‟ve just met her. She‟s very friendly.
BEN: (6) ……………………………?
ADELE: I went to South America with my best friend Kerrie.
EVERYBODY: Well!
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
4. Target sound / /
B. Minimal pairs
// / /
X axe
pen pan
men man
send sand
gem jam
bread Brad
Put the „x‟ here. Put the axe here.
Can I borrow your pen? Can I borrow your pan?
Look at the men. Look at the man.
I‟m sending the table. I‟m sanding the table.
It‟s a lovely gem. It‟s a lovely jam.
We had bread for lunch. We had Brad for lunch.
C. Listen and complete the sentences below. Each missing word has the sound / /.
Then practice reading them aloud. Number one has been done as an example.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON FOUR
CENTRAL VOWELS
I. DESCRIPTION
We have central vowels when the very middle part of the tongue is used.
- When the middle part of the tongue is in mid position, we have the sounds / / and
/ /. The lips are neutral. The sound / / is longer and tenser than the sound / /.
- When the middle part of the tongue is low, we have / /. The lips are neutral. The
sound is short and relaxed.
The most frequently occurring vowel in English is , which is always associated with weak
syllables and weak forms. In quality it is mid and central, relaxed, but the quality of this vowel
is not always the same. However, the variation is not as important as its distribution (where it is
appropriate and where it is not). To do this, we must consider spelling. The following examples
will give us a rough guide to the correct pronunciation of weak syllables.
- Spelt with „a‟; strong pronunciation would have / /: attend, character, barracks
- Spelt with „ar‟; strong pronunciation would have //: particular, monarchy, molar
- Adjective endings spelt „ate‟; strong pronunciation would have //: intimate,
desolate, accurate (exception – private //)
- Spelt with „o‟, strong pronunciation would have / /: tomorrow, carrot
- Spelt with „or‟, strong pronunciation would have / /: forget, opportunity
- Spelt with „e‟, strong pronunciation would have //:postmen, violet
- Spelt with „er‟; strong pronunciation would have / /: perhaps, superman
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
III. DRILL
1. Target sound / /
B. Minimal pairs
/ / / /
cap cup
hat hut
track truck
ban bun
bag bug
ankle uncle
Where‟s my cap? Where‟s my cup?
There‟s a hat in the garden. There‟s a hut in the garden.
See the tracks on the road. See the trucks on the road.
There‟s a ban on it. There‟s a bun on it.
She‟s got a bag. She‟s got a bug.
My ankle was injured. My uncle was injured.
C. Listen to the dialogue and fill the gaps with the correct words from the box.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
DUNCAN: No. Stop being funny, Jasmine. Not that one. The (4)………… brother. Hunter. You
think he‟s (5)………………………… and I‟m unattractive.
JASMINE: Duncan! That‟s utter rubbish!
DUNCAN: And Hunter loves you too.
JASMINE: No, he doesn‟t.
DUNCAN: Yes, he (6) …………
JASMINE: Duncan, just once last (7) ……… I had lunch with Hunter. You mustn‟t (8) ……… I
like your (9) ……… much better than Hunter‟s. Hunter‟s …
DUNCAN: Oh, just shut up, Jasmine!
JASMINE: But honey, I think you‟re (10) ………
DUNCAN: Oh, shut up, Jasmine.
JASMINE: Now that‟s enough! You‟re just jealous, Duncan. You shut up!
B. Minimal pair A
/ / / /
four fur
torn turn
warm worm
walker worker
She‟s got four. She‟s got fur.
It‟s a torn sign. It‟s a turn sign.
I wouldn‟t like warm soup. I wouldn‟t like worm soup.
He‟s a fast walker. He‟s a fast worker.
C. Minimal pair B
// / /
ten turn
Ben burn
Bed bird
West worst
The sign says ten. The sign says turn.
Look at it, Ben. Look at it burn.
It‟s a colourful bed. It‟s a colourful bird.
It‟s the west wind. It‟s the worst wind.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
D. Minimal pair C
/ / / /
fun fern
bun burn
bud bird
gull girl
Fabulous fun! Fabulous fern!
Look at that bun. Look at that burn.
That‟s a tiny little bud. That‟s a tiny little bird.
There‟s a gull on the beach. There‟s a girl on the beach.
3. Target sound / /
A. Listen to the sounds
Listen and repeat the sounds.
B. Practice the target sound in the underlined unstressed words and syllables.
a photograph of Barbara a glass of water
a pair of binoculars a photograph of her mother and father
a book about South America Look at the clock.
What‟s the time? It‟s six o‟clock.
It‟s a quarter to seven.
Example Was /wz/ she dreaming? – This is the weak form of was.
Yes, she was. – This is a different sound. This is the strong form.
Practice
Was she thinking about South America? Yes, she was.
Were her brothers and sisters asleep? Yes, they were.
Do they like reading? Yes, they do.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
D. Read aloud the story and underline the sound / /in unstressed words and
syllables. Then check the answers with your partner.
Barbara spent Saturday afternoon looking at a beautiful book about South America.
„I want to go to South America,‟ she said to herself.
The next morning, when Barbara woke up at six o‟clock, her brothers and sisters were
still asleep. Barbara looked at them, and then closed her eyes again.
Then she quietly got out of bed and started to pack her suitcase.
She took some comfortable clothes out of the cupboard. She packed a pair of binoculars
and her sister‟s camera. She packed a photograph of herself and one of her mother and father.
„I mustn‟t forget to have some breakfast,‟ she said to herself. But then she looked at the
clock. It was a quarter to seven.
„I‟ll just drink a glass of water,‟ she said.
„A glass of water,‟ she said.
„Water,‟ she said, and opened her eyes.
She was still in her bed, and her brothers and sisters were laughing at her.
„Tell us what you were dreaming about,‟ they said to her.
But Barbara didn‟t answer. She was thinking about her wonderful journey to South
America.
E. Listen to the dialogue and circle the sound / /. Then practise reading it aloud.
SHOPPING
A: I‟m going to the library.
B: Can you buy something for me at the newsagent‟s?
A: But the newsagent‟s is a mile from the library.
B: No. Not that newsagent‟s. Not the one that‟s next to the fish and chip shop. I
mean the one that‟s near the butcher‟s.
A: Oh, yes. Well, what do you want?
B: Some chocolates and a tin of sweets and an address book.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON FIVE
BACK VOWELS
I. DESCRIPTION
- When the back part of the tongue is raised to the highest position, we have / /
and / /. The lips are rounded. The sound / / is longer and tenser than the
sound / /.
- When the back part of the tongue is in the mid position, we have //.
- When the back part of the tongue is lowered to the lowest position, we have / /
and / /.
II. DRILL
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
B. Minimal pair A
/ / / /
cap carp
hat heart
cat cart
ban barn
pack park
What a lovely cap! What a lovely carp!
He touched his hat. He touched his heart.
It‟s a farm cat. It‟s a farm cart.
I‟ll pack the car. I‟ll park the car.
C. Minimal pair B
/ / / /
cup carp
hut heart
cut cart
bun barn
come calm
What‟s a beautiful cup! What a beautiful carp!
There‟s a problem with my hut. There‟s a problem with my heart.
He covered his cut. He covered his cart.
What‟s in that bun? What‟s in that barn?
„Come down,‟ she said. „Calm down,‟ she said.
D. Listen to the dialogue and fill the gaps with the correct adjectives from the
box below.
marvelous fantastic smart attractive fabulous
AT A PARTY
(Margaret and Alana are at the bar. People are laughing in the garden.)
ALANA: What a ………… party this is! I‟m having so much fun, Margaret.
MARGARET: Where‟s your glass, Alana?
ALANA: Here you are. Thanks. That‟s enough.
MARTIN: Alana! Margaret! Come into the garden. Tara Darling and Markus Marsh are
dancing on the grass.
MARGARET: In the dark?
MARTIN: They are dancing under the stars.
ALANA: …………………………! And Bart Jackson is playing his guitar.
MARGARET: Just look at Tara! She can‟t dance but she looks very …………
MARTIN: Look at Markus. What a ………… dancer!
ALANA: What an ………… couple they are! Let‟s take a photograph of them.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
2. Target sound / /
A. Listen to the sounds.
Listen and repeat the sounds.
B. Minimal pair
/ / / /
hat hot
cat cot
fax fox
sack sock
tap top
backs box
It‟s hat weather. It‟s hot weather.
He‟s got a white cat. He‟s got a white cot.
Look for the fax. Look for the fox.
Put it in a sack. Put it in a sock.
Turn that tap slowly. Turn that top slowly.
I can see their backs. I can see their box.
C. Listen and fill the gaps with the words you hear.
TV ADVERTISEMENT FOR „ONWASH‟
VOICE A: What‟s wrong with you, Mrs. Bloggs?
MRS. BLOGGS: What‟s wrong with me? I want a holiday from this 1___job of washing socks!
VOICE B: Buy a bottle of „Onwash,‟ Mrs Bloggs!
VOICE C: „Onwash‟ is so 2______ and 3______.
VOICE D: You don‟t want lots of 4______ water with „Onwash‟.
VOICE A: It‟s not a 5 ______ job with „Onwash‟.
VOICE B: Use „Onwash‟ often.
VOICE C: You won‟t be sorry when you‟ve got „Onwash‟.
VOICE D : Everybody wants „Onwash‟.
EVERYBODY: „Onwash‟ is so 6 _________!
B. Minimal pair
/ / / /
Don Dawn
cod cord
shot short
pot port
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
fox forks
spot sport
Is your name Don? Is your name Dawn?
This cod was in the sea. This cord was in the sea.
He was shot. He was short.
It‟s a small pot. It‟s a small port.
Look for the fox. Look for the forks.
I don‟t like these spots. I don‟t like these sports.
C. Listen to the report, paying attention to the words with the target sound.
Then practise reading it aloud.
SPORTS REPORT FOR RADIO STATION 4
ANNOUNCER: This morning the Roarers football team arrived back from York. Laura Short is
our reporter, and she was at the airport.
LAURA SHORT: Good morning, listeners. This is Laura Short. All the footballers are walking
towards me. Here‟s George Ball, the goalkeeper. Good morning, George.
GEORGE BALL: Good morning. Are you a reporter?
LAURA SHORT: Yes. George. I‟m Laura Short from Radio Station 4. Tell us about the football
match with York.
GEORGE BALL: Well, it was awful. We lost. And the score was forty-four, four. But it wasn‟t
my fault, Laura.
LAURA SHORT: Whose fault was it, George?
GEORGE BALL: The forwards
LAURA SHORT: The forwards?
GEORGE BALL: Yes. The forwards. They were always falling over or losing the ball!
4. Target sound / /
B. Minimal pair
/ / / /
pot put
cod could
lock look
rock rook
box books
Pot the plant in the garden Put the plant in the garden.
How do you spell „cod‟? How do you spell „could‟?
I‟ll lock you up. I‟ll look you up.
The wind blew around the rock. The wind blew around the rook.
Give me the box. Give me the books.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
C. Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the words with the target sound.
Then practise reading it aloud.
A LOST BOOK
MR. COOK: Could you tell me where you‟ve put my book, Bronwen?
MRS. COOK: Isn‟t it in the bookshelf?
MR. COOK: No. The bookshelf is full of your cookery books.
MRS COOK: Then you should look in the bedroom, shouldn‟t you?
MR. COOK: I‟ve looked you took that book and put it somewhere, didn‟t you?
MRS. COOK: The living room?
MR. COOK: No. I‟ve looked. I‟m going to put all my books in a box and lock it!
MRS. COOK: Look, John! It‟s on the floor next to your foot.
MR. COOK: Ah! Good!
5. Target sound / /
A. Listen to the sounds.
Listen and repeat the sounds.
B. Minimal pair
/ / / /
look Luke
pull pool
full fool
could cooed
would wooed
Look, a new moon! Luke, a new moon.
The sign said „Pull‟. The sign said „Pool‟.
This isn‟t really full proof. This isn‟t really foolproof.
The bird could. The bird cooed.
„He would, Julie, at the full moon.‟ He wooed Julie at the full moon.
C. Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the words with the target sound.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON SIX
DIPHTHONGS
I. DESCRIPTION
Diphthongs are sounds which consist of a movement or glide from one vowel to another. The
first vowel is much longer and stronger than the second. As the glide happens, the loudness of
the sound decreases, so the last part of English diphthongs is shorter and quieter. In term of
length, diphthongs are like long vowels.
/ / / / / /
c/ The retracting diphthongs glide towards / /
- / / This diphthong starts at the position of the vowel / /. The lips may be
noticeably rounded.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
- / / This diphthong begins with a vowel similar to / / but a little more front.
There is only slight lip-rounding.
/ / / /
II. DRILL
B. Minimal pair
/ / //
pen pain
shed shade
edge age
wet wait
pepper paper
What an awful pen! What an awful pain!
The dog‟s in the shed. The dog‟s in the shade.
It‟s a difficult edge. It‟s a difficult age.
Just wet. Just wait.
Test this food. Taste this food.
That‟s too much pepper. That‟s too much paper.
C. Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the words with the target sound.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
PORTER: They changed the timetable at the end of April. It‟s the first of May today.
MR. GREY: Changed it? May I see the new timetable? What does it say?
PORTER: It says: Baker Street train – 8.08.
MR. GREY: Oh no, you‟re right. The train isn‟t late. I am.
B. Minimal pair
/ / //
bar buy
bark bike
Pa pie
R eye
cart kite
heart height
That was a good bar. That was a good buy.
What a noisy bark. What a noisy bike.
He loves his Pa. He loves his pie.
It‟s got two R‟s. It‟s got two eyes.
It‟s a cart. It‟s a kite.
Check the heart. Check the height.
C. Listen to the dialogue and fill the gaps with the correct words from the box.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
CAROLINE: Not tonight, Nigel. I‟m going for a drive with Riley. (Smiles to herself and keeps
typing.)
NIGEL: What about 8 ________?
CAROLINE: Friday? I‟m going 9_________ with Miles.
NIGEL: All right then. Bye.
HEIDI: Caroline, Nigel‟s put something behind your computer.
CAROLINE: Is it something nice, Heidi?
HEIDI: No.it‟s a 10__________
B. Minimal pair
// //
all oil
ball boil
corn coin
tore toy
roar Roy
It‟s all there. It‟s oil there.
It‟s a ball on his head. It‟s a boil on his head.
Look at that golden corn. Look at that golden coin.
The paper tore. The paper toy.
Hear the engine roar. Hear the engine, Roy.
C. Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the words with the target sound.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
B. Minimal pair
/ / / /
car cow
bar bow
bra brow
grass grouse
arch ouch
It‟s the best car. It‟s the best cow.
It was a long bar. It was a long bow.
Her bra was wrinkled. Her brow was wrinkled.
There‟s beautiful grass here. There‟s beautiful grouse here.
„Arch!‟ he said loudly. „Ouch!‟ he said loudly.
C. There are six items to change in the dialogue. Listen to the dialogue and
make the words the same as the recording.
5. Target sound / /
B. Minimal pair 1
/ / / /
burn bone
fern phone
Bert boat
work woke
flirt float
It‟s a large burn. It‟s a large bone.
It‟s a green fern. It‟s a green phone.
That‟s my Bert. That‟s my boat.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
C. Minimal pair 2
/ / / /
caught coat
nought note
bought boat
jaw Joe
ball bowl
Gino‟s caught. Gino‟s coat.
It‟s a nought. It‟s a note.
We had a bought picnic. We had a boat picnic.
It‟s my jaw. It‟s my Joe.
Give me the ball. Give me the bowl.
D. Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the words with the target sound.
SNOW IN OCTOBER
(Joe Jones is sleeping, but Joanna woke up a few minutes ago.)
JOANNA: Joe! Joe! JOE! Hello, wake up, Joe!
JOE: (groans) Oh! What is it, Joanna?
JOANNA: Look out of the window.
JOE: No. My eyes are closed, and I‟m going to go to sleep again.
JOANNA: Oh! Don‟t go to sleep, Joe. Look at the snow!
JOE: Snow? But it‟s only October. I know there‟s no snow.
JOANNA: Come over to the window, Joe.
JOE: You‟re joking, Joanna. There‟s no snow.
JOANNA: OK. I‟ll put my coat on and go out and make a snowball and throw it at your nose,
Joe Jones!
6. Target sound / /
B. Minimal pair.
/ / / /
E ear
bee bear
tea tear
pea pier
bead beard
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
C. Listen to the dialogue and fill the gaps with the words you hear. Each missing
word has the target sound.
A BEARDED MOUNTAINEER
(Mr. and Mrs. Lear are on holiday in Austria.)
MR. LEAR: Let‟s have a 1 _____ here, dear.
MRS. LEAR: What a good idea! They have very good beer here. We came here last 2_______
MR. LEAR: The atmosphere here is very 3 ________
MRS. LEAR: But it‟s windier than last year.
MR. LEAR: (speaking to the waiter) Two beers, please.
MRS. LEAR: Look, dear! Look at that 4 _________ drinking beer.
MR. LEAR: His 5 _________ is in his beer.
MRS. LEAR: Hs beard has nearly disappeared into his 6 _________
MR. LEAR: Sh! He might 7 ____________
WAITER: (bringing the beer) Here you are, sir. Two beers.
MR. LEAR: Thank you. (drinking his beer) Cheers!
MRS. LEAR: 8 _________ ! Here‟s to the bearded mountaineer!
7. Target sound / /
A. Listen to the sounds.
Listen and repeat the sounds.
B. Minimal pair
/ / / /
ear air
beer bear
pier pear
hear hair
tear tear
Cheers! Chairs
The ear isn‟t good. The air isn‟t good.
It‟s a sweet beer. It‟s a sweet bear.
That‟s an old pier. That‟s an old pear.
How do you spell „hear‟? How do you spell „hair‟?
That‟s a tear. That‟s a tear.
„Three cheers!‟ he said. „Three chairs!‟ he said.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
C. Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the words with the target sound.
A PAIR OF HAIRCLIPS
MARY: I‟ve lost two small hairclips, Claire. They‟re a pair.
CLAIRE: Have you looked carefully everywhere?
MARY: Yes. They‟re nowhere here. They just aren‟t anywhere.
CLAIRE: Have you looked upstairs?
MARY: (getting impatient) Upstairs! Downstairs! Everywhere! They just aren‟t there!
CLAIRE: Hm! Are they square, Mary?
MARY: Yes. Why?
CLAIRE: Well, you‟re wearing one of them in your hair!
MARY: Oh! Then where‟s the other one?
CLAIRE: It‟s over there under that chair.
MARY: Hm!
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON SEVEN
TRIPHTHONGS
I. DESCRIPTION
A triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and
without interruption. The triphthong can be looked upon as being composed of the fronting and
retracting diphthongs with added / / on the end. Thus we get:
II. DRILL
1. / / fire, hire, tyre, buyer, wire, flyer, empire, iron, tired, trial, quiet, lion
3. / / flowers, power, tower, shower, sour, flour, coward, towel, vowel,
showery, allowance
5. / - / tower – tyre, dowry – diary, flour – flyer, trowel – trial
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON EIGHT
In the production of consonants, the air stream from the lung is stopped or obstructed
obstruction of the air stream formed in the mouth by the articulators.
As being compared with vowels, the consonants are different from vowels in three aspects.
Manner of articulation Without any obstruction With stoppage or restriction of the air
stream
Voicing All vowels are voiced Some are voiced whereas others are
sounds voiceless
Distribution Syllabic (forming the core All but some nasal and plosives are not
of a syllable) syllabic; they cannot form the center of a
syllable.
II. CLASSIFICATION
A/ PRINCIPLES:
1. Place of articulation
- Sounds made with both lips (bilabial): The obstruction of the air stream occurs at
the lips; these sounds are made with the two lips coming together.
- Sounds made with the lower lip and the upper teeth (labio-dental): The obstruction
occurs because the lower lip and the upper teeth come together.
- Sounds made with the tip of the tongue and the teeth (dental): The obstruction of
the air stream occurs because the tip of the tongue is between the teeth or touches
the area just behind the upper teeth.
- Sounds made with the tip of tongue and the tooth ridge (alveolar): The obstruction
occurs when the tip of the tongue touches the tooth ridge or alveolar ridge.
- Sounds made with the blade of tongue and the area slightly further back (palato-
alveolar): These sounds are made when the blade of the tongue approaches the
area just behind the tooth ridge.
- Sounds made with the blade of the tongue and the hard palate (palatal): In the
pronunciation of this sound, the blade of the tongue approaches the hard palate.
- Sounds made with the back of the tongue and the soft palate (velar): In producing
these sounds, the back of the tongue touches the soft palate, causing an obstruction
to the air stream.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
- Sounds made with the narrowing opening between the vocal folds (glottal)
VELAR POSITION
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
- Sounds made when the articulators approach each other but do not get completely
closed (approximants)
- The voiceless consonants are sometimes called fortis (meaning „strong‟) and voiced
are then called lenis (meaning „weak‟). When they are in final position, the
difference between them is primarily the fact that vowels preceding voiceless are
shorter. The shortening effect of the voiceless sounds is most noticeable when the
vowel is one of the long vowels or diphthongs.
B/ CONSONANT CHART
Plosive (stop)
Fricatives
Affricatives
Nasal
Lateral
Approximants
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON NINE
PLOSIVE CONSONANTS
I. DESCRIPTION
Plosive consonants are produced when the air stream is stopped completely at some point in
the mouth, then released suddenly with an explosive sound. The production of plosive
consonants consists of four phases:
i. The first phase is when the articulator(s) move to form the stricture for the plosive. We
call this the closure phase.
ii. The second phase is when the compressed air is stopped from escaping. We call this the
hold phase.
iii. The third phase is when the articulator(s) used to form the stricture are moved so as to
allow air to escape. This is the release phase.
iv. The fourth phase is what happens immediately after (iii) so we call it the post-release
phase.
II. LISTING
1. Bilabial plosive consonants: when the lips are pressed together, we have /p/ and/ b/.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
2. Alveolar plosive consonants: when the tip of tongue is pressed against the alveolar ridge, we
have /t/ and /d/.
3. Velar plosive consonants: when the back of tongue is pressed against the area where the
hard palate ends and the soft palate begins, we have /k/ or /g/
+ /b – d – g/ are unaspirated in all positions whereas /p – t – k/ are aspirated in initial and final
positions
+ In initial position, /b/, /d/, and /g/ cannot be preceded by any consonant, but /p/, /t/ and /k/
may be preceded by /s/. When one of /p/, /t/, /k/ is preceded by /s/, it is unaspirated.
+ When there are double plosive consonants, only one explosion can be heard but for double
length, which is referred to as Incomplete Explosion.
*Aspiration refers to a noticeable burst of air on the release of a voiceless plosive consonant.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
III. DRILL
B Listen and repeat the words with sound /p/, then the sentences.
C Dialogue
PASSPORT, PLEASE.
(Mr and Mrs Tupman are the airport. They have just got off the plane from Paris.)
Official: Passport please!
Mr Tupman: Poppy! Poppy! I think I've lost the passport!
Mrs Tupman: How stupid of you, Peter! Didn't you put them in your pocket?
Mr Tupman: (emptying his pocket) Here's a pen .... a pencil ... my pipe ... a postcard
... an envelope with a stamp ... a pin ...
Mrs Tupman: Oh, stop taking things out of your pockets. Perhaps you put them in the
plastic bag.
Mr Tupman: (emptying the plastic bag) Here's a newspaper ... an apple ... a pen ... a
plastic cup .... a spoon .... some paper plates ... a piece of potato pie .... a
pepper pot ...
Mrs Tupman: Oh, stop pulling things out of the plastic bag, Peter. These people are
getting impatient.
Mr Tupman: Well help me, Poppy.
(to official) We've lost our passports. Perhaps we dropped them on the
plane.
Official: Then let the other passengers pass, please.
Mr Tupman: Poppy, why don't you help? You aren't being very helpful. Put the things in
the plastic bag
Official: Your name, please?
Mr Tupman: Tupman
Official: Please go upstairs with this policeman, Mr Tupman.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
B Minimal pairs
/p/ /b/
pin bin
pen Ben
pear bear
cap cab
pup pub
Poppy Bobby
It‟s a useful pin. It‟s a useful bin.
Pen, please! Ben, please!
Look at the yellow pear. Look at the yellow bear.
It‟s an old cap. It‟s an old cab.
What a lively pup! What a lively pub!
Do you like Poppy? Do you like Bobby?
C Dialogue
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
B Sound /t/
B Minimal pairs
/t/ /d/
too do
sent send
cart card
write ride
train drain
trunk drunk
You too? You do?
You sent the emails? You send the emails?
Is the red cart hers? Is the red card hers?
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
C Dialogue
/ d / after a vowel or voiced consonant played, cleaned, snowed, closed, filled, stayed
/t/ after an unvoiced consonant brushed, laughed, pushed, watched, danced, walked
/d / after the sound / t / or / d / waited, painted, shouted, wanted, landed, departed
Practice
Work with a partner, talking about these pictures.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
combed his hair cried a lot painted a room emptied his glass
brushed it laughed a lot cleaned it filled it
B Sound /k/
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
C Dialogue
KAREN COOK: Would you like some cream in your coffee, Mrs Klark?
KATE KLARK: Call me Kate, Karen.
KAREN COOK: Ok, cream Kate?
KATE KLARK: No thanks Karen. But I like a little milk. Thanks.
KAREN COOK: Would you like some little cream cakes, Kate?
KATE KLARK: Thank you. Did you make them?
KAREN COOK: Yes, take two. Here's a cake fork and here's a ...
KATE KLARK: Excuse me, Karen. But what's that next to your bookshelf? Is it a clock?
KAREN COOK: It's an electric cuckoo clock. It's American.
KATE KLARK: Is it plastic?
KAREN COOK: Oh no, Kate. It's a handmade wooden clock. It was very expensive.
KATE KLARK: Well, it's exactly six o'clock now and it's very quiet. Doesn't it say
cuckoo?
KAREN COOK: Of course it does, Kate ...Look!
CLOCK: Cuckoo, Cuckoo, Cuckoo, Cuckoo, Cuckoo, Cuckoo!
KATE KLARK: Fantastic! How exciting! What a clever clock!
B Minimal pairs
/k/ /g/
coat goat
curl girl
class glass
back bag
crowing growing
It‟s a hairy coat. It‟s a hairy goat.
He‟s got a lovely curl. He‟s got a lovely girl.
It‟s a brilliant class. It‟s a brilliant glass.
She‟s got a strong back. She‟s got a strong bag.
It‟s crowing. It‟s growing.
C. Listen to the sentences and fill the gaps with the correct words from the box below.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
1. Greg and Carol want to stay for a _____ of days at _____ and ______‟s house in ____
2. They‟re coming to ____ at the _____ of _______.
3. _______ is always giggling. She wants to _______ up on all the _______.
4. The last time they got together, Greg and Craig played _______ while the two _______
went shopping.
5. Carol says, „I _______ you‟ve gone away for the _______.‟
6. Craig and Maggie sent a _______ from _______, but they‟re going to go to Greece.
7. While Craig and Maggie are in _______, Greg and Carol are going to _______ in their
_______.
8. Greg says they‟ll be very grateful and they‟ll _______ the _______.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON TEN
FRICATIVES
I. DESCRIPTION
Fricatives are consonants produced with the air escaping through a small passage and making a
hissing sound. In order to create this narrow passage, the speech organs are to move close
together yet not firmly against each other.
Fricatives are continuant sounds, which means that you can continue making them without
interruption as long as you have enough air in your lungs.
II. LISTING
The fricatives of English include 9 members / , , , , , , , , /
1. Labio-dental fricative consonants /, /- the lower lip is in contact with the upper teeth.
2. Dental fricative consonants /, / - the tongue is sometimes described as being placed
between the teeth; however, the tongue is normally placed inside the teeth with the tip
touching the inside of the lower front teeth and the blade touching the inside of the
upper teeth.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
3. Alveolar fricative consonants /, /- the tip of the tongue touches the tooth ridge.
4. Palato-alveolar fricative consonants /, / - the tongue is in contact with an area slightly
further back than the alveolar ridge.
2. Push air through the gap between the tongue and the
tooth ridge.
3. + Don‟t use your voice for / /
+ Use your voice for / /
2. Push a lot of air out very quickly through the small gap.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
III. DRILL
/ / //
pin fin
peel feel
pork fork
pull full
snip sniff
palm farm
It‟s a sharp pin. It‟s a sharp fin
Peel this orange. Feel this orange.
There‟s no pork here. There‟s no fork here.
The sign said „Pull‟. The sign said „Full‟.
Snip these flowers. Sniff these flowers.
He showed his palm. He showed his farm.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
D. Practise these six requests in the box below with the intonation going up to make them
sound more polite. Then fill the gaps in the dialogue with them. Check the answers with your
partner before listening to the dialogue for the final check.
A FUNNY PHOTOGRAPHER
PHOTOGRAPHER: Good afternoon. How can I help you?
FRED: I‟m Fred Phillips. I want a photograph of myself and my wife Phillippa.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Certainly, Mr. Phillips. (a) ……………………………………………
PHILLIPPA: I‟ll fill it in, Fred.
PHOTOGRAPHER: (b) ……………Mr. Phillips, do you prefer a full front photograph or a profile?
FRED: A full front, don‟t you think, Phillipa?
PHILLIPPA: Yes. A full front photograph.
FRED: Full front.
PHILLIPPA: (hands in the form) It‟s finished.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Thank you, Mrs. Phillips. (c) …………Is it comfortable?
PHILLIPPA: Yes. It feels fine.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Mr. Phillips, (d) …………
FRED: That‟s difficult. If you say something funny I can laugh.
PHOTOGRAPHER: And, Mrs. Phillips, (e) ………
FRED: (laughs)
PHOTOGRAPHER: That‟s it finished.
FRED: Finished?
PHOTOGRAPHER: Finished, Mr. Phillips.
PHILLIPPA: Will the photograph be ready for the fifth of February?
PHOTOGRAPHER: Yes. (f) …………
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
D. Listen to the dialogue, paying attention on the different intonations of questions and
statements. Then practise reading it aloud with your partner.
A FINE VIEW
VIVIENNE: Has the Vander family lived here for very long, Victor?
VICTOR: Five and a half years, Vivienne. We arrived on the first of February.
VIVIENNE: What a lovely view you have!
VICTOR: Yes. It‟s fabulous.
VIVIENNE: Look! You can see the village down in the valley.
VICTOR: Yes. We just love living here because of the view.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
// //
mouse mouth
sum thumb
sick thick
sink think
pass path
What a sweet little mouse! What a sweet little mouth!
Is this sum OK? Is this thumb OK?
It‟s very sick. It‟s very thick.
He‟s sinking. He‟s thinking.
There‟s a mountain pass. There‟s a mountain path.
E. Identify the most important word in each numbered line of the dialogue below. Then
exchange the answers with a partner before listening to the dialogue and checking them.
GOSSIPS
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
D. Listen. Then practise reading aloud the dialogue below, paying attention to the words with
the target sound.
MISS BROTHERS: No. Not that one, either. The one over there. The leather one.
ASSISTANT: Ah! The leather one. Now this is another leather hat, madam. It‟s better
than the one in the window. It‟s smoother leather.
MISS BROTHERS: But I‟d rather have the one in the window. It goes with my clothes.
ASSISTANT: Certainly, madam. But we don‟t take anything out of the window until three
o‟clock on Thursday.
C. Practise the dialogue, paying attention the words with the target sound.
IT‟S EXPENSIVE
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
B. Minimal pairs
// //
Sue zoo
C Z
sip zip
bus buzz
piece peas
price prize
That Sue was amazing. That zoo was amazing.
It‟s pronounced / /. It‟s pronounced / /.
Sip it slowly. Zip it slowly.
I heard a bus. I heard a buzz.
I want the big piece. I want the big peas.
What‟s the price? What‟s the prize?
C. Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the / / and / / sounds. Then practise reading
it aloud.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
3rd person singular makes, thinks, wants, smells, contains, sees, misses, wishes, uses,
repeats draws watches, engages
B. Minimal pairs
// //
C she
Sue shoe
sip ship
ass ash
sew show
puss push
C is third. She is third.
I like Sue‟s. I like shoes.
Sip it carefully. Ship it carefully.
He won‟t sew it. He won‟t show it.
„Puss!‟ he shouted. „Push!‟ he shouted.
C. Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the words with the target sound. Then practise
reading it aloud with your partner.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
MRS MARSH: But the sheets have shrunk, and so have the shirts.
MR. SHAW: Do you wish to buy this machine, madam?
MRS MARSH: … I‟m not sure.
C. Read the television programmes below. Talk about which of them you would like to watch.
Also ask each other about what shows you usually watch.
B. Minimal pairs
//
ill hill
eel heel
and hand
old hold
ear hear
islands highlands
Is Tom ill in hospital? Is Tom Hill in hospital?
That‟s a beautiful eel. That‟s a beautiful heel.
Put your head and heart into it. Put your head, hand, heart into it.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
C. Fill in the gaps in the dialogue below with the words from the box. Then listen to the
dialogue and check your answers.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON ELEVEN
AFFRICATIVES
IV. DESCRIPTION
Affricatives are rather complex consonants. The production of these sounds is similar to that of
plosives, but the release of the air is less sudden, so that it sounds like a plosive consonant
followed by a fricative one. In other words, affricatives begin as plosives and end as fricatives.
Yet, we would not class all sequences of plosive plus fricative as affricates. The plosive and the
following fricative must be homorganic (made with the same articulators). Affricatives are
usually regarded as single, independent sounds.
V. LISTING
The affricatives of English include 2 members /, / palato-alveolar affricative consonants.
- Tip of tongue touches the back part of
the tooth ridge.
- The tongue tip moves away from the
tooth ridge little way, and the whole
tongue is then in /, / position.
- The friction for /, / is not so long as
for /, / alone
+ Don‟t use your voice for / /
+ Use your voice for / /
VI. DRILL
1. Target sound / /
B. Minimal pair
// / /
ship chip
sheep cheap
sherry cherry
shop chop
cash catch
wash watch
We like ships. We like chips.
This is a sheep farm. This is a cheap farm.
It‟s a sherry trifle. It‟s a cherry trifle.
I‟ll buy this shop. I‟ll buy this chop.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
C. Dialogue
Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the words with the target sound. Then practise
reading it aloud with your partner.
2. Target sound / /
B. Minimal pairs
/ / //
cheap jeep
choke joke
riches ridges
cherries Jerry‟s
larch large
H age
It‟s a cheap type of car. It‟s a jeep type of car.
Are you choking? Are you joking?
A land full of riches. A land full of ridges.
Do you like cherries? Do you like Jerry‟s?
I want a larch tree. I want a large tree.
Do I write „H‟ here? Do I write age here?
C. Dialogue
Read the dialogue below and fill the gaps (1-8) with the correct words from the box below.
Then listen and check your answers before practising it with a partner.
jokes bridge village damaged manager passenger January dangerously
A DANGEROUS BRIDGE
JERRY: Just outside this (1) …… there‟s a very dangerous bridge.
JOHN: Yes. Charles told me two jeeps crashed on it in (2)………………………… What happened?
55
English Pronunciation and Phonetics
JERRY: Well, George Churchill was the driver of the larger jeep, and he was driving very
(3) ………………………
JOHN: George Churchill? Do you know George Churchill?
JERRY: Yes. That ginger-haired chap. He‟s the (4) …………… of the travel agency in Chester.
JOHN: Oh, yes. I remember George. He‟s always telling jokes. Well, was anybody injured?
JERRY: Oh, yes. The other jeep went over the edge of the (5) …………, and two children and
another (6) ……………… were badly injured.
JOHN: Oh dear! Were both the jeeps (7) ……………………?
JERRY: Oh, yes
JOHN: And what happened to George?
JERRY: George? He‟s telling (8) ……………………… in jail now, I suppose!
D. Joining sounds
Notice that when these two affricatives /, / come together, we usually say both sounds.
e.g. large (// //) cherries
The speaker made mistakes with these sounds in the sentences below. Write what
they meant to say.
EXAMPLE Does she tea Chinese in the school? teach Chinese
1. I don‟t know which air to sit on. ……………………………………
2. Everyone at the match ears when their team scores. ……………………………………
3. I never what chat shows on the TV. ……………………………………
4. The actor on stay joked with the audience. ……………………………………
5. Foxes sometimes come to the farm and cat chickens. ……………………………………
6. Do you want to chain jackets before we go out? ……………………………………
Now you will hear both the incorrect and correct pairs of words from the exercise.
Repeat, making the difference clear.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON TWELVE
APPROXIMANTS
I. DESCRIPTION
II. LISTING
The affricatives of English include 3 members /, , /.
1. Bilabial approximant / w /
2. Alveolar approximant / r /
3. Palatal approximant / /
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
III. DRILL
1. Target sound / w /
B. Minimal pair
/v/ /w/
V we
vest west
vet wet
vine wine
veil whale
V didn‟t come before U. We didn‟t come before you.
That‟s the vest. That‟s the west.
The dog‟s vet. The dog‟s wet.
This is my best vine. This is my best wine.
It‟s a blue veil. It‟s a blue whale.
C. Dialogue
Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the target sound. Then practise reading it aloud.
2. Target sound / r /
A. Listen to the target sound.
Listen and repeat the sound.
B. Minimal pair
// /r/
long wrong
light right
load road
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
jelly Jerry
fly fry
glass grass
It‟s the long road. It‟s the wrong road.
Is it light? Is it right?
It‟s a long load. It‟s a long road.
Do you like jelly? Do you like Jerry?
I‟d like to fly it. I‟d like to fry it.
There‟s some glass. There‟s some grass.
C. Dialogue.
Listen to the dialogue below, paying attention to the target sound. Then practise reading it
aloud with a partner.
A PROUD PARENT
LARA: Are all the children grown up now, Ruth?
RUTH: Oh, yes, Lara. Ruby is the cleverest one. She‟s a librarian in the public library.
LARA: Very interesting. And what about Laura?
RUTH: She‟s a secretary at the central railway station.
LARA: And what about Rose? She was always a very pretty child.
RUTH: Rose is a waitress in a restaurant in Paris. She‟s married to an electrician.
LARA: And what about Jerry and Roland?
RUTH: Jerry drives a lorry. He drives everywhere in Europe.
LARA: Really? Which countries does he drive to?
RUTH: France and Austria and Greece and Russia.
LARA: And does Roland drive a lorry too?
RUTH: Oh, no. Roland is a pilot, Lara.
LARA: Really? Which countries does he fly to?
RUTH: Australia and America.
IMPORTANT NOTES FOR LISTENING:
+ In many accents in England, the letter R is not pronounced after a vowels. In other places,
the R is pronounced, for example in North America. Listen to the following words with the R
pronounced, as in North America:
shirt were heard worst birth hurt born short door four war more
+ In words without R, some American speakers pronounce the sound /:/ instead of /:/. Listen
to these words:
ball caught law talk bought
PRACTICE:
A. Listen to these sentences. Is the accent from Britain or America? Write B or A.
e.g.: The girl‟s first birthday. A___
1. It‟s hard work, of course. _______ 6. He was born on Thursday the thirty-first. ______
2. Are you sure? _______ 7. She taught German. _______
3. Law and order. _______ 8. I learned to surf in Brazil. _______
4. I walk to work. _______ 9. „Caught‟ and „court‟ sound the same
5. I saw the bird fall. _______ in my accent. _______
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
B. Listen to these sentences. Is the accent from North America or South East England? Write
Am or Eng.
e.g.: He asked her to dance. Eng .
1. We started in March. _________ 5. It stops and starts. _________
2. It‟s a fast car. _________ 6. A glass of beer. _________
3. My heart‟s strong _________ 7. Was his hair dark or fair? _________
4. Where‟s the bar? _________
3. Target sound / /
A. Listen to the target sound.
Listen and repeat the sound.
B. Minimal pair
// / /
joke yolk
juice use
jam yam
jess yes
jeers Years
That‟s a wonderful joke. That‟s a wonderful yolk.
There‟s no juice. There‟s no use.
Would you like jam? Would you like yam?
Jess, I love you. Yes, I love you.
He sang over the jeers. He sang over the years.
C. Dialogue
Read the dialogue below and fill the gaps (1-8) with the correct words from the box below.
Then listen to the recording and check your answers before practising it with a partner.
music knew New tubes stupid university tuba Europe
NOT SO STUPID
JOHN YEE: Excuse me. Did you use to live in York?
JOE YOUNG: Yes.
JOHN YEE: Did you use to be a tutor at the (1) …………?
JOE YOUNG: Yes. For a few years.
JOHN YEE: Do you remember Hugh Yip? He was a (2) ………… student.
JOE YOUNG: Hugh Yip? Did he use to have a huge yellow jeep?
JOHN YEE: Yes. And he used to play beautiful tunes on the (3) …………
JOE YOUNG: Yes, I (4) ………… Hugh. He used to be a very stupid student. Do you have any
news of Hugh?
JOHN YEE: Yes. He‟s a millionaire now in (5) ………… York.
JOE YOUNG: A millionaire? Playing the tuba?
JOHN YEE: Oh, no. He produces jam in (6) …………, and tins of onion stew, and sells them
in (7) ………… I read about Hugh in the newspaper yesterday.
JOE YOUNG: Oh! Well, he wasn‟t so (8) …………
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON THIRTEEN
NASAL CONSONANTS
I. DESCRIPTION
In the production of nasal consonants, the breath is completely stopped at some point in the
mouth (as for the plosive consonants); but it is then permitted to escape through the nose as
the velum is lowered.
II. LISTING
There are three nasal consonants in regard to the three places of articulation where the air can
be stopped.
voiced air
- The tip of tongue touches the alveolar ridge and obstructs the air
flow
voiced air
SYLLABIC CONSONANTS
This is the case of syllables in which no vowel is found. Instead, a consonant, either / /, / /
or a nasal, stands as the center of the syllable.
Examples: cattle nation particular ‟ (American accent)
NASAL PLOSION
When a stop appears before / / or / /, either in the same word or between words, the stop
is not released in the usual way. The air pressure that is built up behind the stop closure is
released through the nose by the lowering of the soft palate for the nasal consonant. This
phenomenon is known as nasal plosion.
Examples: sudden, sadden, happen, kitten, good night, take mine, (a) big man
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
- The back of tongue touches the velar and obstructs the air
stream.
voiced air
IMPORTANT NOTES:
+ This velar nasal never occurs in initial position. In other words, it never starts a syllable.
+ / / changes to / / when the next sound after it is / k / or / g /. For example: thin / / but
think / /, fin / / but finger //
+ The g is not pronounced after at the end of a morpheme, for example sing - // and
singer //, hang // and hanger //, but anger / /, hungry/ /, except for
the comparative and superlative suffixes; therefore, long // but longer / / and longest /
//
III. DRILL
1. Target sound //
A. Listen to the target sound.
Listen and repeat the target sound
B. Practice these words and sentences, paying attention to the target sound.
mile mine mummy comb name
The mile is very old. He loves his mummy. He‟s proud of his name.
This is mine. I want a comb.
C. Dialogue
Read the dialogue and fill in the missing words with the sound // from the box below. Then
listen to the recording and check your answers before practising the dialogue with a partner.
The first one has been done for you as an example.
time Mum met come make
home maybe manners tomorrow remember
MUM‟S MUFFINS
MALCOLM: Mum, may Tim Mitcham come (1) home with me for tea tomorrow?
MRS MACCALUM: Of course, Malcolm. Have I (2) ___________ Tim before?
MALCOLM: You met him in the summer. He‟s very small.
MRS MACCALUM: Oh, yes. I (3) ___________ Tim. He‟s very smart. And he has charming
(4)_________________Does his family (5)_________ from Cambridge?
MALCOLM: Yes. And … Oh, Mum!..... Will you (6) ________________ some home-
made muffins, tomorrow?
MRS MACCALUM: Mm. (7) _________________ If I have (8) _______________
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
MALCOLM: I told Tim about your muffins, (9) _______ That‟s why he‟s coming for tea
(10)________________
2. Target sound / /
// / /
mile Nile
mine Nine
mummy Money
comb Cone
name Mane
The mile is very old. The Nile is very old.
This is mine. This is nine.
He loves mummy. He loves money.
I want a comb. I want a cone.
He‟s proud of this name. He‟s proud of this mane.
C. Dialogue
First fill the gaps (1 – 8) in the dialogue below by choosing eight words with syllabic / / from
the following list. Then listen to check your answers before practising the dialogue with a
partner.
often station oven accommodation prison eleven forbidden
television certainly thousand Nelson garden agency
AT AN ACCOMODATION AGENCY
MARTIN: Good morning. My name is Martin Nelson. Are you the manager?
MANAGER: Yes, I a,. How can I help you, Mr (1) _______________?
MARTIN: I want an apartment in central London.
MANAGER: (2) __________________, Mr Nelson. How much rent do you want to pay?
MARTIN: No more than £1,000 a month.
MANAGER: £1,000 a month? We don‟t often have apartments as inexpensive as that. Not in
central London. We have one apartment for £2,179 a month in Notting Hill. It‟s
down near the (3) _______________in Northend Avenue.
MARTIN: Is it furnished?
MANAGER: No, it‟s unfurnished. The kitchen has no (4) _____. It‟s forbidden to use the (5)
_____ No friends in the apaprtment after (6) ______ in the evening. No
noise and no (7)_______after 11.15p.m. No ……
MARTIN: No, thank you! I want an apartment, not a (8) ______
3. Target sound / /
A. Listen to the target sound.
Listen and repeat the sound.
B. Minimal pairs
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
/ / / /
win wing
thin thing
ban bang
ran rang
run rung
Ron Wrong
What a win! What a wing!
Why this thin? Why this thing?
Ban the book. Bang the book.
They ran for an hour. They rang for an hour.
She has never run before. She has never rung before.
Is it Ron? Is it wrong?
// / /
wink wing
sink sing
rink ring
stink sting
bank bang
I‟ll give you a wink. I‟ll give you a wing.
He‟s sinking. He‟s singing.
The rink was a perfect circle. The ring was a perfect circle.
What a terrible stink! What a terrible sting!
Bank it quickly. Bang it quickly.
C. Dialogue
Listen to the dialogue, paying attention to the target sound. Then practise it with your
partner.
NOISY NEIGHBOURS
(Duncan King is lying in bed trying to sleep. Sharon King is standing near the window
watching the neighbours, Angus and Susan Lang.)
DUNCAN KING: (angrily). Bang! Bang! Bang! Sharon! What are the Langs doing at nine
o‟clock on Sunday morning?
SHARON KING: Well, Angus Lang is talking, Duncan.
DUNCAN KING: Yes, but what‟s the banging noise, Sharon?
SHARON KING: (looking out of the window) Angus is standing on a ladder and banging
some nails into the wall with a hammer. Now he‟s hanging some strong
string on the nails
DUNCAN KING: And what‟s Susan Lang doing?
SHARON KING: Susan‟s bringing something interesting for Angus to drink. Now she‟s
putting it under the ladder, and … Ohh!
DUNCAN KING: What‟s happening?
SHARON KING: He‟s holding the string in his fingers and he‟s shouting to Susan.
DUNCAN KING: And is Susan helping him?
SHARON KING: No. She‟s running to our house. Now she‟s ringing our bell.
BELL: RING! RING! RING!
DUNCAN KING: I‟m not going to answer it. I‟m sleeping.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON FOURTEEN
LATERAL
I. DESCRIPTION
A lateral consonant is made with a complete closure between the tip of the tongue and the
alveolar ridge; the only way for the air to escape is along the sides of the tongue.
II. LISTING
The only member of this group is / /, yet the realization of this sound occurs in different
contexts:
- In the production of this sound, the front and back of tongue are
very low and there is a firm contact made by the tip of tongue
and the tooth ridge.
LATERAL EXPLOSION
When an alveolar stop [] or [] occurs before a lateral [], the air pressure that is built up
during the stop is released by lowering the sides of the tongue, and the effect is called lateral
explosion. As in the case of words with nasal plosion, the lateral is itself syllabic.
III. DRILL
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON FIFTEEN
CONSONANT CLUSTERS
I. DESCRIPTION
When we have two or more consonants together, we call them a consonant cluster. The
numbers of permitted combinations of consonants in initial and final clusters are limited. The
permissible initial and final consonant clusters of English are listed in the tables below. An
inability to produce many of these clusters can lead to incomprehensibility.
INITIAL CLUSTERS
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
FINAL CLUSTERS
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
EXERCISES
1. The following list contains nonsense words, some of which are possible English words
and some are not. Identify those which are possible English words and those which are
not. In each case explain your reasoning.
a. // g. //
b. // h. /:/
c. // i. //
d. // j. //
e. // k. //
f. // l. //
2. How would you predict the difficulty a Vietnamese would have pronouncing the
following words?
cream stripped pride fit mind extra
match mistake edge confirm past company
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON SIXTEEN
Syllables are usually described as consisting a centre which has little or no obstruction to airflow
and which sounds comparatively loud; before and after this centre, there will be greater
obstruction to airflow and/or less loud sound. It will be noticed that there must be a vowel in
the centre of the syllable. The structure of a syllable is the following
syllable
rhyme
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
4. Syllabic //
In American accent, this syllabic consonant is very common. It is less common in RP, and in most
cases where it occurs there are perfectly acceptable alternative pronunciations without this syllabic
consonant. Some examples are history, secretary, butter.
VIII. STRESS
A. DEFINITION
Stress is the degree of prominence with which a sound or a word is pronounced.
B. KINDS OF STRESS
There are three kinds of stress: word stress, phrase stress, and sentence stress.
Word stress is fixed whereas phrase stress and sentence stress vary with the context in which
they are found.
C. LEVELS OF STRESS
1. In words
In all the words with two syllables up, all stressed syllables are more prominent than unstressed
syllables. Prominence, then, is produced by four main factors: (1) loudness, (2) length, (3) pitch
and (4) quality. Generally, these four factors work together in combination, though syllables
may sometimes be made prominent by means of only one or two of them. Moreover, these
factors are not equally important; the strongest effect is produced by pitch, and length is also a
powerful factor. Loudness and quality have much less effect.
Two levels of stress have been identified in words: primary (the strongest), secondary (weaker
than primary but stronger than unstressed) as well as a third level (unstressed) regarded as
being the absence of any recognizable amount of prominence.
+ Most two-syllable verbs have stress on the second syllable with the stress pattern oO, for
example, Escape to Scotland, forget about work, just relax and enjoy the scenery.
Exceptions: cancel, copy, two-syllable verbs ending in –er and –en such as answer,
enter, offer, listen, happen….. with the stress pattern Oo
+If the two-syllable word comes from a one-syllable word, the stress is on the syllable of the
original word.
e.g. art – artist Oo move – remove oO friend – friendly Oo
fame – famous Oo like – dislike oO work – worker Oo
Exceptions: There is no change of stress in these words which are both verbs and
nouns – answer, picture, promise, reply, travel, visit with stress pattern Oo.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
+ The stress stays in the same place when we make longer words from these two-syllable
nouns, adjectives and verbs.
e.g. in both happy – unhappy the stress is on the syllable happ, in both depart and
departure,
the stress is on the syllable part
1.1.2 Stress in three-syllable simple words
Grammatical Rules
categories
Adjectives & Nouns + Primary stress on the first syllable (and secondary on the last syllable
sometimes)
- if the last syllable contains a long vowel/diphthong
- if the last syllable ends with more than one consonant
e.g intellect Ooo, marigold Ooo, laminate Ooo, magnitude
Ooo
+ Stress on the second syllable
- if the last syllable contains a short vowel or
- if the second syllable contains a long vowel or if it end with
more than one consonant
e.g. potato oOo, disaster oOo, malignant oOo
In most compound words, the stress is on the first syllable. Listen to these examples.
Oo bookshop, bus stop, footpath, airport, shoe shop, road sign, car park, bedroom
Ooo traffic light, bus station, sunglasses, boarding card, window seat, check-in desk
Oooo travel agent, art gallery, supermarket, tape recorder, photocopy
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
4 a. We visited the White House (Oo). b. We visited the white house (OO).
(the place where the US. President lives) (a house that is white)
5 a. He‟s a famous English teacher (Oooo). b. He‟s a famous English teacher (OoOo) .
(a person who teaches English as his job) (a teacher who comes from England)
6 a. Are they washing machines (Oooo) ? b. Are they washing machines (OooO) ?
(machines that wash clothes) (Is someone cleaning machines?)
7 a. Do you know off a freeway (Oo) to get b. Do you know off a free way (OO) to get
there? there?
( a wide road for driving quickly) ( a method that doesn‟t cost any money)
+ Some two-word verbs have main stress on the verb and no stress on the particle; usually
when the particle is a preposition. Other two-word verbs have main stress on the particle and
secondary stress on the verb. In this case, the particle is an adverb most of the times.
e.g. I wouldn‟t dream of (Oo)asking you to do it.
The sun came out (OO) and I dozed off (OO).
+ A number of the particles (at, for, from, of and to) have stress when they come at the end of
a clause.
e.g. He lives for (Oo) his work.><She felt she had nothing to live for (OO).
+ A few two-word verbs can have stress on either verb only or on both verb and particle, but
with different meanings.
e.g. a/ He had to live on less than $10 a day. (Oo = the amount of money he had to
buy things)
b/The tradition lives on in many parts of the country. (OO= continue)
(PRACTICE: Units 19 &20, English Pronunciation in Use - Advanced by Mark Hancock)
3. In sentences
Every English sentence has a certain stress pattern. In any normal sentence, we shall stress all
the significant words. They are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, negative auxiliary verbs,
which together form the group of content words – words that express independent meaning.
Function words such as auxiliary verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, which have little
or no meaning in themselves but mainly express grammatical relationships, are pronounced in
their strong forms in certain circumstances but are more frequently pronounced in their weak
forms.
EMPHATIC STRESS
In conversation, speakers can choose to put the stress in any place. This is like underlining
words in writing: we do this to put emphasis on words. To „underline‟ a word- to create
emphatic stress on it, a speaker does one or more of these things:
a/ makes it louder b/ makes it longer c/ makes it higher
We „underline‟ words when
- we want to emphasise added details
- we want to emphasise important words
- we want to make a contrast with what the other person says,
- we want to correct some wrong information
(PRACTICE: Units 50, 51, 52 & 53, English Pronunciation in Use – Intermediate by Mark
Hancock)
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON SEVENTEEN
WEAK FORMS
Certain well-known English words can be pronounced in two different ways which are called
strong forms and weak forms. Almost all the words that have strong form and weak form are
function words – words that do not have a dictionary meaning in the way we expect nouns,
verbs, adjectives and adverbs to have. It is very important to learn how weak forms are used as
we would wish to avoid producing unnatural and foreign-sounding pronunciation. Moreover, we
may have difficulty understanding the native speakers who do use weak forms.
There are certain contexts where only strong form is acceptable, and others where the weak
form is the normal pronunciation. There are some fairly simple rules of this; we can say that the
strong form is used in the following cases:
i) when a preposition comes at the end of the sentence
e.g. I‟m fond of chips. ( - weak form)>< Chips are what I‟m fond of. ( - strong
form)
ii) when a weak form is being contrasted with another
e.g. The letter‟s from him, not to him.
iii) for the purpose of emphasis
e.g. You must give me more money.
iv) when a weak-form word is being cited or quoted
e.g. You shouldn‟t put “and” at the end of a sentence.
Some words have more than one weak form, and we must know when to use one and when
the others.
WORD WEAK FORM EXAMPLE
the (before consonants) Shut the door.
(before vowels) Wait for the end.
a, an (before consonants) Read a book.
(before vowels) Eat an apple.
and Come and see.
sometimes (syllabic) after , , , , Fish and chips.
and
but It‟s good but expensive.
that (relative pronoun or conjunction) The price is the thing that annoyed me.
I think that you‟re right.
than Better than ever.
his Take his name.
(at the beginning of a sentence) He likes it.
her (before consonants), (before Take her home./ Take her out.
vowels) Her face is red.
(when sentence-initial)
your (before consonants) Take your time.
(before vowels) On your own.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
(Further Reading: Chapter Twelve, English Phonetics and Phonology by Peter Roach
Practice: Units 33, 34, 35, 36 & 37, English Pronunciation in Use – Intermediate by Mark
Hancock)
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON EIGHTEEN
II. ASSIMILATION
2.1 Definition
Assimilation may be defined as the phonetic process by which one speech sound comes to
resemble or become identical with a neighbouring sound. Assimilation varies in extend
according to speaking rate and styles; it is more likely to be found in rapid, casual speech and
less likely in slow, careful speech. Generally speaking, the cases that have most been described
are assimilation affecting consonants. The consonant which is modified under the influence of a
neigbouring sound is called assimilated consonant. The consonant which influences the
articulation of a neighbouring sound is called assimilating consonant.
2.2 Directions
Assimilation may happen in two directions: progressive and regressive
- In progressive assimilation, the assimilated is influenced by the preceding consonant.
- In regressive assimilation, the preceding consonant is influenced by the one following it.
2.3 Types
In parallel with the main differences between consonants, we can identify three types of
assimilation - Assimilation of place, Assimilation of manner, and Assimilation of voicing
2.3.1 Assimilation of place
It is most observable where a final alveolar consonant is followed by an initial consonant which
is not alveolar.
e.g. bank // concrete // that person // this shoe //
2.3.2 Assimilation of manner
Generally speaking, the change of manner is most likely to be towards an „easier‟ consonant –
one which makes less obstruction to the airflow.
e.g. that side // read these // good night //
2.3.3 Assimilation of voicing
- Voiced consonants are often changed to voiceless sounds.
e.g months // looked // used to //
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
III. ELISION
Under certain circumstances, sounds disappear or a phoneme may be realized a zero or have a
zero realization, which is defined as elision. As with assimilation, elision is typical of rapid casual
speech actually pronounced by the native speakers of English. In other words, elision is the
process of change in phoneme realizations produces by changing the speed and casualness of
speech.
Some examples are:
+ Loss of weak vowel after /p, t, k/
In words like „potato, tomato, canary, perhaps, today‟, the vowels in the first syllable may
disappear, resulting in these pronunciation (where indicated aspiration): /‟, t‟,
‟, , /
+ Weak vowel + /n, l, or r / these consonants become syllabic ones such as tonight //,
police //, correct //
+ Avoidance of complex consonant clusters
In clusters of three plosives or two plosives plus a fricative, the middle plosive may disappear.
e.g: acts //, looked back //, scripts //
+ Loss of final v in „of‟ before consonants.
e.g: lots of them //, waste of money //
NOTE: It is difficult to know whether contractions of grammatical words should be regarded as
examples of elision or not. The fact that they are regularly represented with special spelling
forms makes them seem rather different from the above examples.
IV. LINKING
In connected speech, words within the same phrase or sentences often blend together.
Connecting groups of words together is referred to as linking. When words are properly linked,
there is a smooth transition from one word to the next.
1. Linking consonants to vowels
e.g , stop it, with it, breathe in, washed it, pass out
2. Linking consonants to consonants
e.g. stop trying, bad judge, big zoo, let down, fat chance, keep speaking
3. Linking identical consonants
e.g. ripe plum, hurt Tom, black cat, push Shirley, fall leaves
4. Linking vowels to vowels
e.g. be on time, see it, pay up, blue angel, flew in, blow out
(PRACTICE: Units 38, 39 & 40, English Pronunciation in Use – Intermediate by Mark Hancock)
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
LESSON NINETEEN
INTONATION
GENERAL
Intonation may be defined as such a unity of speech melody, sentence stress, voice quality and
speech tempo which enables the speaker to adequately communicate. To say it briefly,
intonation refers to the pattern of pitch changes that occur during a phrase, which may be a
complete sentence, and more importantly, each pattern conveys some sort of linguistic
information.
PITCH
One of the most important tasks in analyzing intonation is to listen to the speaker‟s pitch, the
height and lowness of the voice, and recognize the linguistic information it is carrying. In other
words, the succession of pitches in conversations forms the melody of the stream of speech and
carries its own meaning.
There are four pitch levels in English marked 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Level 1 is the lowest pitch which is said at your lowest tone.
Level 2 is at your normal tone.
Level 3 is at your high tone.
Level 4 is in an extra high tone for a very special sense.
While different tones cannot determine the meaning of a word in English – one of the
languages called intonation languages, there are many languages in which changing from one
tone to another on a word can cause a change in the lexical meaning of that word or in some
aspects of its grammatical categorization. The Vietnamese language is among this group of
tone languages.
There are five main types of English tones: fall, rise, fall-rise, rise-fall and level (flat), each with
some specific functions linked with personal attitudes.
Fall – giving an impression of finality, nothing more to say
Rise – conveying an impression that something more is to follow, showing an interest in
continuing, an invitation to continue, giving an impression of politeness
Fall-rise – indicating limited agreement, reservation/ hesitation, doubt
Rise-fall – conveying strong feeling of impatience, surprise, possible sarcastic
Level – conveying a feeling of saying something routine, uninteresting or boring
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
A syllable which carries a tone will be called a tonic syllable. Tonic syllables have a high degree
of prominence, which is, of course, a property of stressed syllables. Tonic syllables not only
carries a tone (which is something related to intonation, but also a type of stress that will be
called tonic stress.
As it is defined in Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, a tone unit is the basic unit of
intonation in a language which consists of one or more syllable with a complete pitch
movement. In relation to tonic syllable, a tone unit is described as groups forming a distinctive
unit in an utterance, containing a nucleus (tonic syllable) and optionally one or more other
syllables before and after the nucleus. To make it simple, we use tone units to package our
message into bite-sized chunks of information. For example, in this utterance – I think you have
made good progress this year - there are three tone units each with a tonic syllable marked
capital letters I THINK you have made good PROgress THIS year.
When we analyze longer stretches of speech, it is necessary to mark the places where tone unit
boundaries occur. Tone units are sometimes separated by silent pauses and sometimes not.
This is when speed and pitch can give help with the issue.
Like the syllable, the tone unit has a fairly clearly-defined internal structure in which there must
be one and only one tonic syllable or the nucleus. The other components may be the head, the
pre-head and the tail, which are always optional.
the pre-head (PH) – the head (H) – all the tonic syllable the tail (T) – any
all the unstressed the part of a tone unit (the nucleus) (TS) – syllables between the
syllables in a tone unit fro the most prominent nucleus and the end
preceding the first m the first stressed syllable in the of the tone unit
stressed syllable syllable up to the utterance
tonic syllable
Example: „On the left there‟s a bit of forest‟ there are two tone units in the utterance,
each with its own structure as follows
On the left there‟s a bit of fo rest
PH TS PH H TS T
Exercise : Divide the following utterances into tone unit and decide where the tonic syllable
might be in each unit. Also identify the structure of each unit.
1. The first student to finish can leave early.
2. Sadly, Maurice has gone away.
3. The person who was watching me left a ticket behind.
4. Alan couldn‟t make it so Ken took this place.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
FUNCTIONS OF INTONATION
Intonation is used to carry information over what is expressed by the words in an utterance,
makes it easier for a listener to understand what a speaker is trying to convey. It performs
several functions, among which are these four important ones.
+ the attitudinal function – enabling the speaker to express emotions and attitudes as he/she
speaks
+ the accentual function – helping to produce the effect of stressed syllables in order to mark
out the most important words in an utterance
+ the grammatical function – helping the listener recognize the grammar and syntactic
structure of what is being said
+ the discourse function – signaling to the listener what is to be taken as „new‟ information and
what is already „given‟, indicating some sort of contrast or link with material in another
utterance. In a conversation, this function can convey to the listener what kind of response is
expected.
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English Pronunciation and Phonetics
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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