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I’ve fallen in love with a Brazilian man, and we are now engaged. I am returning with him to make introductions to my family that lives in Wisconsin. But I’m afraid that the visit is going to explode in my face because my father is a stuffy English teacher and a pronunciation maven. Yet, Erico, my lover is unable to say even the word “Wisconsin” correctly—it sounds like “Vees-Coe-Sin.” Please give me some emergency advice for his accent and save my wedding day!
Tongue-tied in Rio.
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Dear Tongue-Tied,
Pardon the expression, but your primary accent should be on nurturing your budding relationship by instilling confidence into your lover as he crosses over to another culture.Portuguese, the language of Brazil, happens to not have a W sound, so Erico is probably substituting the U sound—or something in between a U and a V. In addition,Portuguese is very nasal, while American English is not—so he is probably passing over the N sound in the
middle of the word. Sit down with him and show him how to make a full W sound. Put your hands on his face so that he says it fully—“Double U” and “Wah Wah Wah” like a baby. Then blind fold him and say these words:
Then have him lift his right hand if he hears a W; Left for V. If his score is over 50%--give him a passionate kiss and get on to the altar.………………………………………………………………………………………….
By taking this course and using this CD you have begun an important learning process—discovering your wonderfully unique accent and voice. Really, the term “Accent Reduction” is not the best. Perhaps it should be called Accent Improvement or Accent Enhancement. After all, there are very successful people with accents in television and movies! Think of some: Salma Hayek, Arnold Shwarznegger, Danny Thomas, Tony Curtis, and Charlie Chan.
Most of us know that there are areas of our pronunciation that need improvement. Some of us may have a foreign accent because we speak English as a second language. For native speakers, we may have a US regional
accent that marks us in some way in our new location or in the workplace. And for some, due to our social or educational backgrounds, we have give-away pronunciation markers that identify us. In fact, we know that the moment that we open our mouth to speak, we reveal a wealth of information about ourselves: age, gender, educational background, even physical size.
Can you reduce your accent? Yes! The art and science of reducing an accent has come along way since the days of Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady and the repetitive practice of phrases such as “It rains mainly in the plain in Spain.” In this Manual and CD, we will discover some fantastic techniques for analyzing and fixing your individual accent.
The first step is to analyze your accent.
The second step is to take the lessons that are responsive to your particular accent problem.
As you read take this course, practice in front of the mirror, with audio cassettes or a video camera, or with a person whose accent you like. Listen to speakers who you admire on the radio or television. Your efforts at becoming a better speaker ofEnglish will be rewarded as people remark on how well you enunciate you words and phrases.
The following CD includes a comprehensive pronunciation analysis of your accent patterns. In addition, in the back of this manual is a series of test words and phrases for all the consonants and vowels in English. Say them to your teacher or an native speaker of English. Be sure to do all of the exercises in the accompanying CD.
Step Two: Identify Accent Interference
Now that you have identified some possible areas of concern for you pronunciation patterns, it is time to try and figure out what some of the causes of an accent might be. Make a list of the words in English that you have a problem with. Words like “vegetable,” or “shrimp.”
Step Three: Master English Consonants
There are about 24 English consonants. The good news is that 16 arethe easy ones. They are almost “universal” because similar ones exist in most languages. Make a list of English consonants and divide into two groups: English Consonants The easy ones The hard ones
Step Four: Conquer English Vowels
In this chapter we cover the 16 vowels present in English. Just like the consonants, someare going to be pretty easy. Others however are going to be challenging. a list of English consonants and divide into two groups:
Vowels The easy ones The hard ones
Step Five: Hit the Right Rhythm
By Rhythm we mean the drum beat that goes on while we are speaking. In the dictionary,Rhythm is indicated by small stress signs ‘. We are going to cover some basic Rhythmpatterns of English, which if mastered, will make you a clearer speaker.
Rhythm
Step Six: Perfect Your Pitch
Intonation is how the emotional content of a spoken message is carried. If you use nointonation, you will sound like a computer or robot or machine like. No matter how important your message, people will not respond to it because it will seem unimportant, trivial, or boring. Intonation
Step Seven: The Perfect Voice
Have you ever been present when someone is speaking publicly, but they do not speak loudly enough? Or have you ever been on the phone with someone who mutters or isincoherent? Voice quality is something that gives an impression of you, as
How do you feel if you are called on to speak publicly, even before a small group? Doyour hands sweat? Do you feel butterflies in your stomach? Does your mind suddenly goblank?
Speak Confidently
Step Nine: Test Your Progress
Now it’s time to see how far we have come. Take the following tests again. Do not check the answers in the back beforehand. Compare your results from the first test. I am sure that if you have followed the preceding chapters you will find dramatic improvement. If you still
need to improve some area, go back and practice those units. Also continue to practice the exercises in the next chapter, Step Ten. And remember, give yourself some encouragement, you have come a long way to accent improvement! Progress Test
Step Ten: Practice—Read Aloud Practice the following words in this
book and in the accompanying CD and Speech Recognition
Read short passages of books and magazines to feel comfortable with your voice in English.
Step One: Test Your Pronunciation
The chart below covers all of the consonants and vowels in English. For really a really accurate description of the words, a special alphabet called the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is used.
LISTEN AND SELECT THE THE WORD OR PHRASE YOU HEAR:
A B1. i: i2. eat it3. neat knit4. beat bit5. seat sit6. eel ill7. heel hill8. green grin9. teen tin10. reach rich11.sheep shipA B12. l r13. light right14. lice rice15. lot rot16. low row17. long wrong18. lead read19. led red20. lung rung
A B45.e ae46.bet bat47.met mat48.set sat49.Ben ban50.Ken can51.den Dan52.bed bad53.head had54.said sad55. leg lagA B56.h f57.hall fall58.honey funny59.heat feet60.hold fold61.hollow follow62.hear fear63.hit fit64.hill fill65.hell fell66.hat fatA B67.ae a68.cat cot69.hat hot70.pat pot71. rat rot72.cap cop73.map mop74.mass moss75.math moth76.band bond77. lack lockA B78.s th79.sink think80.sank thank81.sing thing82.some thumb
83.sick thick84.sin thin85.use youth86.mass math87.pass path88.worse worthA B89.ou au/a:90.so saw91. low law92.hole hall93.bowl ball94.coal call95.wrote rot96.note not97.boat bought98.coat caught99.coast costA B100. z/d th101. bays bathe102. sues soothe103. breeze breathe104. close clothe105. Z thee106. den then107. dare there108. Dan than109. die thyA B110. o u111. cob cub112. rob rub113. sob sub114. cop cup115. pop pup116. dock duck117. lock luck118. stock stuck119. not nut120. won oneA B
9 FINAL CONSONANT INCLUSION BUY BIKE SEW SOAP10 INITIAL GLOTTAL INCLUSION: /H/ A HAY E HE11 INITIAL FRICATIVE INCLUSION: /F/ ARM FARM EEL FEEL12 INITIAL VELAR INCLUSION: /K/ R CAR ART CART13 INIT CONSONANT INCLUSION 'SH' SHOWER HOUR SHARE AIR14 INIT CONSONANT INCLUSION /S/ SEAL EEL SELL L15 FRICATIVE CONTRASTS SORT FORT SHORT SORE FOUR16 INITIAL ALVEOLAR INCLUSION /T/ IN TIN EYE TIE17 INITIAL CONSONANT INCLUSION US BUS APE TAPE
18GLOTTAL FRIC VS ALVEOLARSTOPSIWI/H/VS/T/ HOP TOP HALL TALL
19GLOTTAL VS LABIO-DENTAL FRICATIVESIWI:/H/VS/F/ HAT FAT HIT FIT
20GLOTTAL VS PALATO-ALVEOLAR FRICATIVESIWI HALL SHAWL HEAD SHED
21GLOTTAL VS ALVEOLAR FRICATIVESIWI:/H/VS/S/ SAUCE HORSE SOUP HOOP
22 LIQUID VS FRICATIVE SIWI/L/VS/S/ LINE SIGN LOW SEW23 LIQUIDS VS GLIDES SIWI/R/VS/W/ ONE RUN WIG RIG
24FRICATIVES VS GLIDES SIWI/F/VS/W/ FEEL WHEEL FIG WIG
25FRICATIVES VS GLIDES SIWI/V/VS/W/ VEST WEST VEIL WHALE
26PALATO-ALVEOLAR FRICATIVE VS AFFRICATESSFWF MASH MATCH DISH DITCH
27PALATO-ALVEOLAR FRICATIVE VS AFFRICATESSIWI SHOPS CHOPS SHOES CHOOSE
28LIQUIDS VS ALVEOLARS SIWI:/L/VS/D/ LOTS DOTS LOG DOG
29 NASALS VS LIQUIDS SIWI/N/VS/L/ KNEAD LEAD NIP LIP
30LABIO-DENTAL FRICATIVES VS STOPSSIWI:/F/VS/D/ FILE DIAL FISH DISH
31ALVEOLAR VS PALATO-ALVEOLAR FRICATIVESSIWI SUIT SHOOT SOCK SHOCK
32ALVEOLAR VS LABIO-DENTAL FRICATIVESSIWI:/S/VS/F/ SOLD FOLD SAUCE FORCE
33ALVEOLAR VS LABIO-DENTAL FRICATIVESSIWI:/S/VS/F/ SUN FUN SEED FEED
34 /N/ VS 'SH' SIWI GNAW SHORE KNEE SHE35 /W/ VS /L/ SIWI WOK LOCK WINE LINE36 /W/ VS /L/ SIWI WHY LIE WAKE LAKE37 ALVEOLAR VS PALATO-ALVEOLAR SIGN SHINE SEW SHOW
FRICATIVESSIWI38 /N/ VS /S/ SIWI GNAW SAW NINE SIGN39 /N/ VS 'NG' SFWF RON WRONG PIN PING40 'TH' VS /F/ SIWI THIN FIN THAW FOUR41 /V/ VS /B/ SIWI VASE BARS VEST BEST42 /L/ VS /J/ SIWI LAWN YAWN LOU YOU43 /P/ VS /SP/ PIE SPY PEACH SPEECH POT44 /S/ VS /SL/ LEAP SLEEP LIP SLIP LOW45 /S/ VS /SK/ SAILS SCALES SIP SKIP SEE46 /S/ VS /ST/ SICK STICK SACK STACK SEAL47 /T/ VS /ST/ SIWI TAKE STAKE TALK STORK48 /T/ VS /ST/ SFWF BEAT BEAST BERT BURST49 /W/ VS /SW/ WING SWING WEEP SWEEP50 /K/ VS /SK/ KEY SKI CAT SCAT51 /N/ VS /SN/ NAIL SNAIL KNEES SNEEZE52 /M/ VS /SM/ MOG SMOG MASH SMASH53 /L/ CLUSTERS LIP FLIP LAP CLAP54 /R/ VS /TR/ RASH TRASH RAY TRAY55 /R/ CLUSTERS RAT BRAT RED BREAD56 /SK/ VS /ST/ SCOOP STOOP SCHOOL STOOL57 /K/ VS /G/ SIWI CAP GAP GATE KATE58 /D/ VS /T/ SFWF CORD CAUGHT BERT BIRD59 /K/ VS /G/ SFWF PECK PEG BUCK BUG60 /P/ VS /B/ SFWF CUP CUB NIP NIB61 VOICING SFWF PEACH BEACH FAN VAN
Test 4: Say these words aloud while a native speaker of English or your teacher circles the incorrect pronuciations. Calculate your reading age afterwards.
Schonell Reading Test
Directions: Read the words left to right. TREE LITTLE MILK EGGBOOK SCHOOL SIT FROGPLAYING BUN FLOWER ROADCLOCK TRAIN LIGHT PICTURETHINK SUMMER PEOPLE SOMETHINGDREAM DOWNSTAIRS BISCUIT SHEPHERDTHIRSTY CROWD SANDWICH BEGINNINGPOSTAGE ISLAND SAUCER ANGEL
1. The letter q is always followed by the letter u, and we say "kw." [quiet]2. /c/ before e, i or y says ‘s.' [chance, icing, icy]3. /g/ before e, i or y may say ‘j.' [germ, giant, gym]4. We often double l, f and s following a single vowel at the end of a one-syllable word. [ball, off, miss]5. Two-letter ‘k' (ck) is used only after a single vowel which says short ‘a' - ‘e' - ‘i' - ‘o' - ‘u' [pack, peck, pick, pock, puck]6. Three-letter j (dge) is used only after a single vowel which says short ‘a' - ‘e' - ‘i' - ‘o' - ‘u' [badge, ledge, ridge, lodge, fudge]7. The letter z, never s, is used to say ‘z' at the beginning of a base word. [zoo]8. The letter s never follows x.9. Double consonants within words of more than one syllable should both be sounded for spelling. [hap py]10. s-h is used to say ‘sh' at the beginning of a word, at the end of a syllable, but not at the beginning of most syllables after the first one except for the ending ship. [she, wish, friendship]11. t-i, s-i, and c-i are used to say ‘sh' at the beginning of any syllable after the first one. [nation, mansion, facial]12. s-i is used to say ‘sh' when the syllable before it [session] or the base word ends in an -s [tense/tension]; s-i can say its voiced ‘zh' sound when s is between two vowels. [vision]
13. Vowels a, e, o, u usually say long ‘a' - ‘e' - ‘o' - ‘u' at the end of a syllable. [pa per, be gin, o pen, u nit]14. Vowels i and o may say long ‘i' and ‘o' when followed by two consonants. [find, old]15. Vowels i and y may say ‘i' at the end of a syllable [fam i ly, bi cy cle], but usually say ‘i' or ‘e' [pi an o, ba by, by, fi nal] 16. Vowel y, not i, is used at the end of English words. [by, guy]17. Base words do not end with the letter a saying long ‘a' (except for the article a); a-y is used most often. [play]18. o-r may say ‘er' when w comes before the o-r. [works]19. We use ei after c [receipt], if we say long a [veil], and in some exceptions. [neither, foreign, sovereign, seized, counterfeit, forfeited, leisure, either, weird, heifer, protein, height, feisty, stein, weir, seismograph, sheik, kaleidoscope, Geiger counter, etc.] This is not an exhaustive list of exceptions.20. Silent final e's:A 1. Silent final e lets the vowel say its name. [time]B 2. English words do not end with v or u. [have, value]C 3. Silent final e lets c and g say their second sounds. [chance, charge]D 4. English syllables must have a written vowel. [ta ble]E 5. e [none of the above, e.g., are, horse]
AFFIX RULES:
21. All, till and full are usually written with one l when added to another syllable. [almost, until, careful]22. The past tense ending e-d says ‘d' or ‘t' after words that do not end with d or t [warmed, baked]; otherwise e-d forms a second syllable. [grad ed]23. Final y is changed to i before a suffix that does not begin with i. [cry, cried, cry ing]24. When adding a consonant suffix, silent final e words usually keep the e [safe ty, shame less, move ment], but not always. [wis dom, tru ly, ninth]25. When adding a vowel suffix, silent final e words are written without the e. [time, timing]26. When adding a vowel suffix to a one-syllable word ending with one short vowel and one consonant [hop], double the final consonant. [hopping]27.When adding a vowel suffix to a two-syllable word ending with one short vowel and one consonant, double the final consonant if the accent is on the last syllable [admit´, admitted] unless the suffix throws the accent back to the first syllable. [refer3, referred, ref´ er ence; confer´, conferred, con´ fer ence]28. When prefixes dis, mis and un are added to root words beginning with the same letter with which the prefix ends, this letter will be doubled. [unnecessary, dissolve, misspell]
: PLURAL RULES
29. The plural of most nouns is formed by adding s. [boys, cages, horses]30. Nouns ending with the sounds of s, x, z, ch, sh or 'j' form their plurals by adding e-s. [fox es, bush es, boss es]
31. Nouns ending in y after a vowel form their plurals by adding s. [mon key/mon keys]32. Nouns ending in y after a consonant form their plurals by changing y to i and adding e-s.[pup py/pup pies]33. Nouns ending in o after a vowel form their plurals by adding s. [pa ti o / pa ti os] 34. Nouns ending in o after a consonant usually form their plurals by adding e-s [he ro/he roes] B except some musical terms. [pi an o/pi an os] 35. Most nouns ending in f and f-e form their plurals by adding s [belief / beliefs]; some change f to v and adde-s. [wolf /wolves, wife /wives]35a. Most verbs form their third person, present, singular as if they were nouns becoming plurals. [cuts, raises, dresses, fixes, fizzes, catches, pushes, plays, carries, goes]
SYLLABICATION RULES:
36. A one-syllable word is never divided. [boat, good, knelt]37. A compound word is divided between the words that make the compound word. [shot gun, sun set, air plane]38. Divide between two consonants [hap py, per haps] unless the consonants form a digraph and are sounded together. [ma chine, e le phant]39. When a word has an affix, it is divided between the root and the affix. [re run, soft ness, cry ing]40. When a single consonant comes between two vowels, it is usually divided after the consonant if the first vowel is short. [clev er, lem on, rob in]41. When a single consonant comes between two vowels or vowel sounds, it is usually divided before the consonant if the first vowel is long. [mu sic, po lite, pa per] 42. Divide between two vowels when they are sounded separately. [di et, cru el]43. Vowels that are sounded alone form their own syllable. [dis o bey, a live, u ni form]44. When a word ends in l-e preceded by a consonant, divide before the consonant. [tur tle, ca ble, this tle]
CAPITAL LETTER & APOSTROPHE RULES:
45. Capitalize words which are the individual names or titles of people, of places, of books, of days and months, etc. [Bill, Chief Sitting Bull, New York, Amazon River, Call of the Wild, Sunday, June]46. An apostrophe takes the place of missing letters in a contraction. [it is/it's; she is/she's; cannot/can't]47. An apostrophe shows ownership or possession [Mary's coat, boys' coats], but is never used with any possessive pronouns. [my, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, its, whose]
Step Two: Identify Accent Interference. Find your first language below and see the types of language interference common for it.
Arabic1. 1 . The R is formed in the front of the mouth, and it is trilled or rolled. 2. The aspirated P as in put does not exist. The sound will resemble a B sound.
Paper > baber. 3. The TH sound does not exist in Arabic. 4. Voiceless initial TH will be replaced with S. thin > sin. 5. Voiced initial TH will be replaced with Z or D. that > zat or dat. 6. The aspirated T will sound more like D. too > doo. 7. CH does not exist. It is replaced by SH. cheep > sheep. 8. There is no hard G as in go. The G is always soft as in gentle. 9. The short vowel sounds can cause difficulties for the ESL learner.
Czech1. W is replaced with a V sound. want > vant 2. Y, when used as a vowel, is a long "E" sound. symbol > seembol 3. J is a Y sound. January > Yanuary 4. The TH sound does not exist. 5. Voiceless initial TH becomes T. think > tink 6. Voiced initial Th becomes D. these > dese 7. Voiceless final TH becomes F, S, or T. with > %if, @s, or wit 8. Voiced middle TH becomes D. mother > modder 9. Final G is replaced by K. pig > pik
10. Final D is replaced by T. bad > bat
Chinese1 . Consonant clusters are rare in Chinese. Since English has many of them, this can create pronunciation problems for the ESL student. 2. The TH sound does not exist. 3. Voiceless TH will be replaced by T or F. think > tink or fink 4. Voiced TH will be replaced by D or V. that > dat or vat 5 . The L and R sounds are difficult to produce since students cannot distinguish the difference between the two sounds. Some will always use "R" for both sounds, while others will always use "L." glass > grass or grass > glass blew > brew or brew > blew 6. In the initial position a sound resembling L will usually replace an R. road > load 7. Chinese has no Z sound. It is replaced with SH or S. zip > ship or sip
Croatia1 . Voiced and voiceless TH do not exist. Students will tend to pronounce these sounds as D or T. both > bod or hot; these > dese or tese
2. The short English vowel sounds are very difficult. Generally, the student tends not to hear the slight variations in these sounds. 3. The letter R is rolled. 4. The letter W does not exist. It is replaced by V or F. want > vant or fant 5. In many cases V > B, C > S, and X > H. vat > bat; cold > sold; Texas > Tehas
Farsi1. Farsi lacks some of the letters/sounds that occur in the English alphabet. They include 0, Q, U, W, and X. This can cause much difficulty in pronunciation. 2. Initial voiceless Th becomes T or S. think > tink or sink 3. The sound W is replaced by V. want > vant 4. Final D becomes T. bad > bat 5. Initial G may be replaced by C. goat > coat 6. Short vowels will be difficult.
French1. The Th sound does not occur in French. a. Voiceless initial TH becomes S. think > sink b. Voiced initial TH becomes Z. them > zem 2. The CH sound does not occur in French. It is replaced with SH. cheek > sheek 3 . The sound of J as in "jeep" does not occur in French. It has the sound of "rouge". 4. The R sound is difficult. Many French speakers substitute the R made at the back of the throat - a "growled" sound. Some will substitute the trilled R. 5. ING as in "ring" does not occur. Ring may become fin. 6. Final S is not pronounced, and final T after a vowel is also not pronounced. 7. P, T, and K are not aspirated. They sound more like B, D, and G respectively. cap > cab; bat > bad; back > bag
German1. Voiceless initial TH will usually be replaced by S. think > sink 2. Voiced initial TH will usually be replaced by Z. that > zat 3. W has the sound of V in German. want > vant 4. The letter S is difficult for Germans. 5. S before a vowel becomes Z. so > zo 6. S followed by P, T, or L becomes SH. spell > shpell; step > shtep; sleep > shleep 7. When B, D, or G occur at the end of an English word, the ESL student will usually use P, T, or K respectively. cab > cap; bad > bat; bag > back 8. The R sound can be difficult. In German, the R is made at the back of the throat and has a "growled" sound.
Ghana1. /?/ is sometimes pronounced /a/ as in "cupboard" for instance; consonants clusters might be dropped after long vowels, e.g.: "past" pronounced almost the same way as "pass" 2. Use of plural morpheme with uncountable nouns, e.g.:" many damages"
3. Semantic extension, e.g.: " sorry" to express one's compassion to other people, e.g.: Sorry for your daughter's misfortune.4. Local borrowing: "chewing stick" for a fresh twig chewed for cleaning the teeth; "herbalist" for traditional doctor, especially those endowed with magical power , "high life" for a special Ghanaian dance and music in the then newly independent Ghanaian society. Today, coping with modern technology, a cell-phone is called in Ghana: "I'm-on-the-way!"
Hong Kong1. Voiceless TH will be replaced by T or F. think > tink or fink,2. Voiced TH will be replaced by D or V. that > dat or vat 3. L and R sounds are difficult to pronounce, students cannot distinguish the difference between the two sounds. Some will always use "R" for both sounds, while others will always use "L." glass > grass or grass > glass blew > brew or brew > blew; in the initial position a sound resembling L will usually replace an R. road > load 4. Chinese has no Z sound; it is replaced with SH or S. zip > ship or sip5. Words and phrases from Chinese: dim sum (snacks served in Chinese restaurants), gweilo ("ghost person", a European man)6. Loan translations from Chinese: dragon boat(a long canoe-like boat raced at festivals)7. Terms from other languages: amah (Portuguese: a maid)8. local uses of general words: triad (a secret criminal society)
Hmong1. Initial B and P have the same sound. bad > bad; pad > bad 2. The TH sound causes difficulty. 3.. Initial voiceless TH becomes T. think > tink 4.. Initial voiced TH becomes D. that > dat 5. The sound of T in the middle of a word will become D. better > bedder 6. The consonants P, T, and K in the final position are replaced with B, D, and G respectively, and become voiced. hip > bib; hit > hid; sick > sig
Hungarian1. Some Hungarian vowel sounds have no English equivalents. 2. There is no sound for W in Hungarian. It is replaced with a V sound. want > vant 3. The letter J has a Y sound. January > Yanuary 4. The TH sound causes difficulty in Hungarian. 5. Voiceless initial TH becomes S or T. think > sink or tink 6. Voiced initial TH becomes Z or D. that > zat or dat 7. The letter R is trilled or rolled.
India1. Voiced and voiceless TH becomes T. three > tree; think > tink 2. The sound P is replaced by B. pig > big 3. The sound W becomes V. want > vant 4. The sound CH becomes SH. cheep > sheep 5. Final consonants are often omitted, especially the G from NG. doing > doin
6. Short vowel sounds cause much difficulty, since the ESL student does not hear the slight variations. 7. The consonants F, Q, V, X, and Z do not exist as separate characters in the Hindi alphabet.8. Indian English is rhotic, /r/ being pronounced in all positions9. weak vowels are pronounced as full vowels in such words as photography and student10. word stress is used primarily for emphasis and suffixes are stressed11. voiced and voiceless TH becomes T: three > tree; think > tink 12. Voiced and voiceless TH becomes T. three > tree; think > tink 13. the sound P is replaced by B. pig > big 14. the sound W becomes V. want > vant 15. CH becomes SH. cheep > sheep 16. Final consonants are often omitted, especially the G from NG. doing > doin 17. Distinct kinds of pronunciation lead to different kinds of IndE: Bengalis using /b/ for /v/, making bowel and vowel homophones. 18. Interrogative constructions without subject/auxiliary inversion: What you would like to buy?19. One used rather than the indefinite article: He gave me one book.20. Stative verbs given progressive forms: She is having two books.21. reduplication used for emphasis and to indicate a distributive meaning: He bought some small small things.22. yes and no as question tags: He is coming, yes?23. isn't it? as a generalized question tag: They are coming tomorrow, isn't it?24. reflexive pronouns and only used for emphasis: They live like that only.
Italy1. /?/+/g/ instead of /?/ in words like sing.2. TH, which is often pronounced /t/.3. Schwa insertion after a /t/ in word-final position that gives an Italian’s English a very peculiar accent.
Japanese1. The letter C may be pronounced as SH. cent > shent 2. The sound W is replaced by V. want > vant 3. Initial V becomes B. vine > bine 4. The TH sound does not occur in Japanese. 5. Initial voiceless TH becomes S. think > sink 6. Initial voiced TH becomes D. these > dese 7. Final TH becomes S. with > wis 8. The L sound is usually replaced by an R type sound. led > red
Korean1. The TH sound does not occur in Korean. 2. Initial TH becomes D. think > dink; that > dat 3. Final voiceless TH is replaced with S. with > wis 4. Final voiced TH becomes D. smooth > smood 5. The sound L is usually replaced with an R sound. led > red
6. The sound B becomes V. bat > vat 7. The J sound becomes a Z sound. jeep > zeep 8. The H or WH sounds become an F sound. held > feld; white > fight
Nigeria1. Long vowels or diphthongs are shorter.(e.g.: car /kar/ instead of /ka:r/). 2. Local words (borrowings: e.g. "Na wa!" An interjection used to express positive feelings. Its meaning depends strongly on context of use and speaker's intonation; e.g.: Na wa for you, that you got that scholarship!) 3. Some initial English expression which went through semantic extension; e.g.: How far or how bodi? (from the human body!) to mean How are you/ How are you feeling?
Norway1. /z/, which does not exist in Norwegian. For this reason, some Norwegians have difficulties pronouncing words with voiced s and use unvoiced s. 2. Long o is normally pronounced /u:/ in Norwegian, while long u becomes /y:/. “Pool” might be heard like /py:l/ in a Norwegians English.
Polish1. In the initial position, the letter J will always sound like a Y. January > Yanuary 2. There is no TH sound in Polish. 3. Initial voiceless TH can become T or F. three > tree or free 4. Initial voiced TH usually becomes D. that > dat 5. Final TH can be replaced by S or T. with > wis or wit 6. The letter W becomes V, want > vant
Portuguese1. CH will sound like SH. cheep > sheep 2. The letter H is never pronounced. 3. Since Portuguese has many nasal sounds, this may cause the ESL student some problems in pronunciation.
Russian1. English short vowel sounds are very difficult. 2. There is no TH sound in Russian. 3. Voiceless initial TH becomes S. think > sink 4. Voiced initial TH becomes Z. that > zat 5. Voiceless final TH becomes F, S, Z, or T. with > wif, wis, wiz, wit 6. Middle TH becomes Z. father > fazer 7. There is no W sound in Russian. It is replaced by the V sound. want > vant 8. The letter R is rolled or "growled" at the back of the throat. 9. A hard G sound replaces the letter H in foreign words. Ohio > Ogio
Sierra Leone1. Long and short vowels: e.g.: words like lean, speak, east, beast are all produced with the same sound /i/, as well as the pairs sleep-slip, beat-bit; "2. "Past" is rather pronounced /pass/.
3. /? / is realised in various ways, mostly as the sound is written: e.g.: as [o] in "mother", as [u] in "us", "but", "bus" 4. Ends of word are hardly produced: "old" as /o:l/, find as /fain/.5. The personal pronoun "yu" for you; e.g.: Yu no fo se(as for meaning: you know). A typical Krio expression is: Aw di wok? (How is it going?)
Singapore1. Equal stress on all syllables2. Intonation has many short tone groups-there is no contrastive stress3. final consonants are often unreleased, resulting in glottal stops /hi/ for hit4. final consonant clusters are generally reduced to one spoken consonant: 'juss' for just, 'slep'/'sle' for slept5. vowels in words like 'take', 'so' and 'dare' are often monophthongs6. Tendency to omit articles7. The present-tense inflection -s/8. The plural inflection -s/9. The past-tense inflection -ed,-t/10. Word Order: You have pen or not?/I got three sister./She come from China.11. 'Already' is used as a marker of completive aspect12. 'Use to' occurs as a marker of habitual aspect: She use to go to the market. (She goes to the market.)13. 'Would' is used for future events14. Direct/indirect objects are preposed: This book we don't have.15. There is a preference for 'also' over 'too'16. Chinese particles, such as lah and aa, are a common means of conveying emphasis and emotion: You wait me, aa? (Will you wait for me?)
17. Words borrowed from regional languages: makan (food).-non-English interjections: ay yaah! (suggest exasperation), che! (express irritation or regret)
South Africa1. Tendency to raise vowels such as "a, e, ä" so as to get /de'de/ for daddy. 2. Stress of /r/ in clusters such as /kr, gr,tr, dr/
Spanish1. There are no voiceless consonant blends beginning with "S"; consequently, an "e" sound will precede these blends. street > estreet, school > eschool 2. There is no SH sound. It becomes CH. shoe > choe 3. The letters R and RR are formed in the front of the mouth and are trilled. 4. The letter H has no sound. The letter J always carries the H sound as does G before the vowels E or I. 5. The sound TH exists in Spanish, but the letters TH are never used together. D will have the TH sound wherever possible in a Spanish sentence. In Spanish, Z and C (before E or I ) carry the sound TH. 6. In many cases V will sound like a soft B sound. have> hab
Tagalog1. The letter V has a B sound. vest > best; vat > bat
2. The letter J has a Y sound. jam > yam 3. S and Z have the S sound. zip > sip; zebra > sebra 4. All words ending in TAIN have the same sound as the ending of the word "maintain." fountain > fountain 5. The TH sound is difficult. 6. Voiceless initial TH sounds like T. think > tink 7. Voiced initial TH sounds like D. these > dese 8. Final TH sounds like T. tooth > toot 9. The letter F has a P sound. fan > pan
Thai1. Voiced final consonants in English are omitted.2. Multiple final consonant clusters are impossible. 3. Voiceless consonant blends at the beginning of English words are difficult. ESL students will tend to voice them. stop > sadop; spend > sabend 4. The TH sound does not exist in the Thai language. 5. Voiceless initial TH becomes T. three > tree 6. Voiced initial TH becomes D. that > dat 7. Voiceless final TH becomes T. with > wit 8. The letter V has a W sound. visit > wisit 9. The letters R and L are interchanged because they sound the same. free > flee; fly > fry 10. CH sounds like SH. cheep > sheep
Turkish1. There are no initial consonant clusters in Turkish. 1. Insert a vowel before or after the S. store > istore or sitore 2. The TH sound does not occur in Turkish. 3. Voiceless initial TH becomes S or T. thin > sin or tin 4. Voiced TH becomes Z or D. that > zat or dat 3. The letters V and W are confusing. V is especially difficult to produce before vowels.4. W is replaced by oo as in noon. white > ooite 5. Words ending in B, D, or G will be substituted with P, T, or K respectively. nab > nap; lid > lit; pig > pik 6. Where P, T, or K occur in the middle of a word, B, D, or G will be substituted. dipper > dibber; butter > budder; bicker > bigger
Vietnamese1. Pronunciation may be choppy for ESL students because the English language has so many words of more than one syllable. 2. The TH sound is difficult. 3. Voiceless initial TH can become T or S. think > tink or sink 4. Voiced initial TH can become Z. that > zat 5. CH has the Sh sound. cheep > sheep 6. The L can have the sound of R. load > road 7. The letter D is confusing. It may be replaced by J, Y, or Z. dig > zig; jig > yig or zig
1. Relax lower jaw2. Let tip of tongue rest behind lower teeth3. Close lips firmly against each other so as to stop air from leaving mouth4. Quickly release build up of pressure.
1. Relax lower jaw2. Let tip of tongue rest behind lower teeth3. Close lips firmly against each other so as to stop air from leaving mouth4. Quickly release build up of pressure5. Vibrate vocal chords
1. Relax lower jaw2. Let tip press firmly against upper gum ridge, behind the front teeth.3. Quickly drop the tongue as the air is expelled.4. Vibrate vocal chords.
renting rEntIÎ rending rEndIÎbeat biyt bead biydsit sIt Sid sIdset sEt said sEd
64. /k/
This consonant is a voiceless stop.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Relax lower jaw2. Rest tongue lightly behind lower teeth3. Raise the back of the tongue toward the soft palate4. Stop the air flow5. Quickly drop the tongue as the air is expelled
wrecker wrEk@r reggae rEgeyback b{k bag b{gcurl k@rl girl g@rlbuck b@k bug b@gcod kad God gad
65. /g/
This consonant is a voiced stop.
DIRECTIONS:1. Relax the lower jaw2. Open the mouth slightly.3. Raise the back of the tongue towards the roof of the mouth4. Stop the air stream5. Quickly drop the tongue and release the air.6. Vibrate the vocal chords.
WORDS
WORD PHONETIC SPELLINGgeezer giyz@rmeagre miyg@rleague liygguilt gIlt
Meeker mIk@r meagre miyg@rleek liyk league liygkilt kIlt guilt gIlt
wrecker wrEk@r reggae rEgeyback b{k bag b{gcurl k@rl girl g@rlbuck b@k bug b@gcod kad God gad
66. /T/
This consonant is a voiceless interdental fricative.
DIRECTIONS
1. Relax lower jaw2. Let tip of tongue rest between the upper and lower teeth.3. Keep the tongue in contact with the upper molars.4. Direct air over the tongue and under the top teeth.
1. Relax lower jaw2. Let tip of tongue rest between the upper and lower teeth.3. Keep the tongue in contact with the upper molars.4. Direct air over the tongue and under the top teeth.5. Vibrate the vocal chords.
reaper riyp@r Reba riyb@peep p}iyp plebe pliybpit p}It bit bIt
lippy lIpiy Libby lIbiyrip rIp rib rIb
poise p}Oyz boys bOyzopal owp}@l global glowb@l
cowpoke kawpowk cowboy kawbOy
68. /s/
This consonant is a voiceless sibilant.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Keep the teeth close together2. Make the body of the tongue grooved3. Let the tip of the tongue be free and pointing toward the gum ridge.4. Sides of tongue may or may not touch sides of upper teeth.5. Do not vibrate vocal chords.
Sioux suw zoo zuwMacy meysiy mazey meyziyrejoice r@DOyc joys jOyzmoose muws moos muwzbets bEts beds bEdzsinks sI Îks sings sIÎz
69. /z/
This consonant is a voiced stop.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Keep the teeth close together2. Make the body of the tongue grooved3. Let the tip of the tongue be free and pointing toward the gum ridge.4. Sides of tongue may or may not touch sides of upper teeth.5. Vibrate vocal chords.
1. Relax lower jaw2. Raise tip and blade of tongue to gum ridge without touching it3. Touch sides of tongue to upper teeth.4. Arch front of tongue5. Direct breath over tip of tongue in a narrow stream6. Keep lips neutral7. Do not vibrate vocal chords.
This consonant is a voiced patato-alevolar fricative continuant.
DIRECTIONS:1. Relax lower jaw2. Raise tip and blade of tongue to gum ridge without touching it3. Touch sides of tongue to upper teeth.4. Arch front of tongue5. Direct breath over tip of tongue in a narrow stream6. Keep lips neutral7. Vibrate vocal chords.
This consonant is a voiced palatal consonant glide.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Let lower jaw hang relaxed2. rest tip of tongue behind lower teeth.3. Arch front of tongue toward hard palate.4. As sound is produced, quickly drop tongue down.
This consonant is a voiced bilabial consonant glide.
DIRECTIONS:1. Relax the lower jaw2. Rest tongue behind lower teeth3. Round lips4. Arch back of tongue as for vowel sound /uw/5. Lips move to shape of following vowel (always followed by a vowel in English)6. Vibrate vocal chords
WORDS
WORD PHONETIC SPELLINGweed wiydwitch wITwig wiygwit wIt
we’ll wiyl wheel ÷iyl veal viylwitch wIT which ÷IT vale veylwit wIt whit ÷It vim vIm
women wIm@n whim ÷Im vim vImworse w@rs when ÷En verse v@rsweed wiyd wheat ÷iyt Vedic viydIkwet wEt whet ÷Et vet vEtwhy way whine ÷ayn vine vaynwile wayl while ÷ayl vile vayl
75. /÷/
This consonant is a voiceless bilabial consonant glide..
DIRECTIONS:
1. Relax the lower jaw2. Rest tongue behind lower teeth4. Round lips5. Arch back of tongue as for vowel sound /uw/6. Lips move to shape of following vowel (always followed by a vowel in English)
we’ll wiyl wheel ÷iyl veal viylwitch wIT which ÷IT vale veylwit wIt whit ÷It vim vIm
women wIm@n whim ÷Im vim vImworse w@rs when ÷En verse v@rsweed wiyd wheat ÷iyt Vedic viydIkwet wEt whet ÷Et vet vEtwhy way whine ÷ayn vine vaynwile wayl while ÷ayl vile vayl
76. /f /
This consonant is a voiceless labio-dental fricative continuant.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Let lower jaw hang relaxed.2. Touch tongue to back of lower teeth.3. Press lower lip to edges of upper lip.4. Force out air between teeth and lower lip.
DIRECTIONS:1. Let lower jaw hang relaxed.2. Touch tongue to back of lower teeth.3. Press lower lip to edges of upper lip.4. Force out air between teeth and lower lip.5. Vibrate vocal chords.
WORDS
WORD PHONETIC SPELLINGvee viyvan v{nvoo vuwvie vayveer vI@rhave h{v
This consonant is a voiced velar nasal continuant.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Let lower jaw hang relaxed2. Lower soft palate3. Raise back of tongue as for sounds /k/ and /g/4. Maintain contact while air resonates through nasal cavity
DIRECTIONS:1. Let the lower jaw hang relaxed2. Have the upper and lower teeth almost touch3. Blend a quick /t/ sound followed by /S/4. Arch front of tongue5. Direct breath over tip of tongue in a narrow stream6. Protrude the lips slightly7. Do not vibrate vocal chords.
This consonant is a voiced affricate.DIRECTIONS:1. Let the lower jaw hang relaxed2. Have the upper and lower teeth almost touch3. Blend a quick /t/ sound followed by /S/4. Arch front of tongue5. Direct breath over tip of tongue in a narrow stream6. Protrude the lips slightly7. Vibrate vocal chords.
This consonant is a voiced lateral continuant. It is called “dark l”. When /l/ follows a vowel, as in ball /baà/, the tongue has more contact with the upper teeth and has a different characteristic than intial /l/.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Relax the jaw2. Open the mouth3. Broaden the tongue4. Put the tip of the tongue on the gum ridge5. slide the sides of the tongue back along the upper teeth.6. Let air pass over sides of tongue.
WORDS
WORD PHONETIC SPELLINGeel iyà
meal miyàwe’ll wiyàhe’ll hiyàill Iàpill pIàJill D Iàhell hEàcurl k@rà
COMPARISONS
/l / Phonetic /à/ Phoneticleaf liyf eel iyà
leash liyS meal miyàlilly lIliy we’ll wiyà
little lit@à he’ll hiyàlisp lIsp ill Iàlit lIt pill pIà
These consonants are syllabic consonants. They function as a syllable without an accompanying vowel. They occur when a syllable ends in /t/,/d/,/n/, or/l/ and the next syllable is unstressed and contains an /l/ or /n/.
DIRECTIONS:1. Bring tongue in contact with gum ridge2. Force the tongue to remain in contact3. Make the following /l/ or /n/ sound.
89. / t9/ /d/ These consonants are dentalized consonants. They are formed when /t/ or /d/ are produced with the tongue resting on the back of the front upper teeth rather than on the alveolar ridge (gum ridge).
Vowels are produced by the continual vibration of the vocal cords. The air is allowed to escape the mouth without interruption.
44. /iy/This is the highest front vowel in English.
DIRECTIONS
1. Press the sides of the tongue against the upper bicuspid (two-pointed) teeth and the roof of the mouth.
2. You may press the tip of the tongue against the cutting edge of the lower front teeth.
3. The upper and lower teeth almost touch.4. The lips spread, almost in a tight smile.5. Air escapes between the narrow opening of the tongue and front teeth.6. The muscle under your jaw is somewhat tight.
COMPARISON
/iy/ Phonetic / I/ Phoneticdeed diyd did dIdteams tiymz Tim’s tImzkeen kiyn kin kIngreen griyn grin grInglean gliyn glint glIntclean kliyn din dIn
demeaned d@miyn@d
mint mInt
leave liyv live (v) lIvbean biyn been bIn
45. /I/
This vowel is just below /i/ on the vowel chart.
DIRECTIONS
1. Drop the jaw and relax it slightly.2. Relax the pressure of the tongue against the upper bicuspids.3. The forced smile of the /i/ vowel is relaxed.4. The muscle under the jaw is somewhat lax.
peep piyp pip pIp bay beycreep kriyp crypt krIpt gay geyfeast fiyst miss mIs save seyvreef riyf fist fIst fail feylPete piyt bit bIt laid leydeat iyt mint mInt inane Ineyn
keen kiyn din dIn hay hey
46 /ey/
Down and back of /I/ is the vowel /ey/. This vowel is really a diphthong and is its diphthongization is greatest in final position, when followed by a voiced consonant, or when pronounced with a slide at the end of an intonation unit.
DIRECTIONS
1. The jaw drops a little more than in /I/2. The sides of the tongue press slightly against the upper bicuspids.3. The mouth opens just a little wider4. The lips are open and relaxed5. At the end of this vowel, the tongue moves upward toward /iy/
COMPARE
/ey/ Phonetic
/E/ Phonetic /{/ Phonetic
ate yet tech tEk grand gr{ndrain reyn pep pEp gland gl{ndpray prey fest fEst Dan d{ngreat greyt left lEft ban b{ngauge geyD pet pEt bat b{tcliché klISey bet bEt lavish l{v@Sballet baley effort Ef2t crass kr{s
matinee m{tIney kettle kEt@l cat c{tblame bleym pest pEst attack @t{k
Below /ey/ is this vowel. Unlike /ey/ it is not diphthongized.
DIRECTIONS
1. The tongue DOES NOT touch the bicuspids with pressure.2. The jaw is lowered from the position for /ey/3. Allow the tip of the tongue to relax behind the lower front teeth.4. Arch the tongue half-high.5. The lips are in a neutral position.
COMPARE:
/I/ Phonetic
/E/ Phonetic /{/ Phonetic
it It tech tEk grand gr{nddid dId pep pEp gland gl{ndkin kIn fest fEst Dan d{ndin dIn left lEft ban b{n
litter lIt@r pet pEt bat b{triff rIf bet bEt lavish l{v@Srich rIT effort Ef2t crass kr{s
pistol pIst@l kettle kEt@l cat c{trip rIp pest pEst attack @t{k
1. Relax and lower the jaw2. Let the mouth be as wide as possible without forcing it3. The tongue is practically flat4. Make a light contact is made between the lower teeth and the tongue
COMPARE:
/I/ Phonetic
/a/ Phonetic /{/ Phonetic
it It pot pat grand gr{nddid dId father faD@r gland gl{ndkin kIn box baks Dan d{ndin dIn calm cam ban b{n
litter lIt@r pa pa bat b{triff rIf fob fab lavish l{v@Srich rIT ma ma crass kr{s
pistol pIst@l hot hat cat k{trip rIp dot dat attack @t{k
1. Lower the jaw below a normal relaxed position2. Make the lips wide open3. The tongue touches the floor of the mouth.4. The back of the tongue arches up a bit towards the throat.
COMPARE:
/@/ Phonetic
/a/ Phonetic /{/ Phonetic
alive @laiv pot pat grand gr{ndsofa sOf@ father faD@r gland gl{nd
telephone tEl@fown
box baks Dan d{n
possible pas@b@l
calm cam ban b{n
oppose @powz pa pa bat b{t
Confucius k@nfyuS@s
fob fab lavish l{v@S
labyrinth l{b@rInT
ma ma crass kr{s
national n{S@n@l
hot hat cat c{t
chorus kOr@s dot dat attack @t{k
50. /uw/
While /i/ is the highest vowel possible at the front of the mouth, /u/ is the highest vowel at the back of the mouth. After the sound begins, there is an upward and backward glide of the tongue.
DIRECTIONS
1. Round and protrude the lips as much as possible2. Draw back the tongue as far as comfortable keeping it high.3. Touch the tongue along the back upper teeth4. Tense the muscle under the jaw
DIRECTIONS1. The lips are rounded but less than for the vowel /u/2. The tips of the lower teeth are close to the upper teeth.3. The back of the tongue is slightly arched but not as high as /u/4. The back of the tongue may just touch the upper tooth ridge5. The muscle under the jaw is relaxed
COMPARE
/uw/ Phonetic
/U/ Phonetic /@/ Phonetic
rude ruwd book bUk alive @laivblew bluw wolf wUf sofa sOf@do duw could cUd telephone tEl@fow
This vowel consists of two sounds: an initial “o” sound and a “w” sound at the end.
DIRECTIONS
1. Form the lips in the shape of the letter O2. Relax the jaw3. Bunch or arch the tongue in the back of the mouth4. Purse the lips more as the second sound of the diphthong is produced.
COMPARISON
/uw/ Phonetic
/O/ Phonetic /ow/ Phonetic
rude ruwd all Ol bethroth b@TrOTblew bluw draw drO drove drOvdo duw flaunt flOnt bowl bOwl
ooze uwz ball bOl tone tOnsoup suwp ought Ot gnome nOmshoe Suw awe O vogue vOgthrew Truw jawed DOd abode abOd
shampoo Sampuw
thought TOt woe wO
kangaroo kaÎ@ruw
sausage sOs@D toe tO
53. /O/
This back vowel is second lowest back vowel. The lowest is /a/. However, the lip position for /a/ entails more widening of the lips.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Relax the lower jaw.2. Relax the tongue tip behind the lower teeth.3. Open the mouth an inch or less across and half an inch high.4. Bunch the tongue a little in the back of the mouth. Arch the back of the tongue
This diphthong begins as the /a/ vowel and moves upward towards /iy/.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Relax the lower jaw.2. Place the tip of the tongue behind the lower front teeth.3. Arch the front of the tongue forward and low for the first sound /a/4. Glide the tongue towards the weak second element /i/5. During this this glide move the jaw from open to half open
COMPARISON
/ay/ Phonetic /aw/ Phonetic /Oy/ Phoneticeyes ayz now naw boy bOy
surmise sIrmayz house haws Freud frOydthighs Tayz owl awl buoyant bOy@ntshies Sayz vow vaw oil Oylrise rayz Tao taw toys tOys
surprised s@prayz@d
Mao maw joys Doyz
white ÷ait mouths mawTs Goya gOy@
55. /aw/
This diphthong begins as the /a/ vowel and moves upward and backward toward /U/.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Relax the lower jaw.2. Place the tip of the tongue behind the lower front teeth.3. Arch the front of the tongue forward and low for the first sound /a/4. Glide the tongue towards the weak second element /U/5. During this this glide move the jaw from open to half open6. Move the lips from a relaxed position to a round position
COMPARISON
/ay/ Phonetic /aw/ Phonetic /Oy/ Phoneticeyes ayz now naw boy bOy
surmise sIrmayz house haws Freud frOydthighs Tayz owl awl buoyant bOy@ntshies Sayz vow vaw oil Oylrise rayz Tao taw toys tOys
surprised s@prayz@d
Mao maw joys Doyz
white ÷ayt mouths mawTs Goya gOy@
56. /Oy/
This vowel begins as /O/ and glides toward /iy/.
Directions:1. Relax the lower jaw.2. Place the tip of the tongue behind the lower front teeth.3. Arch the front of the tongue forward and low for the first sound /O/4. Glide the tongue towards the weak second element /iy/5. During this glide move the jaw from open to almost closed.6. Move the lips from a relaxed position to a round position
COMPARISON
/ay/ Phonetic /aw/ Phonetic /Oy/ Phoneticeyes ayz now naw boy bOy
surmise sIrmayz house haws Freud frOydthighs Tayz owl awl buoyant bOy@ntshies Sayz vow vaw oil Oylrise rayz Tao taw toys tOys
surprised s@prayz@ Mao maw joys Doyz
dwhite ÷ayt mouths mawTs Goya gOy@
57. /@/
This vowel is neither a front or back vowel, but it is produced centrally. This is the most common vowel in spoken English and is referred to as “schwa”.
DIRECTIONS
1. Relax the jaw .2. Slightly spread the lips3. Place the tongue behind the lower front teeth but do not touch anything.4. Make sure that all muscles are relaxed.
COMPARISON
/a/ Phonetic /U/ Phonetic /@/ Phonetic /O/ Phoneticpot pat book bUk alive @laiv audition OdIS@
nfather faD@r wolf wUf sofa sOf@ autumn Ot@mbox baks could cUd telephon
etEl@fow
naustere OstIr
calm cam pull pUl possible pas@b@l
alright Owrait
pa pa cook cUk oppose @powz nautical nOt@k@l
fob fab sugar sUg@r Confucius
k@nfyuS@s
applaud Oplad
ma ma Brooklyn brUklIn labyrinth l{b@rInT
awe O
hot hat hood hUd national n{S@n@l
awkward OkwIrd
dot dat would wUd chorus kOr@s call cOà
58. /@r/
This vowel is the combination of two sounds. The initial sound is very short and barely heard. Nonphonemic variants of this sound occur in spoken English: [bÅd] stressed and followed by r, and [faD2] unstressed and followed by r.
DIRECTIONS
1 Relax the jaw .5. Slightly spread the lips6. Place the tongue behind the lower front teeth but do not touch anything.7. Make sure that all muscles are relaxed8. Quickly move to the r sound by either:
(a) turning the tip of the tongue toward the back of the mouth without touching anything.
(b) slide the tongue back on the upper teeth bunching the back of the tongue.
This vowel is a nonphonemic variant of schwa. It is usually in stressed syllables.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Relax the jaw .2. .Slightly spread the lips3. Place the tongue behind the lower front teeth but do not touch anything.4. Make sure that all muscles are relaxed
COMPARE
/@/ PHONETIC / ö/ PHONETIC suppose s@powz sup s öp
sofa s@f@ fun f önbazooka b@zuwk@ buzz b özTacoma t@kowm@ tuck t ök
soda sowd@ duck d ökuntil @ntIl untilled öntIl@d
cocoon k@kuwn cuckold k ökOlduh @ up öp
STRESS
Stress results when a syllable is given extra energy. The extra energy may be from a change in pitch or energy or both. The extra emphasis makes the syllable stand out.Stress is sometimes called accent. Generally, English tries to avoid having stresses too close together. There is a tendency in English for the stresses to occur at regular intervals even if this “violates” the stress pattern of a certain word said in isolation. This tendency to keep regular intervals is called rhythm. Primary stress is indicated by /2/ (AIGU) and secondary stress is shown by /1/.(GRAVE)
28. ONE SYLLABLE
The ten most frequent words ( 25%) in written and spoken English include: the, of, and, to, a, in, that, it, is, and I. These words are usually unstressed, unless said in citation form or in isolation. These common words tend to be reduced and pronounced as the weak forms-- /@/ , / I/ , or / U/.
Word Stressed Form Weak Form ExampleA /ey/ /@/ In a train.An /{n/ /@n/ Shoot an arrowAnd /{nd/ /@n/ You and IAre /ar/ /@r/ Who are you?Can /k{n/ /k@n/ She can go.Had /h{d/ /@d/ They had to leave.Has /h{z/ /@z/ She has to speak.Have /h{v/ /@v/ You have to come.Of /av/ /@v/ Two of usOr /Or/ /@r/ Win or loseThat /D{t/ /D@t/ I saw that.The /Diy/ /D@/ or /Di/ On the shelfTo /tuw/ /t@/ or /tU/ Ten to twowas /waz/ /w@z/ It was fun
29. TWO SYLLABLE (STRESS ON FIRST SYLLABLE)
About 75% of two-syllable words are accented on the first syllable. For words derived from German, many are stressed on the first syllable. Of the 1,000 most frequent words in English, about 83% are of Germanic origin. Primary stress is indicated by /2/ (AIGU) and secondary stress is shown by /1/.(GRAVE)
Word Phonetic spellingNEver nE2v@rBREAkfast brE2kf@stMONday m@2ndIFAther fa2D@r
Approximately 25% of English words are stressed on the second syllable. Most of these words begin with a prefix. Most of these words are accented on the second syllable.
Many polysyllabic words in English ending in –ate can be used as an adjective, noun, or verb. If these words are used as an adjective or a noun, the vowel of the ending is left unstressed and pronounced as /I/ or /@/ . If they are used as a verb, the ending is given secondary stress and pronounced as the vowel /ey/.
Phrasal verbs consist of two or three words. They are composed of verbs followed by adverbial particles and/ or prepositions. Prepositions in phrasal verbs are unstressed. The verb is always stressed. However, the particles following the verb are stressed while the prepositions are unstressed.
PATTERN ONE VERB STRESS
PREPOSTIONPHONETIC SPELLING
LOOK at lU2k{tTALK about tO2k@bowtDisPENSE with dIspE2nswITApPROVE of @1pru2v@v
PATTERN TWOFIGure OUT fI2gy@row2tDROP OFF dra2pa2fTAKE Over tey2kow2v@rLOOK BACK lU2kb{2k
PATTERN THREE
RUN aWAY with r@2n@we2IWALK OUT on wO2kow2tTALK DOWN to tO2kdaw2nGET aHEAD of gE2t@hE2d
38. ADDED SUFFIX
When a suffix is added to a word, the new form is generally stressed on the same syllable as the basic word.
Word stress and sentence stress combine to create rhythm in English. Rhythm is the regular beat of stressed syllables, unstressed syllables and pauses. The length of an utterance depends not on the number of syllables but on the number of stresses.The following sentences differ in their number of actual syllables, but are equivalent in the number of stresses. Even though the sentences are getting longer, the time that it takes to say each one is about the same.
the dogs will eat the bones D@dO2gili’2tD@bo2wnzthe dogs will have eaten the bones D@dO2gil@vi2t@nD@bo2wn
z
41. CONTENT WORDS
Content words are words that usually carry information and have a meaning in themselves. Content words are usually stressed.
CATEGORY WORD PHONETIC SPELLING
Nouns cat k{2tVerbs run r@2n Adjectives brown bra2wn Adverbs differently dIfr@ntlI2 Demonstratives this TI2s Interrogatives who ÷u2
42. FUNCTION WORDS
Function words signify grammatical relationships and have little or no meaning by themselves. They are usually unstessed unless the speaker wants to give them some special emphasis.
CATEGORY WORD PHONETIC SPELLINGArticles the D@Simple Prepositions of @vPersonal Pronouns I aIPossessive Adjectives my maIRelative Pronouns that D{tCommon Conjunctions but b@t“One” used as a noun substitute
Rhythm consists of the alternation of stressed syllables, unstressed syllables, and pauses. Almost every sentence has a pause in it when spoken. So a thought group is a portion of a sentence set off by pauses. Usually, the pauses are indicated by a “/”.
TO CLARIFYWhen the wind blows / the cradle will rock
TO EMPHASIZETruthfully, / I’m not sure I believe you.TO BREAK UP A LONG SENTENCE
The professor wrote a very long paper that involved / some intricacies of pronunciation.
Intonation Patterns in EnglishIntonation Type Description of Intonation Pattern
1. STATEMENT STATEMENTS or declarative sentences have FALLING Intonation.
2. WH-QUESTION Questions that begin with WH- (What, Who, etc.) have a FALLING pattern.
3. YES-NO QUESTION General Questions that can be answered with a Yes or No usually rise HIGH.
4. ECHO QUESTION WH- Questions that rise HIGH mean “Is that really what you said” or “Repeat that.”
5. COMPARISON Both items of a Comparison rise HIGH. One may rise Higher than the other.
6. SUSPENSE If the first part of a sentence end in a rising HIGH pattern, this creates SUSPENSE
7. SERIES (AND) A SERIES of items with AND has the first two items rise HIGH, and the last item FALLS.
8. ALTERNATIVE QUESTION (OR) ALTERNATIVE Questions with OR that have one item HIGHER than the other require a choice between the items by the listener.
9. DOUBLE YES-NO QUESTION (OR) DOUBLE YES-NO questions have equally rising HIGH notes on the two items. The speaker does not necessarily want the listener to choose between the two items.
10. DIRECT ADDRESS In DIRECT ADDRESS, the speaker starts off on a LOW note and the goes up to a HIGH note.
11. TAG QUESTION--REAL REAL TAG QUESTIONS end with rising HIGH intonation and words such as “Aren’t you?” and should be answered.
12. TAG QUESTION--RHETORICAL RHETORICAL TAG QUESTIONS end with falling LOW intonation and words such as “Aren’t you?” and should NOT be answered.
13. FOCUS FOCUS on a particular word in a sentence is indicated by a HIGHER pitch on the word.
14. PERFUNCTORY PERFUNCTORY intonation barely rises HIGH before it FALLS and indicates a lack of Enthusiasm.
15. ENTHUSIASM ENTHUSIASTIC intonation rises very HIGH before FALLING. It indicates genuine excitement.
16. COAXING COAXING begins on a HIGH note, comes down to a LOW note, then rises to a NORMAL note.
17. IRONY IRONY can be indicated when a Yes-No question begins on a NORMAL note, rises to a HIGH note, then returns to a NORMAL note.
18. SHOCK SHOCK is indicated by an EXTRA HIGH note on the adjective or adverb that makes the sentence more intensive.
19. SURPRISE SURPRISE is indicated by an EXTRA HIGH note on the adjective or adverb that makes the sentence more intensive.
20. APPROVAL APPROVAL is indicated by an EXTRA HIGH note on the adjective or adverb that makes the sentence more intensive.
21. PLACE NAMES PLACE NAMES have HIGH notes on both items.
22. NEW INFORMATION NEW INFORMATION is usually highlighted by a HIGH note.
23. MEANING SHIFT MEANING SHIFT can be indicated by the placement of the HIGH intonation in the word or words.
24. DETERMINED DETERMINATION can be indicated by a series of downward FALLING intonation slides.
INTONATION:
Intonation involves pitch: stretched vocal cords make for higher pitch; relaxed vocal cords for lower. Pitch can convey additional meaning to speech. Some of these additional
Meanings may simply reflect the lexical information or personal characteristics of the speaker such as surprise or anger. Others can signal grammatical information: a question, a rhetorical question, or a statement that is final. Pitch can change during an utterance and produce different tones. If the change in these tones takes place between syllables, it is called a shift. If it takes place within a syllable, it is called a slide. Intonation patterns are not necessarily fixed, but can vary from speaker to speaker. 1. STATEMENTS
Simple statements of facts or Declarative sentences usually have falling intonation at the end of the sentence.
2. WH- QUESTIONS
Questions that begin with interrogative words such as what, who, which, why , when , where, and how have a falling pattern at the end of the word.
3. YES-NO QUESTIONS
General questions that may be answered with a yes or no usually rise at the end of the utterance.
4. ECHO QUESTIONS
Pronouncing a Wh-question with a rising intonation creates an Echo Question. An echo question seems to ask: “Is that really what you said?” or “Could you repeat that?”
5. COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS
With this intonation pattern, two ideas are being compared and receive a higher pitch.
Usually, one item is given an extra high note. It does not seem to matter which item gets the extra emphasis.
.
6.IMPLICIT CONTRASTS
Implicit contrasts do not mention the second item to be compared with.
7.NON FINAL INTONATION
When a sentence is divided into two thought groups (or more), each thought group has its own intonation pattern. If the end of the group is a rising-falling pattern—up to a high note on the final stress, then down to a low note—then the two sentences are distant or almost separate thoughts.
DISTANT
CLOSEIf the group ends on a high note on its final stress, then returns to normal, there is more of a connection between the two sentences.
SUSPENSE
If the beginning group ends with a rising pattern, this will create suspense.
8. SERIES WITH AND
There is a rising pattern of intonation on all members except the last. On the last item there is rising-falling intonation.
9. ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS
Alternative questions require a choice. One of the items must be on an extra high note. It does not seem to matter which one.
10. ALTERNATIVES WITH OR
The first and second items of the utterance have rising intonation. The last item has rising –falling intonation. This indicates that the items are intended to be heard as a sequence of items.
11. DOUBLE YES-NO
With this type of intonation pattern, the speaker does not necessarily want the listener to make a choice between the two items mentioned. The pattern can either have rising intonation at the end or can have a series of rising intonations.
12. DIRECT ADDRESS
Direct address requires starting off on a low note and then rising. Direct address may also come at the end of a sentence.
13. TAG QUESTION REAL.
Tag questions begin with words such as aren’t you and will he or she. If the tag is pronounced with a rising pattern, it is a genuine question.
14. TAG QUESTIONS—RHETORICAL
Tag questions begin with words such as aren’t you and will he or she. If the tag is pronounced with a rising-falling pattern, it is not a genuine question.
Your’re hungry, aren’t you?
I can speak well, can’t I?
15. FOCUS
Attention is focused on the word in a thought group by singling it out with a higher pitch note occurring on the syllable of that word.
Was it you who baked the cake?
I took the new course. (Who took the course?)
I took the new course. (Did you take the course, or skip it?)
I took the new course. (Did you take the old course or the new one?)
16. PERFUNCTORY
Perfunctory intonation indicates no genuine feeling. It is slightly rising-falling intonation.
17. ENTHUSIASM
Enthusiastic intonation starts off at a extra-high point and falls.
18. COAXING
Coaxing or Persuading intonation begins on a high note, comes down to a low note, and then rises to normal at the end of a sentence.
19. IRONY
When a Yes-No question begins on a normal note, then rises to high on the last sentence stress, and returns to normal usually indicates irony.
20. SHOCK
Shock can be indicated by an extra high note that seems to intensify the force of the adjective or adverb.
21. SURPRISE
Surprise, like shock puts an extra high note on the word that is important.
22. APPROVAL
Approval is signalled by an extra high note on the adjective or adverb.
23. PLACE-NAMES
To signal an important name of a city or state the following pattern is used.
24. NEW INFORMATION
New information tends to take special intonation attention. In English, the new information tends to have higher pitch and is located at the end of the sentence.
25. MEANING SHIFT
Nominal compounds and sequences of individual words can be distinguished with the high note that falls on the last sentence-stress.
26. SLIDE
If the last sentence-stress and the high note come on the very last syllable, the intonation pattern is a slide or glide rather than a shift.
25. DETRMINED
With Determination, a separate stress and a downward slide is given to every word.
LINKING
Linking is the connecting of a final sound of one word or syllable to the initial sound of the next word.
90. Linking and /y/ glides
If a word ends in a tense vowel or a diphthong and the next word or syllable begins with a vowel, a /y/ may be inserted.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICbe able biyÙeyb@lcreate kriyÙeytsay it seyÙyIt
layette leyÙyEtmy own mayÙyown
naïve nayÙYiyvtoy airplane tOyÙyErpleyn
boyish bOyÙyishsee evil siyÙyiyv@l
91. Linking and /w/glides
If a word ends in a tense vowel or a diphthong and the next word or syllable begins with a vowel, a /w/ may be inserted.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICblue ink bluwÙwInkStuart stuwÙwartno art nowÙwartNoel nowÙwel
How is it? hawÙwIzItflour flawÙw@rtower tawÙw@r
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tour tuwÙwOr
92. Glottal stop linking--/?/
If two low tense vowels that do not end in a glide occur, a glottal stop may be inserted between them.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICspa owners spa?own@rs
saw Al saw?nPa Adams pa?d@mz
93. Linking and /r/ insertion
If two low tense vowels that do not end in a glide or after /@/, some speaker add an intrusive /r/ sound.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICspa owners sparown@rssaw Ann sawr{n
If a word or syllable ends in a single consonant and is followed by a word with a vowel, the consonant is produced as if it belonged to both words.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICdog eat dog dOgÙiytdOg
black and grey bl{kÙ@ndgreyDean Avenue diynÙ{v@nuw
red apple redÙ{p@lgreat abs greyÙt{bzfake air feykÙeyr
95. Linking and Resyllabification
If a word ends in a consonant cluster and the next word begins with a vowel, the final cluster is sometimes pronounced as part of the following syllable.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICright arm ray/t{rmwept over wEp/towv@rfind out fayn/dawt
pushed up pUS/t@plasting l{s/tIÎ
adaptable @d{p/t@b@lsprint over sprIn/tOv@r
96. Linking and Consonant Elongation
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If two identical consonants are next to each other, the single consonant is elongated and not just produced twice.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICstop pushing stap:USI Î
short time Sort:aymquick cure kwIk:y@r
classroom management kl{sruwm:{n@Dm@ntrob Bill rab:Ilbad dog b{d:Ogbig gap bIg:{p
less cereal lEs:@riy@l
97. Linking and Unreleased
If a stop consonant is followed by a stop or an affricate, the first stop is unreleased.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICpet cat pet§k{t
black board bl{k §bOrdgood jury gUd§D@riysoap dish sowp§dISbig dipper bIg§dIp@rbig church bIg§ T@rT
piture pIt§tSUr
DELETION
In this form of adjustment in speech, sounds are omitted.
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98. Deletion in Medial Position
If a word has /nt/ between two vowels or before syllabic /l/ ,it can be deleted.
If a word has /t/ or /d/ as the second members of a triple cluster, it can be deleted.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICwinter wIn@r
Toronto t@ranowenter En@r
mantle m{n@lrestless rEsl@sexactly egs{liy
windmill wInmIlhands h{nz
99. Deletion in Final Position
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If a word ends with /t/ or /d/ in a cluster, and the following word begins in a consonant,/t/ or /d/ may be deleted.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICeast side iysayd
blind man blaynm{nwild boar waylbOrtold Steve tOlstiyv
Exceptions:
1. If the second word begins with a /w/, /h/, /y/, or /r/ there is no deletion.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICeast hill iysthIl
blind youth blayndyuwTwild ride wayldrayd
the west won D@wEstw@n
2. In some consonant cluster ending with /nt/ ,/lt/, /rt/, or /rd/ there is no deletion.
If a word begins with an unstressed vowel or syllable, it may be deleted in informal speech.. This is also called aphesis.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICbecause k@zabout bawt
around rawndesquire skwayr
102. Deletion of noninitial /r/
If a word contains two /r/ sounds, the second /r/ is sometimes deleted.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICFebruary fEbyuwEriygovernor g@vnOrsurprise s@prayz
temperature tEmp@tSUr
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103. Deletion of Final /v/
Before words with initial consonants, /v/ may be reduced to /@/.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETIClots of luck lats@l@k
waste of time weyst@taymhearts of palm harts@palmace of spades eys@speydz
104. Deletion of initial /h/
In connected speech, /h/ when in a pronominal form.
WORD or PHRASE PHONET ICask her {sk@rask him {skImhelp her hElp@rhelp him hElpImget her get@rget him gEtIm
105. Deletion and /D/
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In connected speech, /D/ may be deleted in pronominal forms.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICask them {skEmtell them tElEmhelp them hElpEmget them gEtEm
Assimilation
If one sound causes changes in a neighboring sound, this is called assimilation. It can occur in words or between words.
106. Progressive Assimilation
If the first sound affects the following sound, this is known as progressive assimilation.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETIC1.guessed gEst
2.bags b{gZ3.backs b{ks4.moved mUvd5.fished fISt
6.it is it’s It Iz Its7.had to had a h{d tuw h{d@
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1. /d/ is devoiced to/ t/ by the / s/2. /s/ is voiced to /z/ by the /g/3. /s/ is devoiced to /s/ by the /k/4. /d/ is voiced to /d/ by the /v/5. /t/ is devoiced to /t/ by the /S/6. /s/ is voiced to /t/ by vowel /I/7. /d/ affects /t/
107. Regressive Assimilation
In regressive assimilation, the second sound influences the characteristics of the first sound.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETIC1. have to h{vtuw h{ft@2. has to h{z tuw h{st@3. used to yuwzdtuw yuwst@
4. impossible Impas@b@l5. horseshoe hOrSuw6. his shirt hISIrt
7. good boy gUbOy8. pet kitten pEkIt@N
9. He’s in pain hiyzImpeyn10. Be on guard biyaÎ@rd
11. give me a call gImiy@kOl
1. /t/ causes /v/ to devoice to /f/2. /t/ causes /z/ to devoice to /s/3. /t/ causes /d/ to devoice to /t/4. /p/ makes negation take /m/5. /s/ becomes /S/
Dissimilation occurs when two adjacent sounds become more different from one another.
WORD or PHRASE PHONETICfifths fIfTs fIftssixths sIksTs sIks
Fifth Steet fIfTstriyt fiStriyt
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Perfect Pronunciation Through Poetry
Steven Donahue
Teachers have all lamented the crazy arbitrariness of English spelling and pronunciation. In “My Fair Lady,” George Bernard Shaw pled for spelling reform with the word 'GHOTI" arguing GH as in "rough" + O as in "women" +TI as in "nation" = GHOTI = "fish." In the same vein, here are some poems which can be used in the language classroom to understand the spoken patterns of English.
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor, that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries sheWith silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-post to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883Cough and Dough
I take it you already knowOf tough and bough and cough and dough.Others may stumble but not you,On hiccough, through, lough and through.Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,To learn of less familiar traps.
Beware of heard, a dreadful wordThat looks like beard and sounds like bird,And dead--it's said like bed, not bead.For goodness's sake, don't call it deed!
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Watch out for meat and great and threat:They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.
A moth is not a moth in mother,Nor both in bother, broth in brother,And here is not a match for there,Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,And then there's dose and rose and lose--Just look them up--and goose and choose,And cork and work and card and ward,And font and front and word and sword,And do and go and thwart and cart.Come, come, I've hardly made a start.
A dreadful language? Man alive,I'd mastered it when I was five.
THE CHAOS
Dearest creature in creation,Study English pronunciation.I will teach you in my verseSounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.I will keep you, Suzy, busy,Make your head with heat grow dizzy.Tear in eye, your dress will tear.So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.Pray console your loving poet,Make my coat look new, dear sew it.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,Dies and diet, lord and word,Sword and sward, retain and Britain.(Mind the latter, how it's written.)Now I surely will not plague youWith such words as plaque and ague.But be careful how you speak:Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
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Cloven, oven, how and low,Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,Exiles, similes, and reviles;Scholar, vicar, and cigar,Solar, mica, war and far;One, anemone, Balmoral,Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;Gertrude, German, wind and mind,Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.Blood and flood are not like food,Nor is mould like should and would.Viscous, viscount, load and broad,Toward, to forward, to reward.And your pronunciation's OKWhen you correctly say croquet,Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamourAnd enamour rhyme with hammer.River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,Doll and roll and some and home.Stranger does not rhyme with anger,Neither does devour with clangour.Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,And then singer, ginger, linger,Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,Nor does fury sound like bury.Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.Though the differences seem little,We say actual but victual.Refer does not rhyme with deafer.Feoffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
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Mint, pint, senate and sedate;Dull, bull, and George ate late.Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.We say hallowed, but allowed,People, leopard, towed, but vowed.Mark the differences, moreover,Between mover, cover, clover;Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,Chalice, but police and lice;Camel, constable, unstable,Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,Senator, spectator, mayor.Tour, but our and succour, four.Gas, alas, and Arkansas.Sea, idea, Korea, area,Psalm, Maria, but malaria.Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,Dandelion and battalion.Sally with ally, yea, ye,Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.Say aver, but ever, fever,Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.Heron, granary, canary.Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.Large, but target, gin, give, verging,Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.Ear, but earn and wear and tearDo not rhyme with here but ere.Seven is right, but so is even,Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
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Pronunciation -- think of Psyche!Is a paling stout and spikey?Won't it make you lose your wits,Writing groats and saying grits?It's a dark abyss or tunnel:Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,Islington and Isle of Wight,Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough --Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?Hiccough has the sound of cup.My advice is to give up!!!
OUGH
I'm taught p-l-o-u-g-hShall be pronounced "Plow."
"Zat's easy when you know," I say,"Mon Anglais I'll get through."
My teacher say zat in zat caseO-u-g-h is "oo."
And zen I laugh and say to him"Zees Anglais make me cough."
He say, "Not coo, but in zat wordO-u-g-h is `off.'"
O sacre bleu! Such varied soundOf words make me hiccough.
He says, "Again my friend is wrong;O-u-g-h is `uff.'"
I say, "I try to spik your words,I can't pronounce them, though."
"In time you'll learn, but now you're wrong;O-u-g-h is `owe'!"
"I'll try no more, I shall go mad,I'll drown me in ze lough."
Teaching Pronunciation with Mother Goose Rhymes
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By Steven Donahue
Story and verse are a primary way that English children absorb the linguistic lessons of their first language. Embedded in the seemingly simple rhymes are complex language patterns about intonation, rhythm, stress, and individual vowels and consonants. In this paper, the various ways that Mother Goose Rhymes can be used in the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom are explored. By pointing out these linguistic phenomena to ESL learners, they will be better able to sort out the seeming inconsistencies of what they are hearing in the real English speaking world.
Practice of P, T, K
[rule: difference between voiced and voiceless stops and aspiration of initial voiceless stops]
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man!So I will, master, as fast as I can;Pat it, and prick it, and mark it with T,Put it in the oven for Tommy and me.
With Pat-a-Cake, the student is told to focus on pronouncing the voiceless stop series :P, T, K. The student is shown how P is pronounced fully in the front of the mouth withboth lips ; T is pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching just behind the front teeth;and K is pronounced with the back of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth. For most students it is not necessary to invoke the precise terminology such as bilabial,alveolar, or velar. The student is told to focus on the voiceless pattern of the sounds P, T, K as compared to their twin voiced sounds B, D, G.
A second pattern that can be demonstrated with this rhyme is the aspirationthat occurs after the voiced stops P, T, K. Students can hold a piece of paper close to theirlips while reciting the poem and watch the paper move from the aspirated air.
Linking [ rule: If a word or syllable ends in a single consonant and is followed by a word with a vowel, the consonant is produced as if it belonged to both words]
Jack be nimble,
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And Jack be quick;And Jack jump overThe candlestick.
Linking is a linguistic phenomena where the end of one word starts the beginning of asecond word. In this Mother Goose Rhyme, “jump over” actually sounds like “JUM”and “POVER”. This is no small issue for second language learners who may run to the dictionary trying to look up a non-existent “Pover”. Here, the linking rule is goneover so that the student understands that it occurs with words that end in other consonants. Examples include “gone over” GO NOVER; “stop it” STO PIT, and“bug off” BU GOFF.
Tapped T
[ rule: when double “t” comes in the middle of a word, it sounds somewhat like a quicklytapped “d”]
[rule: if a word has /t/ or /d/ as a second member of a triple cluster, it can be deleted]
Come, butter, comeCome, butter, come!
Peter stands at the gate,Waiting for a buttered cake;
Come, butter, come.
The accent of many foreigners is partly exhibited by the hypercorrect pronunciation ofcertain words. Here the word “butter” sounds like “budder” and the word “waiting” sounds like “wading”. Few native speakers would pronounce the “t” sound in the middle of this word. At times it is revelatory for the ESL student to realize that they are correctly hearing the “d” sound and not the spelling convention “t”.
A second pronunciation point in this short poem is the line “Peter stands at the gate”. Here, native speakers will delete the “d” sound so that it sounds like “Stan’s”. This isis a common adjustment that native speakers use to more easily handle challengingconsonant clusters such as “n-d-s”. Other common examples of this occur with thewords “winter” as “winner” , “printer” as “prinner” and “ Atlanta” as “Adlana”.
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TH [ T] and TH [ D]
[ rule: differentiate between voiced and voiceless TH][ rule: function words are unstressed, unless at the end of a sentence]
One misty, moisty morning,When cloudy was the weather,
There I met an old manClothed all in leather;
Clothed all in leather,With cap under his chin—
How do you do, and how do you do,And how do you do again?
Have students count the voiced and voiceless occurrences of TH. There are sixvoiced TH sounds and one voiceless TH sound.
A second point in this short rhyme is the difference between the two “do’s” in “how do you do” . The stress falls on the second “do” not the first. Have studentsrecite the rhyme reversing the stress to see if it sounds funny to them. Point outthat the vowel in the first “do” is reduced to schwa @ sounds like “duh”. Herethe first “do” is an unstressed auxiliary while the second “do” is stressed because it falls at the end of a sentence. This is a basic rule in English: Content Words that have a meaning in and of themselves are stressed (dog, run, December) ; Function Words with mostly grammatical meanings are unstressed (for, a, who).
Double Consonants
[ rule: If two identical consonants are next to each other, the single consonant is elongated and not just produced twice]
Star bright, starlight,First star I’ve seen tonight.Wish I may, wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.
The mainpoint about this wonderful rhyme is that “first star” is not produced as two
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separate sounds “first” and then “star” . The sounds run together as “firsstar”. The consonant is almost imperceptibly lengthened. This happens frequently in English when the final consonant is the same as the beginning consonant of the next word. For example: “bad dog” is “baddog” or “ less serious” is “lesserious”.
Intonation in a Series
[rule: the first two items of a series rise and the last falls][rule: Wh-questions fall ; Yes-No questions rise at the end]
Bow, wow, wow!Whose dog art thou?
Little Tom Tinker’s dog.Bow, wow, wow!
This rhyme exhibits two patterns. First, the fun-to-say series “bow, wow, wow” hasa rise on the first two items and a fall on the last “wow”. Second, the question, “ Whosedog art thou? follows the falling pattern of Wh-questions. Only Yes-No questions riseat the end. So the falling pattern of the final “wow” parallels the falling pattern after “thou.”
Intonation
Hush-a-bye, baby, on the treetop,When the wind blows, the cradle will rock;When the bough bends, the cradle will fall.
Down will come baby, bough, cradle, and all.
ESL classes are sometimes pleasantly startled to hear this rhyme sung, as if to a baby. It’s important to really get into it and demonstrate the uninhibited sound patterns. The lengthening on “baby” , “blows” “bends” contrasts nicely with the relative shortnessof “treetop”, “rock”, and “fall”. The intonation falls at the end of the sentences which fits with the meaning of the words. In the final line “baby” is again long while “bough,cradle, and all” is crushed together and reduced to “bowcrdlnall” so that it is virtuallythe same length as the endings of the previous three stanzas.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------