corr english phonetic transcription exercisesenglish phonetic transcription exercises 15. find words...

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INTRODUCTION

T he present book is made up of graded pronunciation and tran-scription exercises and activities which aim at improving stu-

dents’ pronunciation and transcription skills. We believe that phone-mic transcription can be of great help to the language learner, because by transcribing words and utterances the learner has to focus exclu-sively on pronunciation. Moreover, as there is no direct correspon-dence between spelling and pronunciation in English, knowing how to interpret transcription, which is found in most dictionaries, will be of great use to English language learners.

In this book we have used phonemic or broad transcription. We feel that allophonic transcription is not appropriate for most stu-dents of English due to its complexity. We have followed the con-ventions found in most good dictionaries of British English. To make things as simple as possible for learners, our transcription of lady /le di/, for example, follows the syllabification principles of the Cam-bridge Pronouncing Dictionary (CPD) but without the syllable divi-sion marker included in that dictionary: / le d.i/. ur rationale is that learners of English need to know how a word is pronounced and where the main stress falls. The fact that the word diploma, for ex-ample, is divided: /d . pl .m / and not /d . pl m. / does not help students much. However, it will help them to know that the main stress is on the syllable / pl /.

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Following recent trends, as seen in the CPD and the Longman Pro-nunciation Dictionary, we use weak i and u in our transcriptions. So, for example, in the case of weak function words such as me and to we have /mi/ - /tu/. Also, in positions of neutralization in lexical words such as pretty and in luence / pr ti/ - / n lu ns/, we use i and u.

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LETTERS REPRESENTING VOWEL AND CONSONANT

SOUNDS AND THEIR SYMBOLS

S pelling of vowel sound letters representing vowels found in strong syllables. Below is a list of common spellings of vowel sounds

found in strong syllables:

all, call, tall fall

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ENGLISH PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION EXERCISES

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Vowel spellings in prefixes and suffixes

Below is a list of common spellings of pre ixes and suf ixes. otice they all contain a weak vowels / / and /i/, or the short vowel / /.

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Weak vowels and syllabic consonants

In English weak vowels are not only found in pre ixes and suf ixes. Here are some examples of weak vowels together with examples of syllabic consonants. otice that they are only found in unstressed positions:

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Spelling of consonant sounds

Below is a list of common spellings of consonant sounds:

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Silent consonant letters

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VOWELS, DIPHTHONGS AND CONSONANTS (EXERCISES)

S ee the Appendix at the end of the book for a review of vowel and consonant sounds.

2.1. Exercises: Vowels and diphthongs

1. How many distinct sounds are there in each of the following words? Circle the correct number.

(a) cough: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7(b) chemist: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7(c) bottle: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7(d) ish: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7(e) churches: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7(f) straw: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(g) hit: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7(h) far: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7(i) these: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7(j) there: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7(k) rock: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7(l) axe: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2. Listen to the following sounds, give a complete description of the sound represented by the symbols and then write down a word containing each sound.

(a) /æ/

(b) / /

(c) / /

(d) /a /

(e) /e /

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3. Find words with /i:/ and / / and put them in the columns below:

Find a seat and sit down or lie down, relax and look up at the ceiling. Don’t get excited. Have a cup of tea and eat a piece of cake. I feel pretty bad about the situation and I know you are sick of sitting here but I hope you will kill the time with me. Just feel the rhythm of the waves. We all want to leave but it’s not easy. The sinking feeling in your stomach will not go away but we each have to stick to our posts. The ship is leaking but it won’t sink although we might be knee-deep in seawater soon as the water has risen a little. The reason we are still here is that the rescue ship can’t meet us till they are given the signal.

/i:/ / /

4. Write the symbol for the short vowel sound in each of the following words:

(a) health (e) once (i) bank (m) milk

(b) man (f) left (j) thing (n) dog

(c) book (g) cot (k) said (o) cook

(d) bit (h) put (l) debt (p) lat

5. Write the symbols for the long vowels in the following words:

(a) car (d) hall (g) birds (j) task

(b) roof (e) sir (h) saw (k) meal

(c) three (f) glass (i) need (l) more

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6. Find words with / / and / / and put them in the columns below:

Looking back at my good luck could put me in just the right mood to pull myself together but would I also come to the conclusion that there isn’t much to be happy about? I haven’t had enough tough times to worry too much. I have had a full life, I have made money, written books, been loved by a good woman, had picnics on sunny days. Sometimes I wonder if the road I took was the right one. I could have taken many others. I try to push these things to the back of my mind above all because once you set foot on the road, there is no turning back.

/ / / /

7. Find words with /æ/ and / / and put them in the columns below:

I am a big fan of the Marx brothers. They are so funny, totally mad. That dumb one is such a nut case! He has ragged clothes and an overcoat that is like a bag full of surprises. When he meets pretty girls, he hugs them and doesn’t let them go. But, the one I like best is Groucho. What a man! I love his puns, his gags, and his witty remarks! Always running away from angry husbands! The Italian one with his silly hat and funny accent is also comical. They are always strapped for cash but somehow manage to win out in the end. We are so lucky we can still watch their antics on ilm.

/æ/ / /

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8. Write the symbols for the diphthongs in the following words:

(a) town (d) joy (g) peer

(b) may (e) here (h) poor

(c) air (f) home (i) though

9. Write the transcription under each picture

/b l/ /’tæp stri/ /d g/ /ka /

10. Listen to the recording. Which word do you hear?

1. (a) work (b) woke (c) walk (d) weak

2. (a) worked (b) word (c) wart (d) walked

3. (a) take (b) talk (c) Turk (d) teak

4. (a) caught (b) cut (c) curt (d) coat

5. (a) lair (b) law (c) leer (d) loo

11. Find words with / / and /e/ and put them in the columns below:

Have you heard about the conditions of the men held in what is said to be the worst prison in the country? They live in little cells where they

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can hardly turn around so trouble was bound to occur. First they refused to go to work as they earn very little. Second, they tore off their prison clothes because they were dirty. Third, they wouldn’t eat the slop they were fed. Then the worst thing was the riot. They burnt their sheets and hurled their beds out of the window. The man that led them was shot and bled profusely from a head wound. Another was shot in the leg. Luckily there were no deaths. The men inally set a date and met of icials to end the riots. So, if you ever have the urge to do something illegal, you had better mend your ways!

/ / /e/

12. Write the correct transcription under each image. There are two you don’t need to use:

a. /kæp/ b. /kæt/ c. /ki / d. /kær/ e. /k p/

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13. Find 9 words in the puzzle; then, classify them in the correct column:

/ i:/ / /

Answers: arm, calm, ask, farm, read, see, seem, task, tea

14. Listen to the following words.

(a) How do you transcribe the word “debt”?

(b) How do you transcribe the word “doubt”?

(c) How do you transcribe the word “psalm”?

(d) How do you transcribe the word “lamb”?

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I am touched by the sound of the whirring of birds and the smell of the budding multi-coloured lowers in the light of the sun. The murmur of the water in the stream stirs my heart. I love to feel the earth under my feet as I turn towards the town. The smell of warm bread and butter coming from a kitchen suddenly make me yearn for home. I have done little to earn what I have. My journey here has often been troubled but I feel the urge to hurry on. I prefer the country to the city but I have to work to earn my subsistence and so I learn to smother my feelings and go on. Does this make sense?

16. Listen to the recording. Which word do you hear?

1) (a) desert 2) (a) uncle

(b) dessert (b) ankle

3) (a) raise 4) (a) close (adj)

(b) rise (b) close (v)

5) (a) choose 6) (a) export (n)

(b) chose (b) export (v)

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17. Write the symbols for the vowels/diphthongs in the following words:

(a) cough (f) beat (k) peer (p) fruit

(b) tough (g) bit (l) pier (q) blood

(c) dough (h) friend (m) lie (r) peace

(d) load (i) tour (n) curl (s) die

(e) loud (j) tow (o) err (t) plaid

18. Transcribe the full vowel in column A and the reduced vowel in column B:

Column A Column B

(a) economy economic

(b) atom atomic

(c) describe description

(d) explain explanation

19. Find 9 words in the puzzle; then, classify them in the correct column:

/æ/

Answers: enough, lood, fun, lamb, pan, pat, suck, sun, tap

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Sport today is not what it used to be. ow football is almost like a war between corporations, not between clubs. f course, many not all of the bosses of English clubs are rich foreigners. Clubs are bought and sold every day. The crowds roar for their local “franchise”. There is something wrong. Gone are the days of innocence. Football means a lot to many people but now you have to pay to watch ordinary games on TV. It is awful to see how money has torn the game apart. Players are bought and sold like merchandise. It is all money. The top clubs pay more and more for what is, after all, just men running around in shorts kicking balls but the players want more.

/ / / /

21. Listen to the following words and repeat them. Then, complete the table:

Column A Column B

/ / /a /

shot

found

pout

lot

pound

spot

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22. Find words with /æ/, / / and / / and put them in the columns below:

I sat staring at the mass of paperwork that had become an obstacle when coming into the of ice. The clock was ticking. What could I do to be ready in time for the conference? I began to wallow in self-pity. I had racked my brain for ideas and still my report made no sense. Maybe I had been wrong, maybe this wasn’t the career for me. All my boss did was rant on at me and I constantly squabbled with my colleagues. I was promised a job on the street catching the bad lads, however I spent most of my time looking at my watch, iling police reports I felt I had been conned I wanted out. ot thinking straight, I grabbed my bag, got my hat, and shot out of the* of ice. utside the sun shone and I got into a taxi on the long road to nowhere. As I drove off to catch a one-way light away from that place, I sang a song under my breath.

*weak i before vowel

/æ/ / / / /

23. Find the odd one out:

(a) helped (b) strapped (c) checked (d) waited

(a) sad (b) paddle (c) map (d) now

(a) short (b) sort (c) shoes (d) sugar

(a) break (b) great (c) heat (d) weight

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24. Write the correct transcription under each word:

/ sa z z/ / f z/ / r s z/ / d z/ / t t z/ / d z z/

roses ishes

dishes churches

sizes doses

25. Find words with / /, / / and / / and put them in the columns below:

o way! What is going on? All my friends have gone! This hot weather drove them away to the beach or the country. o-one is left in the city. I want to go too but there is no more money left. I am in the wrong spot here. Even with the windows and doors open it is so hot. I often watch the crowds leaving. From my window I watch in awe as more and more people squeeze through the train doors. They must be so squashed together on those trains. I wish I had more money to blow. Maybe tomorrow will bring a spot of luck, maybe I’ll win a lucky draw on the lottery. What am I doing here? I stare at the loor. With nowhere to go my sorrow grows. I am a site for sore eyes.

/ / / / / /

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26. Find words with / /, /e /, /e/ and put them in the columns below:

Being the heir, the irst in line to the throne, isn’t the best thing in the world it is the worst thing on earth! It must be hell people staring at you endlessly. I would prefer to work doing anything else, earn a living, try to blend in with the crowd, have normal parents who care for you. You have wealth but it’s not worth it. It occurs to me that in the end what counts is being content. I heard that princes always have to be alert, which is disturbing. To be fair, princes bear a lot of responsibility. Don’t take my word for it, I have read it in Hello magazine. They rarely wed their true love or get any rest from state affairs.

/ / /e / /e/

27. Find words with /æ/, / /, / / and put them in the columns below:

My heart understands that we can’t bring back the past no matter how happy it might have been. othing lasts forever not even love. I’ve had enough of love too much in fact. The farther I go back in time, the less I remember the romance and the more I recall the past with a touch of sadness. I had happiness in the palm of my hand, but she suddenly dumped me to run off with another to France and didn’t come back. Everyone said we were a perfect match. After the storm comes the calm

they say but it wasn’t fast enough for me. The bad times seemed to last forever. I can laugh now but I went through dark days.

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/æ/ / / / /

28. Find words with the diphthongs /e /, /a /, /a /, / /, / /, /e /, / /, / / and put them in the columns below:

Days go so slowly here on the wild moors. I don’t know why though. Maybe the joy of life has waned. Later on, out in the night air, I’ll try to roam a while where no-one can spy on me. In the woods where the moonlight plays on the dark shades of the pine trees standing grey in the fading light I might spot a bird, see a bear on the horizon, hear the howl of the wolf or the weird cry of the owl and maybe smell wild lowers. I toy with the idea of going out and not returning but the pure

joy of the land makes me stay.

/e / /a / /a / / / / / /e / / / / /

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29. Transcribe the triphthongs in the following words:

tower player sower

higher slower grayer

lower royal employer

2.2. Exercises: Consonants

1. Listen to the following sounds, give a complete description of the sound represented by the symbols and then write down a word containing each sound.

(a) /t / Description: Example

(b) /d /Description: Example

(c) / / Description: Example

(d) / / Description: Example

(e) /z/ Description: Example

(f) /v/ Description: Example

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2. dd one out consonants. In each group there are three words that have the same consonant sound and one that does not. Can you ind the odd one out?

(a) time, theme, tone, text

(b) leisure, pleasure, treasure, passion

(c) she, sugar, short, see

(d) human, hence, horse, heir

(e) thought, these, through, both

(f) rough, cough, laugh, dough

(g) exam, excuse, extreme, excite

3. Find the transcriptions in Box B for the words in Box A.

BOX A BOX B

mat tune stripped licked /str pt/ /le t/ /p st/ /l kt/

lane archive /le n/ /mæt/

mate shine locked /’tju:n/ /p s/

past cast /me t/ /stra pt/

late pass /’ ka v/ /lænd/ /l / /da m/

striped land spit /k st/

latter lore dime /’læt / /l kt/ /sp t/ / a n/

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4. Write one letter that corresponds to the following symbols:

a) /d / e) /z/ i) / / m) / /

b) /t / f) /s/ j) / / n) /k/

c) /v/ g) / / k) / / o) /r/

d) /æ/ h) /j/ l) / / p) / /

5. Write one phoneme that corresponds to the following letters:

a) p e) or i) h m) ai

b) d f) ph j) j n) ore

c) th g) k k) y o) ar

d) sh h) oo l) ur p) qu

6. Listen and complete the tables with the word needed so as to complete the minimal pairs below:

a)

/b/ /v/

boat

very

bet

van

bowl

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b)/t / / /

cherryshop

chinshoes

cheesec)

/v/ /w/vest

whilevine

wentveal

d)Final Ø Final /t/

tarcaught

carfort

e)Final Ø Final /d/

beadhe

rowcard

fee

corr english phonetic transcription exercisesenglish phonetic transcription exercises 15. find words...

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