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History Vocabulary
A Guide to Pronunciation
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The sound of schwaschwa
Please note that schwa (shWAH) is the most common vowel sound in English. It occurs in many of the words in this slideshow.For a guide to this sound and some audio examples, please go to this BBC site:http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/features/schwa/
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schwa
In this slideshow, the vowel sound schwa is shown by an asterisk (*) and underlined.
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Word Stress & Vowels
The stressed (highest and loudest) syllable in each word is CAPITALIZEDCAPITALIZED.
Vowel sounds are colour-coded and matched to a list of the same sounds in other common words.
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Austro-Serbian War
OOSSSStro-sEERRbeeyun*•boss•loss•go•sir•see
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Balkan Wars
bALLALLkun*•tall•wall•fall
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Berlin Blockade
berLINLIN blockADEADE•her•tin•shock•maid
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Bosnian Crisis
bOOZZneeyun* kRRIIsiss
•see•cry•miss
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Cuban Missile Crisis
kYOOYOObun* mIISSSSile krIIsiss•queue•cue•cry•high•this•hiss
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Franco-Prussian War
frAANNko-pRRUUSHSHun*•tank•go•brush•rush
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Great Depression
grate du*pRREESHSHu*n
•eight•fresh
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Gulf War
gULLULLf•seagull•hull
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Iraq War
eerARARk•be•tea•park•shark
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Korean War
kerRREEEEun*•her•fur•be•tea
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Moroccan Crisis/Crises
marOOCKCKun* krIIsiss/krIIsees•shock•mock•cry•High•miss•please•sneeze
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Munich Agreement
mYOOYOOnick•you•two•sick
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Paris Peace Conference
pAAriss•pad•pat•kiss
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Sarajevo
saraYYAYAYvo•sat•mat•day•hey•know•soNotice that the “j” is pronounced as a “y” and that the “e” is pronounced as an “a”.
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Vietnam
veeyu*tnARARm•be•tea•farm
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Alliance System
aLLIEIEyunss•my•high•once
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Allied Powers
AlAleyed•Allan•pal•shall•pie•my
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Appeasement
aPPEEZEEEZEmu*nt•please•freeze
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armaments
ARARmu*mu*nts
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atomic
u*TTOOMMick
•from•bomb
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Axis Powers
AKKAKKsiss
•pack•back•miss•hiss
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Baltic states
bAALLLLtick
•all•fall•sick
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Capitalism
kAAPPitu*lizu*m
•cap•map
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Capitalist Bloc
kAAPPitu*list block
•cap•map •shock•rock
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casualties
kAZHAZHyu*lteez
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colonial rivalry
ku*lOOWNWNneeu*l rEYEEYEvu*lree•flown•shown•known•be•tea•eye•my
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Communism
kOOMMyoonizu*m
•Tom•from•you•is•his
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concentration camps
konsu*ntRRAYAYshu*n kamps
•on•day•lamp
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conscription
ku*nskRRIIPPshu*n
•ship•flip
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decolonization
deekolu*neyezAYAYshu*n•be•tea•doll•high•day
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diplomatic
diplu*mATATick
•ship•fat•sick
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Domino Effect
dOOMMinno u*fEECKTCKT
•Tom•win•know•insect
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Dreadnoughts
dRREEDDnorts
•red•bread•sort•taught
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Fascism
fASHASHizu*m
•fashion•bash•is•his
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Fascist Party
fASHASHu*st
•passion•fashion
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Fuhrer
• fYOOYOOru*h
• you
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genocide
jENENu*side
•Ben•when•tide•sighed
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Gestapo
gu*stARARpo
•are•far•no•so
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Holocaust
hOOLLu*korst
•holiday•cord
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ideology
eyedeeOOLLu*jee
•my•be•holiday
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independence
indu*pEENNdu*nss
•pin•Ben
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Chamberlain
chAAMEMEbu*lu*n
•came•same
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Churchill
chEERRRRchill
•search•fill
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Clemenceau
klEEMMu*nso
•them•no
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
dwhIte dee EYEEYEzu*nhowah
•fight•see•why•cow•up
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Gorbachev
gOORRbu*chov
•for•of
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Hideki Tojo
hIIDDu*keye tOOjo
•did•my•so
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Adolf Hitler
AYAYdolf hIITTlah
•say•golf•sit•up
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kamikaze
kamu*kARARzee
•ham•far•see
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Kaiser Wilhelm II
kEYEEYEzu* VVIILLhelm the second
•my•will•elder
This is a German name so the “w” is pronounced as a “v”.
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Kennedy
kEENNu*dee
•energy•see
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Krushchev
• krOOOOschov
• crew• too• of
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Lenin
lEENNu*n
•Ben•when
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Lloyd George
lOYOYd jOOrj
•boy•for
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Douglas MacArthur
dUUglu*ss mu*kAARRthu*
•mug•car
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Molotov
mOOlu*tov
•doll•of
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Mussolini
moozu*lEEEEnee
•too•see
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Richard Nixon
rICHICHu*d nIKIKsu*n
•rich•sick
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Ronald Reagan
rOONNu*ld rAYAYgu*n
•on•day
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Ernst Rommel
urnst rOOmu*l
•burn•on
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt
frAANNklu*n DDEELLu*no rOOOOzu*velt
•tank•tell•go•zoo•belt
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Josef Stalin
jOOsu*f stARARlu*n
•no•are
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Harry Truman
hAARRRRee trOOOOmu*n
•carry•tea•too
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Woodrow Wilson
wOUOUldroh wILILsu*n
•could•good•go•pill
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Abyssinia
abissSSIINNeeya
•at•miss•in•see•up
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Albania
albAYAYneeya
•pal•day•see•up
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Alsace-Lorraine
AAllsass-lu*rAIAIn
•pal•cash•pain
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Austria
OOSSSStreeya
•boss•me•up
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Austria-Hungary
OOSSSStreeya hUUNGNGu*ree
•boss•me•up•sung
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The Balkans
the bAALLLLku*nz
•call•tall
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Balkan Peninsula
bAALLLLku*n penIINNsyoola
•call•then•win•too•up
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Belgium
bEELLLLju*m
•sell
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Bosnia-Herzegovina
bOOZZneeya hurtsgu*vEEEEna
•see•up•shirt
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Britain
brITITu*n
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Bulgaria
bulgAIAIRReeya
•dull•care•fair•see•up
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Carribean
karru*BBEEEEu*n
•carry•see
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Cuba
• kYOOYOOba
• you• up
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Czechoslovakia
cheku*slovARARkeeya
•check•slow•far•see
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Estonia
eSTSTOONENEeeya
•best•lone•see•up
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Europe
YOOYOOru*p
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European continent
YOOYOOru*peeyu*n KKOONNtinu*nt
•you•see•on•tin
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Finland
fININlu*nd
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France
frAANNss (USA)•hand
frAARNRNss (UK)•arm
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Geneva
ju*nEEEEva
•see•up
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Germany
jERERmu*nee
•her•see
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Hawaii
hu*WHYWHYee
•cry•see
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Hiroshima
hirOOSHSHshu*ma
•here•gosh•up
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Latvia
lAATTveeya
•sat•see•up
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indemnities
inDDEEMMniteez
•win•them•hit•sneeze
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Iron Curtain
eyeu*n KKUURRtu*n
•high•hurt
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League of Nations
LLEEEEg ov NNAAshu*nz
•be•of•pay
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Manchukuo
manCHCHOOOOkwoh
•tan•too•so
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Marshall PLan
MMAARRshu*l plan
•far•fan
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militarism
MMIILLLLitu*rizm
•hill
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Molotov Plan
MMOOLLu*tov plan
•doll•fan
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Nazi Party
NNAARTRTsee PPAARRtee
•far•see
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Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
NNAARTRTsee SSOOveeu*t non-aggRREESSshu*n pakt
•far•see•go•on•rest•act
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NATO
NNAAYYtoh
•day•go
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propaganda
propu*GGAANNda
•top•hand•up
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reparations
reparRRAAYYshu*nz
•guess•up•day
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sanctions
sAANKNKshu*nz
•tank
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satellite states
sAATTu*lite stayts
•cat•light•mates
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swastika
sWWAASSSStikka
•boss•sick•up
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tension
tEENNshu*n
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totalitarianism
toetalu*TTAIAIRReeyu*nizm
•go•shall•hair•see•is
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trenches
tRREENCHNCHu*z
•French•bench
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Treaty of Versailles
tRREEEEtee ov vairSSIGHIGH
•tree•of•hair•myThis is a French word so the final “-lles” is silent!
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Triple Alliance
tRRIIPPu*l aLLIEIEyu*nss
•tip•up•my
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Triple Entente
tRRIIPPu*l onTTOONNt
•tip•on
This is a French word, so the middle “e” is pronounced with an “o” sound and the final “e” is silent.
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Truman Doctrine
tRROOOOmu*n DDOOKKtru*n
•true•rock
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Warsaw Pact
wOOREREsore pakt
•draw•snore•war•act
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Weimar Republic
vEYEEYEmar ru*PPUUBBlik
•my•car (long vowel not short)•tub•sickThis is a German word, so the letter “w” is pronounced as “v”.
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Lithuania
lithooAYAYnia
•with•too•day•me•up
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Manchuria
manCHCHOOOOreea
•tan•too•see•up
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Nagasaki
naggaSSAARRkee
•bag•up•far •see
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Normandy
nOORRmu*ndee
•for•see
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Ottoman
OOTTTTa*mu*n
•hot•up
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Poland
PPOOlu*nd
•go
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Rhineland
rEYEEYEnland
•my•hand
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Rumania
rooMMAAYYneea
•shoe•day•see•up
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Russia
rUUSHSHa
•rush
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Serbia
SSIIRRbeea
•her•see•up
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Tunisia
tyooNNIISSSSeea
•tune•miss•see•up
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Turkey
TTEERRRRkee
•her•see
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Yugoslavia
yoogoSLSLAARRveea
•you•go•car•see•up