lng 101: fundamental english i sounds of english unit i...

LNG 101: Fundamental English I Sounds of English

Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet Unit I

Sounds of English Starter: Do you find it hard to understand what English-speaking people are saying?

Pronunciation problems happen when speaking a second language because most people are used to hearing and making sounds which only exist in their native language. Pronunciation is definitely the biggest thing that people notice when you are speaking English. Notice that good pronunciation is not a perfect American or British accent but your accent must be close to the standards (American and British English). In addition, your pronunciation creates the first impression you make. Activity I: Pronunciation of Sounds Pronunciation refers to the way you produce individual sounds and combinations of sounds, by moving your mouth in the correct way. Instructions: 1. Study the following English vowel and consonant sounds. And then repeat after the tape. *Vowel sounds Here are 12 vowels and 8 diphthongs based on standard British English. i: as in see /si:/ з: as in fur /fз:(r)/ I as in sit /sIt/ Ə as in ago /Ə ‘gƏƱ / e as in ten /ten/ eI as in page /peIdʒ/ æ as in hat /hæt/ ƏƱ as in home /hƏƱm/ ɑ: as in arm /ɑ:m/ aI as in five /faIv / ɒ as in got /gɒt/ aƱ as in now /naƱ / ɔ: as in saw /sɔ:/ ɔI as in join /dʒɔIn/ Ʊ as in put /pƱt/ IƏ as in near /nIƏ(r)/ U: as in too /tU:/ eƏ as in hair /heƏ (r)/ ٨ as in cup /k٨p/ ƱƏ as in pure /pjƱƏ (r)/ * In fact, in the spoken language there are many more. The exact number depends on the dialect of the speaker.

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Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet Consonant sounds Here are 24 consonants of English. p as in pen /pen/ s as in so /sƏƱ/ b as in bad /bæd/ z as in zoo /zu:/ t as in tea /ti:/ ∫ as in she /∫i:/ d as in did /dId/ ʒ as in vision /vIʒn/ k as in cat /kæt/ h as in how /haƱ/ g as in got /gɒt/ m as in man /mæn/ ʧ as in chin /ʧIn/ n as in no /nƏƱ/ ʤ as in June /ʤu:n / ŋ as in sing /sIŋ/ f as in fall /fɔ:l/ l as in leg /leg/ v as in voice /vɔIs/ r as in red /red/ θ as in thin /θIn/ j as in yes /jes/ ð as in then /ðen/ w as in wet /wet/ 2. Which of the English letters below is / are pronounced as /eI/, /i:/, /aI/, /ƏƱ/,

/ju:/, /a:/, /e/? One example has been done for you. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z /eI/ : a h j k /i:/ : /aI/ : /ƏƱ/ : /ju:/ : /a:/ : /e/ : Listen and check your answers.

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Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet 3. Look at the illustrations below and do the exercise that follows.

Listen and check your answers.

Consonants: To understand how problems occur with consonant sounds, it is important to understand how the vocal cords in your throat work. When you say any vowel sound and some consonant sounds, your vocal cords should vibrate. Sounds produced this way are known as ‘voiced’ sounds. The consonant sounds that do not cause your vocal cords to vibrate are known as ‘voiceless’ sounds. All vowel sounds are voiced. So don’t worry, you already know how to do this. For Thai speakers, the main problem with English consonant sounds is how to say voiced consonants and make them different from voiceless ones. Below is a list of sounds that can cause problems for Thai speakers. /V/ as in ‘vet’, is a voiced sound. /W/ as in ‘wet’, is also a voiced Your upper teeth rest lightly on your sound, but your lips must be round lower lip and you can feel the air But and your teeth do not touch your forcing its way through them. lips. Your vocal cords should vibrate.

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Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet Practice pronouncing these words: /V/ /W/ vet wet vine wine vow wow viper wiper /S/ as in ‘Sue’, is a voiceless sound. /Z/ as in ‘zoo’, is a voiced sound. Open your mouth very slightly and feel You do the same as for the /s/ sound the sides of your tongue touch the sides But but you also make your vocal cords of your teeth. As the air flows through vibrate. and out of your mouth it sounds like the hissing sound a snake makes.

Practice pronouncing these words: /S/ /Z/ Sue zoo seal zeal sink zinc fussy fuzzy /θ/ as in ‘thin’, is a voiceless sound. /t/ as in ‘tin’, is often said Keep your teeth slightly apart, and let the But instead. tip of your tongue stick out slightly between them.

Practice pronouncing these words: /θ/ /t/ thin tin three tree both boat thick tick

/ð/ as in ‘those’, is voiced. Otherwise But /d/ as in ‘dose’, is often said it is like /θ/. instead.

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Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet Practice pronouncing these words: /ð/ /d/ those dose though dough there dare seethe seed /l/ as in ‘lice’, is a voiced sound. /r/ as in ‘rice’, is also a voiced The tip of the tongue touches the roof sound. The tip of the tongue is of the mouth (just above the front upper But slightly curled back and does mouth. not touch any part of the roof of the teeth). Practice pronouncing these words: /l/ /r/ lice rice liver river light right fly fry /t∫/ as in ‘chin’, is a voiceless sound. /∫/ as in ‘shin’, is also voiceless. Touch the upper teeth with the tip of the With the lips slightly rounded and tongue. The tongue is withdrawn as the But pushed forwards, the tongue is /t∫/ sound is made. The sound is harder turned upwards but does not touch than /∫/ and is made at the front of the the teeth. mouth. Practice pronouncing these words: /t∫/ /∫/ chin shin cheat sheet chip ship watch wash

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LNG 101: Fundamental English I

Sounds of English Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet

/k/ as in ‘kit’, is a voiceless sound. /g/ as in ‘git’, is voiced. You do Put the back of your tongue up the same as for the /k/ sound but against the roof on the back of But you also make your vocal cords your mouth to release a small puff vibrate of air. Practice pronouncing these words: /k/ /g/ kit git cap gap coat goat card guard The following sounds also cause difficulties for Thai learners of English for reasons connected with their mother tongue.

/dʒ/ as in June, joke, gem, major, soldier /ʒ/ as in vision, decision, measure, pleasure, beige Endings: I. The past simple tense and past participle of all regular verbs end in –ed. For example: base verb (v1) past simple (v2) past participle (v3) work

worked

worked

In addition, many adjectives are made from the past participle and so end in –ed. For example: • I like painted furniture. • We bought a used car. The question is: How do we pronounce the –ed? The answer is: In 3 ways - /Id/ or /t/ or /d/

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Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet

Rules of Pronunciation for regular verbs: 1. Use a /t/ sound to pronounce the past tense when a word ends in one of these

(unvoiced) sounds: P, F, K, S, SH, TH, CH. For example: talk – talked /t/ laugh – laughed /t/ watch – watched /t/ wash – washed /t/ 2. Use a /d/ sound to pronounce the past tense when a word ends in one of these

(voiced) sounds: B, M, N, J, L, NG, G, R, V, THH, W, Z and all vowel sounds. For example:

beg – begged /d/ allow – allowed /d/ open – opened /d/ agree – agreed /d/ 3. Use the syllable /Id/ sound to pronounce the past tense of a word that ends with a T or D sound. For example: want – wanted /Id/ need – needed /Id/ print – printed /Id/ end – ended /Id/ II. Plural endings. Non-native speakers frequently have difficulty mastering English plural nouns. Some languages do not have plural forms of nouns. Other languages have plural nouns, but they do not involve adding consonant sounds at the end of the words. Rules of Pronunciation for regular plurals: 1. Use a /s/ sound to pronounce the plural when a word ends in one of these

(unvoiced) sounds: P, F, K, T, TH. For example: cat – cats /s/ book – books /s/ 2. Use a /z/ sound to pronounce the plural when a word ends in one of these

(voiced) sounds: B, M, N, L, D, NG, G, R, V, THH and all vowel sounds. For example:

can – cans /z/ dog – dogs /z/ 3. Use the syllable /Iz/ sound to pronounce the plural of a word that ends with one of these sounds: S, Z, SH, ZH, CH, J. For example: bus – buses /Iz/ wish – wishes /Iz/

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Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet Activity II: Word Stress What is Word Stress? In English we do not say each syllable of a word with the same force or strength. In one word, we accentuate ONE syllable. We say one syllable more loudly (big, strong, important) and all the other syllables more quietly. Do these words: photograph, photographer, and photographic sound the same when spoken? No, because we accentuate (stress) ONE syllable in each word. And it is not always the same syllable. So the shape of word is different. Now look at the table below, stressed syllables are in capital letters: shape total

syllables stressed syllables

PHOtograph 3 # 1

phoTOgrapher 4 # 2

photoGRAPHic 4 # 3

This happen in all words with two or more syllables: TEACHer, aBOVE, imPORtant, comPUter, INteresting etc. There are two very important rules about word stress:

1. One word, one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses. So if you hear two stresses, you have heard two words, not one word.)

2. The stress is always on the vowel. Instructions: How many syllables are there in the following words? One example has been done for you. word number of syllables spring quiet qui – et 2 quite unbelievable realistic

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Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet Activity III: Identifying word stress English words can have one or more syllables. Here are some examples. one syllable must can two syllables exam study three syllables diligent analyze four syllables analysis registration five syllables environmental durability six syllables permeability anthropological Instructions: 1. Find out the stresses in the following words. Underline the stressed words or syllables. One example has been done for you. 1. must 5. durable 2. study 6. historical 3. magnetic 7. information 4. expensive 8. unexceptional Listen and check your answers. Word Stress Rules Here are some rules that can help you understand where to put the stress. 1. Stress on first syllable rule example Most 2-syllable nouns CHIna, TAble, SYStem Most 2-syllable adjectives HAPpy, CLEver, SORry 2. Stress on second syllable rule example Most 2-syllable verbs deCIDE, surVIVE, beCOME 3. Stress on penultimate syllable (penultimate = second from end) rule example Word ending in -ic LOGic, ecoNOMics, Word ending in –sion and –tion TeleVIsion, NAtion,

inforMAtion

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LNG 101: Fundamental English I

Sounds of English Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet

4. Stress on ante-penultimate syllable (ante-penultimate = third from end) rule example Word ending in –cy,-ty, -phy, and -gy deMOcracy, iDENtity, geOgraphy,

biOlogy Word ending in –al CRItical, HOSpital, interNAtional Word ending in –fy SIMplify, iDENtify, SPEcify 5. Compound words (words with two parts) rule example For compound nouns, the stress is on the first part

GREENhouse, BLACKboard, BOOKshelf, VIDEO games

For compound adjectives, the stress is on the second part

bad-TEMpered, old-FASHioned

For compound verbs, the stress is on the second part

to underSTAND, to overFLOW

6. Two-syllable homographs (the same spelling but different pronunciation) rule example For nouns /adjectives the stress is on the first part

CONtrast, REbel, PREsent, PERmit

For verbs, the stress is on the second part conTRAST, reBEL, preSENT, perMIT

The schwa / Ə / Syllables which are not stressed can be described as weak. The symbol for the common vowel sound in spoken English is /Ə/. This vowel is always WEAK and NEVER STRESSED, so /Ə/ is by far the most common vowel in English. In the following table, note the schwa sounds. banana bəˈna:nə correct kəˈrekt particular pəˈtIkjulə America əˈmerIkə forget fəˈget Listen and repeat. All good dictionaries contain phonemic transcriptions of words to help you if you are not sure of the correct pronunciation.

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n Biruwahet Prepared by Utsama

Activity IV: Linking words together When a vowel at the beginning of a word follows a final consonant, the two words are run together. For example: Is◡it ◡a boy? If you learn to do this, your English will sound smooth and natural. Now mark the links between these words as in the example above. Then say them aloud. 1. talk about it 2. turn it off 3. give it away 4. walk along a road 5. drink it all up Listen and repeat. Phrasal stress and Sentence stress Phrasal stress Phrasal stress is an important part of the rhythm of English. It is a term that refers to the most stressed word in each phrase (thought groups) in a sentence. When we read a sentence normally (without giving any word extra emphasis), each thought group (phrase) in a sentence has one word that is most stressed. Here are two sentences read slowly and deliberately as if they were said in a presentation. The noisy car / has been parked / in the gaRAGE. Many people / often read / the *business section / of the *NEWSpaper. (* “business section” and “newspaper” are compound nouns.) Sentence stress Each sentence that has more than one phrase in it has its most stressed word in the last phrase. This is generally called sentence stress. When we give that word the most stress, we are not only showing that this word is important, but also that the sentence is ending.

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Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet The noisy car has been parked in the gaRAGE. Many people often read the business section of the NEWSpaper. By giving extra stress to different words in an English sentence, we can actually change the meaning of a sentence. To do this we give them emphasis with an even higher tone, a longer stressed syllable, and louder sound than a normally-stressed word. For example: - I’m going to the store. (Regular stress on the last content word of the phrase / sentence) - I’M going to the store. (Not YOU, but me!) - I AM going to the store. (-I am going, even though you don’t believe me.) - I am GOING to the store. (- Have you GONE to the store? – No, I’m GOING to the store.) - I’m going TO the store. (not coming from it) - I’m going to THE store. (THE store = favorite or only store, known to both speaker and listener.) - I’m going to the STORE. (not the mall) Rule for Sentence Stress in English Most sentences have two types of word: 1. content words 2. structure words The following tables can help you decide which words are content words and which words are structure words. Content words words carrying the meaning example main verbs read, go, buy etc. nouns car, people, store etc. adjectives big, noisy, beautiful etc. adverbs loudly, never, slowly etc. negative auxiliaries don’t, aren’t, can’t etc.

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Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet Structure words words for correct grammar example pronouns he, we, they etc. prepositions on, at, into etc. articles a, an, the conjunctions and, but, so etc. auxiliary verbs do, be, have, can etc. “to be” as in main verbs is, are, was etc.

Intonation Intonation is the music of the language. In English we use tone to signal emotion, questioning, and parts of the sentence among many other things. It is important to recognize the meaning behind the tones used in everyday speech, and to be able to use them so that there are no misunderstandings between the speaker and listener. Activity V: Intonation: showing feelings

In English, the sentence intonation often indicates the mood of the speaker. Different tones on the same word or phrase can send different messages about the speaker’s feelings. Here are some examples: really disapproving really? surprised and curious to know more really?! very surprised really. not very interested Instructions: 1. Work out the most likely intonation and the syllables to stress for the following dialogue. Then read the dialogue aloud. A: Are you busy tonight? B: Not really, why? A: I was thinking of going to a movie. B: Great! Let’s do it. Listen and repeat.

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Prepared by Utsaman Biruwahet Intonation Patterns 1. Rising falling intonation. ( )

- Simple statements: He came to see me . - Commands: Sit on the chair . - Questions with question words: When did he leave ? 2. Rising intonation. ( ) - Questions without question words: Is he there ? - Direct address: How are you, Mr. Smith ? - Introductions: Mr. Brown , this is Miss Jones. - Series (until last item): I need books , pencils and crayons . 2. Practice by saying the following sentences. Use intonation patterns. When is your birthday? Where are you going? They are baking a cake. The activity is interesting. How are you today, Tom? Feed the cat at eight. Bring me the paper. Are you ready? Will you leave soon? What is the date? She can speak Thai, Japanese and, of course, English. How did you know that? He rides a bicycle. My hobbies are collecting stamps, drawing, and taking photographs. Do you like English pronunciation? I love you.

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Listen and repeat. Have fun!

lng 101: fundamental english i sounds of english unit i...

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