PRONUNCIATION

PRONUNCIATION
No doubt, you can certainly read and write English. Here is an attempt to help
you to pronounce English better than you do now. Generally English is not
spoken as it is written. Language is primarily spoken. Instead of giving you all
theory of English speech, our efforts are to highlight certain important features of
speech. This may enable you to understand some basics of English speech. It will
also help you to consult an English pronouncing dictionary in case of doubt about
the pronunciation of a word.
Every language has a different number of systems. These system operate at
different levels. With hard work or practice it is easy to have good English pronunciation.
English has 26 letters but 46 phonemes (i.e. meaningful or basic sounds).
Phonemes help us to keep each word or longer utterance separate from every
other. First, you must be able to produce 46 phonemes, i.e. 22 vowels and 24
consonants. Secondly in learning pronunciation you must learn to use as many
different sounds as is necessary to represent a particular phoneme. In words like
‘DAY’ and ‘THEY’ initial sounds are different. In some other languages then may
be the same. Therefore, one must try to forget the habits of one's language and use
the sounds independently as in English. It all depends on a great deal of practice.
In English ‘PEN’ and ‘PIN’ are pronounced differently and their meanings
are also different. The difference between the vowel sounds make a difference in
meaning. The sounds /p/ and /n/ are the same in both the words. The words ‘PUT’
and ‘CUT’ are not pronounced alike. Again the vowel sounds in these two words
are different, As for as vowel sounds are concerned, we can say ‘PUT’ is like
‘GOOD’ and ‘CUT’ is like but, shut, etc. In words like ‘GOOD’ and ‘FOOD’ we
have double O in the spellings but the pronunciation of both these words is different.
In words like 'SON' and 'SUN' spellings are different but the pronunciation of
both the words is similar.
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Now try to learn some essential basic theoridical aspects of speech. They
are elementary but essential for practice.
i. Speech Theory : What happens when me speak?
ii. We may make it vibrate by using the vocal cords.
iii. We make changes in the sound by changing the position of the tongue, lips,
teeth etc.
Practical :
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What happens when we speak?
i. Put your hand on your throat. Breathe out slowly (mouth open), making no
noise. Did your throat, vibrate? No. Now breathe out slowly, saying ‘a-aah’.
Did your throat vibrate? Yes. This vibration was made by the vocal
cords.
ii. Say 'a-a-ah' with mouth wide open. Now dose the lips, leaving a small
round hole only. Try to say 'a-a-ah'. Is this sound the same as the first one?
No. How was the sound changed? By closing the lips. We make different
sounds by changing the position of the speech organs.
How many different sounds do we need to make?
Some languages use more 'basic sounds' than others. Each language has its
own set of ‘basic sounds’. When we learn our mother tongue we train ourselves to
hear the difference between these basic sounds. This is necessary, because changing
a basic sound changes the meaning. Another word for a 'basic sound' is a
'Phoneme'.
What link in there between spoken English and written English?
Written English tries to record the English we speak. It does not do this
very well, because English has 46 sounds but only 26 letters to write them with. So,
some sounds are written sometimes in one way, sometimes in another. And there
are letters which sometimes stand for one sound, and sometimes for another.
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Practical :
i. The following words have three letters. How many sounds are there in each
word?
can, cap, cat, man, mat, map, tin, pin, sit, hit
ii. All these words have four letters. How many sounds are there in each
word?
stop, spin, step, spot, skip, plan, plot, flag, trip, clap
iii. All these words have four letters. How many sounds are there in each
word?
shop ship shed wash rich chin chop
such thin with this path fall bell
pass miss shoe show know more
iv. All these words contain the letter 'a'. They are arranged in groups of five. In
each group there are four words in which the letter 'a' represents the same
sound. One word in each group has a letter 'a' which does not represent the
same sound as the rest : which?
(1) cap flat matter make trap
(2) start farm half stay car
(3) match march part star calm
(4) along among fireman about apple
(5) plane plan bake tame may
Therefore, in written English some letters may stand for more
than one sound, and some sounds may be represented in more
than one letter.
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(2) English Vowels
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What is a vowel sound?
A vowel sound is one made with the vocal cards vibrating, but in which we
cannot hear the sound of friction between speech organs (i.e. hissing, buzzing or
explosions)
Practical
(i) Say the sound /i:/as in 'meet'. Any hisses, buzzes, bangs? No. This
is a vowel sound.
(2) Say the sound 'b, b, b'/b/. Any hisses, buzzes, bangs? Yes. There
is a bang. This is not a vowel sound.
(3) Say the sound ' s-s-s'/s/ as in 'See'. Any hisses, buzzes, bangs? Yes
- a hiss. This is not a vowel sound.
What kinds of vowel sounds are there?
(a) First there is the pure vowel sound. Here the sound remains the
same from start to finish.
(b) Then there is the diphthong sound. This is a combination of
two vowel sounds in which the voice moves quickly from one
sound to the other.
(i) Say the words 'get', 'wet', 'yet'. Do the sounds underlined remain
the same from start' to finish? Yes. They are pure vowels.
(ii) Say the words 'gate', 'wait', 'late'. Do the sounds understand remain
the same from start to finish? No. They are two vowel sounds
combined. They are diphthongs.
(iii) In the list below are pairs of words. Which of the pair has a pure
vowel, which has a diphthong?
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hand - hide pain - pen
hat - hate still - style
site - sat note - not
gate - get come - comb
ball - boy say - see
main - men down - done
ought - out feet - fear
How many English vowel sounds are there?
(a) There are 12 pure vowel sounds.
(b) Ther are 8 diphthong sounds.
How many English vowel letters are there?
Only 5 - a, e, i, o , u.
(Sometimes the letters y, w, and r are also used in writing vowel sounds)
How can we write 20 vowel sounds with only 5 (+3) vowel letters?
We find it very hard. We try to do it in many different ways, but this can be
confusing e.g. met - / met /
meat - /mi:t/
meet - /mi:t/
mete - /mi:t/
The three words : meat, meet, mete, all sound the same, but they are spelt in
different ways.
Therefore, when talking about sounds, the best way is to use a special kind
of writing in which one letter (symbol) stands for one sound. This kind of writing is
called phonemic script.
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Phonemic script
1. We put phonemic script inside slanting lines ‘/ /’ to show that it is not
ordinary spelling.
2. We do not use capital letters.
3. It is not ................
(ii) These are the pure vowel symbols :
Practical
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/i:/ as in SEAT /si:t/
/I/ as in SIT /sIt/
/i/ as in HAPPY /'h&pi/
/e/ as in SET /set/
/&/ as in SAT /s&t/
/A:/ as m FARM /fA:m/
/Q/ as in SHOT /shQt/
/O:/ as in SORT /sO:t/
/U/ as in FOOT /fUt/
/u:/ as in SHOOT /SU;t/
/u/ as in ACTUAL /'&ktSuJl/
/V/ as in SHUT /SVt/
/3:/ as in SHIRT /S3;t/
/J/ as in UPON /J'pQn/
i. Read the following words, which are written in phonemic script.
/i:/ /mi:/ /si:t/ /hi:t/ /ri:d/ /wi:k/
/I/ /It/ /sIt/ /tIn/ /hIm/ /hil/
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i/ /'n&pi/ /'s&pi/ /'flQpi/ /'kQpi/ /'slQpi/
/e/ /bed/ /men /red/ /send/ /rek/
/&/ /m&n/ /k&t/ /s&t/ /p&k/ /l&nd/
/A:/ /pA:t/ /hA:d/ /stA:/ /fA:m/ /kA:/
/Q/ /tQp/ /hQt/ /lQt/ /kQst/ /stQp/
/O;/ /tO;l/ /bO;t/ /brO;t/ /kO;n/ /bO;d/
/U/ /fUt/ /pUt/ /hUk/ /kUk/ /pUl/
/U:/ /tU:/ /hU:/ /mU:n/ /rU:d/ /lU:s/
/u/ /'f&ktSuJl/ /'v3;tSuJl/ /'gr&dZuJl/ /'mju;tSuJl/ /'rItSuJl/
/V/ /hVt/ /dVn/ /sVn/ /dVl/ /bVs/
/3;/ /b3;d/ /b3;n/ /w3;k/ /g3;l/ /st3;/
/J/ 'fA;mJ(r) /'fItJ(r)/ /'dO;tJ(r)/ /J'pQn/ /J'gri;/
ii. Which words do not contain the sound written at the left.
/i:/ seed eat bread case
/e/ here head men friend
/A:/ car care half pass
/Q/ on lot lost one
/U/ pull cook spoon full
/V/ tub cut come luck
/J/ father mother away apple
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Phonemic script : Diphthongs
i. Because these combine two sounds, each diphthong symbol contains two
letters.
ii. These are the diphthong symbols:
Practical
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/eI/ as in say /seI/
/aI/ as in fly /flaI/
/OI/ as in boy /bOI/
/aU/ as in how /haU/
/oU/ as in no /noU/
/IJ/ as in here /hIJ(r)/
/eJ/ as in hair /heJ(r)/
/UJ/ as in poor /pUJ(r)/
Read the following words, which are written in phonemic script :
/eI/ /meI/ /keIm/ /leIt/ /meIl/ /beIk/
/aI/ /maI/ /taIm/ /laIt/ /saIn/ /waIl/
/OI/ /bOI/ /bOIl/ /kOIn/ /tOI/ /OIl/
/aU/ /haU/ /kaU/ /taUn/ /aUt/ /laUd/
/oU/ /soU/ /noU/ /boUt/ /koUt/ /oUn/
/IJ/ /tIJ/ /bIJd/ /fIJ/ /dIJ/ /hIJ/
/eJ/ /reJ/ /beJ/ /deJ/ /heJ/ /peJz/
/UJ/ /pUJ/ /dUJ/ /tUJ/ /trUJ/ /blUJ/
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What is a consonant sound?
A consonant sound is one in which we can hear the sound of friction
between speech organs. Some are hissing voices, like the /s/ in SEA. Some are
buzzing noises, like the /z/ in zoo'. Some are explosions, like the /P/ in 'PAN'.
There are other kinds of consonant noises, too.
Practical
(1) Say the words 'SHEEP'
Which is the vowel sound? ............... /i:/
Which is the first consonant sound? ......... the sound written 'sh' /S/
Is the sound /P/ a vowel or a consonant? ......... A consonant.
(2) Say the word 'SICK'
Now say the word 'SILK'
Are they the same? ........... No
How many consonant sounds are there in 'SICK'? ....... Two /s/ and /k/.
How many in 'SILK' .......... Three ........./s/, /l/, /k/
How many English consonant sounds are there? ........24
How do we write them in phonemic script?
Some are written and pronounced in the same way as we usually
write and pronounce them in ordinary writing :
/b/ as in bed rub
/d/ as in dog bad
/f/ as in fan half
/g/ as in get dog
/h/ as in hat hat
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/k/ as in king walk
/l/ as in lamp girl
/m/ as in man seem
/n/ as in not man
/p/ as in pen top
/r/ as in run fairy
/s/ as in sit bus
/t/ as in time hat
/v/ as in very love
/w/ as in wet -
/z/ as in zoo -
There are 8 others for which we use special symbols :
/S/ as in sheep wash
/tS/ as in church catch
/dZ/ as in judge germ
/N/ as in sing having
/T/ as is thick path
/D/ as is this bathe
/j/ as is yet year
/Z/ as is pleasure usual
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Practical
Which English consonant letters are not used in English phonemic script
e - - x - - q - - y
Now read the following words, which contain the sound written at the left :
/S/ /Sip/ /Sed/ /Seik/ /wiS/ /diS/
/tS/ /tSip/ /tSQp/ /tSein/ /ritS/ /pitS/
/dZ/ /dZO;/ /dZVdZ/ /dZOI/ /rIdZ/ /keIdZ/
/N/ /siN/ /wiN/ /lQN/ /sQN/ /b&N/
/T/ /Tik/ /Tin/ /Tri:/ /pa:T/ /TO:t/
/D/ /Den/ /Dis/ /D&t/ /wiD/ /beiD/
/j/ /jU:/ /jes/ /jet/ /jel/ /jU:s/
/Z/ /'treZJ/ /'pleZJ/ /'meZJ/
Read these words which are written in phonemic script :
/set/ /get/ /jet/ /det/ /met/
/wQt/ /wQtS/ /wQS/ /wQz/ /wQnt/
/sin/ /siN/ /s&N/ /sQN/ /sVN/
/wiT/ /wID/ /Di:z/ /DoUZ/ /ri:T/
/hedZ/ /b&dZ/ /rIdZ/ /wedZ/ /peIdZ/
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Revision
i. What use in phonemic script? It helps us to write sounds properly.
ii. All the words below have the letter 'S' underlined. They are written in ordinary
English. In each one the 'S' is pronounced in a defferent way. How
would you write these 'S' sounds in phonemic script?
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rose /z/
post /s/
usual /Z/
iii. Is there any defference between the sounds underlined in the words below?
Stress
ration, sharp, mission
How would you write the sound underlined? /S/
What do you mean by 'STRESS'
When a man plays the 'table' he sometimes luts it harder, sometimes softer.
When we speak English we 'hit' some sounds harder and some sounds softer.
Practice
(a) Look at the pattern below :
l - - l - - l - -l - -l - -l - -
(b) At each l tap the table (desk/floor/book) hard; at each _ tap the table softly.
Repeat this four times.
(c) Now say the word 'beautiful' six times, tapping hard for 'beau - - and softly
for --- ti --- ful
NOW, look at this pattern :
(a) l - l - l - l - l - l
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(b) Tap this pattern four times : (1 means hard - means softly)
(c) Now say ' former six times, tapping hard for ' ta - - , and softly for - - -
their.
Eevery word with more than one syllable has atleast one hard
(strong) beat (there are very few exceptions).
(a) Sometimes the strong beat (strong stress) is on the first syllable :
'father, 'mother 'talking 'cheapest
(b) Sometimes the strong stress is on the second syllable :
a'way, re'turn, in'form, de'cide
(c) We mark strong stress with the sign 'before the strongly stressed syllable.
(d) Syllables which are not stressed often contain the vowel /J/ and this vowel
occurs in unstressed syllables never in stressed ones. But it is not true to
say that /J/ is the only vowel which occurs in unstressed syllables, all the
other vowels can occur there too and /i/ is commonly found there, the
remaining vowels less commonly so.
obtain, invent, allow, adore, account
(e) What is a syllable? A word or part of a word which contains a vowel sound
or a consonant acting as a vowel. e.g. there are two syllables in 'WIN-
DOW' - 'win' - and' - dow'
Practical
(1) All the words below have two syllables, and the first syllable of each
is strongly stressed. Say them :
'father 'mother 'sister 'brother
'talking 'running 'sitting 'jumping
'waited 'posted 'painted 'started
'hopeful 'helpless 'cheerless 'careless
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(2) All the words below have two syllables, the second of which is strongly
stressed. Say them :
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a'way a'bout a'long a'cross
re'turn re'fuse re'pay re'ject
de'tain de'part de'lay de'mand
in'tend in'ject in'fect in'spect
con'fuse con'firm con'duct con'tain
(3) In sentences some syllables are strongly stressed :
Practical
(A) ' What do you 'want?
(B) ' How do you 'do?
(i) Which words in 3A are strongly stressed?
(ii) Say the sentence several times, putting strong stress on the words marked.
(iii) Which words in 3B are strongly stressed?
(iv) Say the sentence several times, putting strong stress on the words marked.
(v) Notice that the sentences 3A and 3B above have the same stress pattern.
strong weak weak strong
What do you want?
How do you do?
(vi) we can write this pattern :
1 - - 1
These sentences have the same pattern, 1 - - 1 . Say them
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Where did he go?
What did she do?
How did he come?
Why did you stop?
When will they know?
Put it away.
Give him a sweet.
Show me your book.
Pick up your pen.
Look at the Sky.
Now, make as many sentences as you can with the pattern 1 - - 1 i.e. strong, weak,
weak, strong.
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