English Pronunciation

Prévia do material em texto

English Pronunciation 
Part 1: The sounds of English 
Why do we sometimes find it difficult to speak and understand English? We can 
write an email, read a magazine but sometimes we struggle to understand native 
people talking to us. 
One of the reasons for that are the sounds of English. English is made up of 44 
sounds (phonemes). If we can learn how to pronounce the different sounds, we can 
improve our speaking skills and understand native speakers better. 
Let’s start with the symbols on the phonemic sound chart! 
 
Alba’s Phonemic Chart clearly shows how the 44 English phonemes are 
categorized and can be written using the phonetic alphabet. The 44 sounds are 
divided into two categories: vowels and consonants. 
Vowels 
• Sometimes they are long, or short, sometimes they move from one position to 
another; 
https://albaenglish.co.uk/blog/improve-english-pronunciation-phonemic-chart/
• The first feature of vowels is the time we spend to produce the sound: some 
vowels are short and some are long. The long vowels have a double dot (:) in 
the chart. 
sheep /’ʃi:p/ and ship /’ʃɪp/ 
good /’gʊd/ and moon /’mu:n/ 
 
‘Double vowels’, also known as diphthongs, start with one sound and finish with 
another: 
ear /’ɪə(r)/ 
train /’treɪn/ 
 
Consonants 
Sometimes they are voiced (with vibration), sometimes they are unvoiced 
(without vibration). 
Did you know that two consonants can produce the same sound, with the only 
difference that one can be voiced and the other unvoiced? 
Here is an exercise that helps you to feel the difference between voiced 
consonants (blue on the chart) from unvoiced consonants (green on the chart): 
touch your neck with your hand and pronounce first the /p/ sound and then the /b/ 
sound: 
When saying the /b/ sound you will notice that your voice box (or larynx) will 
produce a vibration but when saying the /p/ sound there is no vibration. 
 
 
This picture might come in handy: 
On the phonemic chart, we show the link between voiced and unvoiced 
consonants with a small line, as reminder that the two sounds are produced in the 
same area of our mouth, but they are different because one is pronounced with 
vibration and the other one without vibration. 
 
pen /’pen/ and ball /’bɔ:l/ 
table /’teɪbəl/ and dog /’dɒg/ 
chips /’tʃɪps/ and jam /’dʒæm/ 
 
But where should you put your tongue? 
Have a look at the following diagram which shows where you make the 
consonant sounds with your tongue, lips or teeth. Try to copy this with your own 
tongue and start to practice your pronunciation! 
 
Why not write the phonemic transcription of the words you have a problem 
pronouncing (or find the transcription in a dictionary), and practice it! 
We hope you feel a bit more comfortable with the English sounds. 
Keep improving your English pronunciation! /ki:p ɪmpru:vɪŋ jɔ:r ɪŋglɪʃ prənʌnsɪjeɪʃən/! 
 
English Pronunciation 
Part 2: Phonetic Transcription 
 
What Is Phonetic Transcription? 
Phonetic transcription is the visual representation of speech sounds. It is usually 
written in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), in which each English sound has 
its own symbol. Phonetic transcription is usually given in brackets /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ / or in square 
brackets [ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ ]. Each sound in transcription is written separately. 
 
Why Is Phonetic Transcription Important? 
Phonetic transcription is very important because it helps to pronounce words 
correctly. It’s necessary, especially for the English language. As you know, the same 
English letter or combinations of letters can be pronounced and read differently in 
different words. Of course, there are reading rules in English but there are a lot of 
exceptions too. The spelling of an English word does not always tell you how to 
pronounce or read this word. But if you can read phonetic transcription, you’ll be 
able to pronounce any English word correctly without listening to its audio 
pronunciation. 
This Myefe.com’s tool will help to find out transcription online and read English 
words without mistakes. Look at the picture below as an example: 
 
https://myefe.com/transcription-pronunciation
Why Should You Care about Correct Pronunciation? 
Pronunciation is important for English learners. It helps to communicate in 
English. If your pronunciation is incorrect, you can be misunderstood by other people 
or it will be difficult for them to understand what you want to say. On Myefe.com you 
can practice your English pronunciation online by listening how to pronounce English 
words correctly. 
 
Take a look at the phonetic symbols for consonants and corresponding key 
words. 
 
There are not so many new symbols to learn. Take a look at the unfamiliar 
symbols: 
➢ /θ/ and /ð/ both refer to “th”. /θ/ is the sound in think and author while /ð/ 
is the sound in that and mother. 
➢ /ʃ/ is usually written with “sh”. It’s the sound in shoes, show and shine. 
➢ /tʃ/ is usually written “ch”. It’s the sound in check, China and church. 
➢ /ʒ/ is usually spelled “s” between vowels. It’s the sound in measure, casual 
and pleasure. 
➢ /dʒ/ is usually written with “j” or “g”. It’s the sound in jail, Joe, George and 
gentleman. 
➢ /ŋ/ is usually written “ng” or “n” before /k/ and /ɡ/. It’s the sound in doing, 
long and thank. 
 
 
https://myefe.com/transcription-pronunciation
Now take a look at the phonetic symbols for vowels and corresponding key words. 
 
PRACTICE 
Now that you’ve learned the phonetics symbols, let’s practice! 
Exercise 1: Practice using the symbols. Write the numbers from zero to ten under 
the appropriate symbol according to the vowel sound. Some of the numbers will go 
under two different symbols. Follow the example. 
zero one two three four five six seven eight nine ten 
 
/iː/ /ɪ/ /eɪ/ /e/ or /ɛ/ /æ/ /ɑ/ /ʌ/ /ə/ 
zero 
 
 
/ɜr/ /ɔ/ /oʊ/ /ʊ/ /uː/ /aɪ/ /aʊ/ /ɔɪ/ 
 zero 
 
 
Exercise 2: Let’s work with colors. Write (copy and paste) the correct symbols 
between the bars. Refer to the vowel chart on the previous page. 
/iː/ /ɪ/ /eɪ/ /e/ - /ɛ/ /æ/ /ɑ/ /ʌ/ /ə/ 
/ɜr/ /ɔ/ /oʊ/ /ʊ/ /uː/ /aɪ/ /aʊ/ /ɔɪ/ 
 
gr / / n → green 
bl / / ck → black 
bl / / → blue 
p / / nk → pink 
s / / lv / / r → silver 
wh / / te → white 
y / / ll / / → yellow 
br / / n → brown 
b / / ge → beige 
r / / d → red 
p / / p / / l → purple 
g / / ld → gold 
gr / / → gray 
 
Exercise 3: /fəˈnet.ɪks fər fəˈnet.ɪks/ 
What animals are these? 
/ˈtaɪ.ɡər/ → 
/kaʊ/ → 
/kæt/ → 
/bɜːrd/ → 
/ˈtɜrki/ → 
/fɪʃ/ → 
/ˈtʃɪkən/ → 
/ˈeləfənt/ → 
/ˈziːbrə/ → 
/ˈkæm.əl/ → 
/ˈmʌŋ.ki/ → 
/tʃɪmpænˈziː/ → 
/ʃiːp/ → 
/ˈræbɪt/ → 
/ˈlaɪ.ən/ → 
/ˈkrɒkə.daɪl/ → 
/ˈælɪ.ɡeɪtər/ → 
/ dʒɪˈræf/ →