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Here are some of our top tips, gathered from our email list over the last few years and
presented all together in this document for you.
Tip 1 pronouncing words containing x
Tip 2: How to say "le", when it is at the end of a word.
Tip 3: The letter combination "wh"
Tip 4: The letter combination "tial"
Tip 5: The letter combination cious
Tip 6: The strange combination "gh"
Tip 7: A useful Tool for visualizing vowels
Tip 8: The th sound
Tip 9: Visualizing the sounds b,d,g
Tip 10: The r sound
Tip 11: The vowel sounds of English
Tip 12: Voicing
Tip 13: Mute consonants
Tip 14: Consonant clusters
Tip 15: Syllable structure
Tip 16: Different accents
Tip 17: Pitch and stress
Tip 1: Pronouncing x
How do you pronounce the following words:
six
affix
anxiety
luxury
while
pole
If you learn this rule, you will know how to pronounce many common words in
English, and also many uncommon ones also. However there are some words that do
not follow this rule. To be sure that you get these words right, you will need to learn
them.
Here they are:
finale
facsimile
simile
said
said
said
fi na le
fac si mi le
si mi le
However there are some exceptions, where it is pronounced like an "h" sound:
Here are the exceptions
who
whoever
whole
who'll
wholly
whom
who's
whose
Here is a useful free link to let you hear how to pronounce the words:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com
Just type in the word, and then listen to how to say it. Both US and UK
pronunciations are provided.
Here is a list of some of the most common examples of the "tial" pattern:
differential
essential
impartial
evidential
inconsequential
initial
martial
nuptial
palatial
partial
potential
presidential
residential
substantial
Many of these words won't be familiar to you, so I encourage you to look them up,
study their meaning, and hear the correct pronunciation.
Just type in the word, and then listen to how to say it. Both US and UK
pronunciations are provided.
Here is a list of some of examples of this pattern. Some of these words are quite
advanced.
audacious
conscious
fallacious
ferocious
officious
suspicious
tenacious
voracious
ghastly
said like:
gost
gas tly
might
drought
miit
drout
said like:
briit
In these cases, the "gh" sound makes the vowel before it long. "Bright" is said "briit",
not "brit"
enough
laugh
rough
tough
e nuff
laaf
ruff
tuff
said like:
cof
If this web page looks a bit advanced, please note that this web page is intended for an
advanced audience, but dont worry I will explain to you how to use it.
Lets start with the consonants, and a sound that everyone finds difficult, the th
sounds.
This is in words like:
thing
mouth
thank
thumb
do
go
pat
take
kid
can
You will notice the last word, can starts with c but is a k sound,
like kid. Words that start with c are often said with a k sound.
In order to make these stop sounds, you need to put your tongue to the top
of your mouth, and build up a puff of air behind it, then release it to make the sound.
Here is how to find these sounds on the University of Iowa web page
http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html
Under the heading Phonetics: The sounds of American English on the left,
click the button saying manner
Underneath that, click stop
Now click on the symbol for /p/. This is the sound in words like pot and
cap.
Like in the last tip, have a look at the diagram, watch the videos and listen to the
words.
Now do a similar thing for the sound /b/, next to /p/. You should notice that b is the
same as p except it is voiced.
Do you remember from the last tip, that the only difference between the th sound in
the and thing was the voicing?
Now have a look at the other sounds in this list, /t/ /d/ /k/ and /g/.
You will probably find that you already know these sounds, as they are in most
languages in the world. They arent as difficult as the th sounds.
Under the heading Phonetics: The sounds of American English on the left,
click the button saying manner
Underneath that, click liquid
Now click on the symbol for /r/. This is the sound in words like right and
red
Once again, look at the diagrams, and listen to the video. However I need to tell you
something here that will make saying r easier. You need to curl your tongue.
This means that the front part of your tongue, the tip needs to be lower than the sides.
The sides of your tongue need to be almost touching the top of your mouth, but the tip
should be lower.
This is hard to explain in words, so here is a helpful video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Y_huMVd-A
This may also be useful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKHYnavxMns
Now choose the vowel two below the /i/ sound, on the bottom left. This
symbol is for words like pat, at and glass
Like before, listen to the animation with the sound, watch the instructions, and
listen to the words at and glass
Now choose back under monopthongs and choose the vowel /a/ on the
bottom left.
Like before, watch the animation, read the instructions and listen to the
example words.
Notice how different these three vowel sounds are. If you have time, you may want to
listen to all of these sounds.
Moving vowels or diphthongs
Now it is time to move onto the more difficult vowel sounds, the diphthongs. These
are hard because your tongue has to move in the right direction at the right speed and
from the right place all at the same time for them to be correct! No wonder English is
so hard.
pin
buzz
This time the difference is at the end. When you say buzz you should feel that your
finger vibrates for longer than when you say bus
Here are some more words to try:
cap
sue
van
do
game
cap
zoo
fan
to
came
home tone
Silent "g"
"g" is silent when an "n" comes afterwards
design foreign sign
Silent "gh"
"gh" is silent if it is before "t" and at the end of many words
bright caught eight fight
Silent "h"
"h" is silent if it is after "w"
what
know knowledge
silent "l"
"l" is often silent when it is before d, f, m, or k
calm
half
salmon talk
balk
would should
Silent "t"
"t" is silent in these words:
castle Christmas
Silent "w"
"w" is silent at the start of a word, when followed by "r"
wrap