ПРАКТИЧЕСКИЙ КУРС
ПЕРВОГО ИЗУЧАЕМОГО ЯЗЫКА
ПРАКТИЧЕСКАЯ ФОНЕТИКА
АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА
ENGLISH PRONINCIATION
Методическое пособие
НОВОСИБИРСК
2009
2 CONTENTS
ББК 81.432.1-923.1
П 692
© Hовосибиpский государственный
технический университет, 2009
CONTENTS 3
CONTENTS
UNIT 21. The sound [ aɪ ]. Dialogue: Mike, Myra and Violet ............................ 99
UNIT 22. The sound [ ɒɪ ]. Dialogue: Joice‟s Rolls Royce. .............................. 102
UNIT 23. The sound [ əʊ ]. Dialogue: Snow in October ................................... 106
UNIT 24. The sound [ aʊ ]. Dialogue: A Mouse in the House .......................... 108
UNIT 25. The sound [ ɪə ]. Dialogue: A Bearded Mountaineer ........................ 111
PART I
THE BASICS OF ENGLISH PHONETICS
UNIT 1
The Organs of Speech and their Work
In any language people speak using their organs of speech.
Hard Palate
Soft Palate
Uvula
Pharynx
Epiglottis
Oesophagus
Larynx
Vocal Cords Trachea
The air stream released by the lungs goes through the windpipe and comes to
the larynx, which contains the vocal cords. The vocal cords are two elastic folds
which may be kept apart or brought together. The opening between them is called
the glottis. This is the usual state of the vocal cords, when we breathe out. If the
tense vocal cords are brought together, the air stream forcing an opening makes
them vibrate and we hear some voice. Let us pronounce the Russian sound [з]. Put
your finger on the larynx and produce the long [з] sound. You will feel the vibra-
tion of the vocal cords and hear voice. Such sounds are called voiced. Now pro-
duce a long Russian sound [с]. No vibration is felt, no voice is heard. This is a
voiceless sound, which is made with the vocal cords kept apart.
There is one more state of the vocal cords which results in the glottal stop.
When the vocal cords are brought close together and then opened suddenly by the
6 PART I. THE BASICS OF ENGLISH PHONETICS
air stream there comes a sort of coughing noise, a kind of the „click‟ of the vocal
cords. This sound is called the glottal stop.
On coming out of the larynx the air passes through the pharynx.
The pharyngal cavity extends from the top of the larynx to the soft palate,
which directs the air stream either to the mouth cavity or nasal cavity, which
function as the principal resonators.
The soft palate can be easily seen in a hand mirror. Now open your mouth
wide and say the vowel [ɑ:]. Looking into the mirror you will see the soft palate,
the very end of which is known as the uvula. The soft palate can easily move.
When the soft palate is in its lowered position the air goes up into the nasal cavity
and then out through the nose. This is the usual position of the soft palate when
we breathe through the nose. This is also the position for the nasal sounds [m, n,
ŋ]. If you nip your nose you cannot pronounce these sounds. But as soon as you
release the nose the air will continue its way and you will hear the sounds again.
When the soft palate is raised the uvula forms a full contact with the back wall of
the pharynx and the air stream goes through the mouth cavity. This is the most
typical position of the soft palate for most of the sounds of many languages.
The soft palate is the furthest part of the palate from the teeth. Most of the
palate is hard. This hard and fixed part of the palate is divided into two sections:
the hard palate (the highest part of the palate) and the teeth ridge or alveolar
ridge (the part immediately behind the upper front teeth). You can touch the teeth
ridge with the tongue tip. The teeth ridge is very important in English as many
consonants are formed with the tongue touching it or close to it. If you still move
the tip of the tongue forward you will feel the teeth.
The lower teeth are not very important for making speech sounds, while the
upper teeth take part in the production of many of them.
The most important organ of speech is the tongue. Phoneticians divide the
tongue into four sections, the part which lies opposite the soft palate is called the
back part of the tongue; the part facing the hard palate is called the front part of
the tongue; the one lying under the teeth ridge is known as the blade of the ton-
gue and its extremity is the tip of the tongue. By the central part of the tongue
we mean the area where the front and back meet. The edges of the tongue are
known as the rims. The tongue may lie flat or move in the horizontal or vertical
directions. It can also change its shape so that the sides are curved up forming a
groove.
The lips can take up various positions as well. They can be brought firmly to-
gether or kept apart neutral, rounded or protruded forward.
All the organs of speech can be divided into two groups: (1) active organs of
speech, movable and taking an active part in the sound formation: (a) the vocal
cords which produce voice; (b) the tongue which is the most flexible, movable
organ; (c) the lips affecting very considerably the shape of the mouth cavity; (d)
UNIT 2. Some Facts about English Speech Sounds 7
the soft palate with the uvula, directing the stream of air either to the mouth or to
the nasal cavity; (e) the back wall of the pharynx contracted for some sounds;
(f) the lower jaw which movement controls the gap between the teeth and also
the disposition of the lips; (g) the lungs providing air for sounds;
(2) passive organs of speech: (a) the teeth, (b) the teeth ridge, (c) the hard pa-
late and (d) the walls of the resonators.
Now be ready to speak on these items:
1. The direction of the air stream released from the lungs.
2. Three different states of the vocal cords.
3. The position of the soft palate which influences the direction of the air
stream.
4. The parts of the palate.
5. The parts of the tongue.
6. The position of the movable organs of the mouth, i.e. the shape of the lips
and tongue.
7. The active and passive organs of speech and their role in the sound forma-
tion.
[1, p. 10].
UNIT 2
Some Facts about English Speech Sounds
The organs of speech are capable of uttering many different kinds of sounds.
There are 26 letters (6 vowel letters and 20 consonant letters) in the English al-
phabet which give 44 speech sounds. All the English speech sounds are divided
into two big groups: vowel sounds (vowels) and consonant sounds (conso-
nants). 6 vowel letters give 20 vowel sounds, 20 consonant letters give 24 conso-
nant sounds.
Vowels are voiced sounds produced without any obstruction in the supra-
glottal cavities and consequently have no noise component. Vowel sounds are of-
ten given in dictionaries and textbooks under the following numbers:
No.1 – [ i: ] No.6 – [ ɒ ] No.11 – [ ɜ: ] No.16 – [ ɒɪ ]
In the chart below you can see the phonemic symbols used in English. It is
important to learn the phonemic alphabet because the relationship between spel-
ling and pronunciation is so irregular in English. So, with the phonemic alphabet,
you can work out pronunciation for yourself, using a dictionary. It is also essential
for using this book.
The phonemic symbols used in this book are the same as those in the Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (AS Hornby, Oxford University Press). More or
less the same symbols are used in most other modern dictionaries and textbooks.
PRONUNCIATION: PHONEMIC CHART
CONSONANTS VOWELS DIPHTHONGS
symbol key symbol key symbol key symbol key word
word word word
/p/ pen / s / son / i: / see / еɪ / make
/b/ back / z / cheese /ɪ/ him / əʊ / no
/t/ tea / ʃ / fish /е/ bed / aɪ / write
/d/ day / ʒ / television /æ/ bad / ɒɪ / boy
/k/ key / h / hot / ɑ: / car / ɪə / here
/g/ get / m / come /ɒ/ hot / ʊə / poor
/ʧ/ chair / n / sun / ɔ: / saw / еə / there
/ʤ/ jam / ŋ / English /ʊ/ put / aʊ / now
/f/ fat /l / lamp / u: / you
/v/ very / r / red /⋀/ cut
/θ/ thing / j / yogurt / ɜ: / bird
/ð/ then / w / wet /ə/ China
[3, p. xi].
UNIT 3
Consonants. Principles of Classification
Consonants are made with air stream that meets an obstruction in the mouth
or nasal cavities. That is why in the production of consonant sounds there is a cer-
tain degree of noise.
Consonants are the bones of a word and give it its basic shape. English accents
differ mainly in vowels; the consonants are more or less the same wherever Eng-
lish is spoken. So if your vowels are not perfect you may still be understood by
the listener, but if the consonants are imperfect there may be some misunderstand-
UNIT 3. Consonants. Principles of Classification 9
ing. The sentence is easy for understanding even if all the vowel letters would be
left out. But if we leave all the consonant letters out it is impossible to make any
sense out of it. Thus we see that there are good reasons for beginning the course
of pronunciation with consonants.
On the articulatory level the consonants change:
I. in the degree of noise;
II. in the manner of articulation;
III. in the place of articulation.
I. According to the degree of noise consonants are divided into two big
classes:
Class A. Noise consonants.
Class B. Sonorants.
A. In the production of noise consonants there is a noise component characte-
ristic. Noise consonant sounds vary:
(1) in the work of the vocal cords;
(2) in the degree of force of articulation.
A. 1. According to the work of the vocal cords they may be voiceless and
voiced.
When the vocal cords are brought together and vibrate we hear voice.
Voiced consonants are: [b, d, g, v, ð, z, ʒ, ʤ].
If the vocal cords are apart and do not vibrate we hear only noise and the con-
sonants are voiceless. Voiceless consonants are: [p, t, k, f, θ, s, ʃ, ʧ, h].
Voiced consonants are not fully voiced in all word positions, in word final po-
sition, for example, they are not devoiced but they are partly devoiced.
Voiced consonants are not aspirated either at the beginning or at the end of the
word. Voiceless consonants are pronounced with aspiration except in the position
after [ s ] (for example: speak, stay, skate).
Voiceless consonants are never made voiced after or before voiced consonants
(for example: this ball – [ ðɪs bɔ:l ], Ted‟s tie – [ tеdz taɪ ]).
Both voiced and voiceless consonants are never palatalized in English. In Rus-
sian palatalization performs a sense distinguishing function, but in English it
should be avoided.
A. 2. The degree of noise may vary because of the force of articulation.
Strong noise consonants are produced with more muscular energy and stronger
breath effort. Weak noise consonants are produced with a relatively weak breath
effort. English phoneticians call the weak consonants lenis and the strong noise
consonants fortis.
B. Sonorants (or sonorous consonants) are made with tone prevailing over
noise because of a rather wide air passage. They are: [ m, n, ŋ, w, l, r, j ]. They
cannot form a syllable when they follow a vowel sound. But they very often form
10 PART I. THE BASICS OF ENGLISH PHONETICS
a syllable when they follow a consonant sound. In this case they are called sylla-
ble-forming sonorants. Compare the words: [ s⋀n ] – 1 syllable, [ lеsn ] – 2 syl-
lables, [ tɔ:l ] – 1 syllable, [ tеɪbl ] – 2 syllables.
II. The manner of articulation of consonants is determined by the type of
obstruction. The obstructions may be complete and incomplete. When the obstruc-
tion is complete the organs of speech are in contact and the air stream meets a clo-
sure in the mouth or nasal cavities as in the production of
[ p, b, t, d, k, g, ʧ, ʤ, m, n, ŋ ].
In case of an incomplete obstruction the active organ of speech moves towards
the point of articulation and the air stream goes through the narrowing between
them as in the production of [ f, v, s, z, θ, ð, ʃ, ʒ, h, w, l, r, j ].
According to the manner of articulation consonants may be of three groups:
1. occlusive;
2. constrictive;
3. occlusive-constrictive (affricates).
II. 1. Occlusive consonants are sounds in the production of which the air
stream meets a complete obstruction in the mouth. Occlusive noise consonants are
called stops because the breath is completely stopped at some point of articulation
and then it is released with a slight explosion, that is why, they are also called plo-
sives. Occlusive noise consonants comprise three pairs: [ p, b; t, d; k, g ].
The particular quality of a sonorant depends on the position of the soft palate.
Occlusive sonorants are also made with a complete obstruction but the soft palate
is lowered and the air stream escapes through the nose, so they are nasals. The
occlusive nasal sonorants: [ m, n, ŋ ].
II. 2. Constrictive consonants are those in the production of which the air
stream meets an incomplete obstruction in the resonator, so the air passage is con-
stricted. Both noise consonants and sonorants may be constrictive.
Constrictive noise consonants are called fricatives, i. e. the consonant sounds in
the articulation of which the air passage is constricted and the air escapes through
the narrowing with friction. The English fricatives: [ f, v, s, z, θ, ð, ʃ, ʒ, h ].
Constrictive sonorants are also made with an incomplete obstruction but with a
rather wide air passage; so tone prevails over noise. The English constrictive so-
norants: [ w, l, r, j ]. They are all oral, because in their production the soft palate is
raised.
II. 3. Occlusive-constrictive consonants or affricates are noise consonant
sounds produced with a complete obstruction which is slowly released and the air
escapes from the mouth with some friction. There are only two occlusive-
constrictives in English: [ ʧ, ʤ ]. Affricates are oral according to the position of
the soft palate.
UNIT 3. Consonants. Principles of Classification 11
Alveolar consonants or alveolars are articulated with the tip against the upper
teeth ridge: [ t, d, s, z, n, l ].
Post-alveolar consonants or post-alveolars are made when the tip or the blade
of the tongue is against the back part of the teeth ridge or just behind it: [ r ].
Palato-alveolar consonants or palato-alveolars are made with the tip or the
blade of the tongue against the teeth ridge and the front part of the tongue raised
towards the hard palate, thus having two places of articulation or foci (front sec-
ondary focus); both narrowings are flat: [ ʧ, ʤ, ʃ, ʒ ].
III. 2. 2. Mediolingual consonants are produced with the front part of the ton-
gue. They are always palatal. Palatal consonants or palatals are made with the
front part of the tongue raised high to the hard palate: [ j ].
III. 2. 3. Backtingual consonants are also called velar, because they are pro-
duced with the back part of the tongue raised towards the soft palate (Lat. velum).
They are: [ k, g, ŋ ].
III. 3. The glottal consonant [h] is articulated in the glottis. There are no glot-
tal consonants in Russian.
[1, p. 24].
UNIT 4
Vowels. Principles of Classification
Vowels are normally made with the air stream that meets no closure or nar-
rowing in the mouth, pharyngal and nasal cavities. That is why in the production
of vowel sounds there is no noise component characteristic of consonantal sounds.
On the articulatory level the description of vowels notes changes:
1. in the stability of articulation,
2. in the tongue position,
3. in the lip position.
Besides that vowels differ in respect of their length.
1. Stability of Articulation. All English vowels are divided into three groups:
pure vowels or monophthongs, diphthongs and diphthongoids.
Monophthongs are vowels the articulation of which is almost unchanging.
The quality of such vowels is relatively pure. Most Russian vowels are monoph-
thongs. The English monophthongs are: [ ɪ, е, æ, ɑ:, ɒ, ɔ:, ʊ, ⋀, ɜ:, ə ].
In the pronunciation of diphthongs the organs of speech glide from one vowel
position to another within one syllable. The starting point, the nucleus, is strong
and distinct. The glide which shows the direction of the quality change is very
weak. In fact diphthongs consist of two clearly perceptible vowel elements. There
are no diphthongs in Russian. The English diphthongs are:
[ еɪ, aɪ, ɒɪ, aʊ, əʊ, ɪə, еə, ʊə ].
UNIT 4. Vowels. Principles of Classification 13
of the tongue is not so high in the mouth as it is in the case of the vowel [ i: ].
Similar examples may be found in the groups of mid-open and open vowels. To
make the classification more precise it is necessary to distinguish broad and nar-
row variants of close, mid-open and open vowels.
3. Lip Position. The shape of the mouth cavity is also largely dependent on
the position of the lips. When the lips are neutral or spread the vowels are
termed unrounded. Such is the position of the lips for the English vowels
[ i:, ɪ, е, æ, ɑ:, ⋀, ɜ: ].
When the lips are drawn together so that the opening between them is more or
less round the vowel is called rounded. This is the position for the English vo-
wels [ ɒ, ɔ:, ʊ, u: ]. When the Russian rounded vowels are pronounced the lips
are somewhat protruded.
Vowel Length. Vowels are capable of being continued during a longer or a
shorter period. All English vowels (with the exception of diphthongs) are general-
ly divided into long and short.
Long vowels are: [ i:, ɑ:, ɔ:, u:, ɜ: ].
Short vowels are: [ ɪ, е, ɒ, ʊ, ⋀, ə ].
The vowel [ æ ] is not included in the category of short vowels because of
specific length associated with it.
This peculiarity is very important because the length of vowel performs a
sense distinguishing function in English, but in Russian it does not perform this
function. For example, no matter how long we pronounce the Russian word сито,
the word will not be changed. But in English the words [ sɪt ] and [ si:t ] are quite
different ones.
But for the purpose of practical speech training it is not enough to distinguish
two degrees of length.
In the similarly accented position all English vowels are fully long when they
are final, e.g. see, bar, sore, fur.
They are almost as long as that when a weak voiced consonant follows them in
the closed syllable, e.g. seed, arm, form, bird, big, bed, song.
They are considerably shorter before strong voiceless consonants in closed
syllables, e.g. seat, lark, look, first, bit, set.
Diphthongs vary in length in the same way as long vowels, cf play – played –
plate, toy – toys – voice, fear – fears – fierce.
Variations of length affect mainly the nucleus, not the glide. Such variations
might be represented in the following way:
play [ plе:ɪ ] – plays [ plе·ɪz ] – plate [ plеɪt ]
All English vowels are longer when they are strongly stressed,
UNIT 5. Phonetic Phenomena 15
cf inˡform – ˡuniform.
It should be noted that in similar phonetic contexts traditionally long vowels are
always longer than traditionally short vowels, cf see – sin, calm – come, cord – cod.
All Russian vowels are equally long in similar phonetic contexts.
[1, p. 81].
UNIT 5
Phonetic Phenomena
There are some phonetic phenomena which are very important to make you
sound English:
I. Loss of Plosion ( __ )
The plosive consonants [ p, b, t, d, k, g ] before the plosive consonants
[ p, b, t, d, k, g ] lose their plosion. Both the plosives are underlined by one
line. e.g. big boy [ˡbɪg ˡbɒɪ], doctor [ˡdɒktə ].
II. Nasal Plosion ( __ )
The plosive consonants [ p, b, t, d, k, g ] followed by the sonants [ m, n ]
make nasal plosion which usually takes place either in the middle of the word or
between two words. e.g. department [ dɪˡpɑ:tmənt ], bad news [ ˡbæd nju:z ].
III. Lateral Plosion ( __ )
The plosive consonants [ p, b, t, d, k, g ] followed by the sonant [ l ] make
lateral plosion which usually takes place either in the middle of the word or be-
tween two words. e.g. little [ ˡlɪtl ], bad light [ ˡbæd laɪt ].
IV. Syllable-Forming Sonant ( . )
The sonants [ m, n, l ] preceded by the plosive consonants [p, b, t, d, k, g ] at
the end of a word form a syllable. In this case they are called syllable-forming so-
nants. e.g. darken [ ˡdɑ:kn ], written [ ˡrɪtn ], bottle [ ˡbɒtl ].
V. Fluency ( ‿ )
In English one word is not separated from another by pausing or hesitating.
The end of one word flows straight on to the beginning of the next. This pheno-
menon is called fluency. Fluency takes place either when a consonant precedes a
vowel or between two vowels. The two sounds which follow each other are to be
linked together and pronounced fluently.
e.g. I am an actor. [ ˡaɪ‿ əm‿ ən‿ ˡæktə ].
VI. Assimilation
It is important for you to know this phonetic phenomenon to pronounce a
phrase in English accurately. There are three types of assimilation in English ac-
16 PART I. THE BASICS OF ENGLISH PHONETICS
X. Reduction
In English according to their length vowels can be long (mark [ mɑ:k ], moon
[ mu:n ]) and short (lip [ lɪp ],tell [ tеl ]) in the stressed position. But every
vowel can be changed in the unstressed position: long vowels shorten their length
and short vowels can be changed into sound No.12 [ ə ]. This shortening of the
length of the long vowel is called reduction.
e.g. she – [ ʃi: ] → [ ʃi·] → [ ʃɪ ], he – [ hi: ] → [ hi· ] → [ hɪ ], but – [ b⋀t ] → [ bət ],
can – [ kæn ]→ [ kən ].
This phonetic phenomenon usually refers to the auxiliary words, such as pro-
nouns, articles, auxiliary verbs, modal verbs in the unstressed position.
UNIT 6
Some Facts about Basic English Tones
Every language has melody in it. No language is spoken on the same musical
tone all the time. The voice goes up and down and different tones of the voice
combine to make tunes. In English the tune belongs to the word group. We can
say a word group angrily or kindly, with or without interest, and these differences
are largely made by the tunes we use: the words do not change their meaning but
the tune we use adds something to the words. It adds the speaker's feelings at that
moment. This way of using tunes is called intonation.
Intonation is a complex unity of speech melody, stress, voice quality, speech
tempo and rhythm. These features vary in their importance. Speech melody re-
mains the most central component of intonation but all other components are also
included into the definition of intonation.
English intonation is English, it is not the same as the intonation of any other
language. Some people imagine that intonation is the same for all languages, but it
is not true. You must learn the English tones, they may be quite different from the
normal tones of your native language. Also you must learn the meanings of the
English tones because they are important.
Graphical representation of intonation and basic terms
Intonation may be shown in the line of text and on the scales (starves):
1. To mark the intonation in the line of text we use Roger Kingdom's stress-
mark system which consists of vertical stress marks to indicate stressed syllables
and slant marks ( ╱ ╲ ) to show the final tones.
2. To indicate intonation on the scales we use Lily Armstrong's system of dots
(for unstressed syllables), dashes (for stressed syllables) and curves (for final
tones) to indicate intonation on the scales. A downward curve ( ) represents the
final fall and an upward curve ( ) represents the final rise.
18 PART I. THE BASICS OF ENGLISH PHONETICS
Every sentence can contain one, two or more intonation groups. An intonation
group is a group of words which are logically united to express some thought or to
convey some piece of information. Each tone group has its own pitch-and-stress
pattern. Generally three pitch levels are distinguished: low, medium and high.
__________________ / high level
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ / medium level
__________________ / low level
We distinguish certain elements in the pitch-and-stress pattern of every intona-
tion group. For example:
And my ˡmum will ˡbuy me a ˡbig ˡblack 、butterfly.
These elements make up the descending falling scale which is shown in the
tonogram above. Now let's speak about each element in detail.
A pre-head is initial unstressed syllables. A low pre-head consists of un-
stressed syllables pronounced at a low pitch. It is used often and considered neu-
tral.
A head is the first stressed syllable in the utterance. A high head introduces
the descending scale.
A scale is a series of stressed and unstressed syllables beginning with the first
stressed syllable up to the last stressed syllable. This year we will learn only the
descending scale. Utterances pronounced with the descending scale express inter-
est, they sound friendly. The descending scale is the commonest scale used with
all the English tones. Look at the example:
ˡHow do you proˡnounce this 、word?
The nucleus is the last stressed syllable in the pattern pronounced with a tone. At
present we operate with six tones in the system of O'Connor and Arnold. Study
the following diagram:
UNIT 6. Some Facts about Basic English Tones 19
Rising tones sound non-final and incomplete. Something is left unsaid. These
tones mean continuation:
Low Rise is used in general questions and in the first part of alternative
questions, in unemotional, non-categoric commands or requests, in special ques-
tions expressing proposal or request in echo-questions. For example: ˡIs he ͵in?
Rise-Fall
The tail comprises the unstressed and half-stressed syllables that follow the
nucleus.
GLOSSARY 21
GLOSSARY
alveolar consonant – альвеолярный согласный
apical – апикальный
ascending scale – восходящая шкала
active organs of speech – активные органы речи
assimilation – ассимиляция
blade of the tongue – передняя часть языка
backlingual – заднеязычный
back vowel – гласный заднего ряда
back-advanced vowel – гласный заднего продвинутого вперед ряда
back part of the tongue – задняя часть языка
bicentral consonant – двухфокусный согласный
bilabial – губно-губной
broad variation – широкая разновидность
cacuminal – какуминальный
middle (central) part of the tongue – средняя часть языка
close (high) vowel – гласный высокого подъема
consonant sounds (consonants) – согласные звуки (согласные)
constrictive consonant – щелевой согласный
(the) degree of noise – степень шума
dental consonant – зубной согласный
descending scale – нисходящая шкала
descending falling scale – нисходящая шкала с нисходящим завершением
descending rising scale – нисходящая шкала с восходящим завершением
diphthong – дифтонг
diphthongoid – дифтонгоид
dorsal consonant – дорсальный согласный
downward curve – нисходящая дуга
falling tone (fall) – падающий тон (нисходящий тон)
fall-rise – нисходяще-восходящий тон
fluency – слияние
forelingual – переднеязычный
fortis consonant – фортисный (сильный) согласный
fricative consonant – фрикативный (шумный) согласный
fricative plosion – щелевой взрыв
front-retracted vowel – гласный переднего отодвинутого назад ряда
22 GLOSSARY
PART II
PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
UNIT 1
1.1.
The sound [ ɪ ]
No.2, front –retracted, close (broad variation), unrounded, short monophthong.
You should open you mouth a little more, and move your tongue down a bit,
to make the sound [ɪ]. Your tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity, but a
little retracted. The tongue is lax, the side rims of the tongue make a light contact
with the upper teeth. [ɪ] is a short sound.
First practise saying the sounds [i:] and [ɪ], then practise saying them in con-
trast. Listen and repeat:
[i:] sheep bean eat seat leek cheeks
[ɪ] ship bin it sit lick chicks
[2, pp. 2, 3].
Listen to the sentences and write down the word that you hear:
a. mill meal d. pitch peach
b. hills heels e. slip sleep
c. fill feel f. will wheel
All of the words and phrases below contain either the sound [ɪ] or the sound
[i:] or both. Mark them [ɪ] or [i:]. Listen and check yourself. Then transcribe the
words, mark the phonetic phenomena. Example: clean [i:] – [ˡkli:n ].
a. clean d. cottage g. kitchen j. peace
b. detached e. description h. living room k. reception room
c. convenient f. dream i. minutes l. residential street
[3, p. 28].
1.2. Intonation
1.2.1. Intonation of Direct Address. You‟ll come across several examples on
the Intonation of Direct Address in the dialogues. Learn the rule:
Direct Address at the Beginning of the Sentence.
In formal, serious speech direct address at the beginning of the sentence is
stressed and forms an intonation group pronounced with the Low Fall. In a friend-
ly conversation or to attract the listener‟s attention direct address at the beginning
of the sentence is stressed, forms an intonation group and pronounced with the
Fall-Rise, e.g.: 、Children, | 、listen to me.
、Ma ͵ ry, | ˡcome 、here.
Direct Address in the Middle or at the End of the Sentence.
In the middle or at the end of the sentence direct address is ordinarily pro-
nounced as the unstressed or half-stressed tail of the preceding intonation group.
But sometimes in the informal speech after the low-falling nucleus it can also be
pronounced with the low-rising tone or falling-rising tone, e.g.:
I 、say, Mike, I‟ve ˡjust had a ˡwire from 、Mary.
Good 、morning, Mrs. ˌWood.
'Shut the 'door be 、hind you, ͵Peter.
26 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
1.2.2. Enumeration.
If the sentence contains enumeration, then every non-final component of it is
pronounced as a separate intonation group and with the rising tone; and the final
intonation group is pronounced with the falling tone, e. g.:
I 'bought some ͵socks, | ͵shirts | and | 、ties.
If the enumeration is not completed the final intonation group is pronounced
with the Low Rise, e. g.:
You can have po͵tatoes, | ͵carrots, | ͵cabbages.
If the speaker wishes the enumeration to be regarded as separate items of in-
terest the Low Fall is used in each intonation group. Such sentences are pro-
nounced in a slow way and the pauses are longer, e. g.:
She has a lot of 、dresses, | 、shoes | and 、hats.
1.2.3. Alternative questions. Questions with “or”.
An alternative question indicates choice between two homogeneous parts and
is usually represented by two intonation groups. The most usual way of pronounc-
ing alternative questions is to use the Low Rise in the first intonation group and
the Low Fall in the second one. The final Low Fall in this type of question shows
that the choice should be made of the two items, e. g.:
Have you got a ͵son | or a 、daughter?
If the choice is of three or more alternatives, the intonation groups preceding
the final one are pronounced with the Low Rise as they may be treated as items of
enumeration. The final intonation group is pronounced with the Low Fall, e. g.:
Would you like ͵milk, | ͵tea | or 、coffee?
Note: Alternative questions should not be mixed up with general questions
which are pronounced with the rising tone at the end, e.g.:
Have you got a ͵son | or a 、daughter?
Have you got a ˡson or a ͵daughter? (Have you got any children?)
1.2.4.General questions. Yes / No questions.
A general question is usually pronounced with the low rising tone at the end.
They sound interested with this pattern, e. g.:
Do you like ͵sport?
When said with the Low Fall general questions are put forward as a serious
suggestion or a subject for urgent discussion, e.g.:
ˡShall we post、pone it?
ˡHaven‟t you ˡnoticed the mis、takes?
[1].
UNIT 1 27
Practise saying the intonation patterns described above. Listen and repeat.
The parts of words which are in blacker type are louder, or stressed:
Model 1:
He ˡbought a 、pen.
He ˡbought a ͵pen and a 、pencil.
He ˡbought a ͵pen and a ͵pencil and a 、pin.
He ˡbought a ͵cup and some 、nuts.
He ˡbought a ͵cup, some ͵nuts and some 、honey.
He ˡbought a ͵cup, some ͵nuts, some ͵honey, and a 、brush.
Model 2:
Would you like ͵coffee or 、tea?
Would you like ͵veal or 、beef?
Would you like ͵coffee or ͵milk or 、tea?
Model 3:
Mind the weak form of do you…..? [ʤʊ] or [ʤə] and would you…..? [wʊʤʊ]
or [wʊʤə]. Start practising at the end of the question, e. g.:
͵sport? ͵dance?
like ͵sport? to ͵dance?
you like ͵sport? like to ͵dance?
Do you like ͵sport? you like to ͵dance?
Would you like to ͵dance?
1.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogues, transcribe them, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in
them. Then listen to the dialogues, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture them on
the tonogram. Then listen to the dialogues a lot of times and learn them by heart.
Practice saying some words from dialogue 1 illustrating the sound [i:]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
Edith evening Jean cheese
tea three Peter meat
Dialogue 1 In a restaurant
Peter: What would you like to eat, Edith?
Edith: A meat sandwich.
28 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
[9, p. 48].
UNIT 2
2.1.
The sounds [ p, b ] – occlusive, plosive, bilabial; [p] is a fortis and voice-
less consonant, [b] is a lenis and voiced consonant.
Close your lips hard. Push air forward in your mouth. The soft palate is raised
and the air coming into the mouth stops for some time and then breaks the ob-
struction with a slight explosion. The vocal cords do not vibrate for [p]; the sound
[p] is pronounced fortis because the breath effort is very strong; it is pronounced
30 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
with aspiration. The vocal cords are tense and vibrate for [b]; the sound [b] is
pronounced lenis because the breath effort is weak.
[1, p. 35].
First practise saying the sounds [p] and [b], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[p] pin pen pear cap pup Poppy
[b] bin Ben bear cab pub Bobby
The sound [p] is quieter in these words. Listen and repeat:
a cup a pipe an envelope a stamp Help!
The sound [p] is very quiet in these words. Transcribe the words and mark
all the phonetic phenomena. Listen and repeat:
empty upstairs dropped help me
helpful perhaps Mr. Tupman stop shouting
stop talking stop pulling
[2, pp. 30, 31].
1. ■■ Shoe shop
2. ∎■■
3. ∎■■■
4. ■∎■
5. ∎■■■■
[9, p. 48].
32 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
Practice saying some words from the dialogue illustrating the sound [b].
Listen and repeat:
Barbara Ruby black brown
birthday about blue brother
beautiful remember blouse hairbrush
butterfly somebody terrible Bob
Dialogue Happy birthday
Bob: Hello, Barbara.
Barbara: Hello, Bob. It's my birthday today.
Bob: Oh, yes! Your birthday! Happy birthday, Barbara!
Barbara: Thanks, Bob. Somebody gave me this blouse for my birthday.
Bob: What a beautiful blouse! It's got brown and blue butterflies on it.
Barbara: And big black buttons.
Bob: Did Ruby buy it for you?
UNIT 3 33
a. b. c. d. e.
f. g. h. i. j.
[3, p. 2].
34 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
UNIT 3
3.1.
The sound [ t, d ] – occlusive, plosive, forelingual, apical, alveolar; [t] is a fortis
and voiceless consonant, [d] is a lenis and voiced consonant.
The complete obstruction is made by the tip of the tongue which is firmly pressed
against the middle of the alveolar ridge. The soft palate is raised and the air com-
ing into the mouth stops for some time and then breaks the obstruction with a
slight explosion. The vocal cords do not vibrate for [t]; the sound [t] is pronounced
fortis because the breath effort is very strong; it is pronounced with aspiration.
The vocal cords are drawn together and vibrate for [d]; the sound [d] is pro-
nounced lenis because the breath effort is weak.
voice
[1, p. 38].
First practise saying the sounds [t] and [d], then practise saying them in con-
trast. Listen and repeat:
[t] tore tarts cart write train trunk
[d] door darts card ride drain drunk
The sound [t] is quieter in these words. Identify all the phonetic phenomena.
Listen and repeat:
travel department store little hats
try want some gentleman coats
lavatory fat man exactly skirts
twenty hot meal first floor shirts
twelve bootlace light bulbs restaurant
twins bottle fruit juice crickets bats
Transcribe the words and mark all the phonetic phenomena in them. Then
listen and repeat:
do told did Sidney
date tried David didn‟t
daisy rained Donald cards
UNIT 3 35
Read the sentences and write [t], [d] or [ɪd] to show the pronunciation of –
ed. Then listen and check yourself. Practise saying the sentences. Pay attention to
your pronunciation of the past tense verbs.
a. _____ Last year we decided not to go abroad.
_____ We rented a lovely cottage in Wales.
_____ It rained every day.
b. _____ We hitchhiked across Europe.
_____ We stayed with friends in Paris.
_____ We camped outside Rome.
c. _____ I worked all last summer.
_____ I wanted a new car.
_____ I saved up a lot of money
d. _____ Last summer I visited my cousin in New York.
_____ I really enjoyed it.
_____ I travelled all over America too.
36 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
Underline the verbs from the box which end with the sound [ɪd]. Listen to
the pronunciation of – ed at the end of the verbs again and check yourself.
wanted talked played started finished stopped loved hated
arrived painted needed decided liked stayed helped cleaned
washed waited
[3, p. 12].
3.3. Tongue-twister
Read the tongue-twister, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in
it. Then listen to the tongue-twister, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on
the tonogram. Then listen to the tongue-twister a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Tutor
A tutor who tooted a flute
Tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor,
“Is it harder to toot,
Or to tutor two tooters to toot?”
1. ■ ■ 2. ■ ■ ■ 3. ■ ■ ■ 4. ■ ■ ■ ■
[3, p. 16].
UNIT 4
4.1.
voice
[1, p. 39].
First practise saying the sounds [k] and [ɡ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[k] cold coat curl class back clock
[ɡ] gold goat girl glass bag clog
Listen and repeat:
Car of course school cuckoo because scooter sky
pocket carpet ticket scarf American cup of coffee
The sound [k] is usually quieter here. Listen and repeat:
like look milk plastic talk work ask
The sound [k] is usually very quiet here. Transcribe the words and mark all
the phonetic phenomena in them. Listen and repeat:
black dog cake fork picture book shelf worked talked
take two electric exactly asked looked
4.2. Stress
The words and the parts of words which are in blacker type are louder, or
stressed. Listen and repeat:
1. a clean shelf a clean bookshelf
2. a clean glass a clean whisky glass
3. a black cup a black coffee cup
4. a plastic ring a plastic key ring
5. a dirty bottle a dirty coke bottle
6. an electric clock an electric cuckoo clock
7. an expensive cake an expensive chocolate cake
UNIT 4 39
4.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue illustrating the sound [ɡ].
Listen and repeat:
give together garden go dog Greek glad
beginning again gun August Craig Margaret England
get guests good guitar Greg telegram
40 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
UNIT 5
5. 1.
The sound [ е ] – No. 3, front, mid-open (narrow variation), unrounded,
short monophthong.
The tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity. The front of the tongue is
raised to the hard palate but not so high as for [ɪ]. The side rims of the tongue
make a light contact with the upper teeth. The tongue may be more tense than in
the case of [ɪ]. The lips are loosely spread. The mouth is slightly open but a bit
more than for [ɪ].
First practise saying the sounds [ɪ] and [е], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ɪ] pin bin tin pig Bill chicks
[е] pen Ben ten peg bell cheques
The sound [ æ ] – No. 4, front, open (broad variation), unrounded, short mo-
nophthong.
The mouth is more open that for [е]. The tongue is in the front part of the
mouth cavity. The front of the tongue is rather low in the moth. The side rims of
the tongue make a very slight contact with the back upper teeth. The tongue is
tenser than in the case of [е].
First practise saying the sounds [е] and [æ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[е] x pen men said beg bread
[æ] axe pan man sad bag Brad
42 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
5.2. Intonation
5.2.1. Special questions
Special questions or “Wh” questions (Who? What? Why? When? Where?
How) are most commonly pronounced with the low falling tone on the last
stressed syllable. In this case they sound serious, searching and business-like, e.g.:
ˡWhy did you deˡcide to ˡdo 、that?
ˡWhat‟s the 、matter?
If one wants to show much interest in the other person or in the subject and
sound friendly and sympathetic he pronounces special questions with the low ris-
ing tone, e.g.:
ˡWhere do you ˡlive ͵now?
ˡWhat‟s your ͵name?
For repeated or echoing questions in unemphatic usage the low rising tone on
the question word is also common, e.g.:
Verbal Context Response
I went with Jack. ͵Who did you ˌgo with?
It took me two hours. ͵How long?
[1].
5.2.2. Word Stress
In English some words are stressed at the end: perhaps below about
Some words are stressed in the middle: beginning ˌconversation
But most words are stressed at the beginning:
ˡcamera ˡjacket ˡpractise ˡwaiting ˡcricket bat
ˡfamily ˡhandbag ˡpassenger ˡairport ˡaeroplane
ˡapple ˡsandwich ˡpictures ˡwoman ˡhijacker
Listen and repeat.
Model 1
Statements usually have a falling tone at the end.
“Wh” questions usually have a falling tone at the end.
Yes/No questions usually have a rising tone at the end.
Example:
“Wh” question: How did you spend your 、holiday?
Statement: I went to A、merica.
Yes/No question: Was it ex͵pensive?
Statement: 、Yes. 、Very.
UNIT 5 43
Model 2
Practice this dialogue. Use the place names below.
、Kent 、Venice 、Belgium 、Denmark 、Edinburgh
A: How did you spend your holiday?
B: I went to …… .
C: Was it expensive?
D: Yes. Very.
Model 3
Practise this conversation about the passengers. They are in the airport wait-
ing to get on the aeroplane, e.g.:
A: Perhaps that passenger is a hijacker.
B: Do you mean the man with the black slacks?
A: No. The woman with the black handbag.
red hat black slacks cat cricket bat black handbag
family camera apple sandwich jacket
5.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogues, transcribe them, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in
them. Then listen to the dialogues, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture them on
the tonogram. Then listen to the dialogues a lot of times and learn them by heart.
Practice saying some words from dialogue 1 illustrating the sound [е]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
any Eddie friend ten pence America
everybody Ellen left Jenny expensive cigarettes
everything spend shelf jealous help yourself
Dialogue 1 An expensive holiday
Eddie: Hello, Ellen! Hello, Ben! Hello, Jenny!
Ben: Hello, Eddie. Have a cigarette.
Eddie: Thanks, Ben.
Ellen: Help yourself to whisky.
Jenny: It‟s on the shelf.
Ben: How did you spend your holiday, Eddie?
Eddie: I went to America with a friend.
Everybody: Well!
Ellen: We‟re all jealous.
Ben: Was it expensive?
Eddie: Yes. Very. I‟ve spent everything.
Jenny: Haven‟t you any money left?
Eddie: Yes, Jenny. Ten Pence!
Practice saying some words from dialogue 2 illustrating the sound [æ]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
44 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
UNIT 6
6.1.
The sounds [ s ], [ z] – constrictive fricative, forelingual, apical alveolar;
[s] is a strong and voiceless consonant, [z] is a weak and voiced consonant, partly
devoiced in final position.
Put the tip and the blade of the tongue close to the alveolar ridge. The air hit
the tongue at the very centre of the teeth ridge. Push the air through the narrowing
very quickly, so that the strong friction is heard. For [z] push it more slowly, so
that the friction is weaker. Keep the teeth very close together. The vocal cords do
not vibrate when [s] is pronounced. For [z] they vibrate.
[1, p. 46].
First practise saying the sounds [s] and [z], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[s] Sue said sip bus piece price
[z] zoo Z zip buzz peas prize
Practise saying some words illustrating the sound [z]. Listen and repeat:
Zzz! amazing these says something‟s
zoo surprises bees noise contains
buzzing buzzes is hisses Jones
surprising Mrs. does smells isn‟t
46 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
6.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue illustrating the sound [s].
Listen and repeat:
sit Saturday sensible interesting star sleep skiing six
Sam Sunday outside instead it‟s spend expensive yes
sand sailing seaside just let‟s swim exciting Alice
Joining sounds Listen and repeat:
Let‟s sit in the sun. Let‟s sleep outside. Six Star. He wants some books.
UNIT 6 47
Let‟s stay in a hotel. Let‟s spend Sunday there too. He smokes cigarettes.
He speaks slowly.
Dialogue It’s expansive
Sam: Let's go to the seaside on Saturday.
Alice: Yes! Let's go sailing and water-skiing. That's exciting.
Sam: It's expensive too. Let's just sit in the sun and go swimming instead.
Alice: Let's stay in the Six Star Hotel and spend Sunday there too
Sam: Be sensible, Alice. It's too expensive. Let's sleep outside instead.
Alice: Yes. Let's sleep on the sand. That's more exciting.
6.4. Reading
Listen to the text. Mark the stressed words. Practise reading it aloud.
The smile of a snake
She speaks slowly, and smokes special, expensive cigarettes. As she steps ups-
tairs, her long skirt sweeps over her silver slippers. She is small and smart and
sweet-smelling. Her skin is like snow.
"You have stolen my heart!" I once said stupidly, and she smiled. But when
she smiled, she smiled the smile of a snake.
[2, pp. 39–41].
* Dictionaries, and native speakers, disagree about how many syllables there are in
these words. Listen and check your answers. Practice saying the words correctly.
1. ■ ■ 2. ■ ■ ■ 3. ■ ■ ■
4. ■ ■ ■ ■ 5. ■ ■ ■ ■ 6. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Eight students are talking about the subject that they study. Listen and write
down what the subject is in each case.
a. c. e. g.
b. d. f. h.
[3, p. 58].
48 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
UNIT 7
7.1.
The sounds [ ð, θ ] – constrictive fricative, forelingual, interdental; [ð] is a
weak and voiced consonant, [θ] is a strong and voiceless consonant.
The tip of the tongue is either close to the edge of the upper teeth or slightly
projected between the teeth. Blow out air between the tongue and the upper teeth
through the narrowing. Keep both lips away from the teeth. The vocal cords vi-
brate for [ð]. The air force is very strong for [θ]; the vocal cords do not vibrate.
[ð] [θ]
[1, p. 44].
If you find such pronunciation difficult try putting your finger in front of your
mouth and touching it with your tongue like this:
[3, p. 12].
First practise saying the sounds [s] and [θ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[s] mouse sum sick sink pass
[θ] mouth thumb thick think path
First practise saying the sounds [f] and [θ], then practise saying them in con-
trast. Listen and repeat:
[f] free first fin Fred half
[θ] three thirst thin thread hearth
First practise saying the sounds [t] and [θ], then practise saying them in con-
trast. Listen and repeat:
UNIT 7 49
Talk about the three hats using the words from the list below. Mind the in-
tonation and sentence stress:
A: Which hat do you think is better than the others?
one with the feathers
B: I think the leather hat is … than the others.
hat for three pounds
better prettier more fashionable more comfortable
cheaper uglier more stupid more expensive
50 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
7.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue illustrating the sound [ð].
Listen and repeat:
the that together leather another rather
this clothes feathers Miss Brothers smoother
Dialogue The hat in the window
Miss Brothers: I want to buy the hat in the window.
Assistant: There re three hats together in the window, madam. Do you
want the one with the feathers?
Miss Brothers: No. The other one.
Assistant: The small one for three pounds?
Miss Brothers: No. Not that one either. That one over there. The leather one.
Assistant: Ah! The leather one. Now this is another leather hat, madam.
It‟s better than the one in the window. It‟s a smoother
leather.
Miss Brothers: I‟d rather have the one in the window. It goes with my
clothes.
Assistant: Certainly, madam. But we don‟t take anything out of the
window until three o‟clock on Thursday.
[2, pp. 53–56].
UNIT 8
8.1.
The sound [⋀]
No.10, mixed, mid-open (broad variation), unrounded, short monophthong.
The tongue is in the central part of the mouth. The front part of the tongue is
raised to the back of the hard palate just above the fully open position. No contact
is made between the tongue and the upper teeth. The tongue is lax. The jaws are
considerably separated. The lips are neutrally open.
The sound [ɑ:]
No.5, back, open (broad variation), unrounded, long monophthong.
The mouth is open. The tongue is in the back part of the mouth. The back of
the tongue is only slightly raised. No contact is made between the rims of the ton-
gue and the upper teeth. The lips are neutral.
First practise saying the sounds [æ] and [⋀], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[æ] cap hat sack ban bag hag
[⋀] cup hut suck bun bug hug
First practise saying the sounds [æ] and [ɑ:], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[æ] cap hat cat ban match clack
[ɑ:] carp heart cart barn march clerk
First practise saying the sounds [⋀] and [ɑ:], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[⋀] cup hut cut bun much cluck
[ɑ:] carp heart cart barn march clerk
8.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogues, transcribe them, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in
them. Then listen to the dialogues, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture them on
the tonogram. Then listen to the dialogues a lot of times and learn them by heart.
Practice saying some words from dialogue 1 illustrating the sound [⋀]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
ugly untrue unhappy understand shut up just once
must much lunch Sunny cousin Russ
love lovely honey worry company wonderful
Dialogue 1 I love you
Russ: Honey, why are you so sad?
(Janet says nothing)
UNIT 8 53
Listen to the verbs again and circle the one you hear – Past Simple or Past
Participle.
In a sentence you can also tell from the grammar if it is the Past Simple or
the Past Participle. Choose the correct tense form in the sentences below.
a. Look! The children drank/have drunk everything.
b. Her boyfriend rang/has rung her eight times yesterday.
c. I‟m sorry you can‟t go into the theatre – the play already began/has already
begun.
d. I just swam/have just swum a kilometer.
e. I don‟t feel very well – I drank/have drunk ten whiskies last night.
f. My legs hurt – I ran/have run ten miles yesterday.
The student is reading these sentences aloud. Listen to him and say whether
the verb is pronounced correctly (C) or it is pronounced incorrectly (I). Practise
saying the sentences correctly yourself.
UNIT 9
9.1.
The sounds [ f ], [ v ] – constrictive fricative, labio-dental; [ f ] is a strong
and voiceless consonant, [ v ] is a weak and voiced consonant, in final position it
is partly devoiced.
The lower lip is very close to the edge of the upper teeth, thus forming an in-
complete obstruction. When the air goes through the narrowing it causes slight
friction. For [f] the vocal cords do not vibrate, the air force is very strong. To be-
UNIT 9 55
gin the sound [v], you should bite your lower lip with your top teeth; you should
push out air between your lip and your teeth and use your voice to make the
sound.
voise
[1, p. 43].
First practise saying the sounds [p] and [f], then practise saying them in con-
trast. Listen and repeat:
[p] pin peel pail pine snip harp
[f] fin feel fail fine sniff half
First practise saying the sounds [h] and [f], then practise saying them in con-
trast. Listen and repeat:
[h] hat heat hill heel hall hole
[f] fat feet fill feel fall foal
First practise saying the sounds [f] and [v], then practise saying them in con-
trast. Listen and repeat:
[f] feel fine fail few leaf half
[v] veal vine veil view leave halve
First practise saying the sounds [b] and [v], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[b] bet best ban bolts boat bowl
[v] vet vest van volt vote vole
[2, pp. 46, 48].
9.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogues, transcribe them, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in
them. Then listen to the dialogues, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture them on
the tonogram. Then listen to the dialogues a lot of times and learn them by heart.
Practice saying some words from dialogue 1 illustrating the sound [f]. Listen
and repeat:
fill in for friendly telephone Mr. Puffin laugh Phillip
finished form office beautiful difficult photograph Phillippa
feels fine February sofa comfortable if myself
five full front profile after wife soft
Dialogue 1 At the photographer’s
Phillip: I want a photograph of myself and my -wife.
Photographer: Please fill in this form, sir. Would you prefer a full front
photograph or a profile?
Phillip: A full front, don't you think, Phillippa?
Phillippa: Yes. A full front photograph.
Photographer: Please sit on this sofa. Is it comfortable, Mrs. Puffin?
Phillippa: Yes. It feels fine.
Photographer: Mr Puffin, please give a friendly laugh.
Phillip: That's difficult. If you say something funny 1 can laugh.
Photographer: And, Mrs Puffin, please look soft and beautiful.
Phillip: (laughs)
Phillippa: Is it finished?
Photographer: Yes.
Phillip: Will the photograph be ready for the first of February?
Photographer: Yes. Please phone my office after five days, Mr Puffin.
Practice saying some words from dialogue 2 illustrating the sound [v]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
Vera valley living driving have lovely
very van November lived five leaves
village Victor leaving arrived love
UNIT 9 57
9.5. Reading
This is a photograph of a fat farmer arriving at a village in the valley. He's
driving a van. It's a fine day, but it's November, and the leaves have fallen from
the vine in the front of the photograph.
UNIT10
10.1.
The sound [ w ] – constrictive, bilabial, velar sonant.
The lips are firmly rounded and protruded forming an incomplete obstruction.
The soft palate is raised and the air goes to the mouth. The back part of the tongue
is raised towards the soft palate. The sides of the tongue are raised and the air
goes along the central part of the tongue. The vocal cords vibrate.
Your lips should be hard and round like this:
[1, p. 60].
If you have problems with the sound [w] you can try starting
with [u:] like this: uuu → where; uu → where; u → where.
First practise saying the sounds [v] and [w], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[v] V veal vest vet vine veil
[w] we wheel west wet wine whale
10.2. Intonation
Listen to the questions and decide if the intonation goes up or down at the
end. Explain why.
a. Do you like American films?
b. Where would you like to go this evening?
c. Would you like to see a play?
d. Would you like to watch the news?
e. What sort of books do you read?
f. Do you like cooking?
g. Do you play tennis?
UNIT 10 59
10.3. Dialogue
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue illustrating the sound [w].
Listen and repeat:
when Wendy went warm wild wore sandwiches sweet
well what was wonderful white wine railway twelve quickly
wet weather watched why were away twenty Gwen
which walk woods where everywhere quiet squirrels
Dialogue A walk in the woods
Gwen: Did you see Victor on Wednesday, Wendy?
Wendy: Yes. We went for a walk in the woods near the railway.
Gwen: Wasn't it cold on Wednesday?
Wendy: Yes. It was very cold and wet. We wore warm clothes and walked
quickly to keep warm.
Gwen: It's lovely and quiet in the woods.
Wendy: Yes. Further away from the railway it was very quiet, and there were
wild squirrels everywhere. We counted twenty squirrels.
Gwen: How wonderful! Twenty squirrels! And did you take lunch with you?
Wendy: Yes. About twelve we had veal sandwiches and sweet white wine,
and we watched the squirrels. It was a very nice walk.
[2, pp. 49–50].
60 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
abuse _____ _____ grief ____ ____ ____ _____ _____ to halve
_____ ____
Complete these sentences with one of the words from the chart.
a. It is my personal ______ that the man accused of the crime is innocent.
b. Let me listen to your chest. Take a deep ________ and say “Ah”.
c. You should put your valuables in the hotel ________ .
d. Drug ______ is a terrible problem all over the world.
e. I know it isn't good for your skin, but I love sun _______ .
f. I've been so worried about you! It's such a _______ to see you at last!
g. 'What are we going to do with this cake?' 'Cut it in two. You take _______ and
I'll take ______ .
h. Can you show me how to _______ this new coffee machine?
i. The refugees are _______ in temporary accommodation.
j. She apologized for her behaviour, and said it was because she'd had a lousy day
at work, but that's no _______ for breaking all the plates.
k. People need time to _______ after the death of someone they love.
1. Take my _________ . Never marry for money. Marry for love.
[4, p. 95].
UNIT11
11.1.
The sound [ ɒ ]
No.6, back, open (broad variation), rounded, short monophthong.
This vowel is articulated with the mouth wide open and slight open lip-
rounding. The body of the tongue is even more retracted than in the case of the
62 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
vowel [ɑ:]. The back of the tongue is only slightly raised. No contact is made be-
tween the rims of the tongue and the upper teeth.
The sound [ ɔ: ]
No.7, back, mid-open (narrow variation), rounded, long monophthong.
The tongue is in the back part of the mouth. The back of the tongue is raised to
a half-open position. No contact is made between the rims of the tongue and the
upper teeth. The mouth is less open and the lips are more rounded than for the
vowel [ɒ].
First practise saying the sounds [æ] and [ɒ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[æ] hat cat Pat sack tap backs
[ɒ] hot cot pot sock top box
First practise saying the sounds [ɒ] and [ɔ:], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ɒ] Don cod cot pot fox spots
[ɔ:] Dawn cord caught port forks sports
Commands with the High Fall seem to suggest a course of action rather than to
give an order; the speaker does not seem to be worrying whether he will be ob-
eyed or not, e.g.:
ˡPut some more `milk in it.
Short commands pronounced with the Low Fall alone sound unemotional,
calm, controlled, often cold, e.g.:
、Take it. 、Stop it.
11.2.2. Requests. Suggestions.
Requests with the Low Rise soothing, encouraging, perhaps calmly patronis-
ing, e.g.:
ˡDon't ͵move. ˡCome and ˡstay with us a͵gain soon.
Requests with the Fall-Rise sound pleading, e.g.:
、Try ͵not to. ˡDon't for ˡget to re、mind ͵me.
[1].
A suggestion sounds polite and friendly A command sounds less friendly
Have a ͵holiday, Mrs Bloggs. Have a ͵holiday, Mrs Bloggs.
Stop ͵washing, Mrs Bloggs. Stop ͵washing, Mrs Bloggs.
Don't drop that ͵pot, Mrs Bloggs. Don't drop that ͵pot, Mrs Bloggs.
Put it on the ͵box, Mrs Bloggs. Put it on the ͵box, Mrs Bloggs.
Competition. Friendly or unfriendly?
Divide the class into two teams. The student from one team reads one of the
following sentences using the intonation of either command or suggestion. Stu-
dents from the other team decide if he's friendly or unfriendly. Score a point for
each correct answer.
Put these socks in the box. Don't wash these socks.
Put it on top of the clock. Don't borrow Tom's watch.
Make the coffee hot. Don't go to the wrong office.
Go to the hospital. Don't go to the wrong restaurant.
See a doctor. Buy some binoculars.
[2, p. 10].
In the conversation below B, C, D and E are all surprised by what A says. B
is surprised that he plays in the morning. C is surprised that Mr. Short plays. D is
surprised that he plays football. E is surprised that he always plays. Practise in
pairs. B must sound surprised about the part of the sentence in italics. To sound
surprised you should use the Low Fall.
A: Mr Short always plays football in the morning.
64 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
B: In the ͵morning?
C: Mr ͵Short?
D: ͵Football?
E: ͵Always?
Practise in pairs. B must sound surprised about the part of the sentence in
italics. Example:
A: I saw Audrey at the 、airport.
B: At the ͵airport?
A: Yes. At the 、airport.
1. I've put the ball in the drawer.
2. It's too warm to go walking.
3. Dawn wrote a report in shorthand.
4. George has bought forty-five forks.
5. I'm going to buy a horse.
6. You ought to get up at four in the morning.
7. I saw George when I was in New York.
8. It's your faul.
11.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogues, transcribe them, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in
them. Then listen to the dialogues, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture them on
the tonogram. Then listen to the dialogues a lot of times and learn them by heart.
Practice saying some words from dialogue 1 illustrating the sound [ɒ]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
off “Onwash” bottle Mrs. Bloggs horrible
often a long job want sorry washing
on got what‟s wrong holiday popular
Dialogue 1 TV advertisement for “Onwash”
Voice A: What's wrong with you, Mrs Bloggs?
Mrs. Bloggs: What's wrong with me? I want a holiday from this horrible job of
washing socks!
Voice B: Buy a bottle of "Onwash", Mrs Bloggs!
Voice C: "Onwash " is so soft and strong.
Voice D: You don't want lots of hot water with "Onwash".
Voice A: It's not a long job with "Onwash".
Voice B: Use "Onwash" often.
Voice C: You won't be sorry when you‟ve got "Onwash".
Voice D: Everybody wants "Onwash".
Everybody: "Onwash" is so popular!
UNIT 11 65
Practice saying some words from dialogue 2 illustrating the sound [ɔ:]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
Or all Paul forward awful forty
Score always towards George airport walking
Four footballer audience “the Roarers” reporter York
Dialogue 2 Sports Report from Channel 4
Announcer: This morning the Roarers football team arrived back from York.
Paul Short is our sports reporter, and he was at the airport.
Paul Short: Good morning. This is Paul Short. All the footballers are walking
towards me. Here's George Ball, the goalkeeper.
Good morning, George.
George Ball: Good morning. Are you a reporter?
Paul Short: Yes. I'm from Channel 4. Please tell our audience about the
Football match with York.
George Ball: Well, it was awful. We lost. And the score was four, forty-four.
But it wasn't my fault.
Paul Short: Whose fault was it?
George Ball: The forwards.
Paul Short: The forwards?
George Ball: Yes. The forwards. They were always falling down or losing
the ball!
[2, pp. 10-12].
UNIT 12
12.1.
The sounds [ ʃ ], [ ʒ ] – constrictive fricative, forelingual, apical, palatal-
alveolar, bicentral; [ ʃ ] is strong and voiceless, [ ʒ ] is weak and voiced, in final
position it is partially devoiced.
The tip of the tongue is close to the back part of the alveolar ridge forming a
narrowing (primary focus). The front part of the tongue is raised towards the hard
UNIT 12 67
palate, forming the front secondary focus, thus palatalizing the sounds. The lips
are neutral or slightly rounded. The vocal cords do not vibrate when [ ʃ ] is pro-
nounced, for [ ʒ ] they vibrate.
[1, p. 47].
First practise saying the sounds [s] and [ ʃ ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[s] sea Sue sip ass Russ puss
[ʃ] she shoe ship ash rush push
Listen and repeat:
television garage measuring tape treasure
casual clothes Asia an unusual collision
12.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue illustrating the sound [ ʃ ].
Listen and repeat:
sheets Shaw washing Swedish
shall shake machine English
shop show special shrunk
shut shirts Marsh finished
shouldn‟t sure wish demonstration
68 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
12.4. Reading
Television programmes: Channel 1
7.00 – Children's film: "Treasure Island"
7.15 – News comment: An Unusual Collision
7.30 – Fashion: Casual Clothes
7.45 – Travel film: Across Asia in a Peugeot
8.15 – Do-it-yourself: How to Measure a New Garage
8.30 – Variety show: It's a Pleasure
Conversation. Talk about the television programmes.
Example:
A: What are you going to watch on television tonight?
B: Treasure Island.
Drill. When somebody says "Thank you" for doing something, we some-
times say, "It's a pleasure" or "The pleasure is mine". Practise these answers, ei-
ther "It's a pleasure" or "The pleasure is mine" . Example:
A: Thank you for lending me your television.
B: It's a pleasure.
1. Thank you for mending my television.
2. Thanks for lending me your measuring tape.
3. Thanks for lending me "Treasure Island".
4. Thank you for letting me use your garage.
5. Thanks for letting me drive your Peogeot.
6 Thanks for letting us watch your television.
[2, pp. 42–43].
UNIT 13 69
UNIT 13
13.1.
The sounds [ ʧ , ʤ ] – occlusive-constrictive consonants (affricates), fore-
lingual, apical, palatal-alveolar, bicentral; [ʧ ] is strong and voiceless, [ʤ] is weak
and voiced, in word final position it is partially devoiced.
The tip of the tongue touches the back part of the teeth ridge (primary focus).
The front part of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate forming the front
secondary focus. The soft palate is raised so that the breath is trapped for a short
time (because of the complete obstruction between the tongue-tip and the teeth
ridge) then the obstruction is released slowly and the friction is heard. The lips are
slightly
[1, p. 50].
First practise saying the sounds [ ʃ ] and [ʧ ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ʃ] ships sheep sherry shop cash wash
70 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
13.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogues, transcribe them, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in
them. Then listen to the dialogues, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture them on
the tonogram. Then listen to the dialogues a lot of times and learn them by heart.
Practice saying some words from dialogue 1 illustrating the sound [ʧ ]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
children cheaper chump chops children‟s lunch which
cheques choose shoulder chops Mrs. Church
cheshire butcher‟s shop a delicious chicken much
Dialogue 1 At the Butcher’s Shop
Butcher: Good morning, Mrs. Church.
Mrs. Church: Good morning, Mr. Cheshire. I'd like some chops for
the children's lunch.
Butcher: Chump chops or shoulder chops, Mrs. Church?
Mrs. Church: I‟ll have four shoulder chops, and I want a small chicken.
Butcher: Would you like to choose a chicken, Mrs. Church?
Mrs. Church: Which one is cheaper?
Butcher: This one's the cheapest. It's a delicious chicken.
Mrs. Church: How much is all that? I haven't got cash. Can I pay by cheque?
Butcher: Of course, Mrs. Church.
Practice saying some words from dialogue 2 illustrating the sound [ʤ]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
gin dangerous village
jeep manager bridge
January agency edge
UNIT 13 71
Now listen to these tongue-twisters and underline all the [ʧ ] sounds that
you hear.
a. Which of Shirley Hatchard's children stole a portion of cherry cheesecake
from the kitchen shelf?
b. Sheila Charlton's Czech washing machine chewed up Richard Sheridan's
checked shorts.
c. The rich Turkish sugar merchant purchased a shining Porsche for
72 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
13.5. Homophones
Homophones are words with the same pronunciation but different spelling and
different meaning. [wɔ:] war and wore; [haɪə] higher and hire
Think of two spellings for these words in phonemic script.
a. [nju:] _____ _____ g. [pi:s] _____ _____
b. [plеɪn] _____ _____ h. [kɔ:t] _____ _____
c. [ ʃɔ:] _____ _____ i. [wеɪ] _____ _____
d. [wʊd] _____ _____ j. [ˡwеðə] _____ _____
e. [si:n] _____ _____ k. [mеɪl] _____ _____
f. [θru:] _____ _____ l. [saɪt] _____ _____
UNIT 14
14.1.
The sound [ ʊ ]
No. 8, back-advanced, close (broad variation), rounded, short monophthong.
The whole body of the tongue is in the back part of the mouth. The part of the
tongue nearer to the centre than to the back is raised just above the half-close po-
sition. There is no firm contact between the side rims of the tongue and the upper
teeth. The tongue is rather lax. The lips are rounded about the same amount as for
[ɔ:] but the mouth is not so open.
The sound [ u: ]
No.9, back, close (narrow variation), rounded, long diphthongoid.
The tongue is in the back part of the mouth. The back of the tongue is rather high
in the mouth. The vowel is noticeably diphthongized. The tongue glides from a
UNIT 14 73
position nearer to [ʊ] to a more retracted and high position. No firm contact is
made between the rims of the tongue and the upper teeth. The tongue is tense. The
lips are very closely rounded. The mouth is open only very little.
First practise saying the sounds [ɒ] and [ʊ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ɒ] pot cock god lock rock box
[ʊ] put cook good look rook books
First practise saying the sounds [ʊ] and [u:], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ʊ] look pull full foot
[u:] Luke pool fool boot
14.2. Intonation
14.2.1. Intonation in question tags
In question tags the intonation either falls ▼ or rises ▲.
1. ▼ Falling intonation means that the sentence is more like a statement = “I'm
sure I'm right. Can you just confirm this for me?”, e.g.
It's really warm again today, isn't it?
You've lost the car keys again, haven't you?
2. ▲ Rising intonation means that the sentence is more like a real question =
“I'm not sure if I'm right about this. Correct me if I'm wrong.”, e.g.
You've been invited to Jane's party, haven't you?
John didn't fail his driving test again, did he?
Both patterns are very common in spoken English because they invite other
people to join in the conversation.
74 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
Write in the question tags for the statements. Mark whether it is more likely
to fall or rise. Listen to check your answers.
a. You're angry with me, _______ ?
b. Last night was such a hot night, _________ ?
c. You couldn't help me carry this, ________ ?
d. Tom's late again, ________ ?
e. Cold for the time of year, _______ ?
f. Toby hasn't drunk twelve pints of lager, ________ ?
g. I'm just hopeless at telling jokes, _________ ?
h. You haven't seen my pen anywhere, ________ ?
i. This is a difficult exercise, _______ ?
j. By the end of the film we were all in tears, ______ ?
k. You wouldn't have change for a ten-pound note, _______ ?
l. We'd never seen a sunset like that before, _______ ?
Write a sentence and a question tag for the following situations and choose
the intonation pattern.
Example: You ask Tom if he could help you do your homework.
You: Tom, you couldn't help me with my homework, could you? ▲
a. You and a friend are looking at new cars in a car showroom. You can see
that your friend really likes the red sports car.
You ________________________________________ ?
b. You think that Vanessa is going on a business trip to Rome next week, but
you're not absolutely sure.
Vanessa, you _________________________________ ?
c. You're coming out of a restaurant where you have just had a really tasteless
meal with a friend.
That ________________________________________ ?
d. You can't believe that your sister has borrowed your new coat again.
You _________________________________________ ?
e. You need a neighbour to water your plants while you're away.
You _________________________________________ ?
[4, p. 72].
14.2.2. Stress
Read this conversation. Make the stressed words (in blacker type) louder.
A: Excuse me.
B: Yes?
A: Could you tell me where I can get some good shoelaces?
B: Yes. There‟s a shop next to the supermarket that sells very good shoelaces.
I’m going there too.
Practise in pairs. Use the words below.
A: Excuse me.
B: Yes?
UNIT 14 75
14.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogues, transcribe them, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in
them. Then listen to the dialogues, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture them on
the tonogram. Then listen to the dialogues a lot of times and learn them by heart.
Practice saying some words from dialogue 1 illustrating the sound [ʊ]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
Put good could woman living-room cookery books didn‟t you
Look foot full bedroom bookshelf shouldn‟t you Mr.Cook
Dialogue 1 A Lost Book
Mr. Cook: Woman! Could you tell me where you've put my book?
Mrs. Cook: Isn't it on the bookshelf?
Mr. Cook: No. The bookshelf is full of your cookery books.
Mrs. Cook: Then you should look in the bedroom, shouldn‟t you?
Mr. Cook: I've looked. You took that book and put it somewhere, didn't you?
Mrs. Cook: The living-room?
Mr. Cook: No. I've looked. I'm going to put all my books in a box and lock it!
Mrs. Cook: Look, Mr. Cook! It's on the floor next to your foot.
Mr. Cook: Ah! Good!
Practice saying some words from dialogue 2 illustrating the sound [u:]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
Sue threw June excuse me soup Miss Luke
Prue twenty-two unit chewing gum stupid
shoe It was YOU! afternoon rude nuisance
Dialogue 2 In a Good School
Miss Luke: Good afternoon, girls.
Girls: Good afternoon, Miss Luke.
Miss Luke: This afternoon we're going to learn how to cook soup. Open your
books at unit twenty-two.
Prue: Excuse me, Miss Luke.
Miss Luke: Yes, Prue?
Prue: There's some chewing gum on your shoe.
Miss Like: Who threw their chewing gum on the floor? Was it you, Prue?
76 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
Listen to the following phrases. Underline the sound [ʊ] and circle
the sound [u:]. Listen to the example many times to make sure that you can
hear the difference between the two sounds. Practise saying them correctly.
1. Good food 6. push or pull?
2. Cookery Book 7. The School Rules
3. A New Look 8. Football Pools
4. A book of cartoons 9. News Bulletin
5. Good Afternoon 10. A room with a view
Below are some common English sayings and proverbs. The meaning of
some is quite clear, but can you guess what the others mean? Then Look at the
sayings again and try to decide where the [u:] sounds are, and where the [ʊ]
sounds are. Listen and check your answers. Listen again and practise saying the
sentences paying attention to the two sounds.
a. No news is good news. d. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
b. I wouldn‟t like to be in your shoes. e. It‟s too good to be true.
c. He‟s getting too big for his boots. f. He‟s got a screw loose.
[3, p. 71].
14.5. Homonyms
Homonyms are words with the same spelling and pronunciation but different
meanings.
a dusty desert plain a plain white blouse
the plain truth plain food
UNIT 15 77
Choose the word from the box. Fill the pairs of gaps with the same word.
Sometimes the word changes its form.
UNIT 15
15.1.
The sound [ ј ] – constrictive, medial, mediolingual, palatal sonorous conso-
nant (sonant).
The front part of the tongue is raised to the hard palate. The sides of the tongue
are raised and the air goes along the central part of it. The lips are generally neu-
tral or spread. The soft palate is raised and the air goes through the mouth. The
vocal cords are kept together and vibrate.
[1, p. 61].
78 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
First practise saying the sounds [ʤ] and [ j], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ʤ] joke Jack jam Jess jeers
[ j] yolk yak yam yes years
Listen to the requests and reply only when the intonation of the request is
polite. Keep silent if the request sounds rude.
a. Polite question: Could you give me a lift? Answer: Yes, of course!
b. Rude question: Would you mind opening the window? No answer here.
c. Could you give me a lift to work?
d. Do you think you could I pass me the salt?
e. Could you show me the station on the map?
UNIT 15 79
15.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue illustrating the sound [ j]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
yes Europe excuse me stupid Young beautiful
yesterday onion tutor student few produce
yellow millionaire tunes stew knew
years you tuba Hugh New York
York university tubes huge music
Dialogue A Stupid Student
Jim: Excuse me. Did you use to live in York?
Jack: Yes.
Jim: Did you use to be a tutor at the University?
Jack: Yes. For a few years.
Jim: Do you remember Hugh Young? He was a music student.
Jack: Hugh Young? Did he use to have a huge yellow jeep?
Jim: Yes. And he used to play beautiful tunes on the tuba.
Jack: Yes, I knew Hugh. He used to be a very stupid student.
Do you have any news of Hugh?
Jim: Yes. He's a millionaire now in New York.
Jack: A millionaire? Playing the tuba?
Jim: Oh, no. He produces jam in tubes, and tins of sausages and onion stew,
And sells them in Europe. I read about Hugh in the newspaper yesterday.
Jack: Oh! Well, he wasn't so stupid.
[2, p. 50].
[4, p. 48].
Use the words above as prompts and make up your own short dialogues in
British shops.
[3, p. 50].
UNIT 16
16.1.
The sound [ m ] – an occlusive, nasal, bilabial sonant (sonorous consonant).
The lips are firmly kept together. The soft palate is lowered and the air goes
through the nose. The vocal cords vibrate.
The sound [ n ] – an occlusive, nasal, forelingual, apical, alveolar sonant.
The tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveolar ridge. The soft palate is
lowered and the air escapes through the nose. The vocal cords vibrate.
The sound [ ŋ ] – an occlusive, nasal, backlingual, velar sonant.
The back part of the tongue is pressed to the soft palate. The soft palate is lo-
wered and the air goes through the nose. The vocal cords vibrate.
First practise saying the sounds [m] and [n], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[m] me mile mine Tim comb name
[n] knee Nile nine tin cone mane
First practise saying the sounds [n] and [ŋ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[n] win thin ban ran run Ron
[ŋ] wing thing bang rang rung wrong
First practise saying the sounds [ŋk] and [ŋ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ŋk] wink sink rink stink bank
[ŋ] wing sing ring sting bang
82 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
16.2. Intonation
“Mm” has many meanings.
Practise these:
Mmm ↺ means “What did you say?”
Mm ↷ means “yes”
Mmmmm 〜 means “How nice!”
Now listen to this conversation and say which meaning “Mm” has in B‟s an-
swers.
A: Would you like some home-made crumpets?
B: Mm?
A: Would you like some crumpets?
B: Mm.
A: Here you are.
B: (eating) Mm!
A: I'm glad you like them. I made them myself. Would you like to try them with
marmalade?
B: Mm?
A: Marmalade. They're marvellous with marmalade. Would you like some?
B: Mm.
A: Here you are.
B: (eating) Mm!
Conversation. Talk about these pictures. Example:
16.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogues, transcribe them, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in
them. Then listen to the dialogues, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture them on
the tonogram. Then listen to the dialogues a lot of times and learn them by heart.
Practice saying some words from dialogue 1 illustrating the sound [m]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
Mm! make family him some smart
me maybe crumpets Tim home Mum
met tomorrow Cambridge time Smith home-made
may summer remember come small Tom Mitcham
Dialogue 1 Mum’s Crumpets
Jim: Mum, may Tom Mitcham come home with me for tea tomorrow?
Mrs. Smith: Of course, Jim. Have I met Tom before?
Jim: You met him in the summer. He's very small and smart.
Mrs. Smith: Oh, yes. I remember Tom. Does his family come from Cambridge?
Jim: Yes. Oh, Mum! Will you make some home-made crumpets
tomorrow?
Mrs. Smith: Mm ... maybe. If I have time.
Jim: I told Tom about your crumpets, Mum. That's why he's coming
for tea tomorrow!
Practice saying some words from dialogue 2 illustrating the sound [ŋ]. Lis-
ten and repeat:
pink finger Mr. Pring standing running bringing
think angrily morning happening ringing banging
drink Mr. King something strong string singing hanging
Dialogue 2 Noisy Neighbours
Mr. Pring: (angrily). Bang! Bang! Bang! What are the Kings doing at seven
o'clock on Sunday morning?
Mrs. Pring: Well, Mr. King is singing.
Mr. Pring: Yes, but what's the banging noise?
Mrs. Pring: (looking out of the window) He's standing on a ladder and banging
Some nails into the wall with a hammer. Now he's hanging some
strong string on the nails.
Mr. Pring: And what's Mrs. King doing?
Mrs. Pring: She's bringing something pink for Mr. King to drink. Now she's
putting it under the ladder, and... Ohh!
Mr. Pring: What's happening?
Mrs. Pring: The ladder's falling.
Mr. Pring: What's Mr. King doing?
Mrs. Pring: He's hanging from the string. He's holding the string in his fingers
and he's shouting to Mrs. King.
84 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
[ u: ] [ʊ] [⋀]
[6, p. 52].
UNIT 17
17.1.
The sound [ ɜ: ]
No.11, mixed, mid-open (narrow variation), unrounded, long.
The tongue is almost flat. The central part of the tongue is slightly higher than
the front and the back of the tongue, which are raised between the half-close and
half-open positions. No firm contact is made between the rims of the tongue and
the upper teeth. The lips are neutrally spread, they do not cover the teeth. The pas-
sage between the teeth is rather narrow. The vowel is long.
86 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
The sound [ ə ]
No.12, mixed, mid-open (broad variation), unrounded, very short.
The quality of [ə] is that of a central vowel which varies from a half-open to a
half-close position. The lips are unrounded. The opening between the jaws is narrow.
This vowel occurs in all unstressed positions in the word.
Recommendations. The sound occurs in unstressed positions and is practically
a short variety of the sound [ɜ:]. The neutral sound is extremely short and weak.
Never concentrate on it. Keep in mind the stressed vowel.
[1, p. 96].
First practise saying the sounds [ɔ:] and [ɜ:], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ɔ:] four torn Paul warm ward walker
[ɜ:] fur turn Pearl worm word worker
First practise saying the sounds [е] and [ɜ:], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[е] ten Ben bed head west kennel
[ɜ:] turn burn bird heard worst colonel
First practise saying the sounds [⋀] and [ɜ:], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[⋀] shut huts bun bud bug gull
[ɜ:] shirt hurts burn bird berg girl
Practise saying the sound [ə]. Keep the recommendations given above in
mind while practising saying it. Listen and repeat:
1. a photograph of Barbara 2. a glass of water
3. a pair of binoculars 4. a photograph of her mother and father
5. a book about South America
UNIT 17 87
17.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue illustrating the sound [ɜ:].
Listen and repeat:
er world Sherman colonel dirty shirts
sir Thursday Turner worst Burton nurse
early Herbert weren‟t thirsty skirts Curse these nurses!
Dialogue The Worst Nurse
Sir Herbert: Nurse!
Colonel Burton: Nurse! I'm thirsty!
Sir Herbert: Nurse! My head hurts!
Colonel Burton: NURSE!
Sir Herbert: Curse these nurses!
Colonel Burton: Nurse Sherman always wears such dirty shirts.
Sir Herbert: And such short skirts.
Colonel Burton: She never arrives at work early.
Sir Herbert: She and... er... Nurse Turner weren't at work on Thursday,
were they?
Colonel Burton: No, they weren't.
Sir Herbert: Nurse Sherman is the worst nurse in the ward, isn't she?
Colonel Burton: No, she isn't. She's the worst nurse in the world!
88 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
17.4. Reading
Listen to the story, mark the stressed words and tones, then read the story
aloud.
Barbara spent Saturday afternoon looking at a beautiful book about South
America.
"I want to go to South America," she said to herself.
The next morning, when Barbara woke up it was six o'clock, and her
brothers and sisters were still asleep. Barbara looked at them, and closed her eyes
again.
Then she quietly got out of bed and started to pack her suitcase.
She took some comfortable clothes out of the cupboard. She packed a pair
of binoculars and her sister's camera. She packed a photograph of herself and one
of her mother and father.
"I mustn't forget to have some breakfast, she said to herself. But then she
looked at the clock. It was a quarter to seven.
"I'll just drink a glass of water," she said.
"A glass of water," she said.
"Water," she said, and opened her eyes.
She was still in her bed, and her brothers and sisters were laughing at her.
"Tell us what you were dreaming about," they said to her.
But Barbara didn't answer. She was thinking about her wonderful journey to
South America.
[2, pp. 15–19].
UNIT 18
18.1.
The sound [ l ] – a constrictive, lateral, forelingual, apical, alveolar sonant.
The tip of the tongue is in firm contact with the alveolar ridge. The soft palate
is raised and the air goes freely to the mouth. The sides of the tongue are lowered
and the air can pass between them and the palate. The vocal cords are brought to-
gether and vibrate.
The phoneme [ l ] has two positional allophones. 1. When [ l ] occurs before
vowels or the sonorant [ ј ] it is „clear‟. That means that together with the tip of
the tongue the front part of the tongue is raised to the hard palate, e.g. leave, silly,
value. 2. When pronounced before consonants and in final positions [ l ] is „dark‟.
In such cases the back part of the tongue is raised to the soft palate giving a dark
colouring to the sound, e.g. all, tall, fall, help, salt, milk.
„clear‟ „dark‟
[1, p. 58].
First practise saying the sounds [n] and [l], then practise saying them in con-
trast. Listen and repeat:
[n] no night nine Jenny bin ten
[l] low light line jelly Bill tell
18.3. Dialogues
Read the dialogues, transcribe them, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in
them. Then listen to the dialogues, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture them on
the tonogram. Then listen to the dialogues a lot of times and learn them by heart.
Dialogue Early for Lunch
Mr. Allen: Hello, Lily. You're looking lovely today.
Waitress: Hello, Mr Alien. You're early for lunch. It's only eleven o'clock.
Mr. Allen: When I come later there's usually nothing left.
Waitress: What would you like?
Mr. Allen: Leg of lamb, please.
Waitress: And would you like a plate of salad? It's lettuce with black olives
Mr. Allen: Marvellous! I love olives.
Waitress: And would you like a glass of lemonade?
Mr. Allen: Yes please, Lily. And a slice of melon and some yellow jelly.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue below illustrating the sound
[l]. Listen and repeat:
Bill fall small holding a spoilt child uncle beautiful little
Paul pull help difficult always bicycle sensible gentle-
man tell I‟ll myself salesman fault careful special
Dialogue A Spoilt Little Boy in a Bicycle Shop
Paul: What a beautiful bicycle!
Uncle Bill: Paul! Be careful!
Salesman: Excuse me, sir. This child is too small to ride this bicycle.
It's a very difficult bicycle to...
Uncle Bill: Be careful, Paul!
Paul: You always tell me to be careful. Don't help me. I won't fall.
Salesman: But, sir. This is a very special bicycle. It's...
UNIT 18 91
g. People usually buy CDs these days. Not many people buy ______ any more.
h. Don't touch the video! I'm ______ a film.
i. Britain ______ about 75% of its own oil.
[5, p. 44].
UNIT 19
19.1.
The sound [ r ]
a constrictive, medial, forelingual, cacuminal, post-alveolar oral sonorant.
The tip of the tongue is held in a position near to but not touching the back of
the alveolar ridge, the front part of the tongue is low and the back is rather high so
that the tongue has a curved shape (cacuminal articulation). The position of the
lips is determined by that of the following vowel. The soft palate is raised and the
air flows quietly between the tip of the tongue, and the palate. The vocal cords
vibrate.
[1, p. 61].
First practise saying the sounds [l] and [r], then practise saying them in con-
trast. Listen and repeat:
[l] long light load jelly fly glass
[r] wrong right road Jerry fry grass
Practise pronouncing the sound [r]. Listen and repeat:
Ruth Russia parent proud interesting
Rita very America France secretary
Rosemary Jerry everywhere in waitress grown up
Mrs. Reed Paris Europe countries Greece
restaurant married pretty Austria drives
[2, p. 62].
Should is very often used to give advice and make suggestions in English.
To sound polite your voice should go high on the first stressed word in the sen-
tence and then down on the last stressed word:
You should ˡhold your `breath.
Remember, should is not usually stressed unless you want to give strong
emphasis to the suggestion.
Practise the intonation. Remember that if your intonation is flat, you will
sound impolite.
You should ˡhold your `breath.
You should ˡdrink a ˡglass of `water.
You should ˡtake a little `lemon juice.
Listen to some people complaining and give them advice using the picture
prompts, like this:
a. You listen: I‟ve got a terrible cold!
You speak: You should go to bed.
You listen: You should go to bed.
[3, p. 42].
94 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
19.3. Dialogue
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue below illustrating the sound
[r]. Listen and repeat:
railway Mrs. Randal library electrician
really Laura librarian children
Roland lorry cleverest Australia
Dialogue A Proud Parent
Mrs. Randal: Are all the children grown up now, Ruth?
Mrs. Reed: Oh, yes. Laura is the cleverest one. She's a librarian in the
public library.
Mrs. Randal: Very interesting. And what about Rita?
Mrs. Reed: She's a secretary at the railway station.
Mrs. Randal: And what about Rosemary? She was always a very pretty child.
Mrs. Reed: Rosemary is a waitress in a restaurant in Paris. She's married
to an electrician.
Mrs. Randal: And what about Jerry and Roland?
Mrs. Reed: Jerry drives a lorry. He drives everywhere in Europe.
Mrs. Randal: Really? Which countries does he drive to?
Mrs. Reed: France and Austria and Greece and Russia.
Mrs. Randal: And does Roland drive a lorry too?
Mrs. Reed: Oh, no. Roland is a pilot.
Mrs. Randal: Really? Which countries does he fly to?
Mrs. Reed: Australia and America.
[2, p. 63].
[ ɔ: ] [ ɜ: ] [ ɑ: ] [ə]
UNIT 20 95
UNIT 20
20.1.
The sound [ еɪ ]
No.13, diphthong with a short, front, mid-open (narrow variation), unrounded
nucleus and [ ɪ ] – glide.
The nucleus is the vowel [е]. For the glide the tongue moves upward in the di-
rection of [ ɪ ] and the mouth gets closer. The lips are spread.
96 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
[1, p. 104].
First practise saying the sounds [е] and [еɪ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[е] pen shed tell wet test pepper
[еɪ] pain shade tail wait taste paper
20.2. Intonation.
20.2.1. Showing surprise in Wh-questions. Complete the missing part in the
dialogues below. Then listen and check your answers.
a. A: I've been learning to drive for seventeen years, you know.
B: How ____ did you say?
b. A: They've got sixteen children, you know.
B: How ____ did you say?
c. A: She washes her hair at least six times a week, you know.
B: How ____ did you say?
d. A: She's 120 years old, you know.
B: How ____ did you say?
e. A: He‟s 6´8´´ tall you know.
B: How ____ did you say?
f. A: The nearest house is 20 miles away, you know.
B: How ____ did you say?
g. A: The outer walls of this house are three feet thick, you know.
B: How ____ did you say?
h. A: I bought it in the sale for £10, you know.
B: How ____ did you say?
Notice the intonation pattern in these Wh-questions. Normally the intona-
tion goes down at the end of Wh- questions;
How long have you been learning to 、drive for?
But because the speaker here is using the question to show surprise the in-
tonation goes up at the end of the question, like this:
How long did you ͵say?
UNIT 20 97
Listen to the dialogues again and repeat B‟s part paying attention to your in-
tonation to show surprise. Notice that this type of intonation can be used with all
kinds of Wh-questions, not just questions with How.
You will hear a student talking about his colleague, who is very eccentric.
Listen and respond with surprise, using the question words below, like this:
a. Where? You listen: One of my colleagues lives in a caravan in the middle of the
country.
You speak: Where does he live? You listen: Where does he live?
b. Who? c. How many? d. How far? e. How? f. What? g. What?
h. What?
[3, p. 62].
20.2.2. Surprise. Listen and repeat:
I'm afraid you've made a mistake, sir. A mis͵take?
Listen and repeat:
The ͵eighth? By ͵plane? To͵day? Going a͵way? To ͵Spain?
She's eighty-͵eight?
Practise in pairs.
Example:
A: It's the eighth of April. B: The ͵eighth?
1 It's the eighth of May. 2. Yes. It's Mrs Grey's birthday today.
3. Yes. She's eighty-eight. 4. Yes. And she's going away for a holiday.
5. That's right. And she's going by plane.
6. Well, it's a bit dangerous at her age, but she wants to go to Spain.
7. That's right. Why don't you go with her?
20.3. Dialogue
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue below illustrating the sound
[еɪ]. Listen and repeat:
Hey! May railway train changes eighty-eight April
say they made timetable late station
Mr. Grey today afraid ages waiting Baker Street
Dialogue At the Railway Station
(Mr. Grey is waiting at the railway station for a train)
Mr. Grey: Hey! This train's late! I've been waiting here for ages.
Porter: Which train, sir?
98 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
UNIT 21
21.1.
The sound [ aɪ ]
No.15, diphthong with a front-retracted, open (broad variation), unrounded
nucleus and [ ɪ ] – glide.
The sound starts from the advanced vowel [ ⋀ ] with the mouth wide open and
the lips neutral. For the glide the tongue moves upwards in the direction of [ ɪ ],
with the mouth very narrowly open and the lips spread and not rounded.
[1, p. 105].
First practise saying the sounds [ɑ:] and [aɪ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ɑ:] bar star darn lark cart heart
[aɪ] buy sty dine like kite height
21.3. Dialogue
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue below illustrating the sound
[aɪ]. Listen and repeat:
I‟m Miles climbing like all right
Bye Myra ninety-nine Mike type
time Violet ice Nigel typist
mind riding nice tonight typewriter
Dialogue Mike, Myra and Violet
(Myra and Violet are typists in the library)
Myra: (smiling) Hello, Mike!
Mike: Hello, Myra. Hello, Violet! You're looking nice, Violet. (silence)
UNIT 21 101
21.4. Rhymes
Each word in the box makes a rhyming pair with one of the words in the col-
umns. Pay attention to the vowel sound and write the rhyming pairs next to each
other. Then listen and repeat.
chief court deaf fool good mud reign
said weight height lose knew knows grieve
put nude pour wool
a. should [ʊd] ___ f. food [u:d] ___ k. tight [aɪt] ___ o. wore [ɔ:] ___
b. bread [еd] ___ g. leaf [i:f] ___ l. full [ʊl] ___ p. brain [еɪn] ___
c. choose [u:z] ___ h. taught [ɔ:t] ___ m. pool [u:l] ___ q. leave [i:v] ___
d. toes [əʊz] ___ i. chef [еf] ___ n. blood [⋀d] ___ r. foot [ʊt] ___
e. hate [еɪt] ___ j. through [u:] ___
[4, p. 79].
Here are some more names and addresses. How would you say them? Listen
and check your answers.
[3, p. 78].
UNIT 22
22. 1.
The sound [ ɒɪ ]
No.17, diphthong with a back, open (narrow variation), slightly rounded nuc-
leus [ɪ] – glide.
UNIT 22 103
The nucleus lies between the sounds [ɔ:] and [ɒ]. It starts with the position be-
tween back half-open and open. For the glide the tongue moves upwards in the
direction of [ɪ], though the tongue rarely reaches there. The lips are slightly
rounded for the nucleus changing to neutral for the glide.
[1, p. 106].
First practise saying the sounds [ɔ:] and [ɒɪ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ɔ:] all ball corn tore jaw
[ɒɪ] oil boil coin toy Joy
22.3. Dialogue
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue below illustrating the sound
[ɒɪ]. Listen and repeat:
toy noisiest annoying pointing Joyce Rolls Royce
enjoy destroyed boiling spoilt voice boyfriend
Dialogue Joyce’s Rolls Royce
(Joyce takes her Rolls Royce to the garage)
Garage boy: What a terrible noise.
Joyce: Er?
Garage boy: (raising his voice) WHAT A TERRIBLE NOISE! This is
the noisiest Rolls Royce I've ever heard.
Joyce: (pointing) It's out of oil.
Garage boy: Out of oil? And look! The water's boiling. Madam, a Rolls Royce
isn't a toy. Perhaps you've spoilt the motor or even destroyed it.
Joyce: How annoying! While you're changing the oil, I'll go and visit my
boyfriend, Roy.
[2, p. 23].
UNIT 23
23.1.
The sound [ əʊ ]
No.14, diphthong with a mixed, mid-open (narrow variation), unrounded nuc-
leus and [ʊ] – glide.
The starting point of the tongue position is similar to that of [ɜ:]; it starts with
a central position, between half-close and half-open. For the glide the tongue
moves upwards in the direction of [ʊ] there being a slight closing movement of
the lower jaw. The lips are neutral for the first element and get slightly rounded
for the second.
[1, p. 107].
First practise saying the sounds [ɜ:] and [əʊ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ɜ:] burn fern Bert work flirt
[əʊ] bone phone boat woke float
First practise saying the sounds [ɔ:] and [əʊ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ɔ:] caught nought bought jaw ball
[əʊ] coat note boat Joe bowl
23.3. Dialogue
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue below illustrating the sound
[əʊ]. Listen and repeat:
Oh! go know over don‟t closed joking OK
no ago throw nose Joan Jones woke
Joe window snow hello groans October coat
Dialogue Snow in October
(Joe Jones is sleeping, but Joan woke up a few minutes ago)
Joan: Joe! Joe! JOE! Hello!
Joe: (groans) Oh! What is it, Joan?
Joan: Look out of the window.
Joe: No. My eyes are closed, and I'm going to go to sleep again.
Joan: Don't go to sleep, Joe. Look at the snow!
Joe: Snow? But it's only October. I know there's no snow.
Joan: Come over to the window, Joe.
Joe: You're joking, Joan. There's no snow.
Joan: OK. I'll put my coat on and go out and make a snowball and throw it
at your nose, Joe Jones!
[2, p. 25].
Listen to the dialogues again and circle all the [əʊ] sounds. Practise reading
the dialogues with a partner. Pay attention to the pronunciation of vowel sounds
[ɒ] and [əʊ].
[3, p. 24].
UNIT 24
24.1.
The sound [ aʊ ]
No.16, diphthong with a mixed, open (broad variation), unrounded nucleus
and [ʊ] – glide.
UNIT 24 109
The starting point of the diphthong is between the back and front open posi-
tions. The sound starts with the position slightly more retracted than for the nuc-
leus of the diphthong [aɪ] and more advanced than for the vowel [ɑ:]. For the
glide the tongue moves upwards in the direction of [ʊ], the mouth gets closer. The
lips are neutral for the first element and get slightly rounded for the second.
[1, p. 108].
First practise saying the sounds [ɑ:] and [aʊ], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ɑ:] car bar bra grass arch
[aʊ] cow bow brow grouse ouch
24.3. Dialogue
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue below illustrating the sound
[aʊ]. Listen and repeat:
Ow! found Brown upside-down house our
now round lounge out shouting ours
town ground loudly mouse couch our house
110 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
24.5. Revision of vowel sounds – [ɒ], [⋀], [ɜ:], [ɔ:], [əʊ], and [aʊ]
Look at the words. Look at the vowel sounds marked and put the words into
the correct columns. Listen and check your answers. Listen again and practise
saying each word correctly.
UNIT 25 111
[3, p. 80].
UNIT 25
25.1.
The sound [ ɪə ]
No.18, diphthong with a front-retracted, close (broad variation), unrounded
nucleus [ɪ] (not [i:]) and [ə] – glide.
The nucleus is the vowel [ɪ]. For the glide the tongue moves in the direction of
the neutral vowel [ə]. The lips are slightly spread for the nucleus and are neutral
for the glide.
[1, p. 109].
First practise saying the sounds [i:] and [ɪə], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[i:] E bee tea pea bead
[ɪə] ear beer tear pier beard
112 PART II. PRACTICE IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
25.2. Intonation.
25.2.1. Showing surprise.
In the following dialogues A is telling B some of the interesting facts that he
discovered. Listen and write in what B says.
a. A: Paul McCartney lives in a two-bedroom house!
B: _____________________
b. A: Linda McCartney has a 17-year old daughter!
B: _____________________
c. A: The McCartneys are all vegetarians!
B: ____________________
d. A: Paul McCartney knows how to bake bread!
B: ____________________
e. A: Linda drives a very small car!
B: ____________________
f. A: Linda does all the cooking herself!
B: ____________________
g. A: Paul and Linda both love football!
B: _____________________
h. A: Linda much prefers living in the country!
B: _____________________
i. A: In the evening the McCartneys usually just watch TV!
B: _____________________
Speaker B is surprised by what A says, so his intonation goes up: ͵Does he?
To practise the intonation try exaggerating like this: listen and repeat:
͵Does he? ͵Does she? ͵Are they?
[3, p. 3].
25.2.2. Joining words
" r " not pronounced " r " not pronounced
Listen and repeat: Listen and repeat:
Here they are. Here are all the books.
Here's the beer. The beer is here on the table.
I can hear Mr. Lear. He can hear us too.
Mr Lear calls her "dear". Dear old Mrs. Lear is here in the kitchen.
He's a mountaineer. A mountaineer always drinks beer in the
mountains.
Claire Claire and Mary.
a pair a pair of shoes
a square chair a square envelope
It's there There it is.
UNIT 25 113
25.3. Dialogue
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue below illustrating the sound
[ɪə]. Listen and repeat:
Lear dear idea Cheers! disappeared easier
here clear atmosphere nearly Austria
hear year mountaineer bearded windier
Dialogue A Bearded Mountaineer
(Mr. and Mrs. Lear are on holiday in Austria).
Mr. Lear: Let's have a beer here, dear.
Mrs. Lear: What a good idea! They have very good beer here. We came
here last year.
Mr. Lear: The atmosphere here is very clear.
Mrs. Lear: And it's windier than last year.
Mr. Lear: (speaking to the waiter) Two beers, please.
Mrs. Lear: Look, dear! Look at that mountaineer drinking beer.
Mr. Lear: His beard is in his beer.
Mrs. Lear: His beard has nearly disappeared into his beer!
Mr. Lear: Sh, dear! He might hear.
Waiter: (bringing the beer) Here you are, sir. Two beers.
Mr. Lear: (drinking his beer) Cheers, dear!
Mrs. Lear: Cheers! Here's to the bearded mountaineer.
[2, p. 27].
■ ■■ ■■ ■ ■■ ■ ■■ ■ ■■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
[6, p. 47].
UNIT 26
26.1.
The sound [ еə ]
No.19, diphthong with a front, open (narrow variation), unrounded nucleus
and [ə] – glide.
The nucleus of this diphthong is a vowel between [е] and [æ]. The tongue is
in the half-open front position. For the glide the tongue moves in the direction of
the neutral sound [ə]. The lips are neutral.
[1, p. 110].
First practise saying the sounds [ɪə] and [еə], then practise saying them in
contrast. Listen and repeat:
[ɪə] ear beer pier hear tear Cheers!
[еə] air bear pear hair tear chairs
UNIT 26 115
26.3. Dialogue
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue below illustrating the sound
[еə]. Listen and repeat:
Clair square they‟re hairbrushes everywhere
pair where wearing nowhere upstairs and downstairs
chair there Mary anywhere carefully
Dialogue A Pair of Hairbrushes
Mary: I've lost two small hairbrushes, Claire. They're a pair.
Claire: Have you looked carefully everywhere?
Mary: Yes. They're nowhere here.
Claire: Have you looked upstairs?
Mary: Yes. I've looked everywhere upstairs and downstairs.
They aren't anywhere.
Claire: Hm! Are they square, Mary?
Mary: Yes. They're square hairbrushes. Have you seen them anywhere?
Claire: Well, you're wearing one of them in your hair!
Mary: Oh! Then where's the other one?
Claire: It's over there under the chair.
[2, p. 27].
Be careful! Words that are marked with an asterisk* have two meanings and
two pronunciations.
Dear hearse cheat weary health thread search gear
Breathe leapt beast scream yearn deaf breath leap
Cease theatre heal spear reason beard bear swear
Earth tear* jealous clear weapon great death Pear
breadth meant breast steak lead* pearl
[4, p. 87].
UNIT 27 117
UNIT 27
27.1.
The sound [ ʊə ]
No.20, diphthong with a back advanced, close (broad variation), slightly
rounded nucleus and [ə] – glide.
The nucleus of the diphthong is the vowel [ʊ] (not [u:]). For the glide the ton-
gue moves towards the neutral sound [ə], the mouth gets more open. The lips are
slightly rounded and get neutral as the mouth opens for [ə].
[1, p. 111].
Recommendations. In order to make [h]-sounds, hold the mouth ready for the
vowel and push a short gasp of breath by the lungs; breathe the air out weakly
adding some slight fricative noise to the vowel. To make the sound [h] you should
push a lot of air out of your mouth without moving your tongue. The sound is
similar to the noise you make if you are out of breath.
[1, p. 48].
First practise saying the words without the first consonant sound and [h],
then practise saying them in contrast. Listen and repeat:
(no sound) ill eel and old ear eye
[h] hill heel hand hold hear high
Listen to the sentences below and underline the [ h ] sounds that you hear.
a. Helen has cut her own hair again - it's absolutely horrible!
b. Have you heard about Hanna's horrific adventure in Hamburg?
c. Henry's Uncle Herbert has had another heart attack in hospital.
d. Old Hugh hasn't eaten his ham and eggs already, has he?
e. Hazel and Alan have had another unhappy holiday hitch-hiking in Austria
and Hungary.
There are six words where the letter h is not pronounced. Go back and cross
out these hs. What sort of words have silent hs? Why do you think the h is silent?
Practise saying each of the sentences. Start by saying it very slowly, and gradually
say it faster and faster. Pay attention to the [ h ] sounds. Be careful not to put in
any extra [ h ] sounds.
Look at the words in the box below. Seven of them are 'exceptions'. They
are not weak forms but the letter h at the beginning of the syllable is not pro-
nounced. Consult your dictionary to find the seven words. At the same time you
can check the meaning of any words that you do not know.
UNIT 27 119
Close your book. Remember the seven words where h is not pronounced?
[3, p. 35].
27.3. Dialogue
Read the dialogue, transcribe it, and mark all the phonetic phenomena in it.
Then listen to the dialogue, mark stresses and tunes. Then picture it on the tono-
gram. Then listen to the dialogue a lot of times and learn it by heart.
Practice saying some words from the dialogue below illustrating the sound
[h]. Listen and repeat:
hit hello having horrible horse perhaps
Hilda Helen happened how heard behind
Mrs. Higgins husband hospital house hope unhappy
Dialogue A Horrible Accident
Helen: Hello, Ellen
Ellen: Hello, Helen. Have you heard? There's been a horrible accident.
Helen: Oh, dear! What's happened?
Ellen: Hilda Higgins' husband has had an accident on his horse.
Helen: How awful! Is he injured?
Ellen: Yes. An ambulance has taken him to hospital.
Helen: How did it happen?
Ellen: He was hit by an express train. It was on the crossing just behind his house.
Helen: How horrible!
Ellen: He's having an important operation in hospital now. Poor Hilda!
She's so unhappy.
Helen: Perhaps he'll be all right.
Ellen: I hope so.
[2, p. 52].
ЛИТЕРАТУРА
1. Соколова М.А., Гинтовт К.П., Кантер Л.А. и др. Практическая фоне-
тика английского языка: учебн. для фак. англ. яз. пед. ин-тов. – Высш. шк.,
1984. – 352 с.
2. Ann Baker Ship or Sheep, an intermediate pronunciation course – 64 стр.
3. Sarah Cunningham, Bill Bowler Headway Intermediate Pronunciation – Ox-
ford University Press, 1999 – 112 pp
4. Liz & John Soars with Jo Devoy New Headway English course upper-
intermediate, workbook – Oxford University Press, 2001
5. Liz & John Soars New Headway English course upper-intermediate, stu-
dent‟s book – Oxford University Press, 2001
6. Liz & John Soars New Headway English course intermediate, workbook –
Oxford University Press, 2001
7. John & Liz Soars Headway intermediate, student‟s book – Oxford Universi-
ty Press, 1996 – 120 pp.
8. Jan bell, Roger Gower Matters upper-intermediate, workbook – Longman,
2000 – 80 стр.
9. Gillie Cunningham Matters elementary, workbook – Longman, 78 стр.
№ 3711
81.2 Англ
П 692
ПРАКТИЧЕСКИЙ КУРС
ПЕРВОГО ИЗУЧАЕМОГО ЯЗЫКА
ПРАКТИЧЕСКАЯ ФОНЕТИКА
АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА
ENGLISH PRONINCIATION
Методическое пособие
НОВОСИБИРСК
2009
ПРАКТИЧЕСКИЙ КУРС
ПЕРВОГО ИЗУЧАЕМОГО ЯЗЫКА
ПРАКТИЧЕСКАЯ ФОНЕТИКА
АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА
ENGLISH PRONINCIATION
Методическое пособие
в авторской редакции