ery 1 Pronouncing the Vowels of American English ~ ‘You have probably discovered that there is a big difference between the way words are spelled in English and the way they are pronounced, English spelling alters are inconsistent and are not always a reliable guide to pronunciation, For example, in the following words, the letter a is used to represent five different sounds. hate father have = any saw Pretty confusing, right? That's why we need a set of symbols in which each sound is represented by a different symbol. In this book, you will see symbols used, ‘These are the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which is used all over the world, I consists of a set of symbols in which one symabol represents one sound, DON'T PANIC! tis not necessary to learn all the symbols at once. Each sound will be introduced and explained one at a time. You will learn the symbols easily aS you progress through the book. A pronunciation key to the different vowels and diphthongs of American English with their IPA symbols is presented below. Refer to it as needed. To help you understand the exact Pronunciation of the phonetic symbols and key words, the Key to Pronouncing the Vowels of American English is included in the audio program. You will hear each Phonetic symbol introduced and Pronounced once. Each English key word will be said once, LeeAnn eee en INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET SYMBOL “ENGLISH KEY WoRDs SECTION a me, tea, bee wl it, pin fen ate, game, they fel egg, head, pet el at, fat, happy fal _hot, father SECTON 2 fu] you, too, rule tw ut, cook W) up, but, come fou] boat, no, oh bl alll, boss, caught SECTION 3 bl soda, upon bl um, first, serve ta] father, after ful ‘out, cow, house [at] my, pie, I bo) il, boy, noise seer eaeearooeanrne cue ctiiccDefinitions 4 Part 1; Vowels ‘As you progress through English Pronunciation Made Simple, you will frequently see the terms articulators, vowels, and diphthongs. We will now define these terms for you. ‘Articulators: The articulators are the different parts of the mouth area that we use when speaking, such as the lips, tongue, teeth, and jaw, Vowel: A vowel is a speech sound produced with vibrating vocal cords and a continuous unrestricted flow of air coming from the mouth. The most well-known, vowels in English are: (Asses eee Tease Olean Ul ‘The various vowel sounds are affected by the changing shape and position of your articulators. The different vowels are created by: 1. The position of your tongue in the mouth. For example, the tongue is high in the mouth for the vowel [i] as in “see,” but is low the mouth for the vowel [a] as in “hot.” 2. The shape of your lips. For example, the lips are very rounded for the vowel [u] as in “new,” but are spread for [i] as in “see.” 3. ‘The size of your jaw opening. For example, the jaw is open much wider for fal as in “hot” than it is for the diphthong [er] as in “pay.” Diphthong: A diphthong is a combination of two vowel sounds, It begins as one ‘vowel and ends as another. During the production of a diphthong, your darticulators glide from the position of the first vowel to the position of the second. For example, when pronouncing [et] as in “vein,” your articulators glide from the vowel [e] to the vowel [1]. In English, the most common diphthongs are [av], [et], far), [or], and {ov} | i | | | |PRONOUNCING FRONT VOWELS ES You can see in the pictures how the jaw moves from a closed position to an open one during pronunciation of the vowel sequence [i], [1], [et], [e), (e], [al Becoming familiar with this progression and understanding the relationship of ‘one vowel to another will help you with your pronunciation of the vowels. * The phonetic symbol [1] represents a sound between [i] and [ei]. It is, pronounced with the jaw and tongue raised more than for [er], but not as much as for [i]. + The symbol [a] represents a sound between [¢] and [a]. [2] is pronounced with the jaw open more than for (e] but not as much as for [a]. Refer to these pictures whenever you have difficulty pronouncing any of the vowels. Repeat the sequence [i], [1] fet] [e], [2 [a] several times. Notice the progressive dropping of your tongue and jaw as you pronounce each sound. Lesson1 5PRONOUNCI ING BACK VOWELS sm a closed position to an open one ota vowel sequence. Practice pronouncing the series ‘Lind under your chin and feel your jaw drop with the once again you can see how the jaw moves fro during the pronuneiatior several times. Place your pronunciation of each vowel ‘Refer to these pictures whenever You are confused about the pronunciation of {a [ov], (01, {al several times. any of the vowels, Repeat the sequence {ul, fol, By tbe able to see and feel your jaw Tower as you Pronounce ‘the vowels in the series. TRY IT NOW! IT REALLY WORKS! a eNO cricnanicemessiasiiaaieseaiate