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 Contents
Unit I: Understanding Phonetics
What is phonetics? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
The production of speech …………………………………………..…….………………………………………………………………………… 4
The vocal tract ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Organs of speech ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………. 5
The mouth cavity ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Phonemes and allophones ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….. 7
RP and other Englishes ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 8

Unit II: Vocalic sounds

Vowels ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……… 9
The vowel quadrilateral ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 9
The English vowels …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………… 10
Minimal pairs ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15
Diphthongs ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……. 16
Monophthongization ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…… 21
Triphthongs …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……… 21

Unit III: Consonants

Definition …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………22
The speech mechanism …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
Criteria for consonant description …………………………………………………………………………………………………..……. 24
Classification of consonants ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..…… 24
Notes on consonants ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………….. 28
The English consonants ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….. 31
Phonemes of restricted occurrence ………………………………………………………………………………………….…………. 36

Unit IV: The word in connected speech

Inflectional suffixes: Pronunciation rules ………………………………………………………...…………………………………… 40
Strong and weak forms ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……. 42
The word in isolation ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…. 45
The word in connected speech …………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………. 46
Common strong and weak forms ……………………………………………………………………………………………..…… 47
Allophonic variations …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 57
Phonemic variations ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 57

Appendix A ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………. 62

Appendix B …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 72

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Hints on Pronunciation for Foreigners
(By T.S.W)

I take it you already know

Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through?
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of these familiar traps?

Beware of heard, a dreadful word,

That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead,
For Goodness' sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.

A moth is not a moth in mother

Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there's dose and rose and lose-
Just look them up: and goose and choose,

And cork and work and card and ward

And font and front and word and sword.
And do and go and thwart and cart-
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man Alive!
I learned to speak it when I was five!

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/hɪnts ɒn prənʌnsieɪʃᵊn fə fɒrənəz/
/bɑɪ ti: es dʌbᵊl ju:/

/ɑɪ teɪk ɪt jʊ ɔ:ɫredi nəʊ

əv tʌf / ən bɑʊ / ən kɒf / ən dəʊ /
ʌðəz meɪ stʌmbᵊl / bət nɒt ju /
ɒn hɪkʌp / θʌrə / lɑ:f / ən θru: /
wel dʌn / ən nɑʊ jʊ wɪʃ pəhæps /
tə lɜ:n əv ði:z fəmɪliə træps //

/bɪweər əv hɜ:d / ə dredfᵊl wɜ:d /

ðət lʊks lɑɪk bɪəd / ən sɑʊndz lɑɪk bɜ:d /
ən ded / ɪts səd lɑɪk bed / nɒt bi:d /
fə gʊdnəs seɪk / dəʊn kɔ:l ɪt di:d /
wɒtʃ ɑʊt fə mi:t / ən greɪt / ən θret /
ðeɪ rɑɪm wɪð swi:t / ən streɪt / ən det //

/ə mɒθ ɪz nɒt ə mɒθ ɪn mʌðə /

nɔ: bəʊθ ɪn bɒðə / brɒθ ɪn brʌðə /
ən hɪə ɪz nɒt ə mætʃ fə ðeə /
nɔ: dɪər ən fɪə fə beər ən peə /
ən ðen ðəz dəʊs ən rəʊz / ən lu:z /
dʒʌst lʊk ðəm ʌp / ən gu:s / ən tʃu:z /

ən kɔ:k / ən wɜ:k / ən kɑ:d / ən wɔ:d /

ən fɒnt / ən frʌnt / ən wɜ:d / ən sɔ:d /
ən du: / ən gəʊ / ən θwɔ:t / ən kɑ:t /
kʌm / kʌm / ɑɪv hɑ:dli meɪd ə stɑ:t //

/ə dredfᵊl læŋgwɪdʒ / mæn əlɑɪv /

ɑɪ lɜ:nd tə spi:k ɪt wen ɑɪ wəz faɪv /
ən jet tə rɑɪt ɪt / ðə mɔ:r ɑɪ sɑɪ /
ɑɪl nɒt nəʊ hɑʊ / tɪl ðə deɪ ɑɪ dɑɪ//

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 Unit I: Understanding phonetics
What is phonetics?
Phonetics /fəˈnɛtɪks/ is a branch of Linguistics that studies the physical and physiological
aspects of speech sounds. It deals with the description and classification of these sounds as
they are produced, transmitted and perceived. Its three main branches are:
● Articulatory phonetics: It studies how sounds are produced in the vocal tract.
● Acoustic phonetics: It deals with the physical properties of speech sounds as sound
waves transmitted from the mouth to the ear.
● Auditory phonetics: It focuses on the way speech sounds are perceived by the listener.
The production of speech

Speech is the result of a complicated series of events.

1° Stage: The formulation of the concept takes place in the brain. This is a psychological
stage (or psycholinguistic stage).
2° stage: The nervous system carries the message to the “organs of speech,” which move
in response to articulate the sounds that make up words. This stage is physiological (or
articulatory).
3° stage: The movement of the organs generates disturbances in the air, and the sound
travels in the form of waves to the listener’s ears. Sound waves are studied by acoustics, a
branch of physics, so we say that the third stage is physical.

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From the point of view of the listener, this process is reversed:
1° stage: The listener receives the vibrations at an acoustic level.
2° stage: The auditory system perceives these vibrations and sends the message to the
brain (physiological stage)
3° stage: The brain decodes the signal (psychological stage).

The vocal tract

★ Activity: Label each part of the vocal tract and write the phonemic transcription.

Organs of speech

We don’t have real organs of speech. When we speak we use organs and body parts whose
original function is different from speaking. These organs developed way before oral
communication. For this reason, we can say that we borrow parts from the respiratory and
digestive tracts to speak (lungs, parts of the mouth and the nose).

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The mouth cavity

★ Activity: Colour and label the parts of the tongue and the palate. Include the transcriptions.

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Phonemes and allophones
The correct term to designate the sounds we have been talking about is phoneme
/ˈfəʊ.niːm/.
A phoneme is defined as the smallest unit of oral language that can distinguish meaning.
They are the basic building blocks of the sound system of a language.
Phonemes can distinguish meaning because they are units of contrast. This means that if
you change one phoneme in a word, you get a new word as a result (the meaning of the word
changes). This is how we discover minimal pairs: pairs of words that differ only in one phoneme.
For example, in speech we can differentiate the word sheep from ship because of their vowel
only.
Sheep /ʃiːp/

Ship /ʃɪp/
The same happens with the words hat and heart
Hat /hæt/

Heart /hɑːt/
However, the realisation of a phoneme is not the same for all the speakers or across
regions, but pronouncing a phoneme in a slightly different way doesn't make a difference in
meaning. For example:
A British speaker will say the word home as /həʊm/ with some lip spreading for the first
vocalic element, whereas an American speaker will say /hoʊm/ with lip rounding for the first
vocalic element.
Although there is a difference in the way the two speakers pronounce the same diphthong,
there is no difference in meaning. So, we say that /əʊ/ and /oʊ/ are allophones /ˈæl.ə.fəʊnz/:
two variants of the same phoneme. We define an allophone as an alternative realisation of the
same phoneme that does not affect meaning.
The same happens in Spanish. When a person from Salta says cerro they may say /seřo/
while someone from Buenos Aires will probably say /sero/. Those are different realisations of
the phoneme /r/ whose use does not affect the meaning of the word Therefore /r/ and /ř/ are
allophones. Now, if someone says /seɾo/ they are actually articulating the word cero and both
the person from Salta and the one from Buenos Aires will recognize this as a different word,
with a different meaning, so /ɾ/ is a different phoneme.

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RP and other Englishes
English is spoken in numerous countries around the world, either as a mother tongue or as
a second language. This means that there are different varieties of English, each of them with
their own peculiarities. This is nothing out of the ordinary and it is not restricted to the English
language. You have probably noticed that the Spanish we speak in Argentina is not the same
variety as the one spoken in Spain or in Colombia. Variations are also noticeable even within
one country.
There is nothing wrong with this diversity but the problem that arises is: what variety
should we teach? Most of the time the answer is determined by the amount of teaching
material available.
In this course, we focus on British English. We specifically study RP (Received
Pronunciation) also called BBC English or “The Queen’s English”. RP used to be considered the
standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English and it was associated with
educated speakers. Nowadays, it is considered posh and old-fashioned. However, the majority
of ELT (English Language Teaching) material still relies on RP symbols and standards.

★ Watch the following videos.

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 Unit II: Vocalic sounds
Vowels
Vowels are sounds in which there is no contact between the articulators. This means that
the passage of air through the mouth is unrestricted. These sounds usually have a central
syllabic function. This means that they take a medial position within the syllable, they are the
nucleus. Since there is no contact, vowels are more easily described in auditory terms (how
they sound).

The vowel quadrilateral 🔗

The vowel quadrilateral is a diagram that represents our mouth cavity. It is used to show an
approximate articulatory description of vowels. It is used mainly for pedagogical purposes.
(Check “The Mouth Cavity” on page 6)

★ Activity: Label the diagram and the english vowels in it.

In order to produce vowel sounds we use the tongue, the lips and the jaw. This diagram
helps us notice where the tongue is placed and how open the mouth is in the production of a
vowel.

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 When we describe vowels we consider:
● Part of the tongue involved (front, centre or mid)
● Openness of the mouth (open, open mid, close mid or close position)
● The position of the lips or degree of spreading/rounding (spread, neutral, rounded)

In other languages we must also bear in mind:

● Position of the soft palate (there are nasalized vowels in other languages)

The English vowels

There are 12 vowels in English and none of them coincide exactly with the Spanish vowels.
A description of English vowels follows in the charts below.

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Front vowels

Vowel Vowel #1 /i:/ Vowel #2 /ɪ/ Vowel #3 /e/ Vowel #4 /æ/

Place in the
diagram

The front of the tongue is A part of the tongue nearer the The front of the tongue is
The front of the tongue is
raised below the close centre than the front is raised raised between the close mid
raised below the open-mid
position. The lips are spread just above the close-mid and the open-mid positions.
position. The lips are neutrally
Description and the tongue is tense. The position. The lips are loosely The lips are loosely spread but
open and the side rims make
sides rims of the tongue make spread and tongue is lax so the more open than for /ɪ/. The side
light contact with the upper
firm contact with the upper side rims make light contact rims make light contact with
molars.
molars. with the upper molars. the upper molars.

i: mint, silk, bikini…

ee: cheese, tree, feet…
e: England, careless, pretty…
e: complete, these…
y: symbol, city, syllable…
ea: seat, clean, tea… e: bet, well, else…
a: message, village, private…
Spelling i: police, machine, prestige… ea: head, dead, breath… a: apple, back, marry…
ey: monkey, donkey, honey…
ie: field, piece, shield… a: any, many…
ie (inflectional suffix -ies):
ei: receive, seize…
stories, carries, carried…
ey: key…

build and built, business,

again, bury, friend, said and
Exceptions people, quay minute, guinea, Sunday (days daiquiri, plaid, plait, timbre
says, Geoffrey, Leicester.
of the week), women

The mouth is tense, very little The mouth is lax. There is no The is more tension than in /ɪ/.
Advice open and the lips are spread as tension. It sounds as if we were It is more open than Spanish It is more open than /e/.
if smiling. It’s quite long. tired. It’s short. /e/.

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 Back vowels
Vowel Vowel #5 /ɑ:/
Place in the
diagram
A part of the tongue
between the centre and the
back is in the fully open
position. The lips are
Description
neutrally open and there is
no contact between the
side rims and the upper
molars.
a: last, bath, father…
ar: part, hard, large…
Spelling al: half, palm, calm…
au: aunt, laugh…
ear: hearth, heart…
Note: Derby, clerk and
sergeant take /ɑ:/ in BrE
Exceptions and /æ/ in AmE
Note: Usually /æ/ in AmE
(ask, plant, dance…)
It’s as if showing your throat
Advice to the doctor. We lower the
back of the tongue
Vowel #6 /ɒ/
The back of the tongue is
raised above the open
position. The lips are open
and slightly rounded.
There is no contact
between the side rims and
the upper molars.
o: dog, gone, holiday…
a: want, watch, what…
ou: cough,
ow: knowledge,
au: Austria, because,
laurel…
No exceptions
The lips form an open
circle.
Vowel #7 /ɔ:/
The back of the tongue is
raised between the
close-mid and the
open-mid position. The
lips are. There’s medium lip
rounding and no contact
between the side rims and
the upper molars.
ar: warm, quarter, war…
or: cord, horse, short
ore: more, before, core
oar: board, soar
oor: door, floor…
our: four, court…
a: water…
al: talk, salt, small…
au, ou: caught, bought
aw: jaw, saw, yawn
sword
Note: /ʊə/ turning /ɔ:/ for
spelling <ure>
There is lip protrusion. It’s
a fairly long sound.
Vowel #8 /ʊ/ Vowel #9 /u:/
A part of the tongue
A part of the tongue near
nearer the centre than the
the back is raised below
back is raised above the
the close position. The lips
close-mid position. The
are closely rounded and
lips are loosely closely
there is very light contact
rounded and there’s no
between the side rims and
contact between the side
the upper molars.
rims and the upper molars.
o: do, move, who…
u: June, rule, crucial…
o: wolf, woman, bosom ou: soup, ghoul, wound
u: put, sugar, butcher… oo: boot, cool, root…
ou: could, courier… ue: blue, true…
oo: wood, book, good… oe: shoe
ew: jew, new, flew…
ui: juice…
Note: /ju:/ is usually
Worcester /wʊs.tə/ realised /u:/ in AmE
(student, news…)
The mouth is lax. It’s a There is lip protrusion. It’s
short sound. a fairly long sound.
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Central vowels

Vowel Vowel #10 /ʌ/ Vowel #11 /ɜ:/ Vowel #12 /ə/

Place in the
diagram

The centre of the tongue is raised The centre of the tongue is raised
The centre of the tongue is raised
between the close-mid and the between the close-mid and the
above the open position. The lips are
open-mid positions. The lips are open-mid positions. The lips are
Description neutrally open and there is no
neutrally spread and there is no neutrally open and there is no contact
contact between the side rims and the
contact between the side rims and the between the side rims and the upper
upper molars.
upper molars. molars.

a: about, affect, woman…

er, err (in accented syllables): her, e: milkmen, gentlemen, problem
perfect, serve, err i: possible, quality, family…
ur, urr: urgent, church, hurt, purr o: oblige, offend, common…
u: sun, cut, result
ir: bird, first, girl u: suppose, support, cactus
o: tongue, come, Monday
Spelling yr: Myrtle, myrrh ar: particular
ou: country, enough, young
w+or: word, worth, work er: mother, waiter
oo: blood, flood
ear: earth, learn, search or: razor, doctor
our: courtesy, journey, scourge our: colour
ous: famous
ure: adventure, future, culture

Note: used in the weak realisation of

Exceptions does colonel
structure words

It’s a short, obscure sound. It has the

It’s a somewhat long sound that occurs
same quality as vowel 11 but it occurs
in accented syllables. It's similar to the
Advice It’s a short abrupt sound. only in unaccented syllables, so it is
sound we make when we hesitate or
considered an unaccented allophone of
when we dislike something.
that vowel.

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 ★ Transcription: Look up and transcribe the words presented in the charts.
Vowel #1 /i:/ Vowel #2 /ɪ/ Vowel #3 /e/ Vowel #4 /æ/ Vowel #10 /ʌ/ Vowel #5 /ɑ:/
feet /fiːt/ mint bet apple sun bath
cheese pretty head back result father
complete symbol breath marry tongue hard
clean message any Monday large
police many daiquiri country
private half
machine plaid enough
monkey palm
piece again plait blood aunt
receive build burry timbre
laugh
key business friend does
hearth
minute said
heart
people guinea Geoffrey
quay Sunday Leicester Derby
women clerk
sergeant

Vowel #6 /ɒ/ Vowel #7 /ɔ:/ Vowel #8 /ʊ/ Vowel #9 /u:/ Vowel #11 /ɜ:/ Vowel #12 /ə/
dog warm wolf move perfect about
holiday horse sugar June err problem
want before courier soup urgent possible
watch board book boot first offend
cough floor blue girl support
knowledge court shoe myrrh particular
because water jew word mother
laurel salt juice earth razor
caught courtesy colour
bought journey famous
jaw adventure
colonel
sword

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Minimal pairs: Vowels

/i:/ /ɪ/ /e/ /æ/

seat sit set sat

beat bit bet bat

bean bin Ben ban

eat it ate at

/æ/ /ʌ/ /ɑ:/

cat cut cart

ban bun barn

hat hut heart

match much march

/ɒ/ /ɔ:/ /ʊ/ /u:/

spot sport look Luke

shot short full fool

pot port pull pool

wand warned

/ɜ:/ /e/

word wed

burn Ben

turn ten

heard head

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Diphthongs
Diphthongs are glides from one vocalic position (starting point) to another vocalic position
(target element). For this reason, confusion arises and some may think they represent the
addition of two sounds, but this is not the case. A diphthong represents one vocalic sound with
a little movement at the end.
There are eight diphthongs in English:
1. /eɪ/ 4. /əʊ/ 7. /eə/
2. /aɪ/ 5. /aʊ/ 8. /ɪə/
3. /ɔɪ/ 6. Dsdf 9. /ʊə/
Characteristics
➔ They involve movement between two vocalic elements.
➔ These sounds are more likely to suffer regional changes.
➔ Diphthongs, like vowels, tend to be longer in final position or when followed by a voiced
sound.
May /meɪ/ lie /laɪ/
made /meɪd/ lies /laɪz/
make /meɪk/ like /laɪk/

Classification
According to the position of their target element we can classify diphthongs into:
➔ Closing diphthongs: There is a closing movement because the target element is closer
than the starting point. That is the case for: /aɪ/ /eɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /əʊ/ and /aʊ/

➔ Centring diphthongs: These diphthongs end in schwa which is a central sound, so there
is movement towards the centre of the mouth, as in /eə/ /ɪə/ and /ʊə/

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In relation to the prominence of their elements we can distinguish:
➔ Falling diphthongs: Most of the length and stress is concentrated on the first element
and the second or target element is lightly sounded. The listener can barely hear the
second element. All diphthongs in English are falling.
➔ Rising diphthongs: In a rising diphthong the second element is more prominent than the
first one. In English, this can happen, exceptionally, with diphthongs /ɪə/ and /ʊə/. They
become rising diphthongs when they occur in unaccented syllables of long words. Eg:

Falling Rising

/ɪə/ /ʊə/ /ɪə/ /ʊə/

/hɪə/ /tʊə/
/ɒstrɪə/
/dɪə/ /pʊə/ /ɪnflʊəns/
/wɪndɪə/
/aɪdɪə/ /flʊənt/ /reskjʊə/
/pɪərɪəd/
/mɪdɪəm/ /plʊərəl/

English diphthongs
A description of English diphthongs follows.

17
Closing diphthongs

Diphthong /eɪ/ /aɪ/ /ɔɪ/

Position in the
diagram

The glide begins with the back of the

The glide begins with the front to the
tongue below the close-mid position and
Description
moves in the direction of vowel #2 /ɪ/.
The lips are spread.
The glide begins with a part behind the front
tongue raised below the open-mid
of the tongue above the open position and
position and moves in the direction of
moves towards the position of /ɪ/. The lips
vowel #2 /ɪ/. The lips change from open
change from neutrally open to loosely spread
rounded to loosely spread.

a: ache, game, make

i: time, ice, like
ai: rain, fail, straight
ie: lie, pie, tie oi: voice, point, noise
Spellings ay: day, play, crayon
y: sly, spy, type oy: boy, toy, joy
ei: eight, weight, veil
ye: dye, bye
ey: they, whey
igh: bright, fight, right
ea: break, great, steak

Exceptions gauge, cafe, suede buy, eye, either buoy

Advice The first element is closer than /e/ and For the first element the jaw is lowered. The The first element is between /ɒ/ and /ɔ:/.
the second element is hardly reached. second element is hardly reached. The second element is hardly reached.

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 Diphthong /əʊ/ (In AmE /oʊ/) 🔗 /aʊ/

Position in the
diagram

The glide starts with the centre of the tongue The glide starts with a part of the tongue
raised between the open-mid and the advanced the back raised below the open-mid
Description close-mid position and moves in the direction position and moves in the direction of vowel
of vowel #8 /ʊ/. The lips change from neutrally #8 /ʊ/. The lips change from neutrally open to
spread to loosely rounded. loosely rounded.

o: go, bold, cold

oa: boat, goal, reproach
ou: mouse, sound, house
Spellings oe: toe, foe, oboe
ow: cow, brown, now
ou: soul, shoulder, though
ow: grow, know, own

Exceptions mauve, gauche, sew, brooch

In BrE there is lip spreading for the first The first element is similar to vowel #5 /a:/ so
Advice element. In AmE there is lip rounding. The we lower the back of the tongue. The second
second element is hardly reached. element is hardly reached.

19
Centring diphthongs

Diphthong /eə/ /ɪə/ /ʊə/

Position in the
diagram

The glide starts with a part of the tongue The glide starts with a part of the tongue
The glide starts with the front of the tongue
nearer the centre than the front raised nearer the centre than the back raised
raised above the open-mid position and
Description above the close-mid position and moves in above the close-mid position and moves in
moves in the direction of schwa. The lips are
the direction of schwa. The lips are loosely the direction of schwa. The lips change
neutrally spread.
spread. from loosely rounded to loosely spread.

eer: deer, beer, sneer

ear: clear, beard, spear oor: poor, moor
er, ere: sicere, zero, here, sphere our: tour, bourgeois
are: stare, bare, ie(r): pier, fierce, salient Ue: cruel, fluent
Spellings air: stair, fairy, hair ea: area, idea, real ua: usual, actual
ear: bear, eo: theology, theory ur: plural, insurance
eu: museum, mausoleum ure: sure, lure
ia: brilliant, familiar, media ewer: sewer, fewer
iu: medium, union, stadium

Heir, there, their, Mary, Sarah, scarce,

Exceptions Weird Jewel
where, parents

The first element is more open than vowel The first element is vowel #2, the second The first element is vowel #8, the second
Advice
#3 /e/. vowel is schwa but it is hardly reached. vowel is schwa but it is hardly reached.

20
Monophthongization of centring diphthongs /’mɒnəfθɒŋˌɡaɪzeɪʃən/ 🔗
Centring diphthongs are becoming monophthongs in most positions. However, in final open
positions the diphthong is still used.
➔ Instead of /eə/, we can hear a longer version of the first element:
<scared> →/skɛ:d/instead of /skeəd/
➔ Instead of /ɪə/ we can hear a a longer version of the first element:
<beard> → /bɪ:d/ instead of /bɪəd/
➔ Instead of /ʊə/ we can hear a longer version of the first element or vowel #7 /ɔː/
<sure> → /ʃʊː/ instead of /ʃʊə/
<sure> → /ʃɔː/ instead of /ʃʊə/

Diphthongs + schwa (or triphthongs)

The five closing diphthongs (/eɪ/ /aɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /əʊ/ and /aʊ/) may be followed by schwa /ə/ within
a words in three circumstances:

➔ As an inseparable part of the word

Layer /leɪə/ Mower /məʊə/
Desire /dɪsaɪə/ Flower /flaʊə/

➔ As a suffix
Player /pleɪə/ Destroyer /dɪstrɔɪə/
Higher /haɪə/ Slower /sləʊə/

➔ As a separable element internal in a composite word

Nowadays /naʊədeɪz/

However, in these cases, there is a tendency (especially in rapid speech) to omit the second
element of the diphthong. This process is known as smoothing. 🔗
Player: /pleɪə/→/ple:ə/
Fire: /faɪə/→/fa:ə/
Employer: /ɪmplɔɪə/→/ɪmplɔ:ə/

Vowel: /vaʊəl/→/va:əl/

Slower: /sləʊə/→/slə:ə/

21
 Unit III: Consonants
Definition
Grammatically speaking, consonants are sounds which normally appear at syllable edges
i.e. at the beginning (onset) or at the end (coda) of the syllable. In other words they have a
marginal syllabic function, in contrast to vowels which have typically a central position in the
syllable (nucleus).

run mascot

/rʌn/ /mæs.kɒt/

c+v+c c+v+c.c+v+c

Phonetically, consonants are sounds in whose articulation there is a complete closure

between two organs or a narrowing in which the two organs come close enough to cause
friction. This is why we can describe consonants in articulatory terms.

There exist in English a few sounds which are normally studied together with consonants
but are not strictly consonants. We can find:

Semiconsonants and semivowels (or approximants)

Phonemes /r/ and /l/ are considered semi-consonants since they have a marginal syllabic
function (a feature of consonants) but they can, in particular situations, become the nucleus of
the syllable (a feature of vowels). They also have some articulatory characteristics that make
them fall in a category in between consonants and vowels.

/j/ and /w/ are said to be semivowels because phonetically they are similar to vowels.
These phonemes can form glides with the vowel that follows them. The palatal semivowel /j/ is
articulated in a position similar to /i:/ with neutral lips. The labio-velar semivowel /w/ is
articulated in a position similar to /u:/ with rounded lips.
Young /jʌŋ/ - Anguish /æŋɡwɪʃ/

However, grammatically, these phonemes function as consonants (they have a marginal

syllabic function) appearing in the onset of syllables. Moreover, articles take their
preconsonantal form when followed by /j/ or /w/
A yacht /ə jɒt/ - The yard /ðə jɑːd/
A wasp /ə wɒsp/ - The West /ðə west/

22
The speech mechanism: How consonants are produced

Notice the following:

➔ The main usual source of energy for our vocal activity is provided by the lungs.

➔ The vocal folds present the first barrier and they may assume three different positions:
1. They may be held tightly closed which maintains the air pent-up below the, as for
a glottal stop.
2. They may be held open so the air passes through them with no vibration. Thus,
voiceless sounds are produced.
3. They may be held sufficiently close together so that they vibrate when air passes
through and voiced sounds are produced as a result.

➔ The position of the soft palate will affect the course of the air stream depending on its
position:
1. If the soft palate is raised the air escapes only through the mouth.
2. If the soft palate is lowered…
- …and there is no obstruction in the mouth, the air escapes both through the
mouth and nose. This way nasalized sounds are produced (French vowels)
23
 - …and there is a complete obstruction in the mouth, no oral escape is
possible so the air is expelled through the nose. As a result, we get nasal
sounds.

➔ Despite these modifications, it is the shape of the mouth that will finally determine the
quality of the majority of speech sounds.

Therefore, consonants must be described considering:

1. Nature of the air stream

2. Position of the vocal folds
3. Position of the soft palate
4. Place of articulation
5. Manner of articulation

Criteria for consonant description

Type of consonant
Criteria Ask yourself: Answer
you get

From the lungs (Under normal

Nature of the Where does the circumstances, for all English
1
air stream air come from? sounds the air comes from the
lungs)

They open, there’s no vibration.

Vocal folds How open are the
2 They are very near, vibrating.
activity vocal folds?
They are completely closed.

Raised
Position of the Is the soft palate
3
soft palate raised or lowered?
Lowered

The upper lip with the lower lip

The upper teeth with the lower

lip
Which organs
Place of The tip and blade of the tongue
4 form the contact
articulation with the upper teeth
or narrowing?

The tip and blade of the tongue

with the alveolar ridge

24
 The tip and blade of the tongue
with the rear part of the alveolar
ridge

The tip and blade of the tongue

with the alveolar ridge and the
front of the tongue with the hard
palate

The back of the tongue with the

soft palate

The vocal folds

They form a complete closure

and then separate abruptly.

They form a narrowing

sufficiently close to cause
friction.

They form a complete closure

What is the and then separate slowly
nature of the causing friction.
Manner of closure or
5 They form a partial closure so
articulation narrowing that
the articulators the air can escape through the
form? sides.

There is an obstruction in the

mouth and the soft palate is
lowered so the air escapes
through the nose.

The organs simply approximate

without causing friction.

Classification of consonants
Classification according to the place of articulation
Following the vocal tract from the lips in an inward direction, consonant can be classified into:

25
Classification Organs that form the contact Sounds

/p/ - /b/
Bilabial The lower lip with the upper lip
/m/

Labiodental The upper teeth with the lower lip /f/ - /v/

Dental The tip and blade of the tongue with the upper teeth /θ/ - /ð/

/t/ - /d/
/s/ - /z/
Alveolar The tip and blade of the tongue with the alveolar ridge
/n/
/l/

The tip and blade of the tongue with the rear part of the /r/
Post-alveolar
alveolar ridge

/ʃ/ - /ʒ/
The front of the tongue with the rear part of the alveolar
Palato-alveolar
ridge and the beginning of the hard palate /tʃ/ - /dʒ/

/k/ - /g/
Velar The back of the tongue with the velum (soft palate)
/ŋ/

Glottal The glottis /h/

Classification according to the manner of articulation

Classification Description Sounds

Plosives are sounds in whose production a complete

closure forms at some point in the mouth. The air is pent
up behind the closure until the articulators separate /p/ - /b/
abruptly causing the air to escape with plosion. /t/ - /d/
Plosives
EXAMPLE: In the articulation of /p/, the two lips are /k/ - /g/
sealed together and the air builds up behind the closure /ʔ/
until the lips separate rapidly with the air coming strongly
out of the mouth.

26
 Fricatives are a result of the articulators forming a
narrowing rather than a complete closure. The two
/f/ - /v/
organs come so near that the air passes through them
/θ/ - /ð/
with turbulence, causing audible friction. The escape of
Fricatives /s/ - /z/
air is continuous.
/ʃ/ - /ʒ/
EXAMPLE: In the case of /f/, the upper teeth come
/h/
very near the lower lip, allowing the air to escape but
being so near the lip that the escape is turbulent.

It can be said that an affricate is a plosive followed by

a fricative. A complete closure forms, behind which the
air is pent up but the organs separate slowly causing
the air to escape with audible friction.
Affricates /tʃ/ - /dʒ/
EXAMPLE: When we articulate /tʃ/, the tip and blade
of the tongue form a complete closure with the alveolar
ridge, the air builds up behind the closure until the organs
separate slowly letting the air escape with turbulence.

Nasals take place when there is a complete closure at

some point in the mouth that impedes oral escape. The
soft palate is lowered allowing the air to go out through
/m/
the nose.
Nasals /n/
EXAMPLE: In the production of /m/, the lips are
/ŋ/
completely sealed, preventing the air from escaping
through the mouth, but since the velum is lowered, the air
ends up escaping through the nose.

In the articulation of the lateral there is a partial

closure: the tip of the tongue is in contact with the
Laterals /l/
alveolar ridge which allows the air to escape on both
sides (or one side) of the tongue.

Approximants are called this way because in its /r/

Approximants articulation, the tongue moves to a position near to, but /j/
not touching the roof of the mouth. /w/

27
 Notes on consonants
Notes on plosives
Plosives can also be called stops and there are three stages in the articulation of these
sounds:
1. Closing stage: The articulators come together to form the obstruction.
2. Compression or hold stage: The air builds up behind the closure.
3. Release stage: The organs part rapidly; the air which was compressed escapes abruptly,
with an explosion.

➔ Aspiration of plosives:

When plosives occur in initial position in an accented syllable (i.e. in a prominent

word in the utterance) they are aspirated. This means that there is an interval of strongly
expelled breath after the release stage and the beginning of the following vowel. This
aspiration is considerably weaker when the plosive occurs in an unaccented syllable.
However, if /s/ precedes the plosive there is no aspiration and when the plosive occurs
in final position there is no audible release.

➔ Glottal reinforcement of final voiceless plosives /p/ /t/ /k/

In words like shop, shot, or shock it is common to hear a glottal reinforcement before
the voiceless plosive, which means that the oral closure of the plosive is reinforced by a
glottal closure. It is also heard with the voiceless affricate /tʃ/.

Notes on /t/ and /d/

A- Sometimes, the alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/ are articulated very rapidly and sound similar
to an <r>. In these cases, the tip and blade of the tongue move away from the alveolar ridge
very quickly, producing a tap. This is known as T-tapping (or T-voicing) and it is especially
common in GA (General American). It occurs when /t/ is at the end of a syllable and between
vowels.

Thus, you can hear the following realisations, more commonly in AmE:
City /sɪt̬ i/
Water /wɔ:t̬ ə/
It is late /ɪt̬ ɪz leɪt/
Get it out of here /get̬ ɪt̬ ɑʊt̬ əv hɪə/

28
 B- In AmE, when /t/ appears after /n/ there is a tendency to elide the /t/, so:
Twenty /twenti/ > /tweni/
Winter /wɪntə/ > /wɪnəʳ/

Notes on /r/
A- In the articulation of the postalveolar frictionless continuant (also called post alveolar
approximant) the tip of the tongue is raised near to, but not touching, the rear part of the
alveolar ridge. The central part of the tongue is lowered while the side rims of the tongue
touch the upper molars. Therefore, the air escapes over the tongue without friction. For this
reason /r/ can be treated as a semiconsonant. Apart from this it can sometimes take a central
syllabic function.
B- General British English is a non-rhotic accent which means that in many positions, letter
<r> is not pronounced. This occurs in the final position before a pause or before a consonant,
either within the word or at word boundaries. For example

It is too far. /ɪt ɪz tuː fɑː/

This is far better. /ðɪs ɪz fɑː betə/
It’s quite clear. /ɪts kwaɪt klɪə/
This is for you. /ðɪs ɪz fə juː/

However, /r/ is produced in word initial position alone or as part of a cluster, as in: A rat /ə
ræt/, a crate /ə kreɪt/. It is also articulated in the following situations:

➔ Linking /r/: The linking sound is used when letter <r> appears in the spelling of the
word (either in final or medial position) and the following sound is a vowel. E.g:

They lived far away. /ðeɪ lɪvd fɑːr əweɪ/

Now it’s clearer. /nɑʊ ɪts klɪərə/
This is for Anne. /ðɪs ɪz fər æn/

➔ Intrusive /r/: As its name suggests, the intrusive /r/ is a sound that should not be
there. It refers to the insertion of a /r/ sound between words when the first one
ends in a vowel sound and the following one starts with a vowel sound. 🔗
Maia and I /mæɪər ənd aɪ/
I saw it. /aɪ sɔːr ɪt/

29
 The idea is… /ðɪ aɪdɪər ɪz/

C- This phoneme has many allophones, i.e. many different realizations according to the
regions.

➔ Retroflex /ɻ/: This is the variety that you are probably most familiar with.
➔ Trill /r/ This is similar to the /r/ in “cerro” in Spanish. It is used in conservative Scottish,
for example.
➔ Flap /ɾ/ The flap is used in Scotland or Ireland, or by some conservative RP speakers
in England. It is similar to the “r” in the word “cero” in Spanish.

However in this course, we use the symbol /r/ to refer to the “r” sound that you already
know and we do not go deeper into these allophones.

Notes on /l/
The English lateral is sometimes considered a semi-consonant due to its frictionless nature
(there is no friction in its articulation) although the air escapes through a relatively small
aperture. Apart from this in some contexts where schwa is elided it can become the nucleus of
the syllable, as in: Bottle, needle, little.
The articulation of the lateral will depend on its phonetic context. We should distinguish two
important allophones:
➔ Clear /l/: the tip and blade of the tongue get in contact with the alveolar ridge, letting
the air escape on one or both sides of the tongue. The front of the tongue is slightly
raised in the direction of the hard palate. This allophone occurs before vowels,
diphthongs and semivowels, either within the word or at word boundaries. For example:

Late /leɪt/ Select /sɪlekt/

Glad /glæd/ All over /ɔːl əʊvə/
Will you /wɪl jʊ/
➔ Dark /ɫ/: this allophone has a velarized quality, which means that in its production the
front of the tongue is lowered and the back is raised towards the soft palate, making it
sound similar to a back vowel. It occurs before consonants or in final position. For
instance:

Mould /məʊɫd/ Al came /æɫ keɪm/

Help /heɫp/ Call them! /kɔːɫ ðəm/
He's tall. /hiːz tɔːɫ/

30
 The clear lateral may be fully or partially devoiced after a voiceless consonant depending on
stress.

Notes on /h/
The voiceless glottal fricative is a result of the strong passage of air through the open
glottis. When /h/ appears between two voiced sounds a little voicing may be perceived, as in
<ahead> /əhed/. Letter <h> is not always pronounced in English and it may be silent (See:
Spellings)

Notes on nasals
All nasals are voiced sounds, however when they may be partially devoiced when they are
preceded by a voiceless sound, as in: smoke, topmost, snake, chutney.

English consonants
Spellings
(+) Always or very frequently
(-) Sometimes or only in certain positions

Name Sound Spellings Sample words

+m Meet, stream
+ mm Summer, Immortal
The bilabial
/m/
nasal
- mb Bomb, climb, plumber
- mn Autumn, hymn, solemn

+p Cup, pencil, aspirated

+ pp Happy, apple, pepper

The voiceless
/p/
bilabial plosive Exception Hiccough
Silent <p> Pneumonia, psychology, psalm, receipt,
cupboard, raspberry

+b Bike, fibre, tab

The voiced + bb Rabbit, ribbon
/b/
bilabial plosive

31
 Silent <b> Limb, lamb, bomb, thumb, comb, debt,
subtle, doubt

+f Fox, comfort, roof

+ ff Coffee, effort, stuff
The voiceless
labio-dental /f/ + ph Phonetics, elephant, epitaph
fricative

- gh Cough, laugh, tough

+v Vote, novel, active

The voiced
labio-dental /v/
fricative Exceptions Nephew, of

The voiceless Thief, author, health

/θ/
dental fricative
+ th
The voiced They, father, with
/ð/
dental fricative

+n need, once, noon

+ nn annoy, inn, funny
The alveolar + gn gnaw, alignment, sign
/n/
nasal
+ kn knee, knickers, knife
+ pn pneumonia, pneumatic

+l light, balance, deal

+ ll allow, ballon, intelligent

The lateral /l/

Silent <l> calm, could, should, would, folk, half,
salmon, talk, walk

+t tall, beauty, soft

+ tt attack, Matt, battle

The voiceless - th Anthony, Esther, Thames, Thomas,

/t/
alveolar plosive
posthumous
- ed Jumped, laughed, looked (when
preceded by voiceless sound)

32
 - tz as /ts/ Blitz, pizza, quartz
Silent <t> Castle, listen, Christmas, hasten,
mortgage, soften, fasten

+d Die, body, bed

+ dd Add, middle, sudden

- ed Banged, bombed, loved (when

The voiced
/d/
alveolar plosive preceded by voiced sound)

Silent <d> grandfather , handkerchief, handsome,

landscape, sandwich

+s Set, useless, famous

+ ss Assist, class, essential
The voiceless +c Cease, decide, niece
alveolar /s/
+ sc Science, descend, obscene
fricative

- x as /ks/ Axe, reflex, climax

+z zero, wizard, quiz

The voiced -s easy, choose, news

alveolar /z/
- ss dessert, dissolve, scissors
fricative
-x xenophobia, xylophone, xerox
- x as /gz/ auxiliary, anxiety, exist

+r red, afraid, cream (in final position only

The when followed by a vowel)

post-aveolar + rr arrest, carry, sorry
/r/
frictionless
continuant + wr wreath, wrinkle, wrong
+ rh rhetoric, rhyme, rhinoceros

The unrounded +y yarn, beyond, lawyer

palatal /j/
+ u (as part of abuse, cure, duty
semivowel

33
 /ju:/ or /jʊə/ )
+ ue (as part of argue, barbecue, queue, residue
/ju:/)
+ ew, eu (as part adieu, askew, eulogy, mildew
of /ju:/)

-i brilliant, onion, opinion, familiar

Exceptions Beauty

+ sh Shoe, washer, wish

- ch chef, machine, fuchsia

- s/ss + u assure, censure, sugar, sure
The voiceless - ce-, ci-, sci- appreciate, conscience, fascist, ocean,
palato-alveolar /ʃ/
artificial
fricative
- si mansion, mission, fusion, passion
- ti Nation, potential, cautious

Exceptions Schedule

+ g(e) genre, beige, regime

The voiced
palato-alveolar /ʒ/
- si allusion, conclusion, vision
fricative
- s/ss/z + u azure, casual, usually

+ tch Butcher, match, wretched

+ ch Choose, achieve, attach

The voiceless
palato-alveolar /tʃ/ - ti Question, christian, suggestion
affricate - tu Actually, furniture. Statue, virtuous

Exceptions Cello, concerto, righteous

The voiced +j Joke, enjoy, major

/dʒ/
palato-alveolar
34
affricate +g German, imagine, cage
+ dg Judge, edge, fridge
+ dj Adjacent, adjective, adjunct

- gg Suggestion, exaggeration, veggie

Exceptions Arduous, grandeur, soldier

+w Wonder, twin, upward

- wh When, wheel, white
- qu (as /kw/ Question, adequate, equal
- u (after /g/ or Anguish, language, penguin, persuade,
The labio-velar
/w/
semivowel /s/) suite

Exceptions Choir, one (anyone, someone, no one),

once

+ ng spring, singer, tongue

The velar nasal /ŋ/ + n (+ /k/ or uncle, anxious, bangle

/g/)

+k Keep, sky, monk

+c Carpet, alcohol, maniac
+ cc Accommodation, occur, accused
+q Conquer, mosquito, bouquet
+ ck Cracked, chicken, buttocks
+ qu as /kw/ Queer, acquire, quest
The voiceless
/k/
velar plosive
- ch Chaos, character, echo, stomach
- x as /ks/ Climax, larynx, six, X-ray

Silent <k, c> Knew, knight, knave, knit, knob,

knowledge, muscle

The voiced velar +g Good, burger, bag

/g/
plosive
35
 + gg Aggressive, beggar, egg

- gh Ghost, spaghetti, ghastly

- gu Guest, guilt, guide
-x Exam, exist, exhausted

Silent <g> Gnash, reign, sign, diaphragm, etc

+h here, behave, perhaps

- wh who, whole, whose

Silent <h> Initial p: honest, honour, heir, heiress,

The glottal
/h/
fricative hour.
Medial p: exhaust, exhibit, exhilarate,
vehement, vehicle
Final suffixes: (-herd) shepherd,
(-ham) Graham, Durham, Clapham

Phonemes of restricted occurrence

Some phonemes can occur in different positions in the word without restrictions. Some
other sounds are not common in one position or cannot happen there at all. These phonemes
are called phonemes of restricted occurrence:

● /ʒ/ is rare in final or initial position and it appears only in words of

French origin like genre or prestige.
● /h/ doesn’t occur in final position.
● /r/ is not pronounced in final position in GBE unless it is followed by a
vowel.
● /ŋ/ doesn’t occur in initial position.
● /j/ and /w/ don’t occur in final position.

36
★ Complete the table with ✔️ or ✖️ and examples.
Position in the word
Phoneme
Initial Mid Final

/ʒ/

/h/

/r/

/ŋ/

/j/

/w/

37
★ Complete the chart with the corresponding information

Consonant Voicing Escape Place Manner

/m/ Voiced Nasal Bilabial Nasal

/p/

/b/

/f/

/v/

/θ/

/ð/

/n/

/l/

/t/

/d/

/s/

/z/

/r/

/j/

/ʃ/

/ʒ/

/tʃ/

/dʒ/

/w/

/ŋ/

/k/

/g/

/h/

38
★ Complete the chart with the English consonants

´PLACE OF ARTICULATION

Labio Post Palato

Bilabial Dental Alveolar Velar Glottal
-dental -alveolar -alveolar

V- V+ V- V+ V- V+ V- V+ V- V+ V- V+ V- V+ V-

M
A Plosive
N
N
E Complete
Nasal
R closure

O
F
Affricate
A
R
T
Partial Lateral
I
C
U
L Narrowing Affricate
A
T
I
O Approximation Approximant
N

39
 Unit IV: The word in connected speech
Inflectional suffixes: pronunciation rules
Rule for the pronunciation of the plural of nouns, the present simple form of verbs for the 3rd
person singular, the genitive case (‘s) and the contracted form of “Is” and “has.”

1. If the words end in a sibilant sound: /s/ /ʃ/ /tʃ/ /z/ /ʒ/ or /dʒ/ we add /z/
Eg: Kiss /kɪs/ → Kisses /kɪsɪz/ Church /tʃɜːtʃ/ → Churches /tʃɜːtʃɪz/

2. If the word ends in a voiced sound (except for /z/ /ʒ/ and /dʒ/) we add /z/
Eg: Play /pleɪ/ → Plays /pleɪz/ Love /lʌv/ → Loves /lʌvz/

3. If the word ends in a voiceless sound (except for /s/ /ʃ/ and /tʃ/) we add /s/
Eg: Work /wɜːk/ → works /wɜːks/ Stop /stɒp/ → stops /stɒps/

Voiceless sounds Voiced sounds

p b

f v

θ ð
/s/ /z/
n

t d

s z

/ɪz/ tʃ dʒ /ɪz/

ʃ ʒ

k g

ŋ
/s/ /z/
Vowels and
diphthongs

40
Rule for the pronunciation of the past and past participle forms of regular verbs.

1. If the word ends in an alveolar plosive /t/ or /d/ we add /ɪd/

Eg: Want /wɒnt/ → Wanted /wɒntɪd/
Need /niːd/ → Needed /niːdɪd/

2. If the word ends in a voiced sound (except for /d/) we add /d/
Eg: Play /pleɪ/ → Played /lʌvd/
Love /lʌv/ → Loved /lʌvd/

3. If the word ends in a voiceless sound (except for /t/) we add /t/
Eg: Kiss /kɪs/ → Kissed /kɪst/
Work /wɜːk/ → Worked /wɜːkt/

Voiceless sounds Voiced sounds

p b

f v

/t/ θ ð /d/

/ɪd/ t d /ɪd/

s z

tʃ dʒ

ʃ ʒ
/t/ k g /d/

All vowels and

diphthongs

41
Strong and weak form of words 🔗
Classification of words
The English language has a regular rhythm which necessitates stressed and unstressed
syllables. For this reason, in connected speech, many words are affected and take what we call a
weak form. However, in some situations these words may need to be stressed, in which case a
strong form is employed. In short, some words in English have at least two different realisations
depending on the context. Now, which words are those?
Depending on their meaning and their function in the sentence or in the phrase, words can
be classified into:

1. Content words (or lexical words)

They have meaning on their own and usually carry the content of the message.
Therefore, they are likely to be stressed in an utterance and to keep the pattern of their
isolated form when they appear in connected speech.
This group of words is made up of: main verbs, adverbs, nouns, adjectives,
demonstratives, etc.

2. Form words (grammatical words)

These words are the ones which are used to build the grammatical structure of a
message, to give form to utterances. Form words are usually unstressed in the utterance
but they have two or more patterns according to whether they are actually unstressed
(as usual) or stressed (in special situations or in isolation). The accentual realisation of
these words is referred to as their strong form, and their accentual realisation is referred
to as their weak form.
In this group we find: auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns, relative
pronouns, and articles.

When are strong and weak forms used?

Most of the time, grammatical words are unstressed and take their weak form, so in
general terms, the unaccented forms are used in connected speech, when there is no contrast
or emphasis.
Nonetheless, in some cases we will need to stress these words and they will take their
strong form. Generally speaking, the accented form of grammatical words is used:
1. In isolation
2. For reference
3. For emphasis
4. For contrast
42
 5. In final position

Characteristics of weak forms

➔ Obscuration of vowels: Weak forms tend to take obscure vowels, which are articulated
near the centre; mainly /ə/, but also /ɪ/ and /ʊ/. For example:
● Can /kən/
● Me /mɪ/
● You /jʊ/ or /jə/
➔ Elision of vowels and/or consonants: weak forms tend to drop sounds.
● Have /həv/ → /əv/ /v/

(Gimson Pronunciation of English, Alan Cruttenden - 2014)

43
 ★ Complete the following comparative chart on type of words

Content words or Form words or

__________ words __________ words

Meaning

Word classes
and examples

Function

Pronunciation

Prominence in
the sentence

44
The word in isolation
The word is composed of one or more phonemes:
The word are is made up of one phoneme: /a:/
The word tree is composed of three phonemes /t/ + /r/ + /i:/ = //tri:/.

The word may constitute a complete utterance, like “Hello!” or they may be part of one as
in “I said hello to him.”

The word has a separable linguistic identity (a sequence of phonemes) and its own
accentual pattern. So the noun record can be distinguished from the verb record, because
each of them has a distinct sequence of phonemes and accentual pattern:

● (n) record /'rekɔ:d/

“I keep a written record of all my classes.”

● (v) record /rɪ'kɔ:d/

“I’m going to record my first studio album.”

As you can see there is a change in the first vowel, as well as in the accentuation. This is
the reason why when we look up a word in the dictionary, the first thing we learn is its
phonemes and accentual pattern.

The accentual pattern of a word

On the one hand, we say that the accentual pattern of a word is free because if you have
never heard a word before, you do not know where the accent falls. There are no rules to tell us
where the accent should fall, for example:

➔ In the verb “cover” the accent falls on the first syllable, but in the verb “begin” it falls on

the second syllable: /'kʌvə/ vs. /bɪ'gɪn/

➔ “Comment” and “command” are nouns, however in “comment” the accent falls on the first

syllable but in “command” it falls on the second one: /'kɒment/ vs. /kə'mɑ:nd/

On the other hand, we say that the accentual pattern of a word is fixed because we can’t
change it. We can’t make the accent fall on the syllable we want because that was established
by the linguistic community hundreds of years ago (by use) and we cannot modify it.

45
The word in connected speech
When the word is used within a context, in connected speech, it is subjected to changes
in its realisation. This is to say, the production of the word suffers modifications caused by the
pressures of its sound environment or the accentual pattern of the whole utterance in which it
appears.
There are three types of variations between the isolate form and the context forms of words:

1) The accentual pattern of the word may be affected. For example: The word “afternoon”
has three syllables and in isolation is realised as /ˌɑ:ftə'nu:n/, with its primary accent on
/’nu:n/ and the secondary accent on the first syllable. However, in the phrase “afternoon
tea” there is an accent shift: /'ɑ:ftənu:n ti:/ the primary accent of “afternoon” moves to
the first syllable (where the secondary accent was) because the word “tea” is accented,
and the secondary accent disappears. Another example is, when you say "I'm thirteen"
the number is accentuated in the second syllable /aɪm θɜ:'ti:n/ but in the phrase "It's
thirteen pounds" the accent shifts and moves to the first syllable /ɪts 'θɜ:ti:n pɑʊndz/
(notice that the vowel doesn't change so there is no way of mistaking it for thirty)

2) The context may affect the word as a whole which is what happens with grammatical
words (or form words). These words may have different realisations according to
whether they are accented or unaccented. When they are unaccented, as is usual, there
is obscuration and elision of sounds. As a result, neutralisation of weak forms takes
place, meaning that two different forms may have the same realisation (check the weak
form of the words “of” and “have”) but this causes no confusion because the meaning of
the word is clear from the context.

3) The last type of variations may affect the sounds at word boundaries (including
allophonic and phonemic variations: assimilation, coalescence, elision and liaison)

46
 Common strong and weak forms

*Strong forms are always used in isolation and for reference, in the chart you’ll find other uses.

**Weak forms are always used in connected speech in contexts where there is no contrast or
emphasis. In the chart you’ll find other uses.

***The preconsonantal form of words is used when the following word starts with a consonant
or a semivowel. The prevocalic from is used before vowels and diphthongs

STRONG FORM* WEAK FORM**

Articles

The /ðiː/ Preconsonantal form***

/ðə/

Prevocalic form:
/ðɪ/

- When it means “the best” The apple is on the table.

He’s the man for the job /ðɪ æpəl ɪz ɒn ðə teɪbəl/
/ðiː/

- In contrast
It’s not the dictionary, but it’s a dictionary.
/ðiː/ /eɪ/
.

- Before a pause
Have you seen the… the dictionary?
/ðiː/ /ðə/

- When the following word starts with /ɪ/

The Indians
/ðiː ɪndɪənz/

A /eɪ/ /ə/
An /æn/ /ən/

- In contrast It’s an eraser on a chair.

/ɪts ən ɪreɪsər ɒn ə tʃeər/
- Before a pause
Do you have a… a pencil to lend me?
/eɪ/ /ə/

47
 Personal pronouns

He /hi:/ /hɪ/
She /ʃi:/ /ʃɪ/
We /wi:/ /wɪ/
You /ju:/ /jʊ/ /jə/

Me /mi:/ /mɪ/
Him /hɪm/ /ɪm/ /m/
Her /hɜːr/ /hər/ /ɜːr/ /ər/
Us
/ʌs/ /əs/
Them
/ðem/ /ðəm/

- For contrast, either implicit or explicit Notice:

A: Did the Smiths go? ➔ /h/ si only omitted in medial position
B: He did (but she didn’t) in the utterance and when speech is
/hi:/ fast.

Listen to me. (not to him) ➔ “He” can be pronounced without /h/

/ lɪsn tə miː/ only in medial position, never at the
beginning of a sentence.
Hey! Don’t read that letter, it's for me!
/heɪ / dəʊnt riːd ðæt letər // ɪts fə miː/ ➔ “Him” and “Her” rarely lose /h/

- When the verb that follows is in the

contracted form
A: She’s here!
/ʃi:z/

Notice:
In more casual contexts, when the
pronoun in final position is not in the
strong form, the preposition will take the
strong form.

I /aɪ/
It /ɪt/
they /ðeɪ/

48
 Possessive adjectives

His /hɪz/ /ɪz/ (only in very rapid speech)

Her /hɜːr/ /hər/ /ɜːr/ /ər/

- For contrast Notice:

A: Did you like their songs? ➔ /h/ si only omitted in medial position
B: I liked her songs. (his songs were terrible)
/hɜːr/ in the utterance and when speech is
fast.
It’s his book, not yours. (Don’t take it)
/hɪz/

My /maɪ/
Its /ɪts/
Our /ɑʊər/ /ɑːər/
Their /ðeər/

Your /jɔːr/ /jər/

➔ In very rapid, informal speech

Possessive pronouns

Mine /maɪn/
Yours /jɔːrz/
His /hɪz/
Hers /hɜːrz/
Ours /ɑʊərz/ /ɑːərz/
Theirs /ðeərz/

Verb “to be”

As an auxiliary verb, both forms are acceptable, so there is not a significant

distinction. The strong form may always be used.

Be /biːn/ /bɪn/
Been /bi:/ /bɪ/

- As a main verb As an auxiliary verb

He’ll be here tomorrow
He must be reminded.
/bi:/
I’ve been here before /bɪ/
/bi:n/
He has been instructed to do the job.
/bɪn/

Is /ɪz/
‘s /ɪz/ /z/ /s/
(For ‘s, check the rules of pronunciation at the beginning of Unit V)

49
Am /æm/ /əm/
Are /ɑːr/ /ər/
Was /wɒz/ /wəz/
were /wɜːr/ /wər/
- In final position
Here I am!
/æm/

Yes, he was.
/wɒz/
- Question tags
They aren’t coming, are they?

- Independent comments
A: They are coming tonight.
/ər/
B: Are they?
/ɑːr/
- To emphasize a temporary state
You are silly today
/ɑːr/
- In Yes/No questions when the speaker - In yes/no questions when the speaker
is concerned is more casual
Are you okay? You look pale. Are you okay? How’s the family?
/ɑːr/ /ər/

Notice: Negative forms derive from strong forms, and don’t change /ɑːrnt/ /wɒznt/ /wɜːrnt/

Auxiliary and Modal verbs

Have /hæv/ /həv/ /əv/ /v/

Has /hæz/ /həz/ /əz/ /z/
Had /hæd/ /həd/ /əd/ /d/
- In final position - As an auxiliary verb
Yes, he has. I have finished my work for today.
/hæz/ /həv/
You should have come.
- In question tags /həv/
They haven’t come, have they? or
/hæv/ /əv/

Notice:
- Independent comments In the perfective form of modals, i.e.

50
 A: They have won. after a modal verb (should, must,
B: Have they? could..) before a past participle, “have”
/hæv/ is usually pronounced /əv/
- In contrast (between affirmative and
- In yes/no questions when the
negative or between past and present)
speaker is more casual.
Unlike others, I have done my
/hæv/

homework.

- When it functions as the main verb

(meaning to possess)
I have a brother and two sisters.
/hæv/

She has lunch at two.

/hæz/
- As a modal related expression, when it
indicates obligation
You have to get up now!
/hæv/
- In Yes/no questions when the speaker
is concerned
Have they arrived?
/hæv/

Negative forms derive from strong forms, and don’t change /hæv/ /hæz/ and /hæd/

Do /du:/ /dʊ/ /də/ /d/

Does /dʌz/ /dəz/

- In final position Where do you live?

Yes, I do. /weə dʊ jʊ lɪv/
/du:/ /weə də jʊ lɪv/
/weə dju: lɪv/
- In question tags
You don’t like rock, do you? - In yes/no questions when the
/du:/ speaker is more casual.
Do you feel comfortable?
- Independent comments /dʊ jʊ/
A: She plays in a jazz band /də jʊ/
B: Does she? /dju:/
/dʌz/

- In Yes/no questions when the speaker

is concerned
Do you feel comfortable?
/du:/
- Emphatic use of do/does
We do know the consequences
51
 /du:/
- When it functions as a main verb
I’ll do the job tomorrow.
/du:/

Negative forms: Don’t, Doesn’t /dəʊnt/ /dʌznt/

Can /kæn/ /kən/ /kn/

- In final position I can help if you want.
Yes, he can /kən/
/kæn/

- In question tags How can I help?

You can’t swim, can you? /kən/
/kæn/
- In yes/no questions when the
- Independent comments speaker is more casual
A: She can sing very well. Can you come tomorrow? I need
B: Can she? /kən/
/kæn/ a hand moving some furniture.

- In Yes/no questions when the speaker

is concerned
Can you come tomorrow? I don’t
/kæn/
want you to get into trouble.

- When CAN functions as a finite verb

(meaning to put something in a can)
They work in a factory where they can
/kæn/
fruit.

Negative form: Can’t BrE /kɑːnt/ AmE /kænt/

Must /mʌst/ Prevocalic form: /məst/

Preconsonantal form: /məs/

- In final position I must get up at 7 tomorrow.

I don’t want to leave but I must. /məs get/
/mʌst/ /məst get/

- In question tags.
We mustn’t stay for the meeting. Must we? She was right, I must admit.
/mʌst/ /məst ədmɪt/

- Independent comments
A: Remember we must stay for the meeting. - In yes/ no questions when the
52
 B: Must we? speaker is more casual.
/mʌst/ Must I go? If so, I need to buy some
- In Yes/no questions when the speaker /məst/
is concerned things.
Must I go? I don’t want to.
/mʌst/

- When MUST functions as a noun

Having a phone is a must nowadays
/mʌst/.

Negative form: Mustn’t /mʌsnt/

Could /kʊd/ /kəd/

Should /ʃʊd/ /ʃəd/
Would /wʊd/ /wəd/

- In final position The forms may be used in connected

I think we could. speech when there is no kind of
/kʊd/ emphasis or contrast, or in Yes/no
questions when the speaker is casual.
However, using the weak form is not
- In question tags mandatory. We can always use the
We shouldn’t let her go alone. Should we? strong form.
/ʃʊd/
I should tell them the truth.
- Independent comments /ʃəd/
A: He’s so annoying, I would kill him.
B: Would you?
/wʊd/ Would you like me to stay?
/wəd/
- In Yes/no questions when the speaker
is concerned
Would you like me to stay?
/wʊd/

Negative forms: couldn't, shouldn’t, wouldn’t /kʊdnt/ /ʃʊdnt/ /wʊd/

Shall /ʃæl/ /ʃəl/ /ʃl/

- In final position I shall be late.

Yes, we shall. /ʃəl/
/ʃæl/
What shall we do?
- In question tags /ʃəl/
I shan’t be late if I leave now, shall I?
/ʃæl/ - In yes/no questions when the
speakers is more casual
Shall they come? I need to order the
- Independent comments /ʃəl/

53
 A: We shall tell you if they call?
B: Shall you? food.
/ʃæl/

- In Yes/no questions when the speaker

is concerned
Shall they come? Maybe they won’t!
/ʃæl/

Negative form: Shan’t BrE /ʃɑːnt/ AmE /ʃænt//

Will /wɪl/
Won’t /wəʊnt/

Conjunctions

And /ænd/ Pre vocalic: /ənd/

Preconsonantal: /ən/
But /bʌt/ /bət/

- For contrast
I didn’t say exercise 1 or two. I say 1 and 2! It was yellow and orange but they
/ænd/ /ənd/
painted it black and white now.
- Before a pause /ən/
The winners are Sophie, Tom, and… Luke!
/ænd/ I’ll go but I won’t dance.
/bət/
- When BUT means except for.
I saw everyone, but Jack.
/bʌt/

- When BUT functions as a noun

We are going to the doctor’s and there are
no buts
/bʌts/

Or /ɔː/

Prepositions

At /æt/ /ət/
Of /ɒf/ /əv/
For /fɔːr/ /fər/
From /frɒm/ /frəm/
To /tuː/ Prevocalic: /tʊ/
Preconsonantal: /tə/

54
 I was looking for a book when I found
- When there is contrast between /fər/
prepositions this. It’s a present from Peter. He gave it
It’s not from Mike, it’s for Mike. /frəm/
/frɒm/ /fɔːr/ to my sister the other day. Isn’t it pretty?
/tə/
- In final position (in a sentence or in a
clause)
I don’t know what she’s looking for.
/fɔːr/

Who are you talking to?

/tuː/

- When the pronoun that follows is not in

contrast and takes the weak from
They brought this for you.
/fɔːr/

On /ɒn/
Off /ɒf/
With /wɪð/

Other form words

Some /sʌm/ səm

- When it is not followed immediately by - When followed immediately by an
a noun uncountable noun or by a plural
I think I have some. countable noun
/sʌm/
Everybody came today but some students
- When it is followed by the preposition /səm/
OF left early.
Some of you already know me.
/sʌm əv/
There’s some juice in the fridge.
- When it is followed by a countable /səm/
singular noun (meaning “a certain”)
Some idiot bumped into my car!
/sʌm/

As /æz/ /əz/

- In a clause in initial position in the - Usually used in the weak form.

sentence Please, do I as I said.
/əz/
As it got dark, I hurried home.
/æz/ He is as tall as you are.
/əz/ /əz/

55
That /ðæt/ /ðət/

- When it is a demonstrative adjective or - As a conjunction

pronoun They told me that they will call me.
What is that?! /ðət/
/ðæt/

That kid punched me!

/ðæt/

There /ðeər/ /ðər/

- When it is used as an adverb of place - As an anticipatory subject

I left it there. There are two types of people in the world.
/ðeər/ /ðər/

Than /ðæn/ /ðən/

- In isolation and for reference only. - The weak form is commonly used.
It’s better than nothing!
/ðən/

Who /huː/ /hʊ/

- In wh-questions - As a relative pronoun in mid position

Who is there? They are the ones who bothered me!
/huː/ /hʊ/

- As a relative pronoun followed by a

contracted verb
The man who’ll come is an important
/huːl/

person. Please, behave.

56
Allophonic variations
Allophonic variations involve a slightly different realisation of one phoneme.
1. Change of place of articulation: Some sounds may be articulated in a slightly different
place due to the pressure of the following sound. Eg:
● /t/ and /d/ may be realised as dentals when /θ/ or /ð/ follows. As in
“Not that” /nɒt ðæt/
“Not them” /nɒt ðem/
● /m/ and /n/ may be realised as labiodentals when /f/ or /v/ follows.
“Ten friends” /ten frendz/
“Come for me” /kʌm fə mɪ/
2. Devoicing: In close-knit units (groups of words or elements within a sentence that are
tightly connected like phrasal verbs, idioms or some collocations), if the first phoneme of
a word is voiced, but it is preceded by a voiceless there is devoicing of the voiced
element (i.e. it loses some its vibration).
“At last” /ət l̥ ɑːst/
“At rest” /ət r̥est/
“At once” /ət w̥ʌns/
“Thank you” /θæŋk j̥ʊ/
3. Labialization: In close-knit units, there may be lip protrusion for the realisation of a
consonant if a rounded sound follows, specially /w/
“Bob went there” /bʷɒbʷ went ðeə/
“That one” /ðætʷ wʌn/
4. Nasalization or Nasal resonance: Vowels can be nasalized under the influence of a
preceding nasal, especially if they are followed by another nasal.
“Come in!” /kʌm ɪn
̃ /
“Bring another” /brɪŋ ən
̃ ʌðə/

Phonemic variations
These types of variations involve a change in one (or more) phonemes. However, this change
does not involve a change in meaning since the shift takes place because of the articulatory
characteristics of the phonemes in the utterance only.

57
A) Assimilation
This is a process through which certain sounds assume the phonetic characteristics of sounds
that are in proximity. This means that the sound is altered to make it more similar to
neighbouring sounds.
This influence can function in a progressive or a regressive direction but regressive assimilation
(i.e. the anticipation of a sound) is more common. Moreover, alveolar sounds are more likely to
be influenced and assimilated.
There are three forms of assimilation:

1) Assimilation of voice: voiced fricatives in final position may be realised (by some
speakers) as their voiceless counterpart when they are followed by a voiceless sound,
particularly in close-knit units.
a. /ð/ > /θ/ when /ð/ + voiceless
Eg: With thanks /wɪð θæŋks/ > / wɪθ θæŋks/
b. /v/ > /f/ when /v/ + voiceless
Eg: Of course! /əv kɔ:s/ > /əf kɔ:s/
We've found it. /wi:v fɑʊnd ɪt/ > /wi:f fɑʊnd ɪt/
c. /z/ > /s/ when /z/ + voiceless
Eg: He was seen there. /hɪ ɪz si:n əz ə li:dəʳ/ > /hɪ ɪs si:n əz ə li:dəʳ/
She was sent on a trip. /ʃɪ wəz sent ɒn ə trɪp/ > /ʃɪ wəs sent ɒn ə trɪp/
d. /ʒ/ > /ʃ/ when /ʒ/ + voiceless
Eg: A camouflage shirt /ə kæmʊflæ:ʒ ʃɜ:t/ > /ə kæmʊflɑ:ʃ ʃɜ:t/

2) Assimilation of place:
a. /t/ > /p/ when /t/ + bilabial
b. /d/ > /b/ when /d/ + bilabial
Eg: /ðæt pen/ > /ðæp pen/
/ðæt bɔɪ/ > /ðæp bɔɪ/
/ðæt mæn/ > /ðæp mæn/

/gʊd pɑ:tɪ/ > /gʊb pɑ:tɪ/

/gʊd bɔɪ/ > /gʊb bɔɪ/
/gʊd mʌðəʳ/ > /gʊb mʌðəʳ/

c. /t/ > /k/ when /k/ + velar plosive

d. /d/ > /g/ when /d/ + velar plosive

58
 Eg: /ðæt kaɪt/ > /ðæk kaɪt/
/ðæt gɜ:l/ > /ðæk gɜ:l/

/gʊd kɪd/ > /gʊg kɪd/

/gʊd gɜ:l/ > /gʊg gɜ:l/

e. /n/ > /m/ when /n/ + bilabial

f. /n/ > /ŋ/ when /n/ + velar plosive
Eg: /wʌn pet/ > /wʌm pet/
/wʌn bəʊt/ > /wʌm bəʊt/
/wʌn mæn/ > /wʌm mæn/

/ten kɪdz/ > /teŋ kɪdz/

/ten gɜ:lz/ > /teŋ gɜ:lz/

g. /s/ > /ʃ/ when /s/ + palatal /ʃ/ or /j/

h. /z/ > /ʒ/ when /z/ + palatal /ʃ/ or /j/
Eg: /ðɪs ʃɒp/ > /ðɪʃ ʃɒp/
/ðɪs jɪəʳ/ > /ðɪʃ jɪəʳ/

/ðəʊz jʌŋ men/ > /ðəʊʒ jʌŋ men/

/həz ʃɪ kʌm/ > /həʒ ʃɪ kʌm/

3) Assimilation of manner: Final alveolar plosives can be realised as nasals under the
influence of a following nasal with the same place of articulation.
a. /d/ > /n/ when /d/ + /n/
Eg: /gʊd nju:z/ > /gʊn nju:z/

b. /d/ > /m/ when /d/ + /m/ and there is a change of place of articulation
first.
Eg: /gʊd mɔ:nɪŋ/ > /gʊb mɔ:nɪŋ/ > /gʊm mɔ:nɪŋ/

59
B) Coalescence (or coalescent assimilation)
This is a process by which two phonemes are reduced to one, and it happens in the
following contexts:

a. /t/ + /j/ = /tʃ/

Eg: /dəʊnt jʊ/ > /dəʊntʃʊ/

b. /d/ + /j/ = /dʒ/

Eg: /wʊd jʊ/ > /wʊdʒʊ/

c. /s/ + /j/ = /ʃ/

Eg: /ɪn keɪs jʊ ni:d ɪt/ > /ɪn keɪʃʊ ni:d ɪt/

d. /z/ + /j/ = /ʒ/

Eg: /hɑʊz jɔ: mʌm/ > /hɑʊʒɔ: mʌm/

This is the process that led to the form we know of words that contain medial /tʃ/ or /dʒ/
like nature, question or soldier.

C) Elision
This is the process through which a sound is omitted. There are established cases of elision like
in talk, listen, or leopard and cases of contextual elision. Contextual elision is aimed at economy
of effort, i.e. we do it unconsciously to make articulation easier.
1) Elision of consonants
a. Alveolar plosives (/t/ and /d/) are usually elided at word boundaries under
certain circumstances.
➔ They must be preceded by a consonant with the same voicing.
➔ They must be followed by a consonant (except for the glottal fricative /h/)

Next day /nekst deɪ/ > /neks deɪ/

Last chance /lɑ:st tʃɑ:ns/ > /lɑ:s tʃɑ:ns/
Cold lunch /kəʊld lʌntʃ/ > /kəʊl lʌntʃ/
b. The voiceless alveolar plosive /t/ in negative contracted forms can be
omitted no matter what sound precedes it or comes after it.
Doesn’t she now? /dʌznt ʃɪ nəʊ/ > /dʌzn ʃɪ nəʊ/
You mustn’t eat in class. /jʊ mʌsnt i:t ɪn klɑ:s/ > /jʊ mʌsn i:t ɪn klɑ:s/
2) Elision of vowels or vocalic elements

60
 a. When one syllable ends in a closing diphthong and the next word begins with a
vowel, the second element of the diphthong may be elided (smoothing at word
boundaries)
Go away! /gəʊ əweɪ/ > /gə: weɪ/
I enjoy it /aɪ ɪndʒɔɪ ɪt/ > /aɪ ɪndʒɔ: ɪt/

b. Initial schwa /ə/ is often elided, especially when /n/, /l/ or /r/ (a continuant)
follow and the previous word ends in a consonant.
Not alone /nɒt ələʊn/ > /nɒt ləʊn/
Get another /get ənʌðə/ > /get nʌðə/
c. When schwa is followed by a linking /r/ (and of course the following word starts
with a vowel) the schwa can be elided.
After a while /ɑ:ftər ə waɪl/ > /ɑ:ftrə waɪl/
Father and son /fɑ:ðər ən sʌn/ > /fɑ:ðrən sʌn/
D) Liaison
It refers to the process of inserting a sound in order to link to words. An example of this is the
use of the linking /r/ (see Unit III, Notes on /r/)

61
62
Drilling: Vowels
Vowel #1 /i:/
● Sentences
➔ Please leave me in peace
/ pliːz liːv miː ɪn piːs /
➔ Peter sealed the deal at 3.00 p.m
/ piːtə siːld ðə diːl ət θriː piːem /
➔ Dean received treatment for the disease.
/ diːn rɪsiːvd ˈtriːtmənt fə ðə dɪziːz /
● Dialogues

1 A: You don't appear to be a keen reader.

B: Me? I read three magazines a week.
A: You need to read more signs. That one says: Please, keep feet off seats
B: Oh, I see what you mean…

2 A: How sweet of you to meet me this evening!

B: I need to see you to feel complete
A: I'm speechless, I can't feel the ground beneath my feet.
B: I mean it. Please, don't ever leave me my queen!

1 A / jʊ dəʊnt əpɪər ə kiːn riːdə /

B / miː / aɪ riːd θriː mæɡəziːnz ə wiːk /

A / jʊ niːd tə riːd mɔː saɪnz / ðæt wʌn sez / pliːz kiːp fiːt ɒf siːts /

B /əʊ / aɪ siː wɒt jʊ miːn /

2 A /haʊ swiːt əv jʊ tə miːt mɪ ðɪs iːvnɪŋ/

B /aɪ niːd tə siː jʊ tə fiːl kəmpliːt/

A /aɪm spiːʧlɪs / aɪ kɑːnt fiːl ðə ɡrɑʊnd bɪniːθ maɪ fiːt /

B /aɪ miːn ɪt / pliːz dəʊnt evə liːv mɪ maɪ kwiːn/

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Vowel #2 /I/
● Sentences
➔ Phill's as fit as a fiddle.
/ fɪlz əz fɪt əz ə fɪdəl /
➔ Liz lives in a village in the middle of Italy.
/ lɪz lɪvz ɪn ə vɪlɪdʒ ɪn ðə mɪdl əv ɪtəlɪ /
➔ Fish and chip is a British dish.
/ fɪʃ ən tʃɪps ɪz ə brɪtɪʃ dɪʃ /

● Dialogues

1 A: This is ridiculous.
B: This is silly!
A: Nearly fifty different symbols…
B: For nearly fifty different English sounds!

A: Give me a sip of your drink.

2
B: Only if you give me one of your fish sticks.
A: Are you swindling me?
B: Business is business.

1 A / ðɪs ɪz rɪdɪkjələs /

B / ðɪs ɪz sɪlɪ /

A / nɪəlɪ fɪftɪ dɪfrənt sɪmbəlz /

B / fə nɪəli fɪftɪ dɪfrənt ɪŋɡlɪʃ saʊndz /

2 A / ɡɪv mɪ ə sɪp əv jɔː drɪŋk /

B /əʊnlɪ ɪf jʊ ɡɪv mɪ wʌn əv jɔː fɪʃ stɪks /

A / ɑː jʊ swɪndlɪŋ miː /

B /bɪznɪs ɪz bɪznɪs /

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Vowel #3 /e/
● Sentences
➔ Ken has no dress sense
/ ken hæz nəʊ dres sens /
➔ Terry said Jeremy had left
/ terɪ sed ʤerɪmɪ həd left /
➔ Stella says she regularly gets death threats.
/stelə sez ʃɪ reɡjʊləlɪ gets deθ θrets/

● Dialogues

1 A: Ready for the French test, Fred?

B: My friend, I'm the best at French. It'll be a success!
A: Alright then, explain the present tense.
B: But Ted said no tenses, I'm dead!

A: Kent, is this your best effort?

2
B: Yes, my very best attempt.
A: It's a hell of a mess!
B: Well, I guess the rest aren't any better…

1 A / kent / ɪz ðɪs jɔː best efət/

B / jes / maɪ verɪ best ətempt /

A / ɪts ə hel əv ə mes /

B / wel / aɪ ɡes ðə rest ɑːnt enɪ betə /

2 A /redɪ fə ðə frenʧ test / fred/

B / maɪ frend aɪm ðə best ət frenʧ ɪtl biː ə səkses/

A / ɔːlraɪt ðen ɪkspleɪn ðə preznt tens /

B /bət ted sed nəʊ tensɪz / aɪm ded/

65
Vowel #4 /æ/
● Sentences
➔ Anna has a natural talent for languages.
/ ænə həz ə næʧrəl tælənt fə læŋɡwɪʤɪz /
➔ There are animal tracks on the sand.
/ ðər ər ænɪmᵊl træks ɒn ðə sænd /
➔ Alan had panic attacks.
/ ælən həd pænɪk ətæks /

● Dialogues

1 A: Is that a fat black rat in your jacket?

B: Sally's a black rat, but she's not fat!
A: Keeping a pack of animals jammed in your pocket is a bad habit, Anne!
B: And calling my rat fat is bad manners, dad! Now she's sad!

A: Thanks for backing my plan, Mat, you have talent for black jack.
2
B: No problem, chap! It's only maths.
A: Here you have some cash for the cab…
B: Just some cash for the cab in exchange for my gambling magic.

1 A / ɪz ðæt ə fæt blæk ræt ɪn jɔː ʤækɪt /

B / sælɪz ə blæk ræt / bət ʃiːz nɒt fæt /

A / kiːpɪŋ ə pæk əv ænɪmᵊlz ʤæmd ɪn jɔː pɒkɪt ɪz ə bæd hæbɪt / æn /

B /ən kɔːlɪŋ maɪ ræt fæt ɪz bæd mænəz dæd / nɑʊ ʃiːz sæd /

2 A /θæŋks fə bækɪŋ maɪ plæn / mæt / jʊ hæv tælənt fə blæk ʤæk/

B / nəʊ prɒbləm / ʧæp / ɪts əʊnli mæθs/

A /hɪə jʊ həv səm kæʃ fə ðə kæb/

B /jʌst səm kæʃ fə ðə kæb ɪn ɪksʧeɪnʤ fə maɪ ɡæmbᵊlɪŋ mæʤɪk/

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Vowel #5 /a:/
● Sentences
➔ Your mark on my heart is a scar.
/ jɔː mɑːk ɒn maɪ hɑːts ə skɑː/
➔ Be calm and don’t laugh, Charles.
/ bɪ kɑːm ənd dəʊnt lɑːf / ʧɑːlz /
➔ I see a farm, past the marsh, not far away.
/aɪ siː ə fɑːm pɑːst ðə mɑːʃ / nɒt fɑ:r əweɪ /

● Dialogues

1 A: Miss Margaret, can I ask about my mark?

B: You may ask, Marcia.
A: What's this star, above this task.
B: It means you’ve passed with a marvellous mark.

2 A: Carl, your task's unfinished.

B: Washing the car's a hard task, father.
A: It is if you pass half the time dancing around!
B: But it's a large car, I don't know where to start!

1 A /mɪs mɑːɡᵊrət / kən aɪ ɑːsk əbɑʊt maɪ mɑːk //

B / jʊ meɪ ɑːsk / mɑːʃə //

A / wɒts ðɪs stɑː / əbʌv ðɪs tɑːsk //

B / ɪt miːnz jʊv pɑːst / wɪð ə mɑːvələs mɑːk //

2 A /kɑːl jɔː tɑːsks ʌnfɪnɪʃt/

B /wɒʃɪŋ ðə kɑːz ə hɑːd tɑːsk / fɑːðə/

A /ɪt ɪz ɪf jʊ pɑːs hɑːf ðə taɪm dɑːnsɪŋ ərɑʊnd /

B /bət ɪts ə lɑːʤ kɑː / aɪ dəʊnt nəʊ weə tə stɑːt/

67
Vowel #6 /ɒ/
● Sentences
➔ What a jolly song.
/ wɒt ə ʤɒli sɒŋ /
➔ Oh my god! The dog's gone!
/ əʊ maɪ ɡɒd / ðə dɒɡz ɡɒn /
➔ John took long to say sorry.
/ʤɒn tʊk lɒŋ tə seɪ sɒrɪ /

● Dialogues

1 A: Don's coughing like a dog!

B: Has he gone to the doctor?
A: The doctor?! Not him! They're always wrong, says Don.
B: We'll, let him cough and solve it alone.

2 A: Look! A frog, a frog in the pond.

B: It's hopped off. Got it!
A: No, John. Let it hop to the pond.
B: Come on, then, froggy! Hop! Hop to the pond!

1 A / dɒnz kɒfɪŋ laɪk ə dɒɡ //

B / həz hɪ ɡɒn tə ðə dɒktə //

A / ðə dɒktə / nɒt hɪm // ðeər ɔːlweɪz rɒŋ / sez dɒn //

B / wel / let ɪm kɒf ənd sɒlv ɪt ələʊn //

2 A / lʊk / ə frɒɡ / ə frɒɡ ɪn ðə pɒnd//

B / ɪts hɒpt ɒf // ɡɒt ɪt //

A / nəʊ ʤɒn / stɒp ɪt // let ɪt hɒp tə ðə pɒnd //

B / kʌm ɒn / ðen / frɒɡɪ // hɒp // hɒp tə ðə pɒnd //

68
Vowel #7 /ɔ:/
● Sentences
➔ Gloria adores horses.
/ ɡlɔːrɪə ədɔːz hɔːsɪz /
➔ Order was restored after the war.
/ ɔːdə wəz rɪstɔːd ɑːftə ðə wɔː /
➔ George Orwell’s 1984 is more than just a story.
/ ʤɔːʤ ɔːwɛlz naɪntiːn eɪtɪfɔː ɪz mɔː ðən ʤʌst ə stɔːrɪ /

● Dialogues

1 A: It's not normal… You snore like a wild boar!

B: There's nothing abnormal about my glorious snoring.
A: It's neither glorious nor gorgeous. And it's impossible to ignore!
B: Your scorn will force us to divorce, you know?

2 A: Is Norman short?
B: He's neither short nor enormous. He's just normal.
A: I heard his fortune is enormous.
B: His enormous fortune isn't important!
A: Of course, you adore Norman because he's normal.

1 A / ɪts nɒt nɔːməl / jʊ snɔː laɪk ə waɪld bɔː /

B / ðəz nʌθɪŋ æbnɔːməl əbɑʊt maɪ ɡlɔːrɪəs snɔːrɪŋ /

A / ɪts naɪðə ɡlɔːrɪəs nɔː ɡɔːʤəs / ənd ɪts ɪmpɒsəbᵊl tʊ ɪɡnɔː /

B / jɔː skɔːn wɪl fɔːs əs tə dɪvɔːs / jʊ nəʊ /

2 A / ɪz nɔːmən ʃɔːt /

B / hiːz naɪðə ʃɔːt nɔːr ɪnɔːməs / hiːz ʤʌst nɔːməl /

A / aɪ hɜːd hɪz fɔːʧən ɪz ɪnɔːməs /

B / hɪz ɪnɔːməs fɔːʧən ɪznt ɪmpɔːtənt /

A / əv kɔːs / jʊ ədɔː nɔːmən bɪkəz hiːz nɔːməl /

69
Vowel #8 /ʊ/
● Sentences
➔ The bully pushed him into the bush.
/ ðə bʊlɪ pʊʃt hɪm ɪntə ðə bʊʃ /
➔ He took a good look at the book cover.
/ hɪ tʊk ə ɡʊd lʊk ət ðə bʊk kʌvə /
➔ It would be good if you could cook today.
/ ɪt wʊd bi: ɡʊd ɪf jʊ kəd kʊk tədeɪ /

● Dialogues
1 A: You shouldn't overcook that pudding.
B: And you shouldn't bully the cook, should you?
A: I couldn't bully you, you would butcher me!
B: Good cooks have sharp knives.

2 A: I would put more sugar in the cookies dough.

B: The cookbook says only one spoonful.
A: A tablespoonful or a teaspoonful?
B: I couldn't say… I'll look in the book.

1 A / jʊ ʃʊdnt əʊvəkʊk ðət pʊdɪŋ /

B / ənd jʊ ʃʊdnt bʊlɪ ðə kʊk / ʃʊd jʊ /

A / aɪ kʊdnt bʊlɪ jʊ / jʊ wʊd bʊʧə mɪ /

B /ɡʊd kʊks hæv ʃɑːp naɪvz /

2 A /aɪ wʊd pʊt mɔː ʃʊɡər ɪn ðə kʊkɪz dəʊ/

B /ðə kʊkbʊk sez əʊnlɪ wʌn spuːnfʊl/

A /ə teɪbəlspu:nfʊl ɔːr ə tiːspuːnfʊl/

B /aɪ kʊdnt seɪ / aɪl lʊk ɪn ðə bʊk/

70
Vowel #9 /u:/
● Sentences
➔ Fruit juice can boost your immune system.
/ fruːt ʤuːs kən buːst jər ɪmjuːn sɪstəm /
➔ The shoes and boots in that boutique are cute.
/ðə ʃuːz ənd buːts ɪn ðət buːtiːk ə kjuːt/
➔ Susan and Jules went to school in Utah too!
/ suːzᵊn ənd ʤuːlz went tə skuːl in juːtɑː tuː /

● Dialogues
1 A: I don't know what to choose from the menu.
B: Do it soon, Ruth, I need food.
A: Don't be rude, Bruce.
B: Just choose stew, or goose.
A: I'll go with soup and prune juice.

2 A: There are too few serious issues in the news.

B: Who wants doom and gloom at noon?
A: I assume you disapprove of truth in the news, you fool.
B: What a gloomy mood, Luke.

1 A / aɪ dəʊnt nəʊ wɒt tə ʧuːz frəm ðə menjuː /

B / du: ɪt suːn / ru:θ / aɪ niːd fuːd /

A / dəʊnt bi: ruːd / bru:s /

B /ʤəst ʧuːz stjuː / ɔː ɡuːs /

A /aɪl ɡəʊ wɪð suːp / ənd pruːn ʤuːs/

2 A /ðər ə tuː fjuː sɪərɪəs ɪʃuːz ɪn ðə njuːz/

B /huː wɒnts duːm ənd ɡluːm ət nuːn/

A /aɪ əsjuːm jʊ dɪsəpruːv əv truːθ ɪn ðə njuːz / jʊ fuːl/

B /wɒt ə ɡluːmɪ muːd / luːk/

71
Vowel #10 /ʌ/
● Sentences
➔ Oh son! You’ve cut your thumb.
/ əʊ sʌn / juːv kʌt jɔː θʌm /
➔ The sun’s come out!
/ ðə sʌnz kʌm aʊt /
➔ Come on! Hurry up, lunch’s done!
/ kʌm ɒn / hʌrɪ ʌp / lʌnʧɪz redɪ /

● Dialogues

1 A: Come, honey. Say hi to uncle Kenny.

B: Hey bud! Oh, you've got a bunny.
A: Son, don't put out your tongue!
C: Mum, uncle Kenny's ugly!

2 A: I know this month's been tough, but I trust- what?

B: Nothing, it's just… I love you.
A: Hon, you'll be my husband next month! Why do you blush?
B: It's us, your touch, your love… I just wanna jump! You drive me nuts!

1 A /kʌm hʌnɪ / seɪ haɪ tu ʌŋkl kenɪ /

B /haɪ bʌd / əʊ juːv ɡɒt ə bʌnɪ /

A /sʌn / dəʊnt pʊt aʊt jɔː tʌŋ/

C /mʌm / ʌŋkl kenɪz ʌɡlɪ /

2 A / aɪ nəʊ ɪts bɪn tʌf bət aɪ trʌst / wɒt /

B / nʌθɪŋ / ɪts ʤʌst / aɪ lʌv jʊ /

A / hʌn / juːl bɪ maɪ hʌzbənd nekst mʌnθ / waɪ də jʊ blʌʃ /

B / ɪts ʌs / jɔː tʌʧ / jɔː lʌv / aɪ ʤʌst wɒnə ʤʌmp / jʊ draɪv mɪ nʌts /

72
Vowel #11 /3:/
● Sentences
➔ Myrtle’s a girl of the first world.
/ mɜːtlz ə ɡɜːl əv ðə fɜːst wɜːld /
➔ Kurt searched for the perfect girl.
/ kɜːt sɜːʧt fə ðə pɜːfɪkt ɡɜːl /
➔ Sir, here’s your shirt for church.
/ sɜː / hɪəz jɔː ʃɜːt fə ʧɜːʧ /

● Dialogues
1 A: Look at his fur, and listen to his purr… he's perfect!
B: He's a scourge! My poor bird's hurt.
A: That's how the word works!
B: That cat can burn in hell if he hurts Bernard again.

2 A: What does Irvine do?

B: I'm not certain but he earns a lot. He had money to burn.
A: And Herman?
B: He sells urban clothes and purses.

1 A / lʊk ət hɪz fɜːr ənd lɪsn tə hɪz pɜː hiːz pɜːfɪkt /

B / hiːz ə skɜːʤ / maɪ pʊə bɜːdz hɜːt /

A / ðæts hɑʊ ðə wɜːld wɜːks /

B / ðæt kæt kən bɜːn ɪn hel ɪf hɪ hɜːts bɜːnəd əɡen /

2 A /wɒt dəz ɜːvɪn duː/

B /aɪm nɒt sɜːtn bət hɪ ɜːnz ə lɒt / hɪ həz mʌnɪ tə bɜːn/

A /ənd hɜːmən/

B /hɪ selz ɜːbən kləʊðz ən pɜːsɪz/

73
Vowel #12 /ə/
● Sentences
➔ The girl ate a banana in the cafeteria.
/ ðə ɡɜːl et ə bənɑːnə ɪn ðə kæfətɪrɪə /
➔ A panda sat on the sofa.
/ ə pændə sæt ɒn ðə səʊfə /
➔ The battle happened a long time ago.
/ ðə bætəl hæpənd ə lɒŋ taɪm əɡəʊ /

● Dialogues
1 A: The difference between us is that I'm a conservative.
B: As a matter of fact, I'm a conservative too!
A: I'm afraid that we're not the same type of conservatives, Mr. Taylor.
B: Well I can't say I agree with that idea, my dear neighbour.

2 A: Where were you at the time of the burglary?

B: I was at the cinema, officer, with my mother and father.
A: And your brother and sister were there too?
B: No, they were not. I happen to be an only child.
A: I see. And what was the movie again?

1 A /ðə dɪfrəns bɪtwiːn əs ɪz ðət aɪm ə kənsɜːvətɪv /

B / əz ə mætər əv fækt / aɪm ə kənsɜːvətɪv tuː /

A /aɪm əfreɪd ðət wɪ ə nɒt ðə seɪm taɪp əv kənsɜːvətɪvz / mɪstə teɪlə /

B /wel aɪ kɑːnt seɪ aɪ əɡriː wɪð ðæt aɪdɪə / maɪ dɪə neɪbə /

2 A / weə wə ju: ət ðə taɪm əv ðə bɜːɡlərɪ //

B / aɪ wəz ət ðə sɪnəmə / ɒfɪsə // wɪð maɪ mʌðər ən fɑːðə //

A / ənd jɔː brʌðər ən sɪstə wə ðeə tuː //

B / nəʊ ðeɪ wə nɒt // aɪ hæpən tə bi: ən əʊnlɪ ʧaɪld //

A / aɪ siː // ən wɒt wəz ðə muːvɪ əɡen //

74
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Transcriptions:

1)

2)

3)

76
 4)

5)

6)

7)

77
 8)

9)

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10)

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Strong and weak forms: Exercises
★ The form and pronunciation of articles depend on the first sound of the following
word, not on the first letter. Write the transcriptions and fill in the blanks.
Definite article “the” Indefinite article “a/an”

The universe ……… honest man

/ ju:nɪvɜːs/ / ɒnəst mæn/
The umbrella ……… humble man
/ ʌmbrelə/ / hʌmbl mæn/
The hero ……… unhappy man
/ hɪərəʊ/ / ʌnhæpɪ mæn/
The hours ……… unique man
/ ɑʊəz/ / juːnɪk mæn/

★ Write the transcription of the following phrases. Check the rules for the
pronunciation of ‘s.

George’s here ………………………………… Ray’s here …………………………………

Alice’s here ………………………………… Pat’s here …………………………………
Ann’s here ………………………………… Mike’s here …………………………………

★ Transcribe the following dialogue paying attention to the forms of the verb to be.
A: Where are the students?

B: Some of them were absent this morning, and the others are in the
backyard. The Music teacher was with them. They were rehearsing a song
for the folk festival. I am going to tell them you are here. You aren’t
leaving, are you?

A: Of course, not.

A: What’s your opinion? They weren’t too good, were they?

B: They were fine. They are very young and I guess they were nervous.

A: Surely! I was nervous too.

B: Were you?

A: I was! There were too many people. Even the principal was there.

B: But they know you are a very responsible teacher! You shouldn’t have
been nervous! Everything was perfect.

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★ Transcribe the following fragments.

That
There are some pencils in that drawer.
He told me that they were as good as mine.

There
There wasn’t anything left back there.

Some
A: Give me some crackers.
B: Nope.
A: Come on! Don’t be greedy, give me some.
B: Well… it appears some of us don’t know the meaning of sharing.

Personal pronouns
A: Oh! I didn't expect to find you at this concert. Do you like the Coldplay?
B: I don’t like this band, but my sister loves them. She wanted to come; I had to
accompany her.

No! Don’t give that book to the students, it’s not for them, it's for the teacher! She
needs it.

Have
If you have any questions, you can return next week. By then, you will have read
unit 2… because you have finished unit 1, right?

A: I have found them!

B: Have you? Great!
A: You haven’t bought them, have you?
B: No, I haven’t
Do
A: Do you exercise? If you do, what do you do to keep fit?
B: Yes, I do yoga every morning! Do you know about it? I do enjoy it a lot!

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Can
A: Can anyone here play a musical instrument?
B: I can
A: Can you? What can you play?
B: I can play the guitar.
A: Great! Can you play the bass too?
B: Oh no, I can’t play bass at all!

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