AKTU

B.Tech First Year

Soft Skills
( BAS 105 / BAS 205 )
 Unit -2
Listening and Speaking Skills

Syllabus

Active Listening: Meaning and Art of Listening, Traits of a Good

Listener, Listening modes, listening and Note taking, Types of
Listening, Listening Techniques using Ted Talk Audio listening with
script reading, Pronunciation; Speaking style ; content and
sequencing.
Pronunciation - I

Lesson 10
 Pronunciation
Pronunciation:

• "Pronunciation" refers to the way in which we make

the sound of words.

• To pronounce words, we push air from our lungs up

through our throat and vocal chords, through our
mouth, past our tongue and out between our teeth
and lips. (Sometimes air also travels through our nose.)

• To change the sound that we are making, we mainly

use the muscles of our mouth, tongue and lips to
control the shape of our mouth and the flow of air.
 Pronunciation
Pronunciation:

• If we can control the shape of our mouth and the

flow of air correctly, then our pronunciation is
clearer and other people understand us more
easily.

• Speakers of different languages tend to develop

different muscles of the mouth for pronunciation.
When we speak a foreign language, our muscles
may not be well developed for that language, and
we will find pronunciation more difficult. By
practicing the foreign language pronunciation, our
muscles develop, and pronunciation improves.
 Pronunciation
Pronunciation:

• Other important aspects of pronunciation, include:

• word stress - emphasis on certain syllables in a

word
• sentence stress - emphasis on certain words in a
sentence
• linking - joining certain words together
• intonation - the rise and fall of our voice as we
speak
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

• English is not a phonetic language

i.e.; words are not pronounced as
they are spelled.

• The English language has 26 letters

but uses 48 sounds: 24
consonants and 24 vowels
(including 12 pure vowels, 10
diphthongs, and two triphthongs)
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

1. Consonant Sound:

• A consonant is a sound in which the voice, or

breath stream, is interrupted or impeded during
production.

• Consonants can be either voiced or voiceless; if the

vocal folds vibrate during production, the
consonant is voiced, and if they do not vibrate, the
consonant is voiceless.
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

1. Consonant Sound:
• All consonants are
formed by using two of
seven articulators (the
lips, the tip of the
tongue, the middle of
the tongue, the back of
the tongue, the
alveolar ridge, the hard
palate, and the soft
palate) either touching
or in proximity to each
other.
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

Placements and Types of Sounds Produced

 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

1. Consonant Sound:
• There are six types of consonant sounds:

a) Stop Plosives
b) Nasals
c) Lateral
d) Fricatives
e) Glides
f) Affricates
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

1. Consonant Sound:
i. Stop Plosives
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

1. Consonant Sound:
ii. Nasals
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

1. Consonant Sound:
iii. Lateral
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

1. Consonant Sound:
iv. Fricatives
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

1. Consonant Sound:
v. Glides
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

1. Consonant Sound:
vi. Affricates
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

2. Vowel Sound:

• A vowel, by contrast, is an uninterrupted voiced

sound.

• For all vowel sounds (with the exception of the

vowels, diphthongs, and triphthongs of r), the
tongue rests on the floor of the mouth, with its tip
resting against the lower teeth, and the arch in the
tongue determines the phoneme produced.

• Vowel sounds can be classified in three categories:

Pure Vowels, Diphthongs , Triphthongs. ( English has
12 pure vowel sounds, 10 diphthongs and 2 triphthongs. )
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

2. Vowel Sound:

• Vowel sounds are also divided as Short Vowel

Sounds and Long Vowel Sounds.
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

2. Vowel Sound:
i. Pure Vowel Sounds:

• The pure vowel sounds can be categorized as

front, middle, and back, named for the arch in the
tongue.

• For a front vowel, the front of the tongue is

arched; for a middle vowel, the middle of the
tongue is arched; and for a back vowel, the back
of the tongue is arched (with the exception of the
vowel ɑ, for which the back of the tongue is flat).
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

2. Vowel Sound:
i. Pure Vowel Sounds:
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

2. Vowel Sound:
i. Pure Vowel Sounds:
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

2. Vowel Sound:
i. Pure Vowel Sounds:
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

2. Vowel Sound:
i. Pure Vowel Sounds:
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

2. Vowel Sound:
i. Pure Vowel Sounds:
 Pronunciation Fundamentals
Pronunciation Fundamentals:

2. Vowel Sound:
i. Pure Vowel Sounds:
 Listening vs. Hearing
Basis for
Hearing Listening
comparison
Hearing refers to one's ability
Listening is something done consciously,
to perceive sounds, by
Meaning that involve the analysis and
receiving vibrations through
understanding of the sounds you hear.
ears.
What is it? An ability A skill
Nature Primary and continuous Secondary and temporary
Act Physiological Psychological
Receipt of message through Interpretation of the message received
Involves
ears. by ears.
Process Passive bodily process Active mental process
Occurs at Subconscious level Conscious level
Use of senses Only one More than one
We are neither aware nor we
We listen to acquire knowledge and
Reason have any control over the
If you like the content, Please do Comment, Subscribe and Share.
sounds we hear.
receive information.

Concentration Not required Required