PRONUNCIATION PRACTICES

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT (PBI)

2018

COMPILED BY:
BUDIASIH, M.PD.

FATHKHUNAIMAH RZ, M.HUM.

DWI CAHYONO, M.PD.

IKKE DEWI PRATAMA, M.HUM.

 UNIT 1
INTRODUCTION

A. PRONUNCIATION, PHONETICS, AND PHONOLOGY

Pronunciation is one of the most essential parts of language. Pronunciation is
very important to avoid misunderstandings when people are communicating.
Pronunciation is the act or manner of pronouncing words; utterance of speech. In
other words, we can also say that it is a way of speaking a word, especially a way that
it is accepted or generally understood.
Theoretically, learning pronunciation involves the study of phonetics and
phonology. Phonetics is the system of sounds of a particular language. It deals with
the sounds of speech and their production, combination, description, and
representation by written symbols.
Phonology is the sound system of a specific language. It is the study of speech
sounds in a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit
rules governing pronunciation.
Non-native speakers of English (NNS) often have problems with
pronunciation. Incorrectly learning the pronunciation of English, either by transferring
the phonological rules from their mother tongue into their English speech or through
implementing strategies similar to those used in primary language acquirement creates
innovative pronunciations for English sounds which cannot be found in the speaker’s
first language. For example, the Japanese do not have the sound of ‘r’ in their
language. Thus, they have to use an alternative sound which available in their
language according to their convenience. As they pronounced the sound ‘r’, they
pronounce ‘l’ sound. There are common problem areas of nonnative speakers of
English with pronunciation. Nonnative speakers of English here refer to people whose
first language is not English. The problem areas identified are problems in sounds or
phonemes, stress and intonation. There are some sounds in English that probably don’t
exist in nonnative speakers’ own language – for instance, English has 12 vowels
(many languages only have 5), and 8 diphthongs. Also, there is no simple relationship
between spellings and sounds in English.

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B. FACTORS AFFECTING PRONUNCIATION
Pronunciation of any non-native speaker of any language is promoted or impeded by a
number of factors including, among others, (1) age, (2) mother tongue influence and
(3) personality.
1. Age
Lenneberg (1967) who proposed the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH),
suggests that there is a period of time when language learning is more successful
than any other time in one’s life. He links the close of the critical period to the
completion of the cerebral lateralization of language function which takes place at
puberty. The CPH is still disputed in many language acquisition studies; for
instance, Chiswick and Miller (2007) define the CPH as a sharp decline in learning
outcome with age. They add that to ensure a native-like proficiency, one has to
acquire the language before the critical period ends. In response to Lenneberg
point of view, Johnson & Newport (1989) conclude that they do not find a direct
relationship between performance and age of learning throughout childhood, with
a rapid decline in performance marking the end of the critical period; instead, in
their study performance increasingly declined from about age seven until
adulthood.
According to CPH, there is a biological or neurological period, which ends
around the age of 12; after which, it becomes extremely difficult to attain the
complete mastery of a second language, especially pronunciation. Conversely,
Bongaerts, Planken and Schils (1997) have shown that it is not always the case;
adult learners are capable of achieving native-like in an L2. However, the degree
of pronunciation accuracy differs from one learner to another in spite of the age
similarity, as we shall see in the following sections.
2. Mother tongue influence
L1 learners have no difficulty in producing most words in their language after
the age of puberty because it is only one linguistic system that the learner's mind
tries to understand and he/she is exposed to the language all the time; whereas, in
the learning of L2, L1 features play a kind of role which results in a clash between
the system of L1 and that of L2. So it seems to be true that, as Odlin (1989: 112)

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 puts it, there is no little doubt that native language phonetics and phonology are
powerful influences on second language pronunciation.
Cook (1992) states that L1 is present in L2 learners minds, whether the teacher
wants it to be there or not. The L2 knowledge that is being created in them is
connected in all sorts of ways with their L1 knowledge. According to this, learners
interlanguage is open to L1 influence in a way that they transfer features from
their L1 into L2. This type of transfer results in error if the transferred feature is
not similar or not found in L2. Such transfers are called interference.
3. Personality
Certain non-linguistic factors related to an individual’s personality and
learning goals, attitude towards the target language, native speakers and their
culture, and type of motivation, which are beyond the teacher’s control, all have
their role in the development of pronunciation skills. In addition, the degree of
exposure to and use of the target language can support or impede pronunciation
skills development. For example, learners who are outgoing and confident and get
involved in interactions with native speakers are liable to practice their foreign
language pronunciation (Avery and Ehrlich, 1992). Conversely, some learners feel
uncomfortable trying out new speech rhythm and melody patterns, while others
feel stupid pronouncing ‘weird’ sounds, and with time, they decide that it is
fruitless and impossible to learn English pronunciation. In this respect, Miller
(2000) believes that changing and not changing speech patterns is affected by
how much responsibility the learner takes, how much the learner practices outside
of class, and how ready the learner is.
Second language is the language acquired by a person after having acquired
the basic system of L1. Researches focus on the errors learners make when
learning an L2. In L2 learning, errors are indispensable. Researchers are interested
in errors because errors are believed to contain valuable information about the
language and the way it is learned. As we all know, we communicate orally and/or
in writing where errors are found in both types of communication; our focus in this
investigation is on the oral type.

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C. THE FEATURES OF PRONUNCIATION
Phoneme supra-segmental

Consonant vowels intonation stress

Voice unvoiced single diphthong word sentence

1. Phoneme : different sounds within a language. Example : the word “rat” has the
phoneme /r æ t/. if we change the middle phoneme, we get ‘rot’ /rƆ t/.

The followings are two kinds of sounds:

a. Voiced : the sounds occur when the vocal chords in the larynx are
vibrated .
b. Unvoiced : the sounds occur when there is no vibration on the vocal
chords

The set of phonemes consist of 2 categories:

a. Consonant sounds : may be voiced (such as /f/ in ‘fan’) or unvoiced
(such as in /v/ in ‘van’).
b. Vowel sounds : are all voiced and maybe single, such as /l/ in ‘let’,
or diphthongs which is combination of vowels such as /eI/ in ‘late’. There is
also triphthong which is combination of 3 vowels. For example, the vowel
sounds /aʊə/ in a two-syllable pronunciation of the word flower.

The following table is lists of English phonemes:

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 Assignment: Voiced and Unvoiced
Put a thick (v) in the appropriate kinds of sounds
Phonems Voiced Unvoiced
/p/
/b/
/d/
/t/
/v/
/s/
/z/

Assignment: Diphthongs and Triphthongs

The followings are some phonemes of diphthongs and tripthongs. Write
two examples for each phoneme then practice to pronounce them correctly.
/eɪ/ .......................................................................................................
/ɔɪ/ .......................................................................................................
/aɪ/ .......................................................................................................
/əʊ/ ......................................................................................................
/aʊ/ ......................................................................................................
/aʊə/ ....................................................................................................

2. Suprasegmental features : features of speech which generally apply to groups of

segments or phonemes. The features that are important in English are stress,
intonation, and how sounds change in connected speech.
The stress in words are usually indicated in dictionary, for example PAper
or BOttle. Stress gives rhythm to speech. In English, stress is most dramatically
realized on focused or accented words. For instance, consider the dialogue
"Is it brunch tomorrow?"
"No, it's dinner tomorrow."
In it, the stress-related acoustic differences between the syllables of "tomorrow"
would be small compared to the differences between the syllables of "dinner", the
emphasized word. In these emphasized words, stressed syllables such as "din" in
"dinner" are louder and longer. (stress will be discussed further in the next
subchapters).
Intonation is up and down of the pitch of the voice in the course of an
utterance. Utterance of stress and intonation are often linked to the communication
meaning.

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Intonation - you may be familiar in a loose sense with the notion of tone of voice.
We use varying levels of pitch in sequences (contours or tunes) to convey particular
meanings. Falling and rising intonation in English may signal a difference between
statement and question. Younger speakers of English may use rising (question)
intonation without intending to make the utterance a question. The examples of
intonation are as follows.

Where do you go?

The speaker is asking a question for the first time. In this particular instance, the
pitch of the voice starts relatively high and falls at the end, finishing relatively low
(Kelly, 2000:3).

Where do you go?

If the speaker should ask the question for a second time (having already been given
the information, but having forgotten it), then the voice falls on the word where and
rises again towards the end of the question. This indicates to the listener that the
speaker is aware that they should know the answer (Kelly:2000:3).
Check this examples:
You don't be[falling pitch]lieve me. = statement.
You don't be[rising pitch]lieve me? = question.
Assignment: Stress
Underline the syllables which must be stressed in the following words:
1. never
2. always
3. wanted
4. English
5. along
6. because
7. collect
8. predict
9. guitar
10. onion
UNIT 2
PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTIONS

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 There are 26 letters in the English alphabet but they stand for at least 44 sounds of
real English. The table below contains phonetic symbols used in various English
dictionaries using IPA (International Phonetic Alphabets). However it doesn't list all
possible sounds of American or British English considering that some researchers count
up to 49 (or even more) distinct sounds in English language.
There are quite a few phonetic transcription systems in the world. The two most
popular among them are the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and the Merriam
Webster system. IPA used mainly in European and British dictionaries while Merriam
Webster - in American ones, including of course the Merriam Webster Dictionary itself.
Phonetic transcription is usually written in [square brackets] or between two
\backslash symbols\.
Stress: main stress is a short vertical or slant line placed at the top before the
stressed syllable in the phonetic transcription of the word; secondary stress is a short
vertical or slant line placed at the bottom before the stressed syllable. E.g.:
/prə,nʌnsɪˈeɪʃn/.

A. Vowels sounds
Most English-speaking people would say there are five vowels in English, but
they are thinking of the written language. In fact, in the spoken language there are many
more. The exact number depends on the dialect of the speaker. The following list of 12
vowels and 8 diphthongs is based on standard British English, often referred to as RP
(Received Pronunciation). There are simple vowels, like /ɪ/as in "hit", and complex
ones (diphthongs), like /aɪ/ as in "my", where two vowels combine and run into each
other.
The number of vowels and individual uses depends on the regional dialect
spoken. For example some speakers of English use the sound /u/ in "bus". Their dialect
does not have the sound /ʌ/.

IPA Phonetic Symbol Example

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 tree, sea, receive, women, believe, we,
people
bit, symbol, recall, business
cat, apple, compact
car, far, garage, heart
sort, ball, ought, awful, board, floor,
audacity, saw
put, foot, could, butcher, woman
fool, rule, shoes, true, crew, move,
through
up, other, but, couple, blood, love
her, first, turn, search, word
until, about, alias
bed, effort, head, said, friend
rock, impossible, body, cough,
knowledge

1. The characteristics of the ‘pure’ vowel sounds

Vowels are articulated when a voiced airstream is shaped using the tongue
and lips to modify the overall shape of the mouth. English speakers generally use
twelve pure vowels and eight diphthongs. The word ‘pure’ is used to differentiate
single vowel sounds from diphthongs. There are basic lip positions which are used
in describing the articulation of vowel sounds.
 Rounded: the lips are pushed forward into the shape of a circle, example /ʊ/
 Spread: the corners of the lips are moved away from each other, as when
smiling, example /iː/
 Neutral: the lips are not noticeably rounded or spread, example /ə/
The tables on the following are the information of the ‘vowel space’ (or the part
of the mouth and throat which is used in the production of vowels).
a) Close Vowels (Kelly, 2000:31)
For close vowels the tongue is quite high in the mouth.
Vowel Characteristics Examples
iː The front of the tongue is slightly behind and below Bead, key
the close front position. (The ‘close’ position is cheese,
where the tongue is closest to the roof of the mouth. police,
Lips are spread. The tongue is tense, and the sides of people

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 the tongue touch the upper molars.
ɪ The part of the tongue slightly nearer the centre is Hit,
raised to just above the half-close position. Lips aresausage,
spread loosely, and the tongue is more relaxed. The biggest,
sides of the tongue may just touch the upper molar rhythm,
busy,
women,
mountain
ʊ The part of the tongue just behind the centre is Book, good,
raised, just above the half-close position. Lips are woman,
rounded but loosely, and the tongue is relatively push, pull
relaxed.
uː The back of the tongue is raised just below the close Food, rude,
position. Lips are rounded and the tongue is tense. true, who,
fruit, soup

b) Mid Vowels (Kelly, 2000:32)

For mid vowels the tongue is neither high nor low in the mouth.
Vowel Characteristics Examples
e The front of the tongue is between the half-open and Egg, left,
half-close positions. Lips are loosely spread. The said,
tongue is tenser than for /ɪ/, and the sides of the instead,
tongue may touch the upper molars. leisure
ə The centre of the tongue is between the half-close About,
and half-open positions. Lips are relaxed, and paper,
neutrally spread banana,
nation, the
ɜː The centre of the tongue is between the half-close Shirt, her,
and half-open positions. Lips are relaxed, and word,
neutrally spread further,
pearl, serve
ɔː The back of the tongue is raised to between the half- Fork, call,
open and half-close positions. Lips are loosely bought,
rounded saw, all,
law, horse

c) Open Vowels (Kelly, 2000:33)

For open vowels the tongue is low in the mouth.

Vowel Characteristics Examples

æ The front of the tongue is raised to just below the Hat, attack,
half-open position. Lips are neutrally open antique,
ʌ The centre of the tongue is raised to just above the Run, uncle,
fully open position. Lips are neutrally open front, does,
come, flood

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 aː The tongue, between the centre and the back, is in the Far, part,
fully open position. Lips are neutrally open half, class,
command,
memoir,
aunty,
hearth
ɒ The back of the tongue is in fully open position. Lips Dog, often,
are lightly rounded cough,
want,
knowledge,
Australia

B. Diphthongs
A diphthong is a combination of vowel sounds (Kelly, 2000:34). There is a
glide (or movement of the tongue, lips and jaw) from one pure vowel sound to another.
The first sound in each phoneme is longer and louder than the second in English.
tray, eight, make, sail, say, great, ace
sky, I, bye, buy, by, guide, flight, rye, die, choir
joy, coin, oyster
fear, beer, here
hair, care, there, hare
tour, poor
trousers, cow, hour, our
əʊ joke, coat, own, go, though, sew, toe

English is usually described as having eight diphthongs, and they can be

usefully grouped in the following:

1. Centring diphthongs end with a glide towards /ə/. They are called ‘centring’
because /ə/ is a central vowel.
Diphthong Characteristics Examples
ɪə The glide begins in the position for /ɪ/, moving Beer, beard,
down and back towards /ə/. The lips are neutral fear, pierce,
but with a small movement from spread to open. Ian, here,
idea, clear
ʊə The glide begins in the position for /ʊ/, moving Sure, moor,

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 forwards and down towards /ə/. The lips are tour, obscure
loosely rounded, becoming neutrally spread.
eə The glide begins in the position for /e/, moving Where, wear,
back towards /ə/. The lips remain neutrally open. chair, dare,
stare, there

2. Closing diphthongs end with a glide towards /ɪ/ or towards /ʊ/. The glide is
towards a higher position in the mouth.
Closing diphthongs ending in /ɪ/
Diphthong Characteristics Examples
eɪ The glide begins in the position for /e/, moving Cake, way,
up and slightly back towards /ɪ/. The lips are weigh, say,
spread. pain, they,
vein
ɔɪ The glide begins in the position for /ɔː/, moving Toy, avoid,
up and forwards towards /ɪ/. The lips start open voice, enjoy,
and change to neutral. boy
aɪ The glide begins in an open position, between High, tie,
front and centre, moving up and slightly forward buy, kite,
towards /ɪ/. The lips move from neutral, to might, cry,
loosely spread. eye

Closing diphthongs ending in /ʊ/

Diphthong Characteristics Examples
əʊ The glide begins in the position for /ə/, moving Go, snow,
up and back towards /ʊ/. The lips are neutral, but toast, home,
change to loosely rounded. hello,
although
aʊ The glide begins in a position quite similar to /aː/ House, loud,
moving up towards /ʊ/. The lips start neutral, down, how,
with a movement to loosely rounded. The glide bough
is not always completed, as the movement
involved is extensive.

Assignment: Vowel and Diphthong sounds

 Write the vowel symbols!
No. Minimal pairs   Simplified IPA symbols
1 sheep/ship    /
2 tin/ten
3 bet/bat
4 bet/bait

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 5 bat/bad
6 cat/cut
7 cat/cart
8 cart/cut
9 cut/curt
10 look/loop
11 cart/caught
12 caught/cot
13 caught/coat
14 caught/curt
15 coat/cot
16 coat/coot
17 darling/dialling
18 air/"A"
19 tail/toil
20 tail/tell
21 tail/tile
22 tile/toil
23 hour/are

 Write the vowel symbols in the second column

 Write the phonetic transcription beside the words
No. Vowel Example words
symbols
1 feet leap
2 fit lip
3 men bed
4 man bad
5 mud nut
6 fast pass
7 top rock
8 fall lord
9 book foot
10 boot food
11 girl bird
12 a lot apart
13 mail May
14 fly buy
15 boy boil

13
 16 cow house
17 sold low
18 beer dear
19 hair rare
20 sure pure

C. Consonants
There is less variation in consonants between speakers of different dialects than
between vowels. British and American consonants are the same. Most of the consonant
symbols are similar to the normal alphabet of written English. Just a few have to be
learned.

parking, gallop, open

board, tab, abandon
trunk, request, receipt
add, ad, diligent
kodak, cord, accomplish, school, ache, conqueror, exchange (x = k+s)
grace, agree, auxiliary (x = g+z)
chance, achieve, catch, mutual
jungle, judge, logic, procedure
fool, atmosphere, enough
vocal, give
thanks, ethic
there, other
sunday, citizen, east, scissors, psychology
zebra, cosmonaut, scissors, resign, xenon

shine, sure, action, special, issue, conscience, anxious (x = k + )

visual, casual, usual, garage,
head, uphill
mother, lamb
note, intrusion, knowledge, pneumatic
sing, sink
laughter, illegal

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 random, orange; (amer.) order
yet, yesterday, you, utility; (u = j + u)
what, windows, quest, one (o = w + )

D. Consonant Clusters
Consonant clusters are consonants sounds which occur together. For example:
matchbox [mætʃbɒks]. Consonant clusters can provide many difficulties for learners.
English words can have up to three consonant together at the beginning (such as
scratch [skrætʃ]), and up to four at the end (such as glimpsed [glImpst]).

 Try to pronounce the following words containing consonant clusters:

scrambled shredded knight
scrapper stripped whished
indulged right whisk
wrecked night
 Find more words with consonant clusters (at least containing 2 letters of consonant
whether in the beginning, in the middle, or in the end).
First Letter Examples
b
c
d
f
g
l
m
n
p
s
t
w

Assignment: Review
1. Match the phonetic transcriptions with the words.
1. /ʃʌt/ a. later
2. /hɑːt/ b. joke
3. /θɪŋk/ c. heart
4. /wɜːk/ d. there
5. /leɪtə/ e. doubt

6. /bɔːt/ f. work
7. /puːl/ g. shut

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 8. /dɑʊt/ h. think
9. /dʒəʊk/ i. pool
10. /ðeə/ j. bought
2. Listen to the following words and circle the sound that you hear
1. /æ/ /ʌ/

2. /æ/ /e/
3. /ʊ/ /ɒ/
4. /ɪː/ /ɪ/
5. /ɜː/ /ɔː/
6. /eɪ/ /ɑɪ/

7. /ʊ/ /uː/
8. /ɪə/ /eə/
9. /θ/ /ð/
10. /ʃ/ /ʒ/

3. Complete the transcriptions with one of the following dipthongs:

/eɪ/ /ɑɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /əʊ/ /ɑʊ/ /ɪə/ /eə/ /ʊə/

1. make /m _ _ k/
2. sure /ʃ _ _/
3. bear /b _ _/
4. island /- - lənd/
5. employ /ɪmpl _ _/
6. hear /h _ _/
7. town /t _ _ n/
8. home /h _ _ m/
9. sight /s _ _ t/
10. know /n _ _ /

4. Write out the correct spelling of these place names.

1. /kæntəbrɪ/
2. /grenɪtʃ/
3. /lestə/
4. /edɪnbrə/
5. /wɒrɪk/

5. Listen to the teacher and underline the /ə/ sound in the following sentences.

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 1. We went to the theatre yesterday.
2. He can speak Russian and German.
3. Susan is famous for her Christmas cake.
4. The pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary are difficult.
5. We could ask them if they have reached a decision.
6. A man and a woman were waiting at the station.
7. They’re going to the mountains on Saturday.
8. The private sector is all economic activity other than government.
9. Where are the spoons and forks?
10. There were seven or eight hundred people present at the conference

6. Tick the words that contain the /ɜː/ sound.

1. Thursday 5. Tuesday 9. birthday 13. ball
2. does 6. work 10. turn 14. hurt
3. skirt 7. ear 11. bun 15. early
4. short 8. nurse 12. Weren’t 16. Ward

7. The lecturer will read out the following sentences. Underline the alternative
that you hear.
1. Which county/country did you say he lived in?
2. She rubbed/robbed the silver to make it shinier.
3. There are a lot of colorful rags/rugs on the floor.
4. Can I borrow your cup/cap?
5. We were wondering/ wandering where she was.
6. She has a heart/hut of gold.
7. Put the batter/butter in the fridge.
8. Did you say he run/ran away?
9. There was a big cart/cut in the wood.
10. He tripped over the stump/stamp on the ground

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 UNIT 3
ORGANS OF SPEECH AND ARTICULATIONS

A. ORGANS OF SPEECH
All vowels must be voiced - they are caused by vibration in the vocal cords. But
consonants may be voiced or not. Some of the consonant sounds of English come in
pairs that differ in being voiced or not - in which case they are described as voiceless or
unvoiced. So /b/ is voiced and /p/ is the unvoiced consonant in one pair, while voiced
/g/ and voiceless /k/ form another pair.
We can explain the consonant sounds by the place where the articulation
principally occurs or by the kinds of articulation that occurs there. We speak using the
lips, tongue, teeth, hard palate, soft palate, and alveolar ridge. The nasal cavity is
involved when we produce certain sounds, and the movement of the lower jaw is also
important.

B. Manner of Articulation
Manner of articulation simply means the way that the consonants are
produced. So a simple version of that heading would be 'Ways of Production'. The

18
manner of articulation refers to the interaction between the various articulators and the
air stream; i.e. the air is temporally trapped and then released. The manners of
articulation are: plosive, affricate, fricative, nasal, lateral, approximant. The following is
the table of manner of articulation:
Nasal  A closure is made by the lips, or by the tongue
against the palate, the soft palate is lowered, and
air escapes through the nose, e.g. /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/.
 Air doesn't flow through the oral cavity (mouth)
because the velum is lowered, blocking the
opening to the oral cavity.

Affricate  A complete closure is made somewhere in the

mouth, and the soft palate is raised. Air pressure
increases behind the closure, and is then released
more slowly, e.g. /tʃ/ and /dʒ/
 An affricate is a combination of a plosive and a
fricative. Thus, affricated are sounds produced
when airflow is blocked completely (as with
plosives) and then gradually released (as with
fricatives).

Plosive  A complete closure is made somewhere in the

vocal tract, and the soft palate is also raised. Air
pressure increases behind the closure and is then
released suddenly, e.g. /p/ and /b/.
 Speaker will feel a puff of air against the palm,
like a mini explosion. This happens when the air
is stopped in mid-flow, causing pressure to build
up in the mouth. When this pressurized air is

19
 released, it escapes forcefully through the lips in
a puff of air. To memorize this manner of
articulation better, remember that the word
'plosive' comes from the word 'explosive'

Approximant  Vocal organs come near to each other, but not so

close as to cause audible friction, e.g. /r/, /j/
and /w/.
 The articulators involved in producing
approximant sounds approach each other closely
but do not touch. Thus, approximants can be
defined as sounds produced when articulators
approach each other but not close enough to
obstruct airflow.
Fricative  When two vocal organs come close enough
together for the movement of air between them to
be heard, e.g. /f/ and /v/, /s/, /z/, /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/
and /h/.
 A fricative consonant is produce by obstructing
the airstream while it passes through the oral
cavity. This obstruction is done using any
combination of articulators, whether it's the upper
lip and lower teeth, the tongue and teeth, or the
alveolar ridge and the tongue blade. Fricative
consonants are produced when the articulators are
brought so close together that the airflow is
severely blocked. This means that air is forced to
escape through a very narrow opening, causing
turbulence.

20
 Lateral  A partial closure is made by the blade of the
tongue against the alveolar ridge. Air is able to
flow around the sides of the tongue, e.g. /l/
 Lateral literally means 'the side of something' so
laterals are sounds produced when the air flows
through the sides of the tongue. The only
obstruction occurs where the tip (or blade) of the
tongue touches the alveolar ridge.
This scheme gives us a different arrangement into stop(or plosive) consonants,
affricates, fricatives, nasal consonants, laterals and approximants.
1. Stop consonants (so-called because the airflow is stopped) or plosive consonants
(because it is subsequently released, causing an outrush of air and a burst of sound)
are:
o Bilabial voiced /b/ (as in boat) and voiceless /p/ (as in post)
o Alveolar voiced /d/ (as in dad) and voiceless /t/ (as in tap)
o Velar voiced /g/ (as in golf) and voiceless /k/ (as in cow)
2. Affricates are a kind of stop consonant, where the expelled air causes friction rather
than plosion. They are palatal /tʃ/ (as in cheat) and palatal /dʒ/ (as in jam)
3. Fricatives come from restricting, but not completely stopping, the airflow. The air
passes through a narrow space and the sound arises from the friction this produces.
They come in voiced and unvoiced pairs:
o Labio-dental voiced /v/ (as in vole) and unvoiced /f/ (as in foal)
o Dental voiced /ð/ (as in those) and unvoiced /θ/ (as in thick)
o Alveolar voiced /z/ (as in zest) and unvoiced /s/ (as in sent)
o Palatal voiced /ʒ/ (as in the middle of leisure) and unvoiced /ʃ/ (as at the end of
trash)
4. Nasal consonants involve closing the articulators but lowering the uvula, which
normally closes off the route to the nose, through which the air escapes. There are
three nasal consonants in English:
o Bilabial /m/ (as in mine)
o Alveolar /n/ (as in nine)

21
 o Velar /ŋ/ (as at the end of gong)
5. Lateral consonants allow the air to escape at the sides of the tongue. In English
there is only one such sound, which is alveolar /l/ (as at the start of lamp)
6. Approximants do not impede the flow of air. They are all voiced but are counted as
consonants chiefly because of how they function in syllables. They are:
o Bilabial /w/ (as in water)
o Alveolar /r/ (as in road)
o Palatal /j/ (as in yet)

C. Place of Articulation
'Place of Articulation' actually means the place where the consonants are
produced. You could say that the simpler version would be 'Place of Production'. As
you can see from the table, there are eight places where consonants are produced and
those are bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, palato-alveolar (or post-alveolar),
palatal, velar, and glottal. In the next section, we will explore what all these means.
With regard to the place of articulation, the following table displays the main
movements of the various articulators.
Alveolar  The blade of the tongue is used close to the
alveolar ridge, e.g. /t/, /s/, /n/, /s/, /z/ and /l/.
 Alveolar sounds are called thus because these
sounds are produced at the alveolar ridge,
which is a small bump just behind the upper
teeth. If you're not sure where that is, refer to
the diagram above. Alveolar sounds are
produced when the tongue blade (the active
articulator) is brought towards the alveolar
ridge (the passive articulator). However, some
people may produce alveolar consonants by
placing the tongue tip against the alveolar
ridge, instead of the tongue blade. Both ways
are acceptable.

22
Glottal  The gap between the vocal cords is used to
make audible friction, e.g. /h/
 Glottal sounds are made when air flows
through the different states of the glottis. The
articulators involved are the vocal cords. In
the production of the /h/ consonant, the vocal
cords are open but they are close enough
together so that air passing between them
(through the glottis) creates friction. On the
other hand in the production of the /ʔ/
consonant (or the 'glottal stop'), the vocal
cords close momentarily, cutting off all
airflow through the glottis. As mention in the
introduction, glottal stops are common among
Cockney speakers. When you 'uh-oh' after
something goes wrong, you are also making a
glottal stop sound.
Dental  The tongue tip is used either between the teeth
or close to the upper teeth, e.g. /θ/ and /ð/
 In dental sounds, the tongue tip is placed
between the upper and lower teeth. In this
case, the tongue tip and the lower teeth are the
active articulators while the upper teeth is the
passive articulators.
 Dental sounds are produced by placing the
tongue tip behind the upper front teeth.

palato-alveolar (post-alveolar)  The blade of the tongue is used just behind the
alveolar ridge, e.g. /tʃ/ and /dʒ/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, and /r/
 Palato-alveolar (post-alveolar) consonants are
produced by placing the tongue blade behind
the alveolar ridge, in front of the hard palate.
23
 Hence, the word 'post' because the placement
of the tongue is behind the alveolar ridge.

Bilabial  Using closing movement of both lips, e.g. /p/

and /m/
 Bilabial is the first checkpoint in the topic of
place of articulation. 'Labia' means 'lip' and
'bi' means 'two'. Therefore bilabial actually
refers to the two lips. Bilabial consonants are
produced by bringing the upper lip and lower
lip together, and these consonants include /p/
as in 'pin', /b/ as in 'ball', /w/ as in 'wet',
and /m/ as in 'mix'. In all bilabial consonants,
the upper lip is considered the passive
articulator while the lower lip is the active.
This simply means that the upper lip doesn't
move (or at least not so much) but the lower
lip does. It is the lower lip that approaches the
upper lip when bilabials sounds are being
made.
Velar  The back of the tongue is used against the soft
palate, e.g. /k/, /g/ and /ŋ/
 Velar sounds are produced with the velum or
soft palate playing the central role. A velar
sound is produced when the back of the

24
 tongue is raised towards the velum. The back
of the tongue takes on the active articulator
role, while the velum takes on the passive
articulator role.

Palatal  The front of the tongue is raised close to the

palate, e.g. /j/
 Palatal sounds are produced when the tongue
body is brought towards the hard palate. The
active articulator here is the tongue body
while the passive articulator is the hard palate.

labio-dental  Using the lower lip and the upper teeth, e.g.
/f/ and /v/
 Labiodentals involve the lip and the teeth -
specifically, the lower lip and the upper teeth.
Labio-dental sounds are produced when the
bottom lip (which is the active articulator) is
brought up towards the upper teeth (which is
the passive articulator).

1. Glottal articulation - articulation by the glottis. We use this for one consonant in
English. This is /h/ in initial position in house or hope.

25
2. Velar articulation - we do this with the back of the tongue against the velum. We
use it for initial hard /g/ (as in golf) and for final /ŋ/ (as in gong).
3. Palatal articulation - we do this with the front of the tongue on the hard palate. We
use it for /dʒ/ (as in jam) and for /ʃ/ (as in sheep or sugar).
4. Alveolar articulation - we do this with the tongue blade on the alveolar ridge. We
use it for /t/ (as in teeth), /d/ (as in dodo) /z/ (as in zebra) /n/ (as in no) and /l/ (as in
light).
5. Dental articulation - we do this with the tip of the tongue on the back of the upper
front teeth. We use it for /θ/ (as in think) and /ð/ (as in that). This is one form of
articulation that we can observe and feel ourselves doing.
6. Labio-dental articulation - we do this with the lower lip and upper front teeth. We
use it for /v/ (as in vampire).
7. Labial articulation - we do this with the lips for /b/ (as in boat) and /m/ (as in most).
Where we use two lips (as in English) this is bilabial articulation.

26
 UNIT 4
STRESS AND INTONATION

A. THE INTONATION
The patterns of ups and downs of your voice (and your pitch) on and after the
focus word–which is usually at the end of a sentence or question–is called intonation.
Many people think that pronunciation is what makes up an accent. It may be
that pronunciation is very important for an understandable accent. But it
is intonation that gives the final touch that makes an accent native. 
Intonation is the "music" of a language, and is perhaps the most important
element of a good accent. Often we hear someone speaking with perfect grammar, and
perfect formation of the sounds of English but with a little something that gives them
away as not being a native speaker. 
Therefore, it is necessary to realize that there is more than the correct
pronunciation of the vowels and consonants of a language. This is very important and
we do stress it in other articles. But it is only one of the three components to an accent,
pronunciation, intonation, and linking. 
In English, there are three intonation patterns:
1. Rise 
2. Full fall 
3. Partial fall 
Example
The following two sentences contain the same words. But is there a difference in their
meanings?
1) “She got a dog.”
2) “She got a dog?!”
In these two simple sentences, the focus word of the sentence–the word that gets the
most emphasis–is “dog”.
But what happened with the sound of the focus word?
In sentence one, the intonation went DOWN to indicate the completion of the thought.
1) “She got a dog.”  
In sentence two, the intonation went way UP, to indicate surprise.

27
 2) “She got a dog?!” 

Listen and Repeat

the following examples of intonation patterns. The focus word is underlined in each
sentence.
To complete a thought | FALL
 “I got a dog.” | FALL 
To ask a wh-question (what, where, who, why, when, how) | FALL
  “How are you?”  | FALL
To express surprise | RISE
   “Your dog speaks English?!” | RISE
Need clarification/repetition | RISE
  “WHO got a dog?”  | RISE
Make a list   | PARTIAL RISE + FULL FALL
  “My dog is smart, pretty and sweet.”) | PARTIAL RISE (+ FULL FALL) (notice
the pausingbetween words)
Not finished your thought | NO CHANGE
  “I want a dog, but…” | NO CHANGE (FOLLOWING A PARTIAL FALL)
So, remember. Speaking English isn’t just about correct grammar and vocabulary. You
must change your pitch — the ups and downs and the musical notes of your voice —
to convey proper meaning, emotion and expression

.
B. STRESS
Stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word,
or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. In English, stressed syllables are louder than
non-stressed syllables. Also, they are longer and have a higher pitch. English is a stress-
timed language. That means that stressed syllables appear at a roughly steady tempo,
whereas non-stressed syllables are shortened. Stress is a vital part of both speaking and
listening in stress timed languages. As English is a stress timed language, we have to
take the stress in consideration while examining it. The stress can occur on both

28
syllables in a word and words in a sentence. So we can divide stress as word
stress and sentence stress.
Rule of word stress
- Core vocabulary: Many ‘everyday’ nouns and adjectives of two-syllable length are
stressed on the first syllable. Examples: SISter, BROther, MOther, PAper, TAble,
COFfee, LOvely, etc.
- Prefixes and suffixes: These are not usually stressed in English. Consider: QUIetly,
oRIGinally, deFECtive. (Exception: BIcycle, DISlocate)
- Compound words: Words formed from a combination of two words tend to be
stressed on the first element. Examples: POSTman, NEWSpaper, TEApot,
CROSSword.
Words having a dual role: In the case of words which can be used as either a noun
or a verb, the noun will tend to be stressed on the first syllable (in line with the ‘core
vocabulary’ rule above) and the verb on the last syllable (in line with the ‘prefix
rule’). Examples: IMport (n), imPORT (v); REbel (n), reBEL (v) and INcrease (n),
inCREASE (v).

1. Word Stress:
If we mention about the stress within a word, we define the term ‘stress’ as
syllable prominence. Prominence may, of course, derive from several phonetic
factors such as increased length, loudness, pitch movement or a combination of
these aspects (Ball and Rahilly, 1999:105). Roach (1983:73) identifies the four
characteristics that make a syllable stressed. A stressed syllable;
1. is louder,
2. is longer,
3. has a higher pitch and
4. contains a vowel different in quality from the neighboring vowels
Look at the examples of stress in words. The stress syllables are represented
by bold writing. Holiday, alone, admiration, confidential, degree, weaker,
nervous, parents.

29
 Stress can fall on first, middle or last syllable of words, as is shown here:
Ooo oOo ooO
SYLlabus enGAGEment underSTAND
TECHnical baNAna kangaROO

The words in the first group (Ooo) are all stressed on the first syllable, the
words in the second group (oOo) are stressed on the second syllable, and those in
the third group (ooO) are stressed on the third syllable.
In spoken language, Lexical words, however, (Content words include nouns,
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Negative words such as not or never also get
stressed because they affect the meaning of the sentence. Modals, too, can change
the meaning of a sentence.
Here is a list of words to stress in an English sentence: must have at least
one stressed syllable. If you want to sound more natural English when you speak,
you should learn how stress affects the meaning of the sentence.
- (nouns (people, places, things),
- verbs (actions, states),
- adjectives (words that modify nouns),
- adverbs (words that modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or
entire sentences), negative words (not, never, neither, etc.),
- modal (should, could, might, etc., but not will or can),
- yes, no, and auxiliary verbs in short answers (e.g., Yes, she does.),
- quantifiers (some, many, no, all, one, two, three, etc.),
- Wh-Question words (what, where, when, why, how, etc.—note that what  is
often unstressed when speaking quickly because it’s so common)
Unstress condition in Grammatical words usually do not receive any stress.
Some words don’t carry a lot of importance in the stressing. Short words such as
articles, prepositions, and conjunctions don’t take stress. Pronouns don’t usually get
stressed either because the context often makes it clear who we’re talking about.
The Be verb and all auxiliary verbs don’t carry much meaning—only the main verb
does. Here is a list of words that shouldn’t be stressed in an English sentence:
- articles (a, an, the)

30
- prepositions (to, in, at, on, for, from, etc.)
- conjunctions (and, or, so, but, etc.)
- personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
- possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, etc.)
- Be verb (am, is, are, was, were, etc.)
- auxiliary verbs (be, have, do in two-part verbs or questions)
- the modals will and be going to (because they’re common, and the future tense
is often clear from context)
- the modal can (because it’s so common)

In order for one syllable to be perceived as stressed, the syllables around it

need to be unstressed. For stressed syllable, three features were identified: loudness,
pitch change, and a longer syllable
You can look up the word in a dictionary that provides IPA transcript. The
symbol ' in front of a syllable indicates that the following syllable is stressed. Look
at some examples of IPA transcripts:
[ˈɡɑːdən]   garden   the first syllable is stressed: garden
[ˈmɛdəʊ]   meadow   the first syllable is stressed: meadow
[ˈmʌʃˌrum]   mushroom   the first syllable is stressed: mushroom
[θərˈməˌmitɚ]   thermometer   the second syllable is stressed: thermometer
[juː'mɪdɪ.ti]   humidity   the second syllable is stressed: humidity
In the English language, there is one phenomenon concerning stress that you
can observe: There are many verbs that consist of two syllables. Mostly, the stress is
on the second syllable. Due to historical developments, the same word has become a
noun. The noun, however, is stressed differently: the stress is on the first syllable.
Look at the examples:
to record   a record
to permit   a permit
to address   an address
to export   an export
to transport   a transport

31
 to transfer   a transfer

2. Sentence Stress:
When mentioning the sentence stress which means the stress in sentence;
The stresses that can occur on words sometimes become modified when the words
are part of sentences. The most frequent modification is the dropping of some of the
stresses (Ladefoged, 2001:98). English words have the stress on their first syllables
when they are used alone. But when used in a sentence, the stress shifts. It is clear in
the example that Ladefoged mentions: There is a stress on the first syllable of each
of the words ‘Mary, younger, brother, wanted, fifty, chocolate, peanuts’ when these
words are said in isolation. But there are normally fewer stresses when they occur in
a sentence such as ‘Mary’s younger brother wanted fifty chocolate peanuts’. If we
put the stress on the first syllables of all the words in the sentence, it will not sound
nice and the meaning may be hardly understood. The sentence should be ‘Mary’s
younger brother wanted fifty chocolate peanuts.’ The first syllables of ‘younger’,
‘wanted’ and ‘chocolate’ are pronounced without stress. More examples are below:
- Do you have any brothers or sisters?
- The kids are at the park
- Why aren’t you doing your homework?
- He bought a red car for his daughter
- I am Brazilian
- We are not familiar with this new computer program
- The athlete ran quickly and won the competition
- She does not know the answer
- I don’t know the answer, either
- We aren’t sure
- I’ve never heard of that before, but it makes sense
- They’ll ask the teacher for help
- Some people prefer Macs, but many others prefer PCs
- She is going to study tonight
- I can speak French
- I can’t speak Japanese
- Yes, I can. / No, I can’t

32
 The place of the stress in sentences is indicated according to such reasons as
emphasis or contrast in the meaning. So, we can divide sentence stress into some
types of stress which are tonic stress, emphatic stress and contrastive stress. This
paper will focus on contrastive stress and its features in a sentence.
Knowing when and where to stress the words you use is very important for
understanding, and therefore, as part of a good accent. A clear example is that of
stress in two word expressions. 
According to whether it is an ordinary two-word expression or a special, set
expression, the place of the stress changes. In an ordinary expression the two words
are used to describe something like a "white HOUSE" (meaning a house that is
painted white, and not blue or gray). In this case the most important note is
the noun because we are talking about a house that happens to be white. Similarly, a
"fat BOY" is an overweight young male. 
But sometimes short two word expressions are set or "consecrated", (that is,
they mean something special) and have to be made different from similar
expressions. One example is "the WHITE house" where Mr. Bush lives. In this
case, the emphasis is on the adjective because we are more interested in stressing
that it is the house that is known because it is white. In the same way, "FAT boy" is
the nickname of a boy, chosen because the word fat emphasizes his weight. 
It will be useful for you to be aware of both types of two word expressions.
Here is a list of a few that will get you thinking and give you some practice in
identifying them and using them correctly. Underline the syllable that is stressed,
and write a brief explanation, for both uses of each phrase. I start the exercise with
two examples. You do the rest. Make sure you say the phrases OUT LOUD!

WHITE house, In Washington 
white HOUSE, House painted white 
LIGHT bulb, Shines with electricity 
Light BULB, A bulb that is not heavy

SYLLABLE DIVISION

33
 A syllable consists of a vowel sound or a vowel sound + consonant(s).
The system for syllable division is generally a phonetic one. Most words have
the same number of syllables in the written form as in the pronunciation. However,
there are a few rules to help divide words up into syllables.
a) Each syllable has only one vowel sound. When a consonant separates two
vowels, divide the word after the first vowel and before the consonant:
stu-dent
re-sult
ex-a-mine
b) When the vowel is at the end of a syllable, it has a long sound, called an open
syllable:
may
be-low
an-ec-dote
c) When the vowel is not at the end of a syllable, it has a short sound, called a
closed syllable:
mad
sub-ject
con-vent
d) Syllables are divided between doubled consonants, unless the doubled consonant
is part of a syllable that is a base word:
din-ner
swim-ming
tell-er
e) Monosyllabic prefixes and suffixes are not divided:
il-le-gal
un-com-mon
gov-ern-ment
cou -ra-geous

f) P lurisyllabic prefixes and suffixes are divided:

34
 an-ti-war
un-der-take
vel-o-ci-ty
hy-po-the-ti-cal

Asignment: Stress and Intonation

1. Number the words with the appropriate stress pattern (1-5).
1 Oo 2 oO 3 Ooo 4 oOo 5 ooO
student computer including
understand preserve javanese
surrounding learner value
rebel pronounce entitle
happiness introduce derived

2. Practice and record these words with correct stress fall.

Oo oO
arid remote
remnant corral
subject explore
pheasant apart
eastern arise
3. Practice saying these words. Try to recognize to what syllable the stress fall.
casual relative river
corner gossip butter
valley domain
margarine renew

4. Read and record the following text aloud. Underline the incidents of “schwa” or
“ə” sound.
Barbara spent Saturday afternoon looking at a beautiful book about South
America.
“I want to go to South America”, she said to herself. The next morning,
when Barbara woke up it was six o’clock and her brothers and sisters were still
asleep. Barbara looked at them and closed her eyes again.
Then, she quietly got out of bed and started to packed her suitcase. She
took some comfortable clothes out of the cupboard. She packed a pair of
binoculars and her sister’s camera. She packed a photograph of herself and one
of her mother and father.
“I musn’t forget to have some breakfast.”, she said to herself. But it was
already a quarter to seven. “I’ll just drink a glass of water”, she said.

35
 “Water.”, she said, and opened her eyes. She was still in her bed, and her
brothers and sisters were laughing at her. “Tell us what you were dreaming
about.”, they said to her.
But Barbara didn’t answer. She was still thinking about the wonderful
journey to South America.

36
 UNIT 5
JUNCTURE, CONTRACTIONS, WEAK FORMS AND STRONG FORMS

A. JUNCTURE
Juncture, in linguistics, is the manner of moving (transition) or mode of
relationship between two consecutive sounds. It is the relationship between two
successive syllables in speech. A juncture is, formally, a supra-
segmental phonemic cue, a means by which a listener can distinguish between two
otherwise identical sequences of sounds that have different meanings.
There are several kinds of juncture, the most widely used typology of which is:
1. plus juncture
Also known as open juncture, this is subdivided into internal open
juncture and external open juncture. It is the juncture that occurs at word
boundaries. In phonetic transcription open juncture is transcribed /+/, hence the
name plus juncture.
2. close juncture
Also known as a normal transition, this is a transition between segments (sounds)
within a word.
3. terminal juncture
Also known as falling, clause terminal or terminal contour, this is the juncture at
the end of a clause or utterance with falling pitch before a silence.
Other less common typologies exist, such as the division (favoured by
American Structuralist linguists in the middle twentieth century) into plus, single
bar, double bar, and double cross junctures, denoted /+/, /|/, /||/, and /#/ respectively.
These correspond to syllabification and differences in intonation, single bar being a
level pitch before a break, double bar being an upturn in pitch and a break, and double
cross being a downturn in pitch that usually comes at the end of an utterance.
In English, a syllable break at the plus juncture sometimes distinguishes
otherwise homophonic phrases.
 "a name" /ə.neɪm/ and "an aim" /ən.eɪm/
 "that stuff" /ðæt.stʌf/ and "that's tough" /ðæts.tʌf/

37
 A word boundary preceded or followed by a syllable break is called an external
open juncture. If there is no break, so that words on either side of the juncture are run
together, the boundary is called an internal open juncture.
The distinction between open and close juncture is the difference between
"night rate", /naɪt.reɪt/ with the open juncture between /t/ and /r/, and
"nitrate", /naɪ.treɪt/ with close juncture between /t/ and /r/
There are sentences such as I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.
The phonemes involved in the underlined words are the same but subtle differences in
articulation. The same subtle differences in the use of phonemes are also found in the
underlined words in the following two sentences.
The clock keeps ticking. /kiːps tɪkɪŋ/
The kids keep sticking things on the wall. /kiːp stɪkɪŋ/
The differences in pronunciation of the underlined words, despite the fact that
the phonemes are the same, are differences of juncture. A deeper analysis of such
examples would show differences in the length of vowel sounds, variations in degrees
of syllable stress, differently timed articulation of the consonant sounds and allophonic
variations too. So, while the phonemes may be the same, listeners have no difficulty
(most of the time) in telling where the join is, and context clearly plays a role here.
Other examples showing the same phenomenon are:
That’s my train.
It might rain.
The great apes.
The grey tapes.
(In the pair)
Can I have some more ice?
Can I have some more rice?
The linking /r/ could lead to confusion over juncture, but again context and
subtle differences in articulation help us to judge which one we have heard. Students
may not have the necessary background knowledge needed in order to make the
distinction.
Consonants often seem to be attracted across word boundaries:

38
 You’ll need an egg, an olive and an anchovy. (…a negg, a nolive and a nanchovy)
Put it on. (pu ti ton)
`The negg, nolive and nanchovy are obviously non-words, but occasionally the
coincidence of sounds can lead to examples where listeners may hear an unintended
word:
It’s no joke. (snow)
It’s tough. (stuff)

B. CONTRACTIONS
Contractions occur where two words combine to the extent that the two are
pronounced as one word, or one syllable. These have (for the most part) become
conventionalized in written language (Kelly, 2000:113). Examples:
I’m /aɪm/, you’re, he’s, she’s, we’re…
I’m not /aɪm nɒt/, you aren’t, we aren’t…
Can’t /k aːnt/, won’t…
Would’ve /wʊdəv/, could’ve…
Couldn’t /kʊdənt/, wouldn’t…
There are restrictions, we can say You’re not and You aren’t. We can say I’m
not, but I amn’t is unusual and seen as incorrect.

common
homo-
pronun- confus-
phones
con- ciation ions
ver long rhymes
trac- (number of
b form with
tion syl- same different
lables) pronun- pronun-
ciation ciation

be I am I'm |ime| (1) - aim dime

you you're |yor| (1) your/ yore jaw jaw/

are more/
four

39
 common
homo-
pronun- confus-
phones
con- ciation ions
ver long rhymes
trac- (number of
b form with
tion syl- same different
lables) pronun- pronun-
ciation ciation

he is he's |heez| (1) - his/ fees/ fees/ bees

heath

she is she's |sheez| (1) - seas/ sees seas/ he's

it is it's |its| (1) its eats/ ids bits/ fits

we are we're |wier| (1) weir were/ where pier/ beer

they they're |thear| (1) their/ there dare pair/ fair

are

are not aren't |arnt| (1) aunt ant/ aunty shan't

is not isn't |izunt| (2) - - -

was wasn't |wozunt| (2) - - -

not

were weren' |wurnt| (1) - want/ won't burnt/

not t learnt

have I have I've |ive| (1) - ivy/ if dive/ five

you you've |yoov| (1) - - move/

have prove

he has he's |heez| (1) - his/ fees/ fees/ bees

heath

she has she's |sheez| (1) - seas/ sees seas/ he's

40
 common
homo-
pronun- confus-
phones
con- ciation ions
ver long rhymes
trac- (number of
b form with
tion syl- same different
lables) pronun- pronun-
ciation ciation

it has it's |its| (1) its eats/ ids bits/ fits

we we've |weev| (1) weave with peeve/

have believe

they they've |theiv| (1) - dave dave/

have brave

I had I'd |ide| (1) eyed id cried/

died

you you'd |yood| (1) - jude (name) food/

had renewed

he had he'd |heed| (1) heed hid/ head/ feed/

feed need

she she'd |sheed| (1) - shed/ seed seed/ he'd

had

it had it'd |itud| (2) - - -

we had we'd |weed| (1) weed wed he'd/

she'd

they they'd |theid| (1) - - spade/

had paid

will I will I'll |ail| (1) aisle/ isle ill while/

pile

you you'll |yuul| (1) yule you all/ tool

will jewel

41
 common
homo-
pronun- confus-
phones
con- ciation ions
ver long rhymes
trac- (number of
b form with
tion syl- same different
lables) pronun- pronun-
ciation ciation

he will he'll |heel| (1) heel/ heal feel/ hell feel/ peel

she she'll |sheel| (1) - shell he'll/ feel

will

it will it'll |itul| (2) - - -

we we'll |weel| (1) wheel/ well he'll/

will weal she'll

they they'll |theil| (1) - dale dale/

will male

will won't |woant| (1) - want don't

not

I I'd |ide| (1) eyed id cried/

would died

you you'd |yood| (1) - jude (name) food/

would renewed

he he'd |heed| (1) heed hid/ head/ feed/

would feed need

she she'd |sheed| (1) - shed/ seed seed/ he'd

would

it it'd |itud| (2) - - -

would

we we'd |weed| (1) weed wed he'd/

would she'd

42
 common
homo-
pronun- confus-
phones
con- ciation ions
ver long rhymes
trac- (number of
b form with
tion syl- same different
lables) pronun- pronun-
ciation ciation

they they'd |theid| (1) - - spade/

would paid

C. WEAK FORMS AND STRONG FORMS

Grammatical words are words that help us construct the sentence but they don't
mean anything: articles, prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, etc.
These words have no stress, and so they are weakened. That weakened form is
called "weak form" as opposed to a "strong form", which is the full form of the word
pronounced with stress. The strong form only happens when we pronounce the words
alone, or when we emphasize them. Weak forms are very often pronounced with a
schwa, and so are very weak and sometimes a bit difficult to hear properly.
Sometimes weak forms are easy to spot, because we use contractions in the
spelling to show it:
I am French (strong form)   I'm French (weak form)
But usually there is no change of spelling, only the pronunciation is different:
But   strong form: /bʌt/ weak form: /bət/
Tell him to go   strong forms /hɪm/ /tu:/ weak form: /tel əm tə gəʊ/
As you can see, the grammatical words "him" and "to" are unstressed and have a
weak form when pronounced inside a sentence.
another example: I would like some fish and chips
strong forms   /aɪ wʊd laɪk sʌm fɪʃ ænd tʃɪps/ This version sounds unnatural and,
believe it or not, more difficult to understand for a native speaker.
weak forms   /ɑ wəd laɪk səm fɪʃ ən tʃɪps/ and we can use weaker forms
sometimes: /ɑd laɪk səm fɪʃ ən tʃɪps/ so we can see that the auxiliary verb "would"
has two weak forms /wəd/ and /d/

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 Students who are learning English usually use only strong forms, and they
sound very unnatural. English speakers use weak forms all the time, every single
sentence is full of them, and students find it difficult to understand because they are not
used to them, and very often they don't even know they exist.
In connected speech, many of the ‘small’ words we use very frequently tend to
take on a different ‘shape’ from the one listed in the dictionary. All of these words
belong to the category of function words, i.e. they are words that have little semantic
content of their own, but tend to have more grammatical or referential function in
relating content words or higher syntactic units to one another. Function words are
essentially closed class words, such as pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliaries,
etc. Below, you’ll find a table listing these words, together with
their strong or dictionary form, as well as their potential weak forms. The following
tables are based on Roach (2009), with slight modifications/additions.
In general, weak forms do tend not to occur in sentence-final position or in
contrastive/emphatic use.
Determiners/Quantifiers

orthography strong form(s) weak form(s)

the ðiː ðɪ, ðə

a/an eɪ, an ə, ən

some sʌm səm, sm̩

Pronouns

orthography strong form(s) weak form(s)

his hɪz ɪz

him hɪm ɪm

her hɜː hə, ə, ɜː

you juː jʊ, jə

your joː jə

44
 she ʃiː ʃɪ

he hiː ɪ

we wiː wɪ

them ðɛm ðəm, əm

us ʌs əs, s
Prepositions/‘Particles’

orthography strong form(s) weak form(s)

than ðan ðən

at at ət

for foː fə

from fɹɒm fɹəm, fəm, fm̩

of ɒv əv, v

to tuː tə, tʊ

as az əz, z

there ðɛə ðə

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Conjunctions

orthography strong form(s) weak form(s)

and and ənd, ən, n̩d, n̩

but bʌt bət

that ðat ðət

Auxiliaries

orthography strong form(s) weak form(s)

can kan kən, kn̩

could kʊd kəd

have hav əv, v

has haz əz, z

had had əd, d

will wɪl l

shall ʃal ʃəl, ʃl, l

should ʃʊd ʃəd

must mʌst məs, məst

do duː də, d

does dʌz dəz, z

am am əm, m̩

are ɑː ə

was wɒz wəz

were wɜː wə

been biːn bɪn

46
 Syllables which are not stressed can be described as weak. They are pronounced
very quickly and softly. There are a large number of words in English which can have a
‘full’ form and a ‘weak’ form. Compare the use of the word can and from in the
following sentences:
She can /kən/ swim faster than I can /kæn/. (The first can is the weak form, and
the second can is the full form).
She’s from /frəm/ Scotland. Where are you from /frɒm/? (The first from is the
weak form, and the second from is the full form).
Identifying weak syllables
Exercises:
 Complete the blank spaces by writing the phonetic transcriptions using full form
and weak form
 Read the sentences
Grammatical Word Full Weak Example of weak form
category form form
Verbs Am æm m That’s what I’m trying to say
Are aː ə Where are you from?
Is Where’s he from?/Where is he from?
Was That’s where he was born
Were That’s where my children were born
Do Where do you live?
Does Where does he live?
Have He will have left by now./ They have gone
Has The baby has swallowed a stone./ He’s gone
Had He had already gone./ He’d already gone
Can I’m not sure if I can lend it to you.
Could Well, what could I say?
Would Well, what would you have done?
Should Well, what should I have said?
Personal You juː jə How do you do?
Your What does your boss think?
Pronouns
He Where does he work?
Him I’ll give it to him later
She She’s leaving tomorrow
Her I’ll give it to her later
Us They’ll give it to us later.
Them I’ll give it to them later
Prepositions To tuː tə He’s already gone to work.
At He’s at work, I think.

47
 Of That’s the last of the wine.
For He’s away for two weeks.
From She comes from Scotland.
Conjunctions And ænd ən/ənd She’s tall and fair
But She’s here, but Juan isn’t
Than She’s older than you
Articles A eɪ ə He’s a doctor.
An She’s an architect.
The She’s the person I told you about.
Indefinite Any eniː əniː/ niː Have we got any biscuits?
Some There’s some tea in the pot.
adjectives
Such It’s not such a big deal, really.

Exercise
Find out the strong and weak syllables of the words below, e.g., toGEther, and then
practice pronouncing the words aloud.

1 protect 2 subtract
3 purchase 4 estate
5 analysis 6 horizon
7 equipment 8 insurance
9 exhibit 10 representative

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 References
Anne, Knight Rachel. (2012) Phonetics: A Coursebook. Cambridge University Press.
Avery, P. & Ehrlich, S. (1992) .Teaching American English pronunciation. Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press.
Baker, Ann. (1982). Tree or Three? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Bongaerts, T., Planken, B., & Schils, E. (1997). Age and ultimate attainment in the
prouniciation of a foreign language. SLR, 19, 447-465
Boyer, Susan. (2003). Understanding Spoken English: A Focus on Everyday Language in
Context, Book 1. Boyer Educational Resources.
Carr, P. (2008). A Glossary of Phonology. Edinburg: Edinburg University Press.
Celcia-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. & Goodwin, J. (1996) Teaching Pronunciation: Reference
For Teachers Of English Of Other Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Chang, S. (2002), A Syllable, Articulatory-Feature, and Stress-Accent Model of Speech
Recognition. Doctoral Dissertation, University of California at Berkeley
Chiswick, B. & Miller, P. (2007). The critical period hypothesis for language learning:
What the 2000 US census says. IZA Discussion Paper No. 2575. Available at SSRN:
http://ssrn.com/abstract=961386
Cook, V. J. (1992). Evidence for multi-competence. Language Learning, 42(4), 557-591.
Crystal, David. (2010). A Little Book of Language. Yale Univ. Press
Crystal, David (2011). Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-
4443-5675-5

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