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Lesson 1 - Introduction

The document discusses English pronunciation techniques. It covers phonetic symbols and sounds, including vowels, consonants, and stress patterns. It provides an introduction to phonetics and the International Phonetic Alphabet used to transcribe English sounds.

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26 views

Lesson 1 - Introduction

The document discusses English pronunciation techniques. It covers phonetic symbols and sounds, including vowels, consonants, and stress patterns. It provides an introduction to phonetics and the International Phonetic Alphabet used to transcribe English sounds.

Uploaded by

mohameddjahid11
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ORAL EXPRESSION TECHNIQUES

ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
/ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ prəˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃn/
Dr Yacine Benghebrid
Senior Lecturer A
University of Algiers 2
Conference Interpreter
Member of AIIC
Official Translator
Arabic – English – French
Contents
I. Phonetics
1. Phonetic Symbols and Sounds

a) Vowels - Monophthong Sounds


b) Vowels - Diphthong Sounds
c) Consonant Sounds
Contents
I. Phonetics
2. English Spelling and Sounds
a) Vowel Combinations
b) Consonant Combinations
c) Suffixes
d) Homographs
e) Homophones
f) Silent Letters
Contents
II. Stress
1. Stress Patterns in Words
2. Stress Patterns in Phrases
Lesson 1

INTRODUCTION
Lesson 1

Introduction
English is not a phonetic language
(the way words are spelled does not easily translate to how
they are pronounced)
which is the principle reason why it is difficult to write and
pronounce English words.
Lesson 1

Introduction
There are 26 letters in the English alphabet.
Howevre, the sounds that may be produced are 44 because
one letter can translate into different sounds
(sometimes even in the same word)
Lesson 1

Introduction
Examples:
A cat, male, calm, care, mall
/kæt/ /meɪl/ /kɑːm/ /keə(r)/ /mɔːl/

C accent
/æksənt/

G garage
/gærɑːʒ/
Lesson 1

Introduction
This course is an introduction to the:
1. Phonetic transcription of English phonemes
(vowels –monophthongs and diphthongs- and consonants
sounds)
2. Stress placed on the pronunciation of words and phrases
(taking into consideration function words, contracted forms,
compound nouns and adjectives, prefixes and suffixes).
Lesson 1

Introduction
The purpose of this course is to:
increase student’s understanding of English
pronunciation,
improve speech and reading,
help students consult a dictionary for phonemic
transcriptions.
Lesson 1

Introduction
Phonemic transcriptions (phonetic spelling) means using
sounds in writing a word to know the exact pronunciation
They can be found in dictionaries between the word and its
meaning:
Cow noun /kaʊ/ a large animal kept on farms to produce
milk or beef
Lesson 1

Introduction
The Phonemic transcriptions in dictionaries are based on
the standard English accent known as:
‘Received Pronunciation’
(RP)
(Other regional and international English accents will not
be considered in this course)
Lesson 1

Introduction
A particular focus will be put on:
the sounds that are difficult to pronounce to students
learning English as a foreign language,
and on the sounds that may be easily confused.
Lesson 1

I. Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that focuses on
the production and classification of speech sounds.
Lesson 1

I. Phonetics
By classification of speech, we focus on the sorting of
speech sounds into 3 categories:
monophthong + diphthong (vowels) and consonant sounds
which can be seen in what is called the:
International Phonetic Alphabet
(IPA)
Lesson 1

I. Phonetics
The IPA is a framework that uses a single symbol to
describe each distinct sound in the language
and can be found in dictionaries worldwide.
Lesson 1

I. Phonetics
The IPA is an alphabetic notation system:
as one symbol corresponds to one particular sound.
Lesson 1

I. Phonetics
For example:
The noun ‘fish’ has four letters
but the IPA presents this as three sounds:
/fɪʃ/
where ‘ʃ’ stands for the ‘sh’ sound
Lesson 1

I. Phonetics

Phonetic Symbols and Sounds

(International Phonetic Alphabet Symbols)


Lesson 1

I. Phonetics

Phonetic Symbols and Sounds

(International Phonetic Alphabet Symbols)

Vowel Sounds - Consonant Sounds


Lesson 1

Vowel Sounds - Consonant Sounds


Vowel Sounds
A vowel sound is a speech sound in which the mouth is
open, and the tongue is not touching the top of the or the
teeth, so that the flow of air is not limited.
Lesson 1

Vowel Sounds - Consonant Sounds


Vowel Sounds
There are only 5 vowels in the English language:
(a, e, i, o, u)
However, there are 20 vowel sounds in total:
/æ/, /ʌ/, /e/, /ə/, /ɪ/, /ɒ/, /ʊ/, /ɑː/, /ɜː/, /iː/, /ɔː/, /uː/,
/eɪ/, /aɪ/, /aʊ/, /əʊ/, /eə/, /ɪə/, /ɔɪ/, /ʊə/
Lesson 1

Vowel Sounds - Consonant Sounds


Vowel Sounds
Vowel sounds are classified into two categories:
a) Monophthongs (12)
b) Diphthongs (8)
Lesson 1

Vowel Sounds - Consonant Sounds


Vowel Sounds
a) Monophthongs (12)
Vowels which have a single vowel sound when pronounced
Lesson 1

Vowel Sounds - Consonant Sounds


Vowel Sounds
a) Monophthongs (12)
Monophthongs are classified into two categories:
short monophthongs (7): /æ/, /ʌ/, /e/, /ə/, /ɪ/, /ɒ/, /ʊ/
long monophthongs (5): /ɑː/, /ɜː/, /iː/, /ɔː/, /uː/
Lesson 1
Vowel Sounds - Consonant Sounds
Vowel Sounds
b) Diphthongs (8)
Speech sounds formed by the combination of two
monophthong sounds
/eɪ/, /aɪ/, /aʊ/, /əʊ/, /eə/, /ɪə/, /ɔɪ/, /ʊə/
Lesson 1

Vowel Sounds - Consonant Sounds


Consonant Sounds
A consonant sound is pronounced by stopping the air from
flowing easily through the mouth, especially by closing the
lips or touching the teeth with the tongue.
Lesson 1

Vowel Sounds - Consonant Sounds


Consonant Sounds
There are only 21 consonants in the English language:
b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z
However, there are 24 consonant sounds in total:
/b/, /d/, /f/, /k/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /p/, /r/, /s/, /t/, /v/, /z/
/g/, /h/, /j/, /w/
/θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, /ʈʃ/, /ʒ/, /dʒ/, /ŋ/

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