Phonetics Cinzia Giglioni Università della Valle d’Aosta Task 1 Match the terms 1 – 3 with the definitions A – C. 1. 2. 3. Stress Phoneme Intonation A. B. C. The music of our voices Giving emphasis to one syllable An individual sound Task 1 Match the terms 1 – 3 with the definitions A – C. 1. 2. 3. Stress Phoneme Intonation A. B. C. The music of our voices Giving emphasis to one syllable An individual sound Task 2 Match the terms 1 – 3 with the definitions A – C. 1. 2. 3. An individual sound is mispronounced A request is made with very flat intonation The wrong syllable is stressed in a word A. B. The word is incomprehensible The listener might understand “bin” when the speaker wanted to say “pin” The speaker can sound arrogant and demanding C. Task 2 Match the terms 1 – 3 with the definitions A – C. 1. 2. 3. An individual sound is mispronounced A request is made with very flat intonation The wrong syllable is stressed in a word A. B. The word is incomprehensible The listener might understand “bin” when the speaker wanted to say “pin” The speaker can sound arrogant and demanding C. INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET(IPA) SYMBOLS …from Latin: e.g. /m//v//ɑ/ …from Greek: e.g. /θ//ð//ʊ/ …created:/ŋ/ …and the diacritic symbols:/ː//'//ˌ/ Aims of the lesson: • Becoming more aware of how and why we use English sounds (language awareness, metalinguistic analysis) • Improving English pronunciation MINIMAL PAIRS 3 θriː tin triː θɪn kæt hæt Let’s compare! Italian sounds which don’t exist in English Consonants /λ/ aglio /ɲ/ gnomo /dz/ zelo /ts/ zio Examples of English sounds which don’t exist in Italian Vowels /ə/ about /ɜ:/ bird /æ/ cat /ɪ:/ see Diphthongs /aʊ/ now /əʊ/ go /eə/ there Consonants /ð/ then /θ/ thin /ɳ/ long /ʒ / measure Let’s compare! 7 vowels 23 consonants 12 vowels 8 diphtongs 24 consonants = 30 = 44 Consonants and their symbols /b/ as in bag /d/ as in dog /f/ as in fat /g/ as in good /h/ as in hat /l/ as in late /m/ as in man /n/ as in note /p/ as in pot /r/ as in rope /s/ as in sock /t/ as in tear /v/ as in vowel /w/ as in worm /z/ as in zoo Other familiar symbols, but… • /k/ cake, crack, ache, stomach • /g/ get, give; NO: gem • /h/ happy, here; NO: thirsty, Thomas, hour, heir, • /j/ your, yes, cute; NO: jam • /s/ piece/peace, sell/cell, • /z/ zone, lazy, nose/knows, NO: pizza show, Confusion between spellings and sounds • beat, seed, piece, machine • day, veil, obey /i:/ /eı/ • shoe, sugar, issue, mansion, mission, nation, suspicion, ocean, conscious, chaperon, schist, fuchsia /∫/ one single sound may correspond to more than one letter Confusion between spellings and sounds man /æ/ man car /α:/ car name /eɪ/ name /t∫/ cheese, church, cheap /∫/ chalet, champagne, Chigago, chic /k/ character, chemistry, chaos Confusion between spellings and sounds: silent letters <b> in subtle, doubt, comb, lamb <w> in answer <k> in knife, know, knight <gh> in bright, light, night <-e> in name, time, goose Silent letters – Which letters are silent in the following words? tomb whistle folk pneumatic soften receipt psychiatry comb weigh Greenwich dumb honest debt column scissors heir aisle knot Homophones: flour, flower Homographs He took a bow at the end of the concert /baʊ/ He was wearing a bow tie /bəʊ/ Words, words, words…. WORD STRESS Melancholic ˌmeləŋ’kɒlɪk Secondary Primary stress stress STRESS SHIFT afternoon afternoon tea Japanese Japanese Girl weekend weekend traffic Classic Italian-speakers errors adjective, colleague, canal, report…… IN COMPOUNDS e-mail, home-page, web-site, chat-line ASSIMILATION a consonant sound at the end of a word becomes similar to a consonant sound at the beginning of another word: /s + ʃ/ /ʃ:/ /t + k/ /k:/ /t + g/ /g:/ this shop /ðɪʃ’ʃɒp/ that cake /ðæk’keɪk/ greet guests /gri:g’gests/ LINKING /r/ Normally /r/ is not pronounced in the final position in BBC English. In connected speech, however, the final spelling ‘r’ of a word is pronounced if the first sound of the next word is a vowel: That’s my car /ka:/ That car is new. /ka:r ɪz nju:/ INTRUSIVE CONSONANTS :/j/ /w/ - if the first word ends in /ɪ/ and the next word starts with any vowel sound, we add /j/ every ear /evrɪ ʲɪə/ sounds like every year - if the first word ends with /u:/ or /ʊ/ and the next word starts with any vowel sound, we add /w/ you ache /ju: ʷeɪk/ sounds like you wake ELISION a sound which would be present in a word spoken in isolation is omitted in connected speech, e.g.:omission of /t/, omission of /d/ next please /neks pli:z/ I don’t know /ai dəʊ nəʊ/ you and me /ju: ən mi:/ stand there /stæn ðeə/ VOWEL REDUCTION If you say the following sentences rapidly, stressing the underlined syllables: You and me I wish you would tell me You will notice that in the second sentence the vowels in these two words are reduced, i.e. become shorter and less clear: /ju: ən mi:/ /aɪ ’wɪʃ jʊ wʊd ‘tel mɪ/ STRONG AND WEAK FORMS strong form and of you does have /ænd/ /ɒv/ /ju:/ /dʌz/ /hæv/ weak form /ən/ /əv/ /jʊ/ /dəz/ /həv/ /əv/ INTONATION I had coffee cake and honey I had coffee, cake and honey FUNCTIONS OF INTONATION 1. INDICATOR OF ATTITUDE - expresses our attitude at the moment of speaking to the situation we are in, or to what we are talking about, or to ourselves or to our listener; 2. GRAMMATICAL INDICATOR - indicates if our utterance is a declarative sentence, an imperative, an exclamation, a question; 3. DISCOURSE INDICATOR – reveals the relationship between utterances and information throughout the discourse. Exercises 1. In each of these groups of words, one word is exactly the same as in normal letters. Underline it. Then write the others in normal letters. /'pensəl/ /'peɪpə/ /pen/ /'nəʊtbʊk/ /desk/ /fæks/ /kəm'pjuːtə/ /'telɪfəʊn/ /nek/ /hed/ /hænd/ /leg/ /hen/ /pɪg/ /ʃiːp/ /kaʊ/ /griːn/ /bluː/ /red/ /blæk/ /get/ /teɪk/ /gɪv/ /gəʊ/ /'sevən//ten/ /θriː/ /faɪv/ 1. KEY pencil paper pen notebook desk fax computer telephone neck head hand leg hen pig sheep cow green blue red black get take give go seven ten three five 2. Here is a list of different activities. In each one, one of the words is written with phonemic symbols. Write it in normal letters. Ski /dʒʌmpɪŋ/ /wɒʃɪŋ/ the dishes /juːzɪŋ/ a computer /sɪŋɪŋ/ a song /θɪŋkɪŋ/ about something /pleɪjɪŋ/ games 2. KEY Ski jumping washing the dishes using a computer singing a song thinking about something playing games 3. Long vs. short vowels • • • • • • • • • • • • • bee sheet bit cat food cangaroo put third but core far marsh (fever) set 3. KEY Long • bee • sheet • food • cangaroo • third • core • far • marsh Short • bit • cat • put • but • set 4. Insert the missing words /i:/ /ɪ/ /e/ æ bead bet did ken lad seat 4. KEY /i:/ /ɪ/ /e/ æ bead bid bed bad beat bit bet bat deed did dead dad keen kin ken can lead lid led lad seat sit set sat 5. Diphthongs: identify the words 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. /ʧaɪld/ /’weɪʤɪz/ /ʃaʊt/ /ʧɔɪs/ /ʃaɪ/ /’deɪnʤə/ /en’ʤɔɪd/ /’aɪðə/ /ʃaʊə/ 5. KEYS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. /ʧaɪld/ /’weɪʤɪz/ /ʃaʊt/ /ʧɔɪs/ /ʃaɪ/ /’deɪnʤə/ /en’ʤɔɪd/ /’aɪðə/ /ʃaʊə/ 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Child Wages Shout Choice Shy Danger Enjoyed Either shower 6.Identify the correct transcription • Soul • a. /sɒl/ b. /sɔ:l/ c. /səʊl/ • Throw a. /θrɔ:/ b. /θrəʊ/ c. /θru:/ Sew a. /sɔ:/ b. /səʊ/ c. /sju:/ • Ought a. /ɔ:t/ b. /əʊt/ c. /ɒt/ 6.KEY • Soul • a. /sɒl/ b. /sɔ:l/ c. /səʊl/ • Throw a. /θrɔ:/ b. /θrəʊ/ c. /θru:/ Sew a. /sɔ:/ b. /səʊ/ c. /sju:/ • Ought a. /ɔ:t/ b. /əʊt/ c. /ɒt/ 7. For each of the following words, choose the correct vowel sound • foot – a) /ʊ/ – b) /u:/ – c) /əʊ/ • stir – a) /ɜː/ – b) /ɪ/ – c) /ə/ • want – a) /ɑː/ – b) /ɒ/ – c) /ə/ • clear – a) /i:/ – b) /ə/ – c) /ɪə/ • straw – a) /ɜ:/ – b) /ɔ:/ – c) /ʌ/ 7.KEY • foot a) /ʊ/ • stir a) /ɜ:/ • Want b) /ɒ/ • clear – c) /ɪə/ • straw – b) /ɔ:/ 8. Match the word and the phonetic transcription 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) orange women quay/key children ceiling this these machine minute promise cottage language a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) k) l) / mə’ʃi:n/ /’si:lɪɳ/ /ði:z/ /’læɳgwɪdʒ/ /’ɒrɪndʒ/ /’wɪmɪn/ /ðɪs/ /’tʃɪldrən/ /’prɒmɪs/ /’kɒtɪdʒ/ /’mɪnɪt/ /ki:/ 1-e 2-f 3-l 4-h 5-b 6-g 7-c 8-a 8. 9-k 10-i 11-j 12-d KEY 9. Choose the word which matches the phonetic transcription 1) /maʊðz/ a) mouths b) months c) mouse 2) /nəʊ/ a) nor 3) /praʊd/ b) now c) know/no a) pride b) proud c) prude 4) /fɪəʳ/ a) fear b) fair c) far 9. KEY 1) 2) 3) 4) A C B A 10. Words commonly mispronounced. Guess what these words are 1. /wɜ:d/ - ......................... 2. /əʊnli/ - ........................ 3. /frʌnt/ - ........................ 4. /'eəriə/ - ...................... 5. /pla:nt/ - ....................... 6. /vəraɪəti/ - .................... 7. /peərənt/ - .................... 8. /ðeə/ - ......................... 9. laɪən/ - ...................... 10./breθ/ - ...................... 11./bri:ð/ - ..................... 12/rɪ'si:t/ - ..................... 13./mə’tjuə/ - ................... 14./hɪə/ - ......................... 15./ri:dʒən/ - .........……… 16./dɪ'li:t/ - ...................... 17./bækwəd/ - .................. 18./fo:wəd/ - .................... 19./pə’tɪkjələ/ - ................ 20./nʌθɪɳ/ - ..................... 10. KEY 1)word 2)only 3)front 4)area 5)plant 6)variety 7)parent 8)there 9)lion 10)breath 11) breathe 12)receipt 13) mature 14)hear-here 15)region 16)delete 17)backward 18)forward 19)particular 20) nothing Links • http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/download /pron_chart/pron_chart.shtml • http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelli ng/recognising/homophones/quiz.shtml • http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/johnm/flas h/flashin.htm