THE VOWEL / i: /
I. Description: Similar to Polish „i”, but the lips are
spread, and it is noticeably longer. It
sounds almost like „ij”. In final,
unstressed positions (short words like be,
she, he, the), the vowel tends to be reduced
in length (quantity). It is sometimes then
transcribed as / i /.
II. Variants: The vowel is often noticeably diphthongized,
especially in final stressed positions. A slight glide from a position near to [ ç]
is common amongst RP speakers.
III. Spelling:
<ee> - knee, cheese, week, seek
<-e> - be, me, he, she,
<ea> - leaf, leave, tea, each, Keats
<ie> - piece, field, siege
<eC(e)>- eve, delete, Peter, even, these, Swedish
(C= consonant)
NOTE (!): key, quay, people, Caesar, suite, Leigh, receipt, frisson
IV. Exercises:
1.First practice:
eat
each
east
ease
heap
heat
heave
leave
seat
neat
breathe
yeast
mean
eel
weed
knee
glee
chief
grief
thief
eve
eager
Caesar
police
receive
employee
agreement
payee
conceal
relief
reveal
machine
prestige
frequent
complete
canteen
2. Later practice:
Peter
Eden
alleviate
secret
congeal
secrete
meteor
compete
3. Reading matter with / i:/ frequent:
In Aberdeen they’re keen on meat that’s lean.
They keep their streets clean and say what they say they mean.
The leaves of these trees are green and seem to lose their sheen. These trees need heat to
keep them green.
Some teachers’ teaching pleases some people but other people feel the same teaching
isn’t pleasing. It isn’t easy to please each person, but teasing the teacher won’t please the
teacher and each teacher needs to be free to teach as he pleases.
1
Are these three seats free? Ah, they are free, thank you. We’ll have three teas, please.
Three teas with cheese and beans on toast. Steaming hot tea’s most agreeable, it leaves a
feeling of being free to eat as one pleases. Some people drink weak tea, but that’s not the
tea for me. I feel I need a cup of tea. But don’t eat too many beans, only greedy people feel
the need to eat heaps of beans.
THE VOWEL / ç /
I. Description: Similar to Polish “y” the lips are loosely
spread; the tongue is comparatively lax.
II. Variants: In final, unaccented positions, as in lady, city,
/ ç / is increasingly replaced in speech of the
younger generations by a short variety of
/ i: /. It is sometimes then transcribed as / i /.
III. Spelling:
<iC> - sit, with, bitter
<y> - symbol, city, many
<e> - become, pretty, houses, hardest
<a> - village, private, delicate
NOTE (!): coffee, breeches, privy, sieve, build, Sunday, mischief,
handkerchief, women, guinea, busy, forehead.
IV. Exercises:
1. First practice:
in, inn
itch
ill
ink
it
is
inch
hip
hill
hid
lip
link
sill
ridge
miss
bit
kick
rim
till
zip
will
ship
wish
quick
quill
chill
cliff
mist, missed
silly
city
witty
sixty
hilly
chilly
Mickey
whinny
dizzy
filly
giddy
fizzy
tricky
pity
skinny
filthy
illicit
frigid
kicking
relinquish
vividly
biscuit
dismiss
thinking
finish
catastrophe
apostrophe
diligently
debate
illustrate
illusion
delusion
agreeing
to refuse
imminent
vivacity
ingenious
anemone
eminent
2. Later practice:
difficulty
remit
mimicry
image
village
simile
2
3. Reading matter with / ç / frequent:
This little inn is the best inn in the village. Let’s put up in it. Tim’s as thin as a pin, but it
isn’t a sin to be thin! If Mr Willis is in, I’d like to have a word with him, Jim.
In the Middle Ages the minstrels of this pretty little city were famous for their singing of
religious melodies.
Why is Sister Lilly sitting knitting in silence?
Individuals whose interest in literature is limited should not be submitted to ill-placed
criticism, but should be encouraged to indulge in a little reading of exciting well-written
modern novels, such as ‘The Deceivers’ by John Masters, who is a former Indian Army man.
This is the silliest film I’ve ever seen since I first went to a cinema! The incidents are
idiotic and the actors seem uninterested in acting sincerely. I wish I’d given my money to
charity, instead of sitting here listening to these inanities!
4. Words with both / i: / and / ç /:
easy
needy
delete
defeat
relief
serene
reveal
release
believe
repeat
receipt
retrieve
breezy
queasy
beastly
seizing
meeting
freezing
seeming
deceit
retreat
seeing
being
fleeing
eating
teasing
thesis
secede
5. Minimal pairs with / i: / and / ç /:
feel
steal, steel
heal, heel, he’ll
peal, peel
wheel, weal
keel
kneel
seen, scene
bean, been
sheen
cheek
seek
teak
leak, leek
pique, peek, peke
fill
still
hill
pill
will
kill
nil
sin
bin
shin
chick
sick
tick
lick
pick
deem
sheep
deep
sleep
feat, feet
beat, beet
meat, meet, mete
neat
read, reed
greed
wheeze
ease
reason
beach, beech
peach
dim
ship
dip
slip
fit
bit
mitt
knit
rid
grid
whiz
is
risen
bitch peak,
pitch
6. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / i: / and / ç /:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Didn’t you hear the sound of whipping/weeping?
The people in that house haven’t any wit/wheat.
I hope he’ll catch the ship/sheep.
Boys in school don’t like to be beaten/bitten by the girls.
That’s a very high hill/heel.
The farmer couldn’t buy a meal/mill anywhere.
3
THE VOWEL / e /
I. Description: The lips are loosely spread. The vowel is
considerably higher (closer) and more
front than Polish ‘e’ that should NOT be
substituted for it!
II. Variants: A diphtongal glide in the direction of [ ç ] can
be heard in popular London speech in
monosyllables closed by a lenis consonant,
e.g. bed, leg.
III. Spelling:
<CeC> - bed, went, pencil
<CeaC> - dead, head, meadow, bread
<CeoC> - leopard, Geoffrey, jeopardy
NOTE(!): ate, any, many, Thames, again, says, said
threepenny, threepence, lieutenant, , Leicester, leisure
bury
IV. Exercises:
1. First practice:
egg
end
else
edge
ebb
hem
hen
men
ten
bed
leg
send
mend
tell
French
wren
jest
says
felt
shed
breast
yet
head
breath
spread
health
wealth
death
tread
dread
friend
said
sell, cell
bread, bred
leant, lent
scent, cent, sent
lead, led
guessed,guest
venomous
jealousy
zealously
leopard
imperil
adventure
jeopardy
measure
treasure
tempestuous
recollect
leisure
beggar
Leicester
cleanse
refuse (rubbish)
2. Later practice:
heavy
select
seventy
excessive
4
3. Sentences with / e / frequent:
1. They are selling pens and pencils.
2. He slept in a red and yellow tent in the desert.
3. You get the best bread on Wednesdays.
4. Ten men fell into the Thames.
5. I can’t get to my best friend’s wedding.
6. Seven deaf gentlemen.
7. Many beggars carry weapons.
8. We ate bread and eggs for breakfast.
9. Tell him to fetch the men from the meadow.
10. I tell you the elephant went behind the hedge!
11. That fellow sells bells.
12. Let him mend the desk.
4. Reading matter with / e / frequent:
Ten men set out to go to the top of Ben Nevis. The eldest, Ted, carried a tent, in which they
meant to spend the night. The second of the men, Fred, an army lieutenant, went behind Ted,
and held a red pennant. The next men, Jeff, Len and Kenneth, carried the bedding. These five
fellows went ahead, and then came Dennis, with the bread. The seventh led a leopard, sent as
a present from a well-wisher in Kent, who’d never yet met any of the men. The leopard was
sent as a jest, but the ten men put the jest to the test, and kept the leopard as a pet. So the
eighth man was a vet, who went with his friends lest the leopard felt unwell. The ninth man
was Merry Terry, whose cheeks were as red as cherries; Terry said very little, but what Terry
said, Terry meant. Terry carried pen and pencil and kept a record of every event. At the end of
the procession came Ben, not Ben Nevis, of course, but Ben Sellers, who weighed twenty
stone and went along with the friends in an attempt to get less heavy by giving himself some
hard exercise.
5. Sentences with / e / and / ç / frequent:
1. They sell several tons of pens and pins.
2. He paid the bill for the bell.
3. The old envelopes and letters made a lot of litter.
4. “The wench is rich”, said the villain.
5. Which men want to mend the ship’s winches?
6. In the Middle Ages they painted pictures of Hell.
7. Tell them not to sell the mill on the hill.
8. The bus went left.
9. Send for Jim to mend the lift.
10. He fell down and hit his head.
11. Will you mend the belt with this pin?
12. Did he get the bricks to mend the mill?
5
6. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / e / and / ç /:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
She didn’t know where she dropped the pen/pin.
Isn’t there something wrong about that bell/bill?
He bent down to pick up the letter/litter he had dropped.
“Ah”, said the old sea-captain, “a very good wench/winch indeed”.
The artists painted a dramatic picture of hell-fires/hill-fires.
The notice said: “Take the left/lift”.
7. Minimal pairs with / ç / and / e /:
pit
fill
wit
sit
win
will
hill
till
bill
sill
fin
bit
did
pin
bid
hid
tint
pet
fell
wet, whet
set
when, wen
well
Hell
tell
bell
sell, cell
fen
bet
dead
pen
bed
head
tent
mint
pig
itch
din
sinned
tinned
miss
Rick
big
hymn, him
it
lid
tin
lint
chick
lit
list
meant
peg
etch
den
send
tend
mess
wreck
beg
hem
ate
led, lead
ten
lent
check, cheque
let
Lest
8. Words with both / e / and / ç /:
penny
plenty
any
sensitive
readily
sentry
detest
many
message
relent
friendly
depend
THE VOWEL / é /
I. Description: / é / is the longest of all short vowels. It
is similar to Polish “e” in words like chleb, bez, but
it’s clearly broader, more open. It should not be
substituted either by the Polish ”e” or “a”.
II. Variants: A lowered variety of it, rather like Cardinal
Vowel [ a ] can be heard among children and young
women in the south of England.
III. Spelling:
6
<aC> ash, bat, bad
NOTE (!): bade, forbade, tapestry, caterpillar
Al, Ralph, valve, ass, Mass
lamb, damn, gnat
IV. Exercises:
1.
First practice:
add
ant
ass
mass
apt
fact
packed
tacked
rag
tank
sank
sad
lamb
tap
hat
hand
ham
hag
back
dam, damn
lad
mad
bad
glad
wax, whacks
match
patch
catch
band, banned
cap
gap
tap
marriage
carriage
damage
a contact
to contact
madman
calamity
to extract
an impact
to impact
valve
2. Later practice:
cabbage
savage
ravage
average
3. Sentences with / é / frequent:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Jack had his hat on Saturday
Don’t stand under that ladder.
He slammed the door and the fan jammed.
The black cat ran after the rat.
They were happy listening to the band.
Stand back or I’ll stab you with my dagger.
He crashed into the back of the tram.
The crab came out of the sand.
They planned to smash the dam.
He examined the stamps with a lamp.
A bag of yams.
He sat on a sack, as he hadn’t a mat.
4. Reading matter with / é / frequent:
A man sat on a black cat and the black cat was squashed flat, for the man was a fat man.
“Oh, that fat man is a bad man”, said the black cat, “he’s squashed me flat and that makes me
sad”. The black cat had only a thin little voice, of course, for he was a flat cat and you should
7
know that a flat cat’s voice is a thin flat voice. But the fat man heard what the sad flat black
cat said, and he said, the fat man said, “Oh, flat black cat I am sad! I thought you were a black
mat, and that’s why I sat where I sat”.
“I wish you hadn’t sat where you sat”, said the cat. “It was sitting where you sat that
squashed me flat, as flat as a flat black mat.” “That’s bad”, said the man, “very bad. Wouldn’t
you be glad if I hadn’t sat where I sat?”. “Yes”, said the cat, “for you’re fat, too fat for this sad
black cat on whom you’ve sat. Can’t you stand up, fat man?”, “Yes, I can”, said the man and
did stand up. “That makes me glad”, said the black cat, “very glad”. And the cat and the cat’s
voice grew fatter and fatter and gladder and gladder. Then the black cat, who had been a flat,
flat cat, grew fat, quite fat again, but not, of course, as the fat man who had sat on the latterly
sad fat cat. “I’m sorry I sat on you, you poor black cat”, said the man. “come and sit on my
lap”. So the black cat sat on the man’s lap and the man and the cat were glad and sang sad,
bad, mad songs to each other, and that was that.
5. Minimal pairs with / e / and / é /:
wreck
peck
pen
fen
met
head
bend
mess
rent
send
lead, led
dead
bread, bred
beg
ketch
guessed, guest
rack
pack
pan
fan
mat
had
banned
mass
rant
sand
lad
Dad
Brad
bag
catch
gassed
lend
wren
shell
gem
merry
kettle
a rebel
hem
men
fed
net
bet
bed
pet
said
blend
land
ran
shall
jam
marry
cattle
rabble
ham
man
fad
gnat
bat
bad, bade
pat
sad
bland
6. Sentences with / e / and / é / frequent:
1. That man guessed the plan.
2. It’s better to cleanse these pans with sand.
3. Jack’s pen was covered with gems.
4. He meant to send the jam in the next van.
5. The caravan followed the desert track.
6. That man had his head battered in when the bell fell.
7. Send a map of your camp.
8. Who stamped on that felt hat?
9. Don’t strike matches if you smell gas!
10. You certainly can get eggs and yams on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
11. Jack never has trekked again.
12. Tell the man you met at the bandstand.
8
7. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / e / and / é /:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Why don’t you use a pen/pan?
The carpenter couldn’t better/batter that door.
She had all sorts of gems/jams in her cupboard.
Look! There’s a bend/band in the road!
I hope to lend/land the pictures from the ship.
Some men/man or other set/sat the figure on the wall.
8. Words with / ç /, / e / and / é /:
him
gym
pin
bin
kin
tin
din
fins
sit
pit
bit
mitt
bid
lid
Sid
sinned
hid
miss
big
Kitsch
hem
gem
pen
Ben
Ken
ten
den
Fens
set
pet
bet
Met
bed
lead
said
send
head
mess
beg
ketch
ham
jam
pan
ban
can
tan
Dan
fans
sat
pat
bat
mat
bad
lad
sad
sand
had
mass
bag
catch
THE VOWEL / U /
I. Description: / U / is a short, half-open, unrounded
and central vowel. One of the two shortest vowels
in English.
It is similar to Polish “a”, but not so open and so
front. Polish students are advised to pronounce it as
a very short Polish “a” with a smaller opening of the
mouth.
II. Spelling:
9
<uC> just, up, luck
<ou> touch, enough, trouble
<oC> brother, love, does
<oN> son, honey, wonder, comfort
NOTE (!): blood, flood
won, ton, front, onion, London, stomach, company, worry
hiccough
III. Exercises:
1. First practice:
up
uncle
ugly
much
such
rum
run
jump
sudden
blunt
duck
just
cluck
shunt
sunk
grunt
gruff
snuff
rub
bunch
munch
lunch
trust, trussed
jungle
snug
snub
luck
touch
tough
rough, ruff
enough
couple
cousin
trouble
hiccough or
hiccup
does
blood
flood
plunder
disgusting
thunder
conductor
rubber
pronunciation
troublesome
cupboard
abduction
mustard
structure
reluctant
2. Later practice:
bungalow
construct
country
budgerigar
hunger
suffocate
sultry
husband
subsequent
customer
subsidy
cucumber
3. / U / in words spelt with <o>:
love
glove
dove
shove
above
other
brother
mother
stomach
come
covey
borough
constable
comfort
company
comfortable
comrade
money
monger
mongrel
onion
to conjure
wonder
ton, tun
tongue
front
frontier
done, dun
some, sum
one, won
son, sun
once
pommel
monk
monkey
none, nun
thorough
colander
smother
sponge
cover
covet
shovel
plover
10
among
compass
London
Monday
month
govern
oven
slovenly
worry
dozen
nothing
colour
twopence
4. Sentences with / U / frequent:
1. Run quickly and jump on the bus!
2. I cut the bun and put some butter on it.
3. She never has enough money.
4. They must come on Monday.
5. My other son is in the room above.
6. He cut his bread and the crumbs fell on the rug.
7. That’s a lovely jug.
8. You must come to supper on Sunday.
9. He has a ton of luggage.
10. I love rugger.
11. We’ve sunk the submarine.
12. When he was young he built a hut.
5. Reading matter with / U / frequent:
When your work is done, come out in the sun and have some fun. We can tuck
into bread-and-butter with nuts and honey, or stuff ourselves with currant buns dunked
in rum. Rum’s a stuff that’s not to be drunk by the young but no harm’s done by a
touch of rum on a bun.
Some love onion for lunch or supper, but when one is stuffed with onions, one
isn’t much loved, is one? One’s stomach must have enough to keep it comfortable, but
one doesn’t have to stuff it with nothing but onions. A stomach stuffed with onions
becomes disgusted and trouble that comes from such a stomach is such a worry that it
may cost one much money. A stomach should be a comrade for life; no-one should
puzzle his stomach with uncomfortable foodstuffs, such as curried duck with
cucumber and plovers’ eggs cooked in rum and butter.
6. Minimal pairs with / æ / and / U /:
rag
hag
bag
lag
sack
track
lack
mad
hat
cat
back
rug
hug
bug
lug
suck
truck
luck
mud
hut
cut
buck
dam, damn
bad, bade
bat
ban
cap
fan
ram
ran
tag
drank
damp
dumb
bud
but, butt
bun
cup
fun
rum
run
tug
drunk
dump
11
sank
tramp
match
gnat
pan
sap
tack
tan
sunk
trump
much
nut
pun
sup
tuck
ton, tun
snag
dank
hang
slam
sang
bass
paddle
rabble
snug
dunk
hung
slum
sung
bus
puddle
rubble
7. Sentences with / æ / and / U / frequent:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Sam’s hat is in the hut.
The batsman tan for three runs.
The cat cut off his tail in the door.
He hid the lamp but the policeman noticed the lump under the shirt.
Are there really bugs in the bag?
The boxers weren’t much of a match for each other.
She lost her handbag in London on Saturday.
The duck sat on the shrubs.
Run to my hut for a match for the lamp.
He lost the badge through bad luck.
We must put the crops in the sack.
He looked funny carrying the fan.
8. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / æ / and / U /:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Do you like my new hat/hut?
There are plenty of bags/bugs in that room.
I saw that the miner had a lump/lamp on his head.
They had never seen such a terrible cut/cat before.
She saw some nuts/gnats under the trees.
They went to the shop and changed the cups/caps.
9. Sentences with / e / and / U / frequent:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
He sent the money on Sunday.
There are many buds on the shrub.
They spent Sunday, Monday and Wednesday in bed.
You must get the best nuts.
The fishermen had a rest from mending their nets.
Henry says that the ducks have made a nest.
The sailors scrubbed the deck.
The goat butted his head against the wall.
Fetch the boys who were betting.
The guns weighed several tons.
She picked the flowers in bunches of tens.
A bucket of water fell on the deck and drenched the men.
12
10. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / U / and / e /:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
He left the place because he hadn’t money/many ties.
The buds/beds are very small.
The nuts/nets seemed very old and rotten.
It’s important that the ducks/decks are kept clean.
He kept butting/betting away without any success.
It’s cheaper to buy tons/tens of cigarettes.
THE VOWEL / A: /
I. Description: / A: / is a back, open, long and unrounded
vowel. While pronouncing long /α:/ the tongue is low
and its rear part is pulled to the back of the mouth
cavity. There is a large space left between the tongue
and the roof of the mouth. Polish speakers tend to
confuse long / α: / with Polish “a”. The English vowel
is more retracted and longer than the Polish one.
II. Spelling
<ar> - car, art, hard, card
<Cast> - past, vast, cast, fast, castle
<Calm> - palm, calm, psalm, alms
<CanC> - France, chance, grant, demand
NOTE (!): sergeant, Derby, Berks(hire), Hertford, Herts, clerk
draught, draughtsman, laugh, laughter, aunt
half, calf, palm, balm, alms
rather, father
hearth
III. Exercises:
1. First practice:
13
arms, alms
arch
charm
starve
hard
star
car
far
heart, hart
palm
psalm
calm
balm
barmy
ask
last
fast
pass
glass
laugh
papa
sergeant
Derby
mark
marquee
charred
dark
barn
scarred
martyr
hearth
mask, masque
past, passed
clasp
grass
draught, draft
mama
clerk
2. Later practice:
marmalade
farthing
rhubarb
parson
laughter
carpet
drama
panorama
bargain
debar
disaster
alas
department
remand
compartment
Marmaduke
Aha!
regarding
exasperating
aghast
3. Sentences with / A: / frequent:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
I started to laugh when I looked in the glass.
The sergeant marched past the arch.
My aunt is in her bath.
Half the class answered the master.
Can’t you see that rather large star?
My father is in the army.
That is a rather smart car.
They kept guard under the palms.
Quite by chance I learned to dance in France.
I can’t ask her to the party.
The ship passed the harbour bar.
Ask the barber!
4. Reading matter with / A: / frequent:
Aunt Martha lives near Marble Arch, which isn’t far, though it’s farther than where we
went by car with Father at half-past ten last night, after the party. I asked Father to pass by
Marble Arch and we started to argue, and at last it was far too late to go. Aunt Martha’s
lived near Marble Arch since last March.
Mama, isn’t that marmalade remarkably dark? Yes, darling, that’s the dark marmalade
that dear Papa vastly prefers.
The castle is surrounded by a marvelous park and calm pastures of greenest grass. It was
built after the Dark Ages had passed away. Its art gallery contains many pictures of charm.
Farmer Barnes goes to market in a car, not a cart, and drives many a hard bargain
buying and selling calves. He does nothing by halves, and when he laughs, his laughter
makes the rafters tremble. Farmer Barnes is a hard man for a bargain, but he isn’t hardhearted.
14
5. Minimal pairs with / é / and / A: /:
hat
ham
lack
match
ban
bad, bade
back
cam
heart
harm
lark
march
barn
bard, barred
bark, barque
calm
mad
had
tan
cat
cad
cap
sack
Dan
marred
hard
tarn
cart
card
carp
Sark
dar
6. Sentences with / é / and / A: / frequent:
1. The man ran after the cart.
2. What’s the matter with your arm?
3. There’s a book called “The Heart of the Matter”.
4. Her attacker stabbed her through the heart and in the arm.
5. The black cat darted off after the rat.
6. The animals on the farm died in the famine.
7. My father ran up the ladder.
8. Is it a fact that Charles was a martyr?
9. Are there any matches in the larder?
10. They attacked and smashed the harbour.
11. We argued about the plans for a match in the park.
12. It was a hard march with a large pack on my back.
7. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / é / and / A: /:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
I see you have a new cat/cart.
He understood those old matters/martyrs.
Did you find the larder/ladder in the house?
The police searched the park/pack carefully.
Marches/matches are useful for soldiers.
Every night I am/arm our local game-warden.
8. Sentences with / U / and / A: / frequent:
1. I found the hut in the dark.
2. We must barter the ducks for some butter.
3. The lava from the volcano cut its way through the barns.
4. The farmer was a lover of carts.
5. The cup was dark in colour.
6. Please fasten the hut.
7. Is that the captain’s monkey running up the mast?
8. She loves fast cars.
9. Pass me the last dozen buns.
10. They hummed some bars of the march.
15
9. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / U / and / A: /:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
He said that the hut/heart was weak.
They always butter/barter bread for tea.
Did you see how quickly the duck/dark vanished?
The lover/lava came down the mountain very slowly.
They noticed the size of the cut/cart.
I have never seen such a fuss/farce.
THE VOWEL /
/
I. Description: short / / is similar to
Polish “o”, but:
- It is more open
- It is slightly more retracted
- the lips are more rounded than during the
articulation of Polish “o” .
It shouldn’t be replaced either by Polish “o” or “a”.
/ / should be pronounced as a sound in some way
between the two Polish vowels.
II. Variants:
In American English the vowel is unrounded and advanced, rather like a short
variety of the British / A: /
Before / f / , / Q /, / s / in words like off, cloth, cross conservative RP often
uses the long variety / O: /
III. Spelling
<CoC>
<(-)quaC>
<waC>
- job, rob, fog, log, clog, flog
- squat, quaff, squash
- wan, watch, want, wasp, wash
NOTE (!): Gloucester, shone, yacht, cough
IV.Exercises
1. First practice:
16
on
odd
ox
hog
hot
hop
top
chop
clock
gone
shone
rob
knock
novel
rot
mock
grovel
soft
2. Sentences with /
soften
often
moss
got
god
gong
box
sock
shot
wrong
knob
hovel
cock
snob
wash
wasp
want
what
squash
squabble
watch
wan
waddle
squat
quaff
trough
cough
/ frequent:
1. He lost his watch at Gloucester
2. Tom shot a rocket from the yacht.
3. A lot of us got coughs.
4. Put the clock in its box!
5. The sun shone on the pond.
6. Polly forgot the pot because her watch stopped.
7. He lost his job in the Foreign Office.
8. I’m sorry the cloth got caught in the wash.
9. You don’t often come across a donkey on the common.
10. His watch stopped.
11. The teacher was cross because of the blots.
12. The doctor forgot to stop at the cross-roads.
3. Reading matter with /
/ frequent:
Tom’s got a lot of dots on his shirt. I wonder if those dots are spots that’ll wash off.
What? You can wash off a lot? With what will you wash the lot off ? With a pot of hot
water and lots of soap? Tom will want to thank you for that. Tom’s got a fondness for
that spotty shirt though it’s not his best and he’s had it a long, long time.
The quantity of novels on sale is constantly increasing, though the quantity is not
always what we want. What’s wrong with the modern novel? Well, it’s often a lot of
nonsense about robbers or odd persons who hobnob on dull topics, or wander along
trough life from squabble to squabble, quarrelsomely. We want to watch for new
novelists with ideas of solid worth, who are ready to get on with the job of writing proper
novels and not rotten rubbish!
What’s that long box on the top of those books? That’s a strong-box, in which I’ve
got a lot of odd documents.
4. Sentences with / A: / and /
/ frequent:
1. I got hot and my heart beat fast.
2. He’s got part of the cottage.
17
3. John was asked the cost of the cot.
4. The ships dock in the dark.
5. The farmer heard the new-born calf cough in the barn.
6. I found the lost harp at last.
7. Was Arthur the larger lodger?
8. Sharp left at the shop!
9. The potter lost the last cast of Tom’s pot.
10. He can’t do a lot of harm, he’s forgotten the bomb!
11. My father dropped the darts on the carpet.
12. This costs a lot more but lasts longer.
5. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / A: / and /
1.
2.
3.
4.
/:
I can’t feel the patient’s hot/heart.
He paid a lot for the cottage/cartage.
They couldn’t find their way in the dark/dock.
Where can she put the darts/dots?
6. Sentences with / U / and /
/ frequent:
1. The duck loved the mud.
2. What bad luck that the ship stuck in the dock.
3. Tom won the race – and dropped the cup.
4. The pot was the colour of copper.
5. She promised to clear up the muddle.
6. The garage kept the new model under cover.
7. I want a bunch of bananas, nuts and oranges.
8. The Scouts and Cubs learnt to tie knots.
9. My mother is troubled by a cough.
10. His watch strap rubbed the cuff of his coat.
11. The clock had stopped so I lost the bus.
12. The boss is having his lunch.
7. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / U / and /
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
/:
I think the bus/boss will be late today.
Those nuts/knots don’t seem very strong.
The man’s colour/collar was a dirty white.
They couldn’t find the duck/dock in the fog.
The prisoner said that his luck/lock was good.
The nurse put a cover on the cut/cot.
18
THE VOWEL / O: /
I. Description: / O: / is similar to the Polish "o" but:
- it is much longer, often "doubled"
- it is closer
- the lips are more rounded than during "o"
During the articulation of / O: / the jaw and the
tongue should be kept in the same position
throughout the vowel, especially in open
syllables, e.g. Warsaw, law.
II. Variants: In popular London speech / O: / is often realised in open syllables as [O:wW] in
words like door, saw, and as a diphthong of the type [ ] or [Oï] before [ ] and
also in words like caught, daughter, born, horse, talk.
III. Spelling:
<war(C)> - war, wart, warm
<aw> - saw, draw, Shaw, hawk, craw
<au> - pause, caught, taught, haunt, Maud
<or(C)> - fork, port, short, force, corn, or, nor, for
<ore> - more, wore, shore, fore, bore
<oar> - boar, board, oar, roar
<alC> - talk, wall
<-ought> - ought, fought, bought, brought, sought, thought
NOTE (!): sword, corps
IV. Exercises:
1. First practice:
awe
awful
law, lore
sawed, sword
water
warm
wall
walk
awl, all
warn, worn
hall, haul
fall
also
ball, bawl
tall
squall
or, ore, oar, awe
storm
organ
short
cork, caulk
naught
sought, sort
thought
bought
brought
door
straw
claw
raw, roar
gnaw, nor
war, wore
wharf
wart
warble
warp
swarm
squawk
almost
although
walk
talk
chalk
pall, Paul
form
horse, hoarse
corn
core, caw, corps
tore
caught, court
slaughter
daughter
taught, taut, tort
fought
bought
thought
19
2. Later practice:
quarter
boar, bore
warden
awkward
morning,
mourning
border
mawkish
corpulent
caustic
cautious
orderly
orchestra
morsel
porpoise
tortoise
naughty
ordinary
Norman
sordid
appalling
dormitory
cormorant
organic
former
glorious
3. Sentences with / O: / frequent:
1. He poured water into his glass of port.
2. There's more room on the fourth floor.
3. There are four more balls by the wall.
4. Paul halted at the door.
5. My daughter saw some water running under the door.
6. He ordered four more Ports.
7. George fought in the North.
8. Call the porter!
9. Put more salt in the water.
10. He thought he saw a hawk on the lawn.
11. The war started one August morning.
12. A squall of wind hit the ships in the port at dawn.
4. Reading matter with / O: / frequent:
Portly Paul Corder snores. Paul Corder's snores are awful. He snores worse than a
horse. We close the doors when Paul snores. Paul snores more and more as the night draws on.
Just before dawn Paul's snores make more noise than a storm. Paul also walks and talks in his
sleep. But it's his raucous snores, his snoring and snorting that cause us in-laws to close the
doors.
"Paul's snoring!" we call, and the roar of his snores comes through the walls, and
ornaments fall to the floor. There ought to be laws to prevent such snores. Four hundred and
forty-four appalling snores an hour, or more! Any port in a storm! So we crawl out of bed and
stalk out of doors. We sleep cautiously till dawn in a tent on the lawn. That way we're not worn
out by the roar of those awful snores. It’s a pity that snorer, Paul Corder, was ever born.
5. Minimal pairs with / A: / and / O: /:
art
card
part
barred, bard
far
hard
jar
lard
ought
cord, chord
cawed, cored
port
board, bored
four, for, fore
hoard, horde
jaw
lord
cart
park
darn
star
ark
barn
tart
martyr
hearty
caught, court
pork
dawn
store
auk
born, borne
taut, taught, tort
mortar
haughty
20
6. Sentences with / A: / and / O: / frequent:
1. My father missed the road and walked four miles too far.
2. They started building that part of the port in the war.
3. As his car turned, it caught that part of the cart.
4. Charles tied up Paul's card with cord.
5. Hark to the cry of the hawk!
6. The army store was full of star-shells.
7. Fasten the door!
8. They stored four carts in the car park.
9. George taught Arthur to play darts.
10. He was sure that his father bought the last four doors.
11. Ask for cord in another part of the store.
12. You'll see more stars from the park.
7. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / A: / and / O: /:
1. He has travelled in far/four countries.
2. Name the most important parts/ports of the world.
3. That's the shop where I bought the new cord/card.
4. She never remembers the name of that star/store.
5. It was pleasant to visit the Shah/shore.
6. The author/Arthur you want has dark hair.
8. Sentences with /
/ and / O: / frequent:
1. He bought tall pots for the porter.
2. They ought not to charge tolls at the port.
3. John and Paul caught some cod.
4. He bought a lot of coral.
5. George has forgotten the Morse-code.
6. He got the moss this morning.
7. The cock sang in the cottage courtyard.
8. Robert sings with a lot of choral groups.
9. Tie up the cot with cord.
10. My daughter has often gone to the court.
11. They fought with bottles.
12. They brought new cots for the court!
9. Minimal pairs (sentences) with /
/ and / O: /:
1. The cod/cord in the shop looks old.
2. He described the pot/port very carefully.
3. The guide book says that this cot/court is famous.
4. Have you heard the sound that a cock/cork makes?
5. She certainly admired the choral/coral work at the college.
6. They put his pictures of the early dons/dawns in the hall.
21
THE VOWEL / ï /
I. Description: / ï / is a very short, rounded, slightly
centralised back vowel, halfway between Polish
‘u’ and ‘o’. It differs from the Polish ‘u’ in that it is
not so close (the space between the back of the
tongue and the soft palate is slightly larger than
for Polish ‘u’); it is also more central (the tongue
is less retracted) and the lips are more rounded.
It is very short.
II.Variants: Some RP speakers use less lip-rounding and
a lower tongue position ([ς] or [γ]) in the common words good, should and
could.
III. Spelling:
<CuC> put, push, pull, full
<CooC> cook, crook, book, foot, wood
<ou> would, could
NOTE (!): Worcester, butcher, bull, bush, bosom, bullet, pudding
IV.Exercises:
1. First practice:
put
push
pull
full
bull
puss
look
hook
took
crook
shook
nook
rook
brook
cook
book
hood
wood, would
good
soot
room
foot
wool
could
should
worsted
goosebry
spoonful
Worcester
bosom
butcher
bullet
impudent
porcupine
foothold
manhood
fulfill
2. Later practice:
cuckoo
woollen
mistook
3. Sentences with / ï / frequent:
1. He took some sugar.
2. Look where he stood in the wood.
3. Don’t put soot in the garden.
4. The fish took the hook.
22
5. Puss looked for the fish in the brook.
6. He couldn’t eat the cook’s pudding.
7. Do look at the footprint in the sand.
8. The bull stood in the bushes.
9. The lorry is full of wood.
10. The monk put up his hood.
11. The teacher put ‘good’ in his book.
12. The wool was good.
4. Reading matter with / ï / frequent:
‘How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?’
(Old tongue-twister)
The wolf pushed the door open and looked into the room. When the cook saw the
wolf, the cook shook with fear and tried to push the door to. But the wolf put his back to it
and pushed and pushed until the cook couldn’t hold out. Then the cook took a pailful of
soot and threw it in the wolf’s face. The wolf couldn’t put up with that: he took to his heels
and run hot-foot back to the woods, where he took a dip in the brook, and then sat in a
nook at the foot of a tree and cursed the cook. Unfortunately for the wolf, an impudent
porcupine came along and pushed his way into the nook. It doesn’t do one any good to be
pushed about in a nook by a porcupine, so the wolf, full of wrath and woe, fled. That wolf
wouldn’t have gone for the cook if he had known about the pailful of soot.
5. Sentences with / ï / and / / frequent:
1. They looked a long time.
2. John could put the new lock on.
3. Cocks used to fight in hoods
4. I couldn’t eat the cod.
5. The cook doesn’t like potted goods.
6. They wanted to look at the gods.
7. He locked the goods in the box.
8. The man put the bricks in a hod.
9. A cock-and-bull yarn.
10. You’ll find him putting the pots in the potting shed.
11. It looks as if the lock’s wrong.
12. The cook lost the lid of the pot.
6. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / ï / and /
/:
1. Lock/look up the passage before you go.
2. The new cock/cook frightens everybody.
3. It’s a pity the hood/hod is broken.
4. He’s putting/potting the plant in the greenhouse.
5. I examined the new goods/gods at the museum.
6. He can’t spell ‘cod’/ ‘could’.
23
THE VOWEL / u: /
I.Description: / u: / is a long, back, close, rounded vowel. It
is similar to the Polish “u” but much longer
and not so close. In the English / u: / the lips
are protruding and the lip rounding is very
strong.
/ u: / differs from its shorter version / ï / not
only in length, but also in sound quality:
/ u: / is higher, the lips are more rounded and
strongly protruding
II. Variants: / u: / is usually diphthongised, pronounced [ uw], especially in final positions,
e.g. do, shoe, who. Any exaggeration of the dipthong, with total loss of liprounding on the first element (or, occasionally, on both elements) is typical of
popular (Cockney) London speech.
III .Spelling:
<oo> - too, zoo, coo, ooze, boot
<ew> - blew, chew, brew, screw, grew
<ue> - blue, glue, clue, true
<uCe> - tune, fume, mute ,flute, brute
NOTE (!): wound (hurt), Ruth, tomb, womb.
IV. Exercises:
1. First practice:
ooze
shoot
hoop
loo
hoof
cool
roof
tool
tooth
spoon
boot
groove
food
root, route
soon
mood, mooed
moon
stool
goose
proof
fool
boon
June
flute
brute
rule
truth
rude, rued
screw
grew
strew
shrewd
threw, through
glue
flew, flu, flue
blew, blue
brews, bruise
true
shoe
move
lose
loose
prove
juice
fruit
soup
wound (hurt)
tomb
womb
24
2. Later practice:
kangaroo
gruesome
issue
tissue
music
choosing
recuperate
improvement
resolute
monsoon
prudent
suitable
induce
remove
disapprove
scrupulous
bamboo
Hindu
snooker
bazooka
3. Sentences with / u: / frequent:
1. I am in pain because my tooth is loose.
2. Her dress was a beautiful blue.
3. You can choose the shoes.
4. Do you use fruit in that drink?
5. He didn`t see the goose until it moved.
6. The teacher asked them to have a new group.
7. Who has seen the new moon?
8. Do you think there is room for the spoons?
9. Water will cool the roof.
10. Foolish people paddle in pools in boots.
11. The man is afraid of losing the tools.
12. I like the view of the school.
4. Reading matter with / u: / frequent:
Too few rulers rule as rulers should rule. A ruler should choose to refuse to use
methods that fool and confuse his subjects. His moods may fluctuate like the moon but he
must be true, truly true, to his principles. He must not be rooted in routine but should do
his best to move with the times and not lose contact with new ideas through being glued,
so to speak, in a groove. He must be shrewd enough not to wound the mood of any group
that feels moved to give proof of its loyalty. A rude, brutal ruler will soon lose the fruits
of his efforts if he is foolishly ruthless. The route he should move along should suit the
mood of his subjects.
Ruth sat on a stool in the cool of the June evening and admired the beauty of the new
moon. She soon grew cold and had some hot soup, made of bamboo-shoots, and then
some fruit juice. But alas! A lunatic came out to shoot her and soon Ruth was laid in her
tomb.
25
5. Minimal pairs with / u: / and / ï / frequent:
pool
fool
pull
full
wooed
cooed
wood, would
could
6. Sentences with / u: / and / ï / frequent:
1. I should shoe the horse.
2. Pull him out of the swimming pool!
3. He could hear the pigeons cooing.
4. She was foolish to have her petrol tank so full.
5. They looked at the life of Luke.
6. Why did they choose that wood?
7. Pull the roof off!
8. He put his foot through the canoe.
9. Look at the moon.
10. Who`d have thought the monk`s hood is new?
11. There was a long queue for the book.
12. He dropped the stone and bruised his foot.
7. Minimal pairs with / u: / and / ï /:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
It would be much better if the fishermen pulled/pooled their nets.
He was a fullish-faced/foolish-faced man.
They`ll never do it without a terrific pull/pool.
“The play needed a new Luke/look”, said the critics.
The ship sailed because everybody pooled/pulled the ropes.
8. Reading matter with / u: / and / ï / frequent:
A cuckoo said: You fools who live in rooms would do better to live in the woods.
There`s good food to be had, beautiful juicy nuts and fruit. Fruit`s good for cuckoos.
There are roots too, for those of you who like roots as food. The woodland pools are
cool in summer, and full of beautiful fish, which are also useful as food. We have
woodcock and coots too, though only a few. In spring the new bluebells are only a few.
In spring the new bluebells are truly blue. You don`t need to queue at Kew to see our
truly rural bluebells.
26
THE VOWEL / ä: /
I.Description: / ä: / is a long, mid-central, unrounded vowel.
The tongue and the lips are held in a perfectly
neutral position.
II. Variants: / ä: / in RP may vary from a sound in the halfclose region to one in the half-open region.
III. Spelling: <ir>
- fir, bird, shirt
<er> - err, herb, Perth
<ur> - fur, curb, hurt
<ear> - earl, earn, earth
<wor-> - worm, worse, worthy
NOTE (!): colonel
IV. Exercises:
1. First practice:
err
fern
stern
jerk
earth
earl
pearl, purl
learn
yearn
search
hearse
irk
shirt
flirt
skirt
first
Firth
mirth
stir
stirred
firm
urge
burn
murk
surds
burst
spur
purr
heard, herd
turn, tern
worth
worse
worst
work
worm
word, whirred
world, whirled
herb
Serb
spurt
perjury
infernal
disturbing
external
prefer
occur
occurred
occurring
refer
referred
curb
hurt
Burt, Bert
shirt
dirt
third
earn, urn
fir, fur
blur
colonel, kernel
2. Later practice:
worship
turnip
surface
murder
murdered
journey
murmur
merciful
furnace
squirming
preferring
subservient
worsening
impersonal
commercial
27
3. Sentences with / ä: / frequent:
1. He started the journey early on Thursday.
2. The weather got worse and worse.
3. The girl was murdered.
4. The colonel went to a service in the church.
5. The nurse said she hadn’t heard a word.
6. Not even a bird was stirring, it was so early.
7. The servant turned on the tap because he was thirsty.
8. She gave Bernard her word.
9. Our teacher said some stern words.
10. The church was dirty.
11. Are you certain it was thirty pearls?
12. I forgot to learn the words.
4. Reading matter with / ä: / frequent:
Three surly, early birds perched on a fir tree in the early, pearly dawn. The first early
bird said: “A worm! I heard an early worm stir in the earth!”
The third bird said: “Was the word worm?”
And the first early bird, a surly bird, said: “You heard, Ernest – the word w a s
worm”. I heard a worm squirm in the earth”.
“Not, I hope, a furry worm, but a firm, pert worm, an early earth worm”, answered
the first bird.
“Yes, sir, it was a firm worm that turned in the earth. Such a worm is worth earning”.
So the early birds stirred, deserted their perches, circled down to earth beneath the fir
tree, and waited for the first worm to stir up through the earth. Worm after worm turned
in its earthly berth. The wormy earth seemed to give birth to worms. Worm after worm
learnt that early birds have an urge to earn their early worms. Worm after worm was
murderously interred, interred in the persons of Ernest, Curly, and Bert.
The merciless birds at last turned purple and burst. Ernest burst, Curly burst, and Bert
burst. Early birds, surly birds, all birds should learn to curb their urge for worms…
5. Minimal pairs with / e / and / ä: / frequent:
head
bed
ten
pet
Hell
held
fen
Ben
best
heard, herd
bird, burred
tern, turn
pert
hurl
hurled
fern
burn
burst
wed
weld
west
end
nest
bled
vest
kennel
well
word, whirred
world, whirled
worst
earned
nursed
blurred
versed
colonel, kernel
whirl
28
6. Sentences with / e / and / ä: / frequent:
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
The nurse was in bed on Wednesday and Thursday.
Ten birds sat on the church.
The men turned to the west.
Look at the goat at the head of the herd.
The ferns turned yellow in the autumn.
He fell into the whirlpool.
She’ll sell her pearls to settle her debts.
Ben’s shirt is dirty.
The sailor was hurled to his death.
7. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / e / and / ä: /:
6. The colour of the bed/bird was unusual.
7. They lost their way among the fens/ferns.
8. The water welled/whirled up round the ship.
9. They tried to get rid of the debt/dirt.
10. Did you notice where the Head/herd went to?
11. Are you sure he lent/learnt his part in the play?
8. Minimal pairs with / ä: / and / A: /:
stir
fir, fur
cur
dirt
hurt
Bert
star
far
car
dart
heart, hart
Bart
purse
first
cursed
shirk
burn
herd, heard
pass
fast
cast
shark
barn
hard
9. Sentences with / ä: / and / A: / frequent:
1. The car was certainly dirty.
2. Please pass me my purse!
3. After the journey, the first thing to have is a bath.
4. The actor had a stirring part.
5. The cur darted away from the car.
6. I cannot turn the bath tap off!
7. My birthday was last Thursday.
8. The farmer burned the ferns.
9. Are you certain the jar was full of earth?
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10. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / ä: / and / A: /:
1. He noticed the dirt/dart at once
2. the first/fast train leaves at 6 o’clock
3. Ask at the office if they’ve found your purse/pass.
4. The news about the birth/bath was unexpected
5. John Peters really is stirring/starring in that film.
6. The policeman turned his back and the cur/car vanished.
11. Minimal pairs with / ä: / and / U /:
girl
stern
turn
burn
spurn
gull
stun
ton
bun
spun
fern
bird
shirt
curt
Bert
fun
bud
shut
cut
but(t)
12. Sentences with / ä: / and / U / frequent:
1. The girl is certainly very young.
2. Terns and gulls are birds.
3. That’s a funny shirt he’s wearing.
4. These buns are very burnt.
5. They shut the thrushes up in a bird cage.
6. The water bubbled out of the earth.
7. They said it was fun to hunt for the pearls.
8. The bird jumped off the perch.
9. We searched through tons of rubble.
13. Minimal pairs (sentences) with / ä: / and / U /:
1. The girl/gull paddled on the edge of the sea.
2. The water burbled/bubbled as it came out of the earth.
3. Is that the only way you can get that shirt/shut?
4. I’m surprised he hasn’t any burns/buns
5. It’s unusual to see birds/buds on that tree.
6. The boy didn’t have any fern/fun there.
THE VOWEL / W /
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I.Description: / W / is a mid-central, unrounded vowel,
pronounced with the tongue and the lips held
in a perfectly neutral position. It is the
shortest of all English vowels. Occurs only in
weak syllables.
II. Variants: / W / in RP may vary from a sound in the halfclose region (initial positions) to one in the
half-open region (in final positions). In
affected speech in final positions it may even
be realized as a retracted open vowel / A: /
(“/’fA:DA:/”).
III. Spelling:
<-er> - matter, finger, brother
<-tre> - centre, sceptre, lustre
<-ar> - dollar, beggar, collar
<-o(u)r> - doctor, humour, colour
<-ur(e)> - murmur, figure, injure
<-yr-> - martyr, satyr
<-ward(s)> - forward(s), backward(s), northward(s)
<-ate> (NOT IN VERBS) - delicate, intimate, estimate, adequate, illiterate
<-a> - Anna, Eva, China, Russia, Canada, America
NOTE (!): tapir, haggard, cupboard, Oxford, Edinburgh, mature, tenure
IV. Exercises:
1. First practice:
alert
alarm
alas
abet
among
away
amiss
arrest
alive
amaze
manner
gather
sister
better
bitter
after
harder
runner
mother
wider
actor
factor
tenor
rector
sector
captor
tailor
motor
odour
valour
picture
adventure
mixture
vulture
furniture
texture
pleasure
measure
leisure
seizure
mattered
chequered
pattered
withered
gathered
watered
angered
staggered
smothered
battered
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2. Later practice:
community
commence
commit
command
compare
NOTE:
commend
compel
complain
commercial
compete
connect
conceal
contain
conclude
confuse
collective
collaborate
collusion
collect
Columbus
pollute
police
polite
potato
tomato
/ W / in verbs: to con'trast, to con'tact, to con'cern, to com'bine
/ ü / in nouns: 'contrast, 'contact, 'concern, 'combine
3. Sentences with / W / frequent:
1. He went to breakfast at eight o’clock.
2. I left a collar in the cupboard.
3. She got another plane to America.
4. The singer stood in the centre of the stage.
5. He likes the younger doctor.
6. The merchant bought some coloured cloth.
7. We’ll sell the older machine and get a newer one.
8. He sent a letter to his father.
9. The doctor said that his mother was better.
10. He head his breakfast in the centre of the Sahara.
11. I’ve got a lot of other cupboards.
12. The paper has the picture of the singer.
4. Reading matter with / W / frequent:
Tell Father to purchase better butter at another grocer’s. This butter is the worst that
Father’s ever bought. The bananas, too, were far from reasonable: the price was high and the
taste was bitter.
At the gate of the town the conqueror paused, and stopped to drink from a bottle of wine
that a soldier produced from a bag. At a sign from the young Emperor the troops advanced and
entered the town. Applause greeted them, for the conqueror was popular. The tyrant of former
days was brought from the dungeon and dragged to the hangman. But the conqueror was
generous and spared the man’s life, a gesture that lead to shouts of amazement from the crowd.
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