b) the nasal cavity
c) the pharynx
d) the lips
e) the teeth
f) the tongue
g) the roof of the mouth
h) the larynx containing the vocal cords.
The roof of the mouth is divided into 3 parts:
the alveolar ridge
the hard palate
the soft palate with the uvula
The organs of speech are divided into movable and fixed.
The movable speech organs take an active part in the articulation of speech – sounds and are called active organs of speech.
The fixed speech organs with which the active organs form obstruction are called passive organs of speech.
There are 26 letters in English.
The ABC
Letter
|
Pronunciation
|
Letter
|
Pronunciation
|
A a
|
[eɪ]
|
N n
|
[en]
|
B b
|
[bi:]
|
O o
|
[əu]
|
C c
|
[si:]
|
P p
|
[pi:]
|
D d
|
[di:]
|
Q q
|
[kju:]
|
E e
|
[i:]
|
R r
|
[a:]
|
F f
|
[ef]
|
S s
|
[es]
|
G g
|
[ʤi:]
|
T t
|
[ti:]
|
H h
|
[eɪʧ]
|
U u
|
[ju:]
|
I i
|
[aɪ]
|
V v
|
[vi:]
|
J j
|
[ʤeɪ]
|
W w
|
['dʌblju:]
|
K k
|
[keɪ]
|
X x
|
[eks]
|
L l
|
[el]
|
Y y
|
[waɪ]
|
M m
|
[em]
|
Z z
|
[zed]
|
Speech sounds are divided into vowels and consonants. Vowels are sounds of pure musical tone while consonants may be either sounds in which noise prevails over tone (noise consonants) or sounds in which tone prevails over noise (sonorants).
The single sound of speech is called a phoneme. A phoneme is the smallest undivided unit of a language. There are 44 phonemes in English: 20 vowel phonemes and 24 consonant phonemes.
Key to Phonetic Symbols
Vowels Consonants
Symbol Examples Symbol Examples
[ i: ] eat see [ b ] bed about
[ ɪ ] it sit [ d ] do side
[ e ] end pen [ f ] fill safe
[ æ ] apple black [ ɡ ] good big
[ ɑ:] arm part [ h ] hat behind
[ ] opposite stop [ j ] yes you
[ :] always more [ k ] cat week
[ u ] would stood [ l ] lose allow
[ u:] you choose [ m ] me lamp
[ ʌ ] up luck [ n ] no any
[ə:] early bird [ p ] put stop
[ə] ago doctor [ r ] run around
[eɪ] eight day [ s ] soon us
[əu] open phone [ t ] talk last
[aɪ] eyes drive [ v ] very live
[au] out now [ w ] win swim
[ɪ] boy join [ z ] zoo loves
[ɪə] ear near [ ʃ ] ship push
[eə] air wear [ Ʒ ] measure usual
[uə] sure tourist [ ŋ ] sing hoping
[ ʧ ] cheap catch
[ θ ] thin bath
[ ð ] then other
[ʤ] June age
The ABC Song
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P
Q R S T U V W X Y and Z
This is called the alphabet
Which we never must forget.
Phonetic drills
Practice the following.
a) pea port happy map
tea talk city sit
key coat lucky silk
b) thin path they bath
thick mother that smooth
theme tooth this
Match the words in each group that contain the same vowel sound:
watch good just push blood book
looks stopped got lunch not long
shut stuck put cough cook cut
Repeat the words in box A, then the words in box B.
A. bill tin B. bell ten
fill will fell well
lift spill left spell
lit till let tell
Read the words given below. The boldface words in the following phrases and sentences should be pronounced as accurately as possible.
Leave me alone. 9. The crew had no clue of the storm.
lots of luck 10. His cousin comes from New Zealand.
Please believe me. 11. There are zebras and lions at the zoo.
See you tomorrow. 12. Tell the teacher.
I’m very sorry. 13. Tim bought two tickets.
Carry that load down the road. 14. Send dad a birthday card.
Jerry likes jelly and bread. 15. What did you order for dinner?
We had a fright on that flight. 16. The baby got his third tooth this month.
Questions for Discussion
What organs of speech do you know?
The roof of the mouth is divided into…?
What are passive organs of speech?
What are active organs of speech?
What is a sound division?
What is a vowel?
What is a consonant?
What is a phoneme?
How many vowel phonemes do you know?
How many consonant phonemes do you know?
SELF – TEST
There are three answers after each question. Only one is correct. Choose the correct answer.
How many letters are there in the English alphabet?
23 b) 36 c) 26
What is a phoneme?
a unit of a language
the biggest unit of a language
the smallest undivided unit of a language
How many phonemes are there in English?
40 b) 44 c) 48
How many vowel phonemes are there in English?
10 b) 20 c) 40
How many consonant phonemes are there in English?
a) 26 b) 44 c) 24
Unit 2. The Classification of English Vowel Phonemes
A vowel is a voiced sound produced in the mouth with no obstruction to the air
stream. The English vowel phonemes are divided into two large groups: monophthongs and diphthongs.
A monophthong is a pure (unchanging) vowel sound. There are 12 monophthongs in English. They are as follows: [i:], [ɪ], [e], [æ], [ɑ:], [], [:], [u], [u:], [ʌ], [ə:], [ə].
Two of them [i:] and [u:] are diphthongised (diphthongoids).
A diphthong is a complex sound consisting of two vowel elements pronounced so as to form a single syllable. The first element of an English diphthong is called the nucleus. The second element is called the glide (it is weak). There are eight diphthongs in English. They are: [eɪ], [uə], [aɪ], [au], [ɪ], [ɪə], [eə], [əu].
The English monophthongs may be classified according to the following principles:
According to the tongue position
According to the lip position
According to the length of the vowel
According to the position of the bulk of the tongue vowels are divided into 5 groups:
front [ɪ:], [e], [æ] and the nucleus of [eə]
front – retracted [ɪ] and the nuclei of the diphthongs [aɪ] and [au]
central [], [ə:], [ə] and the nucleus of [əu]
back [I], [:], [u:] and the nucleus of the diphthong [ɪ]
back – advanced [ɑ:], [u]
According to the height of the raised part of the tongue vowels are divided into 3 groups:
(A) Close or High [ɪ:], [ɪ], [u:], [u]
(B) Open or Low [æ], [ɑ:], [], [], and the nuclei of [aɪ], [au]
(C) Mid – Open or Mid [e], [ə:], [ə], [:] and the nuclei of [eə], [əu]
According to the lip position vowels may be rounded and unrounded.
Rounded vowels are [], [:], [u], [u:] and nuclei of [əu], [ɪ].
Unrounded vowels are [i:], [ɪ], [e], [æ], [ɑ:], [], [ə:], [ə].
According to the length vowels may be long and short.
Long vowels are [i:], [a:], [:], [u:], [ə:]
Short vowels are [ɪ], [e], [æ], [u], [], [], [ə]
According to the degree of tenseness vowels are divided into tense and lax.
All the English long vowels are tense [i:], [ɑ:], [:], [u:], [ə:]
All the English short vowels are lax [ɪ], [e], [æ], [], [u], [], [ə]
As the American and British vowel systems are not identical, two separate tables are provided to illustrate the difference.
Basic Tongue Position for English Vowels.
Front (Central) Back
High ɪj uw Rounded
Mid ej ow
Low æ a
American English Vowels
(tense vowels are underlined)
Front (Central) Back
ɪj uw
ej ow oj
æ aj aw a
Table of English Vowels.
Front Central Back
High i:
ɪ
u:
ə:
u
Mid
ə
e :
Low æ ɑ:
1. [ɪ:] A friend in need is a friend indeed
2. [ɪ] As fit as a fiddle
3. [e] All is well, that ends well
4. [æ] One man is no man
5. [a:] He laughs best who laughs last
6. [] Honesty is the best policy
7. [:] New lords – new laws
8. [u] By hook or by crook
9. [u:] Soon learnt, soon forgotten
10. [] Every country has its customs
11. [ə:] It’s an early bird that catches the worm
12. [ə] As like as two peas
13. [eɪ] No pains no gains
14. [əu] There’s no place like home
15. [aɪ] Out of sight out of mind
16. [au] From mouth to mouth
17. [ɪ] The voice of one man is the voice of no one
18. [ɪə] Near and dear
19. [eə] Neither here not there
20. [uə] What can’t be cured must be endured
Reading Rules of English Vowels
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