Cinzia Giglioni Università della Valle d’Aosta Phonetics Cinzia Giglioni Università della Valle d’Aosta

Task 1 Match the terms 1 – 3 with the definitions A – C. Stress Phoneme Intonation 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. Stress Phoneme Intonation 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. An individual sound is mispronounced A request is made with very flat intonation The wrong syllable is stressed in a word The word is incomprehensible The listener might understand “bin” when the speaker wanted to say “pin” The speaker can sound arrogant and demanding

Task 2 Match the terms 1 – 3 with the definitions A – C. An individual sound is mispronounced A request is made with very flat intonation The wrong syllable is stressed in a word The word is incomprehensible The listener might understand “bin” when the speaker wanted to say “pin” The speaker can sound arrogant and demanding

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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 kæt triː hæt θɪn

Examples of English sounds which don’t exist in Italian Let’s compare! Italian sounds which don’t exist in English Examples of English sounds which don’t exist in Italian Consonants /λ/ aglio /ɲ/ gnomo /dz/ zelo /ts/ zio Vowels /ə/ about /ɜ:/ bird /æ/ cat /ɪ:/ see Diphthongs /aʊ/ now /əʊ/ go /eə/ there /ð/ then /θ/ thin /ɳ/ long /ʒ / measure

Let’s compare! 7 vowels 23 consonants = 30 12 vowels 8 diphtongs = 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, show, Thomas, hour, heir, /j/ your, yes, cute; NO: jam /s/ piece/peace, sell/cell, /z/ zone, lazy, nose/knows, NO: pizza

Confusion between spellings and sounds beat, seed, piece, machine /i:/ day, veil, obey /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 car name /æ/ man /α:/ car /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 Greenwich pneumatic soften dumb honest receipt weigh debt psychiatry column scissors knot comb heir aisle

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 stress Primary 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:/ this shop /ðɪʃ’ʃɒp/ /t + k/  /k:/ that cake /ðæk’keɪk/ /t + g/  /g:/ 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 next please /neks pli:z/ I don’t know /ai dəʊ nəʊ/ 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 weak form and /ænd/ /ən/ of /ɒv/ /əv/ you /ju:/ /jʊ/ does /dʌz/ /dəz/ have /hæv/ /həv/ /əv/

INTONATION I had coffee cake and honey I had coffee, cake and honey

FUNCTIONS OF INTONATION 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; GRAMMATICAL INDICATOR - indicates if our utterance is a declarative sentence, an imperative, an exclamation, a question; 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 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 Short bit cat put but set Long bee sheet food cangaroo third core far marsh Short bit cat put but set

4. Insert the missing words /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 /ʧaɪld/ /’weɪʤɪz/ /ʃaʊt/ /ʧɔɪs/ /ʃaɪ/ /’deɪnʤə/ /en’ʤɔɪd/ /’aɪðə/ /ʃaʊə/

5. KEYS /ʧaɪld/ /’weɪʤɪz/ /ʃaʊt/ /ʧɔɪs/ /ʃaɪ/ /’deɪnʤə/ /en’ʤɔɪd/ Child Wages Shout Choice Shy Danger Enjoyed Either shower

6.Identify the correct transcription Soul /sɒl/ /sɔ:l/ /səʊl/ Throw /θrɔ:/ /θrəʊ/ /θru:/ Sew /sɔ:/ /səʊ/ /sju:/ Ought /ɔ:t/ /əʊt/ /ɒt/

6.KEY Soul Throw Sew Ought /sɒl/ /sɔ:l/ /səʊl/ /θrɔ:/ /θrəʊ/ /θru:/ /sju:/ Ought /ɔ:t/ /əʊt/ /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/ 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)            orange 2)                  women 3)                  quay/key 4)                  children 5)                  ceiling 6)                  this 7)                  these 8)                  machine 9)                  minute 10)             promise 11)             cottage 12)             language a)     / mə’ʃi:n/ b)   /’si:lɪɳ/ c)      /ði:z/ d)     /’læɳgwɪdʒ/ e)     /’ɒrɪndʒ/ f)       /’wɪmɪn/ g)     /ðɪs/ h)     /’tʃɪldrən/ i)        /’prɒmɪs/ j)       /’kɒtɪdʒ/ k)     /’mɪnɪt/ l)        /ki:/

8. KEY 1-e 8-a 2-f 9-k 3-l 10-i 4-h 11-j 5-b 12-d 6-g 7-c

9. Choose the word which matches the phonetic transcription 1) /maʊðz/ a) mouths b) months c) mouse 2) /nəʊ/ a) nor b) now c) know/no 3) /praʊd/ a) pride b) proud c) prude 4) /fɪəʳ/ a) fear b) fair c) far

9. KEY A C B

10. Words commonly mispronounced. Guess what these words are 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/ - ..................... /wɜ:d/ - ......................... /əʊnli/ - ........................ /frʌnt/ - ........................ /'eəriə/ - ...................... /pla:nt/ - ....................... /vəraɪəti/ - .................... /peərənt/ - .................... /ðeə/ - ......................... 51

10. KEY 1)word 10)breath 19)particular 2)only 11) breathe 20) nothing 3)front 12)receipt 4)area 13) mature 5)plant 14)hear-here 6)variety 15)region 7)parent 16)delete 8)there 17)backward 9)lion 18)forward

Links http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/download/pron_chart/pron_chart.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/recognising/homophones/quiz.shtml http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/johnm/flash/flashin.htm