Spoken English: Phonetics with Indian Accepted English

Spoken English: Phonetics with Indian Accepted English 

ü  Phonetics

The phonetics is the study of sounds of human speech. The art and science of using mouth organs takes crucial part in phonetics. Language is a system of communication through speech. English is spoken over such a large part of the world that number of slightly different accents are used by native speakers of the language in USA, the UK, Canada and Australia. English is also spoken by educated people all over the world. Therefore a number of foreign accents come into existence.  English as spoken by educated people in India does not differ radically from native English in grammar and vocabulary. But pronunciation is different from both British and American English.

The speech mechanism:

A speech event involves a series of operations. A concept is first formulated in the speaker’s brain and its linguistic codification transmitted by the nerves to the speech organs. Which are set by motion? The movements of these organs set up disturbance in the air and these sound waves are received by the listener’s ear. His nervous system carries the message to brain. Where it is interpreted in linguistic terms. The speaker and the listener must share the same linguistic code in order to communicate effectively.

The production of speech

The energy for the production of speech is generally provided by the air stream coming out of the lungs. The mouth organs used in production of speech are lips, teeth, larynx, trachea, palate, nasal cavity and tongue etc.

Description of sounds

In order to describe the production of speech sound we have to indicate the nature of the air stream, the state of the vocal cords, the positions of the soft palate, the tongue and the lips etc.

Pronunciation

A: aey, B: bee, C: see, D: dhi, E: iee, F: ehf, G: gee, H: aitch, I: aye, J: jhay, K; khay, L: ell, M: emme, N: enne, O: ohh, P: phi, Q: queue, R: are, S: ess, T: thi, U: yoo, V: we, W: dubyo, X: ex, Y: why, Z: see.

 

A: Smart, Palm, Dark, Fast, Safe, Aid, Bail, Grave, Save, Addition, Rascal, Ago, Sac, Sad, Add, Badge, Bad, All, Ball, Small, fall, Pall, Call.

B: Book, Absorb, Tub, Cub.

C: Cat, Coal, Can, Clever, Clean, Cent, Cedar, Cement, Certain, Certificate.

D: Did, Daughter, Bad, Bond, Dog, Doctor.

E: here, Near, Before, She, Be, Me, Detailed, Herd, Interim, Term, Egg, Men, Pebble, Peck, Bent.

F: Fan, Leaf, Infant, Rifle, Fate, First.

G: Good, God, Rug, Bag, Gorge, Geometry, Gentle, Badge, Regiment.

H: Hat, Enhance, Horse, Heel.

I: India, Bit, Fit, Lily, Right, Sight, Bite, Inept.

J: Joke, Join, Rejoice, Deject.

K: Rock, King, Kite, Kiss.

L: Lame, Delete, Meal, Pull, Lull, Dull.

M: Man, Reform, Seminar.

N: Name, Sense, Ban, Run.

O: Open, Bone, Mango, Probe, Problem, Prodigal, Tolerance.

P: Gap, Rope, Open, Pen, Push.

Q: Mosque, Queue, Banquet, Quick.

R: Rest, Bar, Surprise, Room.

S: Sun, Bus, Sister, Soap, Drowsy, Feasible, Reason.

T: Master, Tea, Button, Pot, Initial, Portion, Patient, Station.

U: Bull, Push, Put, But, Shut, Up, Sun.

V: Vague, Wave, River, Brave.

W: War, Widow, Power, Want.

X:Examination, Example.

Y: Yes, Yoga, By, Cry, My, Bury, Worry.

Z: Zoo, Zebra, Blaze, Lazy, Lizard.

Diphthong:

Ae: Aesthetic, Encyclopedia.

Au: Daughter, Caught, Audio.

Ea: Clean Mean, Dean, Yeast.

Ei: Either, Neither, Height, Eight, Freight, Weight, Straight.

Eo: Peon, Neon, Geography.

Eu: Eucalyptus, Europe.

Ew: Mew, New, View.

Ei: Receive, Deceit.

Ie: Grieve, Sieve, Field, Fiend.

Io: Ion, Iodine.

Ia: Diameter, Diamond, Bias.

Oo: Look, Book, Nook, Broom, Room, Spoon, Moon.

Oe: Shoe, Foetus.

Oa: Goat, Moan, oath, Oak.

Oi: Join, Loin, Noise, Loiter.

Ou: Shout, Bought, Gout, Out.

Uu: Vacuum.

Mute letters

C: Scent, Science, Scene, Scion.

D: Sledge, Knowledge, Bridge, Ridge.

G: Sign, Design, Resign, Foreign.

H: Hour, Honor, Thames, Thomas, Honest, Heir.

K: Knock Knowledge, Knife, Knit, Knoll, Knee and Knob.

L: Folk, Walk, Chalk, Talk, Could, Calm, half Should, And Would. 

N: Hymn, Column, Autumn, Condemn.

P: Psychology, Pneumonia, Psalm, Pseudo, Receipt.

S: Island, Viscount.

T: Often, Soften, Hasten, Listen, Jostle, Fasten, Christmas and Waist-coat.

U: Guard, Guarantee, Guest, Mosque, Rogue, Vague.

Gh: Right, Bright, Hight, Through, Thigh, Knight, Weight, Eight.

E: Love, Mile, Excite, Due, Whole, Change, Trace.

B: Comb, Lamb, Tomb, Climb, Dumb, Doubt, Debt.

R: Park, Work, Storm, Farm, Card, Water, Teacher, Father.

Description of speech sound

Vowel and consonants:

In the production of vowels the air stream comes out freely through the mouth. There is no closure of air passage and no narrowing of the passage that would cause audible friction. All other sounds are called consonants.

Descriptions of consonants:

While describing consonants we have to indicate the nature of the air stream either pulmonic or egressive or ingressives. Whether the sounds voiced or voiceless, that is whether the vocal cords vibrate or not. Whether the soft palate is raised or lowered that is whether the air stream passes through the mouth only or through both the mouth and nose. The place of articulation that is where the closure or narrowing takes place.The manner of articulation that is the kind of closure or narrowing. All English sounds are produced with egressive lung air.

ü  Place of articulation:

Consonants can be classified according to the lace of articulation as follows.

Bilabial:Articulated by the two lips, e.g. (P, B, M, W).

Labio-dental:Articulated by the lower lip against the upper teeth, e.g. (F, V).

Dental:Articulated by the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth, e.g. (ð,ɵ).

Alveolar:Articulated by the blade of tongue against the teeth-ridge, e.g. (T, D, S, Z, N, L).

Post alveolar:Articulated by the tip of the tongue against the back of the teeth ridge, e.g.(R).

Palatal:Articulated by the front of the tongue against the hard palate, e.g. (J)

Velar:Articulated by the back of the tongue against the soft palate, e.g. (K, G,ŋ).

Glottal: Produced by an obstruction or narrowing between the vocal cords, e.g. (H).

ü  Manner of articulation:

Plosive:There is closure of the air passage; pressure is built up, and then the air is released with explosion, e.g. (P, B, T, D, K, G).

Affricate:There is a complete closure of the air passage in the mouth; then the organs are separated slowly so that friction is heard, e.g. (ʧ, ʤ).

Nasal:There is a complete closure of the air passage I the mouth; the soft palate is lowered and the air escapes through the nose, e.g. (M, N,ŋ).

Roll:There are a number of rapid taps made by a flexible organ against a firmer surface. For example some people pronounce English /R/ by making the tip of the tongue strike against the teeth ridge a number of times.

Flap:There is only one tap; for example English /R/ in very in pronounced by making one tap of the tip of the tongue against the teeth ridge.

Lateral:At some point in the mouth, there is a closure in the middle, but the air escapes through the side, e.g. English / I /.

Fricative:There is a narrow passage for the air between two organs and friction is produced when the air passes through it. E.g. /F, V, ð, ɵ, S, Z, H /.

ü Tongue twisters

1.      Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers peter piper picked?

2.      The thirty three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

3.      Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?

4.      Clean clams crammed in clean cans.

5.      Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.

6.      I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won’t wish the wish you wish to wish.

7.      Luck’s duck likes lakes. Luke luck licks lakes. Luke’s duck licks lakes. Duck takes licks in lakes luke luck likes, luke luck takes licks in lakes duck likes.

8.      Celibate celebrant, celibate celebrant, celibate celebrant.

9.      Gobbling gargoyles gobbled gobbling goblins.

10.  How many cookies could a good cook cooks if a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.

11.  Mr. Tongue twister tried to train his tongue to twist and turn and twit a twat to learn the letter T.

12.  She saw sheriff’s shoes on the sofa. But was she so sure she saw so sure she saw sheriff’s shoes on the sofas?

13.  Four furious friends fought for the phone.

14.  Rory the warrior and roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery.

15.  Fresh French fried fly fritters.

16.  Chester cheetah chews a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.

17.  Excited executioner exercising his excising powers excessively.

18.  Betty brought a bit of butter but the butter was bitter so Betty bought some better butter to make bitter butter better.

19.  Elizabeth has eleven elves in her elm tree.

20.  Never trouble about trouble until trouble troubles you.

21.  Blue glue gun, green glue gun.

22.  I would if I could, and if I couldn’t how could I? you couldn’t unless you could, could you?

23.  My mommy makes me muffins on Monday.

24.  A quick witted cricket critic.

25.  Clunton and clunbury clunflod and clun are the hottest places under the sun.

 

 

The phoneme:

Every language has a limited number of distinctive sound units called phonemes. These are the smaller units in sound system of a language.

The syllable:

One or more phonemes from the next higher unit is called the syllable. In each syllable there is one sound that is more prominent than the rest. Usually it is vowel. But in English it can be a consonant. Vowel generally takes the central position in the syllable and consonants take the marginal position.

Prosodic features:

Features which relate to an utterance longer than a sound segment are called supra segmental or prosodic.

Sounds of English vowel:

Pure vowel:-

/i:/ as in these, complete, even, immediate, cheese, feed, green, tree, cream, dream, each, lead, reach, sea, teach, chief, field, piece, deceive, receive, seize, machine, police etc.

/i/ as in bit, begin, biggest, careless, effect, matches, city, mystery, baggage, private, carries, parties, busy, coffee, marriage, captain, build, mountain, guilty etc.

/e/ as in bed, left, melt, nest, set, dead, feather, head, jealous, measure, ready, many, leisure, fell, test, west, tell etc.

/æ/ as in bad, fan, hat, mass, rank, sad, tax, band, man, sad etc.

/^/ as in bus, bundle, cup, dust, gun, hunt, much, pump, such, uncle, come, month, worry, enough, rough, blood, does etc.

/ɑ:/ as in card, art, bar, farm, hard, large, march, part, ask, basket, master, answer, branch, dance, hath, after, staff, calm, laugh, drama etc.

/ʋ/ as in hot, bottle, dog, fond, god, hot, not, rob, borrow, moral, quality, want, because, cough, gone, knowledge etc.

/Ɔ:/ as in all, ball, fall, wall, horse, morning, force, court, four, not, before, fought, door, floor, awkward, talk, cause, fault, quarter, warm, daughter, broad, story etc.

/u/ as in book, cook, foot, good, hook, woman, bush, cushion, pull, could etc.

/u:/ as in duty, funeral, music, rude, union, choose, loose, moon, move, who, soup, fruit, juice etc.

/ɜ:/ as in serve, perfect, bird, circle, dirt, firm, girl, thirst, murder, nurse, purple, surface etc.

/Ə/ as in account, human, breakfast, gentleman, backward, particular, standard, development, problem, sentence, entertain, liberty, terrible, condition, factory, society, effort, continuous, famous, succeed, surprise, collar, bigger, father, actor, doctor, favor, creature, nature etc.

/ei/ as in gate, face, make, paste, state, day, may, say, pray, way, aim, pain, straight, eight, they etc.

/ai/ as in bite, mine, ride, climb, rival, silence, type, cycle, multiply, flies, light, night, either etc.

/Ɔi /as in boil, choice, noise, oil, voice, annoy, boy, toy etc.

/Əu/as in home, nose, rope, open, social, go, not, so, host, most, post, roll, blow, narrow, boat etc.

/ɑu/ as in house, about, bound, doubt, loud, out, round, sound, allow, cow, now, town etc.

/I Ə /as in cheer, period, serous, zero, deer, ear, mere, severe, theatre etc.

/ɛƏ /as in air, chair, fair, hair, pair, bare, rare, share, various, aeroplane etc.

/uƏ/as in poor, sure, tour, influence, virtuous etc.

The sounds of English consonants

Practice the words from word meaning and pronunciation section according to place and manner of articulation. Practice it loudly. Don’t do it by heart.

Word accent:

Word accent is an important feature of English language. In words of more than one syllable, not all the syllables are equally prominent those are more prominent than others are said to receive the accent. The relative prominence of syllable may be due to stress, that is greater breath force, greater vibration of the vocal cords etc. accent are primary(^Iaccent) and secondary (_I accent)

Intonation and stress: Intonation means the up and down of pitching of sounds in sentence. The stresses are two types those are primary and secondary. Primary stress is given on adjectives and secondary stress is applicable for noun and full verb in sentence.

 

Wicked is pronounced as wicket. (t for ed).

Played is pronounced as playd. (d for ed) .