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Co ntents
Acknowledgements 5
About this book 6
Sect ion A Gett i ng started
1 Accents (1 ): Va rieties of Engl ish 8
2 Accents (2): Engl ish as an i nternational language 10
3 Finding out about pron unciation (1): dictiona ries 12
4 Finding out a bout pronunciation (2): online resources 14
5 Pronunciation in slow and fast speech (1) 16
6 Pron unciation in slow and fast speech (2) 18
Sect ion B Pronunciation of words a n d phrases
Co n so n a n t c l u sters
7 play, grow, splash Consonant clusters at the beginning of words 20
8 jump, next, glimpsed Consonant clusters at the end of words 22
9 abstract, next Friday Consonant clusters within and across words 24
Stress in word s a n d p h ra ses
10 , contro ' versial and controVERsial Word stress and pro m i nence 26
1 1 ' comfort and ' comfortable S u ffi xes and word stress (1) 28
12 ac' celerate and ac ,cele ' ration Suffixes and word stress (2) 30
13 ex' treme and ex' tremity Suffi xes and word stress (3) 32
14 dis' organised and , recon' sider Prefixes and word stress (1) 34
15 ' subway and ' super, power Prefixes and word stress (2) 36
16 ' news , paper and , absolute ' zero Stress in compound nouns 38
17 ' hair-, raising and , hard- 'working Stress in compound adjectives and 40
in abbreviations
18 ,closed-circuit 'television and ' sell-by date Stress in longer compound nouns 42
19 ' dream of and ' live for One-stress phrasal verbs 44
20 , hang a ' round and , look ' up to Two-stress phrasal verbs 46
Stressed a n d u nstressed syl l a b l es
21 some, the, from, ete. Wea k forms of function words 48
22 Well, YOU do it then! Prominent function words 50
23 calcu/u/late and calcu/;)/late Vowels i n unstressed syllables i n content words 52
24 listen, bottle, politician, etc. Syllabic consonants 54
Fo reign word s
25 deja vu, angst, tsunami Foreign words in Engl ish 56
Sect ion C Pronunciation i n conversat ion
Featu res of fl u e n t speech
26 one�evening, stop�now, go�away, ete. Li nking sounds 58
27 I'll get it, These're mine Contracted forms 60
28 I m not sure, Not sure, 'm not sure Ell ipsis and 'near el l i psis'
' 62
29 lasi; night, I haven'i; seen her Leaving out consonant sounds (1): It I 64
30 an old car, a bottle o� water Leaving out consonant sounds (2): IdJ, Jh/, 11/, Jvl 66
31 average, novelist, happening Words that lose a syllable 68
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
O rga n i s i n g i nfo r m a t i o n i n co n ve rsation
32 II we stuck a picturell of an elephant/I Break ing speech into units 70
33 II It's BLUElI DARK bluell Prominent words i n speech units (1) 72
34 II I've always been terrified of SPIders !! Prominent words in speech units (2) 74
35 II I'll beLIEVE it when I SEE it/I Fixed phrases and idioms i n speech units 76
36 she's got an ESSay to write Non-prominence on final 'empty' content words 78
37 I can't STAND the stuff Non-prominence on final vague expressions 80
38 Just help yourSELF; Throw it to ME Prominence i n reflexive and 82
personal pronouns
Into n a t i o n in tel l i ng. a s k i n g a n d a ns w e r i n g
39 I'm quite busy 11 at the moment III Fal ling and rising tones 84
40 They taste great 11, these biscuits III Tails 86
41 Great film 11, wasn't it II? Question tags 88
42 What I don't understand Bill is how it got there 11 Cleft sentences 90
43 Finding out or making sure ? Questions (1) �2
44 Wasn't it terrible II? Are you crazy II? Questions (2) 94
45 'I paid €200,000 for it.' 'How much Ill ? ' Repeat questions 96
46 Although I was tired Ill, I couldn't get t o sleep 11 Comparisons a n d contrasts 98
47 'You were asleep i n the class! ' ' I .WASn't asleep 11.' Contradictions 100
48 You couldn't carry it upSTAIRS for me BIll? Requests and reservation 102
49 On the whole l1li, it went very well Attitude words and phrases (1) 104
50 She just forgot, presumably II? Attitude words and phrases (2) 106
51 How embarrassing 11:51! Exclamations 108
Into n at i o n i n m a n a g i n g co nve rsa t i o n
52 Mhm, Right, I see Keeping conversation going 1 10
53 O n top o f that . . 1!i.'l2J; Anyway . . . 11 Adding information and
. 1 12
changing topic
Sect ion D Pronunciation i n formal sett i ngs
54 Before she left schooVl she started her own business D i viding prepared 114
speech into units (1)
55 One of the paintingsll he left to his sister D ividin g pre pare d speech 116
i nt o units (2)
56 Lima - a s I'm sure you know � is the capital of Peru Pron unciation
- 118
of inserts
We expected profits to drop, but they W rose Step-ups - contrasts and 120
new topics
58 The headteacher, Mr W Lee, will be talking to parents Step-down s - adding 122
i n formation and ending topics
59 Small, medium, and large Tones in a series of s i m i l a r items 124
60 'Politicians are the same all over . . .' Level tone i n quoting and 126
b u i l d i ng suspense
Sect ion E Reference
El The phonemic alpha bet: Practice 128
E2 Consonant clusters: Further practice 132
E3 Word stress: further practice 136
E4 Clossary 140
further reading 143
Key 144
Key to phonemic and other symbols 192
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Frances Amrani for guiding the project, and Roslyn Henderson and Alyson
Maskell for their invaluable suggestions and their attention to detail in editing the material.
I also wish to thank the following reviewers for their suggestions in the early stages of writing:
Barbara Bradford, Kent, UK
lan Chitty, Melbourn, UK
David Deterding, Singapore
Amanda Lloyd, Cambridge, UK
Andrea Paul, Melbourne, Australia
Dolores Ramirez Verdugo, Madrid, Spain
A number of people have provided inspiration and information, and also specific advice on the
pronunciation of non-native English speakers. Thanks in particular to Richard Cauldwell, Frances
Hotimsky, Philip King, Gerard O'Grady and Dorota Pacek. I have drawn extensively for information
and ideas on a wide variety of teaching materials and reference works, and I acknowledge the part
they have played in shaping the book. In particula r, I wish to acknowledge Hahn, L. D. & Dickerson,
W. B. ( 1 999) Speechcraft: Workbook for academic discourse. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Press (Units 40 & 4 1 ) for the analysis of stress adapted for Unit 12.
At home, thanks to Ann, Suzanne, and David for their support and willingness to listen.
Martin Hewings 2007
The author and publishers are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyrighted
material in English Pronunciation in Use Advanced.
Jones, D. (2006 ) Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 1 7th edn. Edited by P. Roach,
J. Setter and J. Hartman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2005 ), 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Development of this publication has made use of the Cambridge International Corpus ( CIC).
The CIC is a computerized database of contemporary spoken and written English, which currently
stands at 1 billion words. It includes British English, American English and other varieties of
English. It also includes the Cambridge Learner Corpus, developed in collaboration with the
University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. Cambridge University Press has built up the CIC
to provide evidence about language use that helps to produce better language teaching materials.
Audio recording by James Richardson, AVP studios, London.
Illustrations by Jo Blake, Mark Draisey, Julian Mosedale and David Shenton.
Cover design by Dale Tomlinson.
Designed and typeset by Kamae Design, Oxford.
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) 5
About th is boo k
English Pronunciation in Use Advanced gives students of English practice in pronunciation to
help improve both speaking and listening. Although it has been written so that it can be used for
self-study, it will work equally well in a class situation with a teacher.
It will be particularly useful for students whose English is adequate for most social, professional
or educational purposes, but who want to work further on pronunciation to improve their
understanding and ensure that they are easily understood both by native and non-native English
speakers. The focus is primarily on improving pronunciation in communication rather than
practising individual sounds ' or words.
Orga n isation
There are 60 units i n the book. Each unit looks a t a different .point o f pronunciation. Each unit
has two pages. The page on the left has explanations and examples, and the page on the right
has exercises. The 60 units are divided into four sections.
• Section A introduces accents in different varieties of English, resources for independent study
of pronunciation and differences between pronunciation in slow and fast speech.
• Section B is about pronunciation in words and phrases, including consonant clusters and
stressed and unstressed syllables, and pronunciation of foreign words.
• Section C is about pronunciation in conversation, including how intonation contributes to
meanmg.
• Section D is about pronunciation in formal settings, including professional contexts such as
giving business or conference presentations.
After the 60 units there is a fifth section, Section E, which contains the following:
• Exercises to practise the phonemic alphabet
• Further practice of consonant clusters
• Further practice of word stress
• Glossary
• Further reading
At the end of the book there is a Key with answers.
To accompany the book, there is a set of five CDs, available separately or as part of a pack.
A CD-ROM is also available for use on a computer. On the CD-ROM additional practice
exercises are provided on all of the units (different from those in the book) . The CD-ROM can
be bought separately or as part of a pack.
Add i t i o n al equi pme n t needed
A CD player is needed to listen to the recorded material that goes with this book.
It will also be useful for students to have equipment to record their o wn voices.
The symbol . At indicates the CD track number for recorded material, i.e. CD A, track 1 .
English Pronunciation in Use Intermediate and
English Pronunciation in Use Advanced
It is not necessary to have worked on English Pronunciation in Use Intermediate (see Section E5
Further reading) before using this book. However, to practise pronunciation of particular letters
and sounds, it is recommended that students use English Pronunciation in Use Intermediate,
where additional practice of stress and intonation can also be found. Both books have the same
format of explanations and examples on the left page and exercises on the right page in each unit
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
Usi ng the book
There is no fixed order in which the units should be worked through. However, it will be useful
to do the units in Section A Getting started first to provide some background to later units. In
addition, it will be useful to study the basic units on intonation (Units 32-34 on breaking speech
into units and highlighting information, and Unit 39 on falling and rising tones) before doing
later units which focus on intonation.
Phonemic symbols
It is not necessary to understand phonemic symbols to use this book. Where phonemic symbols
are used, example words are given and/or the words are found on the recording. However, being
able to understand phonemic symbols is a useful skill to have in order to make use of the
information about pronunciation in dictionaries. The phonemic symbols used in this book are
listed on page 1 92 and there are exercises to practise the phonemic alphabet in Section El .
Pronunciat i o n i n speaki ng and l iste n i ng
Although the focus of the book is pronunciation in speaking, it also gives the opportunity to
practise listening to speech at conversational speed and in a variety of English accents. Where an
explanation refers to a feature of pronunciation that is particularly relevant to understanding
English, rather than one that students should necessarily try to include in their own speech, this
is shown with the sign /1����+��+"'�::;7. Where an explanation is particularly relevant for
Ir
r-0r I,s.,L OWl,:! J\
. .
� "
;
developing advanced f1u ��i, thi� i shown with the sign �
Accen ts of Engl ish used i n the recordi ng
For a model of pronunciation to copy when speaking, we have used the accent of English
sometimes referred to as 'BBC English'. However, in work or travel a wide range of English
accents might be heard. To help prepare for this, a number of accents are found on the
recording. These include both native-speaker varieties of English (from the United States,
Canada, Australia, South Africa, Jamaica, India and various parts of Britain) and non-native
speaker varieties of English (from China, Spain, Poland and Japan) . In the Key, information can
be found about where speakers come from on the recordings for the exercises.
More about BBC English and other varieties of English can be found in Units 1 and 2.
Usi n g the further pract ice mater ial
After working through Units 7, 8 and 9 on consonant clusters, further practice can be found in
Section E2 Consonant clusters. After working through Units 1 1 , 12 and 1 3 on suffixes and word
stress, further practice can be found in Section E3 Word Stress.
The glossary
In Section E4 Glossary, explanations can be found of terms used in this book. Most of these are
specific to the subject of pronunciation.
Usi ng the recordi ng
When working with the recording, a track should b e played as often as necessary. When doing
an exercise, it may be necessary to press 'pause' after each sentence to give time to think or write
an answer. When instructed to repeat single words, there is space on the recording to do so, but
to repeat whole sentences the recording will have to be paused each time. In some exercises,
special instructions are given on how to use the recording.
To help you further improve your pronunciation and understanding of spoken English, it is
important to listen to as much English as you can. The internet provides access to a wide range
of sources of spoken English, and in Unit 4 you can find suggestions on some that you might
find useful.
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) 7
Accents (1): Varieties of Eng lish
Although we commonly talk about 'English pronunciation' (including in the title of this book),
obviously not all speakers of English pronounce it in the same way. Even between countries
where English is the first language of the majority of the population there are considerable
differences, and we can distinguish between the pronunciation of 'British English', 'American
English', 'Australia n English', 'South African English', and so on.
�[i�. 'IID� : � .. .,..?,Across these varieties of English, there may be differences in how vowels and consonants are
';�;' ��+�;+"'/ pronounced,howwords are stressed, and in intonation. For example, listen and notice differences
�or listMi"'q,) between standard British English (Br) and American English (US) pronunciation in these sentences
(you will hear British English first):
Tha t's be tter. I n US It I is 'fla pped' so that it sou nds l i ke Idl (a nd often tra nscribed
in dictiona ries as I!f) when it comes between two vowels.
I ' m p i cki n g u p th e ca r • ca r Iko:1 i n Br and Iko:rl i n US. I n Br,lrl is pronounced only
=
n e xt Tuesday. when it is fol lowed by a vowel, while i n US it is a lso pronounced
before consonants and at the end of a word .
• Tuesday = Itju: -I i n Br a n d Itu: - I i n US. The sou nds Itj /,/nj /,
Idj /, etc. a re not used i n US.
Wha t's you r a d d ress? Some words a re stressed differently in Br and US, including a'ddress
(Br) and 'add ress (US).
I we n t o u t beca use I was Some spea kers of US (a nd a lso Austra l ia n and New Zealand Eng l ish)
hot and wa n ted some use a 'high risi ng' tone for statements where most spea kers of Br
fresh a i r. would use a fa l l i ng tone.
A3.' ,.�Within Britain and the US there are also many regional accents. For example, listen and notice
/
{ 1t1.tporttl;.t/ differences in pronunciation in these sentences, said first by a speaker of 'BBC English' (see Unit 2) and
�or liste. ... i...q) then by a speaker from the city of Birmingham in England (you will hear BBC English first):
See you ton i gh t. The second vowel i n 'tonig ht' is pronounced Iml i n BBC Engl ish but
1';)11 (as i n 'boy') i n a Birm i n g h a m accent.
A re those you r b ro th e r's? The vowel in 'those' is pronounced I:ml in BBC Eng l ish but more
l i ke laul (as i n 'now') i n a Birm i n g h a m accent.
The first vowel in 'brother's' is pronounced IAI (as in 'buf) in BBC
Eng l ish but lul (as in 'would') in a Birm i n g h a m accent.
She was s m o ki n g. The last sou nd i n ing words is IIJI i n BBC Engl ish, but IIJgl i n a
-
Birm i n g h a m accent, i.e. the -g is pronounced.
Section E5 Further reading gives suggestions on where you can find more information about
pronunciation in national and regional varieties of English.
8 English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
Section A Getting started
Exercises
1 .1 Listen . You w i l l hear spea kers from Brita i n , the USA, Ca nada, Austra l i a a n d South Africa ta l ki n g about
A4 what they e njoy d o i n g i n their spa re time.
Which of these accents a re you m ost fa m i l i a r with? Is there one you fi n d easi er to u n d e rsta n d than
the others?
1 .2 Here i s a text rea d a l o u d fi rst by a B ritish Eng l ish spea ker a n d then a n American Eng l ish spea ker.
AS Liste n as m a ny times as you need a n d n ote d i fferen ces i n pronunciation that you observe, focusi n g
on the u nd e r l i ned words. A few a re done for you . (It is n o t necessa ry t o use phonemic sym bols i n t h i s
exercise, but a l ist ca n be fou n d on p a g e 1 92 if y o u want t o refer t o it.)
I was reading i n a magazine the other day about sa id ' nyoo'
the fi rst how common esi is now. Some e research (/nj u:/l in Br a n d
vowel is more as found that over fur:t.¥ percent of the population ' noo' (/nu:/l i n U S
'open' i n US
is ovelWeight. Most people in the survey said
the d her drive than walk. and that it's better to the fi rst
the fi rst spend leisure time at home than outside. That's vowel is d i fferent
vowel is understandable in the winter, I guess, but el - 1::>:1 ( l i ke 'or')
d i fferent 10:1 -
everyone can build some exercise into their daily in Br a n d lul
( l i ke 'ca r') i n B r ( l i ke 'put') in US;
schedule?
a n d lrel ( l i ke a l so the 'r'
'hat') i n US is pro n o u n ced
in US
1.3 You w i l l hear fou r more people ta l k i n g a bout what they enjoy d o i n g i n their spa re time. They a re
from northern E n g l a n d , Scotl a n d , Wa les a n d N o rthern I re l a n d . Listen as m a ny times as you need a n d
write brief n otes a b o u t w h a t they say.
northern England: .................................................................................... .......................... .
Scotland:
Wales: ......................................................................... ....................... ...................... .
Northern Ireland: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ..
Now read the tra nscri pts i n the Key. Are there particu l a r featu res of their pro n u nciation that you had
problems u nd e rsta n d i n g ? I n what ways is their pro n u nciation d i fferent from BBC E n g l ish - that is,
British E n g l ish spoken without a reg i o n a l accent (see U n it 2)?
Follow up: Record yourself reading one of the extracts i n exercise 1.1. (These are written down in
the Key.) Compare your reading and the version on the record ing. What are the main differences
in pronunciation that you notice?
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) 9
Accents (2): Eng lish as an international lang uag e
In this book...
. . . you w i l l use British In particu lar, you w i l l use the va riety that has come to be known as 'BBC
Engl ish as a model Eng l ish: BBC Engl ish is the pronu nciation used by spea kers such as newsreaders
for pronu nciation. and a n nou ncers on television and radio, including the World Service.
Some of these spea kers have reg ional accents from the U n ited Ki ngdom, such
as Scottish, Welsh or Northern I rish accents, but the accent you w i l l hea r in
this book is typica l of those with an Engl ish accent. This accent is taken as the
'model' beca use it is a widely broadcast and respected va riety, and for most
people is easi ly understood.
. . . you w i l l hea r a Recorded material used m a i n ly for l istening i ncl udes spea kers with different
wide va riety of Engl ish accents. Some have Eng l ish as their first language (e.g. from Austra lia
Engl ish accents. a n d the U n ited States), while others have Engl ish as a second or foreign
language (e.g. from Japan and Pola nd). This w i l l help prepa re you to
understa nd d ifferent pronu nciations of Eng l ish. I nformation a bout where
spea kers come from is g iven i n the Key.
� ;l�l:(I�por�?u\-r
�$!fml� The use of English has spread far beyond those countries where it is used as a first language. In some
countries, such as India, Malawi, the Philippines and Singapore, English is an important second language
�or lis-re.tl.inq for many speakers, and has often become the language used in official contexts such as courts,
parliament and higher education. More recently, many other countries, such as Brazil, China, Thailand
��---.-�-".
and Russia, have recognised the importance of English as an international language of communication,
and encouraged its teaching in schools and colleges. In each country, the English spoken is influenced by
other languages widely used there, and each variety is different in features of its grammar, vocabulary
and pronunciation.
The widespread use of English as an international
language means that much of the interaction in
English that now goes on around the world is between·
speakers who don't have English as a first language.
For example, when German and Spanish politicians
meet to discuss policies of the European Union, their
chosen language of communication might well be
English. The same might apply when Saudi Arabian
and Japanese people meet to do business.
il1);!J:",��-�at_. --;:7 The consequence of this is that there is an enormous variety of accents of English in addition to those of
/ lt1Apor-r?ln-r v./ 'British English', 'American English', 'Australian English' and so on, and you may be more likely to speak to
�or Iis-!-e.ninq)
"-'"'''' ""'''''�'M�_''_'''��/
peopl e with 'Indian En glish', 'Singaporean English' or 'Russian English' pronunciation.
It would be impossible, however, to learn to 'switch' your pronunciation each time you w"ere talking to a
speaker with a variety of English different from your own - to use an Australian English pronunciation
with an Australian, or Chinese English pronunciation with a Chinese person. Consequently, it is useful to
'model' your pronunciation on one variety - but also recognise that this is just one of many equally
acceptable varieties.
10 English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
Section A Getting started
Exercises
2.1 You w i l l hear spea kers w i t h i n ternati o n a l accents o f Eng l ish from five cou ntries ta l ki n g a bout their
A7 fa m i l ies. Where do you th i n k they a re fro m ? Listen a n d write the n a m e of the cou ntry i n the spa ce.
Speaker 1 is from ......
Speaker 2 is from Poland
Speaker 3 is from
Speaker 4 is from India
Speaker 5 is from .. . ... . ... . .
Now check you r a n swers i n the Key. Which of these accents do you fi n d easi est to u ndersta nd a n d
w h ich most d i fficu lt? Ca n y o u say why? Wh ich o f these E n g l ish accents is closest t o you r o w n ?
2.2 Listen . You w i l: hear the sa me text read th ree ti mes: fi rst by a spea ker of BBC E n g l ish, seco nd by a
AS spea ker of J a m a ica n E n g l ish, a n d t h i rd by a Pol ish spea ker of Eng l ish. They a re ta l k i n g about m ovi ng
i n to a new h ouse a n d some of the t h i n g s they have had to buy.
Here a re som e notes on how the pro n u n ciation i n pa rt of the rea d i n g by the speaker of Jam a ican
E n g l ish is d i fferent from that i n the rea d i n g by the spea ker of BBC E n g l ish.
the fi rst vowel is cl ose to 101 (as the vowel is the vowel is close
in ' h ot'); h:1 i n BBC E n g l ish. Also, cl ose to li:1 a n d to lu:1 (as in 'too'); I�ul
'I' is not pronou nced sou n d s l i ke 'pl eets'; in BBC E n g l ish
lell in BBC Eng l ish
L:.: �e ad'-J. had cutlery and cups and saucers, and
� ��
my br r gave me some new I es and
the vowel is
I had to get quite a lot of furniture, too. I didn't
cl ose to II�/, a n d
sou nds l i ke need a new bed, but I bought a nice old wooden
'cheers'; le�1 i n table and some c s for sitting room....
B B C E n g l ish
... I had to do quite a lot of decorating. I've
Now d o the sa m e for
wallpapered the bedroom and painted the
this part of the text
bathroom so fgr, but there's still quite a lot to
read by the Po l ish
do. But I'm in no hurry and I'm really enjoying
spea ker of Eng l ish.
it. It's great having my own place at last.
2 .3 Are there a ny accents of E n g l ish that a re of particu l a r i nterest or i m porta nce to you ?
Practise l iste n i n g t o people with th ese accents as m u c h as possi ble. If you have access t o the
i n ternet, you cou l d reg u l a rly l i sten to Eng l ish l a n g uage broadcasts where you w i l l hear th ese accents.
For exa m p l e, for New Zea l a n d accents, try http://www. rad ionz.co. nz/; for Swed ish accents of Eng l ish,
Radio Stockhol m has a weekly Eng l ish n ews broad cast (at http ://www.sr.se/rs/red/i n d_eng .ht m l) where
m a n y of the spea kers a re Swed ish. (For more i n formation, see U n i t 4.)
Follow up: Record you rself reading the text in exercise 2.2. Practise a few times before recording. Then write
out the text again, and make notes on it, hig h lighting differences between you r pronunciation and that of
the speaker of BBC Eng lish. (Alternatively, you cou l d get a friend or teacher to make notes for you.)
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) I I
Finding out about pronunciation (1): d ictionaries
Dictionaries
Many dictionaries represent pronunciation I' lem.;:ml
using the symbols of the International Phonetic The word has 2 syllables with stress on the
Alphabet (IPA), or a similar system. From this first syllable.
you can find out about the sounds that make
up a word and how it is stressed. For example, l, lem . ;) ' neld/
the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary The word has 3 syllables with primary
(CALD) gives the pronunciations of 'lemon', (main) stress on the third syllable and
'lemonade' and 'lemon sole' ( a type of fish) as secondary stress on the first.
shown here.
It is useful to spend some time learning the IPA , lemon ' sole
symbols so that you can make use of Since this is a compound, no separate IPA
pronunciations shown in dictionaries. A full list pronunciation is shown, as this is given at
of phonemic symbols used in this book, and in 'lemon' and 'sole'. In this compound,
many dictionaries, is given on page 1 92. Section primary stress is on the second part and
El also includes some exercises to help you secondary stress is on the first syllable of the
learn the symbols. first part.
Talking dictionaries and CD-ROMs
If you don't have time to learn phonemic symbols, 'talking dictionaries' are available which will
read aloud words and definitions to you. In addition, some dictionaries come with a CD-ROM
on which you can hear words spoken. For example, CALD has a CD-ROM, including the entry
for 'kimono' shown here.
Clicking on 'UK -4),' gives
the British English
pronunciation, and on 'US
"'1' ' gives the American
English pronunciation. If
your computer has a
a long loose piece of outer clothing with very wide sleeves, traditionally worn by the Japanese
microphone, you can also
practise your pronunciation it.£,,·,14""'+
by clicking on the
kin UK04): US"'}i JP /kin! plural noun OLD-FASHIONED
microphone IP icon. family and relatives
i.."j"Ujii",L-
Pronunciation dictionaries
Pronunciation dictionaries usually include more words than general dictionaries and so can be
particularly useful for finding out how to pronounce place names, family names, brand names
and technical terms. They also give more information about variation in pr onunciation. For
example, compare the information about the pronunciation of 'kimono' from CALD given in B
with this entry from the Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 17th edition (CEPD) .
Both CALD and CEPD
give British and American
English pronunciations.
CEPD shows also that in
American English the last
vowel is usually
pronounced 1;)1 but can also
be pronounced lou/. It also
shows that the plural '-s' is
pronounced Izl.
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
Section A Getting started
Exercises
3.1 Use a d i cti o n a ry with I PA to h e l p you match the words with their pron u n ciations.
EXAMPLE a flier :->< i Iflaug/
b flower ii Iflmg/
1 a stock /st:): ki 7 a sand /srend! 13 a bear /beg/
b stalk 11 /stnki b send 11 /send! b buyer 11 /bmg/
2 a here /ing/ 8 a far /fo:/ 14 a should /Jud!
b hair 11 /beg/ b fear 11 /fIg/ b showed 11 /Jgud!
3 a stand /stAnd! 9 a leak /leIkl 15 a chin /tJm/
b stunned 11 /strend! b lake 11 /li: ki b chain 11 /tJem/
4 a tour /taug/ 10 a vOICe /V:)IS/ 16 a full /fu:V
b tower 11 /tUg/ b vICe 11 /vms/ b fool 11 /fuV
5 a turn /t3:n! 1 1 a geese /ges/ 17 a order /gudg/
b ton 11 /tAn! b guess 11 /gi:s/ b odour 11 h:dg/
6 a learn /lmn! 12 a oil hIV 18 a pond /paund!
b line 11 /l3:n! b owl 11 /auV b pound 11 /pnnd!
3.2 U n d e r l i n e the syl l a b l e i n these words a n d com pou nds w h ich you th i n k has m a i n stress. Check you r
a n swers i n a d i cti o n a ry. ( For more practi ce, see exercise 1O.1.)
EXAMPLE re lllid iate
1 tortuous 5 subterranean 9 debutante
2 methylated spirits 6 decompression chamber 10 repetitive strain injury
3 flabbergasted 7 pistachio 1 1 rotisserie
4 symbiosis 8 glitterati 12 idiolect
'A9 Which of th ese a re you not sure how to pro n o u n ce? Use the pro n u nciation g iven i n you r d i cti o n a ry
to try to work out how to say them. You ca n hea r the words pro n o u n ced on the record i n g .
3.3 For this exercise you need to use a d i cti o n a ry CD-ROM, such as the one that com es with CAW. Write
down a l ist of sou nds you fi n d d i fficult to pro n o u n ce, a n d then use the d icti o n a ry CD-ROM to fi n d
words w i t h this sou n d a n d practise t h e m . Here is a n exa m p le o f what y o u m i g h t d o .
If you have problems pro n o u n c i n g the conso n a n t
cluster Isk/, fi rst th i n k a bout how it m i g h t be spelt.
The m ost com mon way is 'sc: In the 'Sea rch ' box
type 'sc*'. Th is w i l l g ive you a l l the words beg i n n i n g
w i t h t h i s letter com b i n ation, as y o u ca n see here. 1 [cl a rough surface made of dried blood whIch forms O�E
Then l isten, repeat, and, if you have a m i crophone, skin while It IS heahnQ
Compare �
record you rself. Th en do the sa me with '*sc*', w h ich scabies
scobrous +""4H"-
scads 2 [U) a plant or anImal d,sease which causes rough areas
w i l l g ive you all the words with this letter scaffold
4*4',1111,,,,,.+
com b i nation within the word. ( Note that 'sc*' a n d
scaffolding
UI<04f US"; !19 /sk scalawClg
scald scabby
a scabby knee
scald, at scald
'*sc*' a re not a l ways pro n o u n ced Isk/.) scalding, at scald
SCOle(MEASURE) scabby potatoes
8"'N'''44''''·'*
sCllIle(S/Zf)
y
sCo!lIle(1'II.JSIC)
scole(SKIN)
'''"''"'''''''1111.
scol , at scale (Sl(lN)
scab (WORKER) UK04;-us04,"19 /Sk�b/ noun [Cl INFORMI
scaliness,
scale(COVfRING)
scaliness, at an Insulting word for a person who continues working while c
scale (COVERING) organIzation are on strike
'Wiii,;M"W*
scaly. at scale (COVERING)
scale(WAN TWH)
scale (CUM8J
scales
scabbard UK-4::- US";'- JP
scallion
scallop
AIO Follow up: What do you thi n k are the most com mon pronu nciations in British English of the fol lowing
fam i ly na mes (Beauchamp, McFadzea n), British place names (Mousehole, Towcester), and techn ica l terms
(isogloss, ozokerite)? If you a re not sure, use a pronunciation d ictionary, such as CEPD, to fi nd out.
Some of the pronu nciations may surprise you ! You can hear the words pronou nced on the record ing.
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) 13
Find i ng ou t abou t pronu nci ati on (2):
onli ne resou rces
There are many sites on the internet where you can listen to accents of English from around the
world, find examples of particular styles of speech, or find out how words are pronounced.
This unit gives just a few examples which you could explore.
Some countries broadcast radio online. If you listen to news reports, for example, you are likely
to hear the 'standard' pronunciation from that country. Try, for instance:
http://www. bbc.co . u k/radio/ from the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www.abc.net.au/streamingl from the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www. rte.ie/from RT E (Radio Teleffs Eireann) in Ireland
http://www. rsi .sglengl ish from Radio Singapore
The website http://www. pengu inradio.comlgives links to many radio stations from around the
world that broadcast online.
On some of these radio station websites, transcripts of certain recordings are available.
These might help you to understand broadcasts. Type 'transcript' into the site search box
and follow links.
It lnl You can listen to examples of British regional accents either at the BBC's
http://www. bbc.co.uk/voices/ or the British Library's
http://www. b l . uk/collections/sound-archive/accents.html
1, ...._""..,
...
1:':<'@.J A number of sites allow you to listen to samples of particular styles of speech.
For example:
at http://www.h istoryplace.com/speeches/ you can hear some famous political speeches;
at http://www. lsa . umich.edu/el i/micase/a udio/ you can hear speech in a variety of academic
contexts ( lectures, seminars, meetings, student presentations, etc . ) from the Michigan Corpus of
Academic Spoken English (MICASE) .
Some online dictionaries show the pronunciation o f words using the International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA) or some other system. These include the Cambridge Advanced Learner's
Dictionary and the Cambridge Dictionary of American English at http://dictionary.cambridge.orgl
The Miriam-Webster On line Dictionary also allows you to hear words pronounced in North
American English, at http://www. m-w.coml.
If you have a specialist area of interest or study, you may be able to find websites to help you
pronounce terminology. For example:
http://www.sa ltspri ng.comlcapewest/pron. htm gives rules on how to pronounce Biological Latin,
including taxonomic names of plants and animals;
http://www.dinosauria .comldmllnames/aeto. htm has sound files with the pronunciation of the
names of dinosaurs;
http://www.genome.gov/page.cfm ? pageID=10002096 is a 'talking glossary' of terms from the
field of Genetics. Terms are explained and you will also hear how they are pronounced.
Finally, if you have read J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books and are unsure how to pronounce
names and the made-up words you find, you can hear how to pronounce them (in North
American English) at http://www.scholastic.comlharrypotter/reference/.
14 English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
Section A Getting started
Exercises
These exercises depend on you havi n g i nternet access. It may be that you have to down load free
softwa re to l isten to som e of the materi a l .
4. 1 Visit the websites of two Eng l is h - l a n g u a g e i n ternet rad i o stations from d i fferent cou ntries. You cou l d
take two o f t h e fou r g iven i n A or l o o k for others. (The website h ttp://www. pe n gu i n ra d i o .co m/ca n
h e l p you fi n d them. ) Fi nd one recent news sto ry that you a re fa m i l i a r with that is repo rted on both
stations a n d listen ca refu l ly to the broad cast on the fi rst rad i o station. Write down a few of the key
words you hear. Now l i sten in d eta i l to the sto ry on the seco nd rad i o station a n d notice whether
th ese key words a re pro n o u n ced i n the sa me or a d i ffere nt way. What d i fferen ces do you n otice?
4.2 Go t o h ttp://ww w. b b c. co . u k/vo i ces/. Fo l l ow l i n ks t o 'Vo ices Record i ngs'. Here you ca n l isten t o voi ces
from m a ny parts of the U K. Choose one of the record i ng s by cl icki n g on a d ot on the m a p, a n d then
d o the fo l lowing :
1 Click on the name of one of the speakers under 'More clips from this interview'.
2 Read 'About the interviewee'.
3 Read the transcript. Check in a dictionary any words you don't understand.
4 Listen to the recording and follow the transcript.
S Some clips have a section on 'More about the speech in this clip'. Read this, focusing in
particular on information about pronunciation. Some dialect words, which you may not find
in the dictionary, are explained here.
6 Do the same with any other 'More clips from this interview'.
7 Go back and listen to the 'Voice clip(s)'. These don't have transcripts. How much of them
do you understand ? Do you notice features of pronunciation you observed and read about
earlier?
8 Do the same with accents from other parts of the UK by clicking on other dots on the map.
4.3 Go t o h ttp://d i cti o n a ry. ca m b ri d ge .o rg/ a n d l o o k u p t h e fol l owing words i n the Cambridge Advanced
Learner's Dictionary:
belligerent charade continuum felafel precinct sepIa
vitamin wrath
Is the usual B ritish a n d American pro n u nciation the sa me or d i ffere nt for each ? Try to work out from
the phonemic sym bols how each is pro n o u n ced. ( See Section El for advice, if necessa ry. ) If you want
to hear how th ese words a re pro n o u n ced i n N o rth American Eng l ish, g o to h ttp://www. m -w. co m/.
N otice that where more than one pro n u nciation is g iven, the most co m m o n one co mes fi rst.
4.4 Go to h ttp://www. ge n o m e . gov/pa ge .cfm ?pa ge I D=l0002096 and look up the foll owing words:
centromere monosomy nucleotide
Listen to the expla nations a n d fi nd out how they a re pro n o u n ced. Say the words after the record i n g .
Follow up: Use your search engine (such as Goog/e) t o try t o find o n e other website that g ives i nformation
about the pronunciation of terms i n a specialist area. Use the search words 'pronu nciation g u ide [specialist
area]'.
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) 15
Pronunciation in slow and fast speech ( 1 )
/;rln different contexts we change the speed at which. we speak.
'/
" We a re l i kely to spea k more . . . when we a re ca refu l ly explaining to someone what we want
slowly, for exa mple, . . . them t o d o , when w e a re ta lking t o a large a u d ience, or w h e n we
a re ta lking a bout a n u nfa m i l ia r or d ifficult topic.
We a re l i kely to spea k more . . . i n conversation, when we a re ta lking to friends or relatives, or
q u ickly, for exa m ple, . . . w h e n we a re ta lking a bout routine or fa m i l i a r topics.
In Units 5 and 6 we will introduce some of the changes in pronunciation that take place in fast
speech when compared with slow, careful speech. These include linking sounds, leaving out
sounds and changing sounds. These changes are looked at in more detail in Units 26 to 3 1 .
4Speech isbroken up into units. often with a pause between them. Within these speech units, words are
7 linked together smoothly. (For more on speech units, see Unit 32.) In fast speech in particular, these units
may be quite long and the words spoken quickly. Compare the units (marked with 1I below] inthese
examples of slow and fast speech:
Slow speech : A nurse is explaining how to make a sling:
1/ this goes under the a rm l/ and then over the shou lderl/ a l l the
timel/ m a ke su re you support the a rm l/ ta l k to the patientl/ and
fi nd out what positionl/ is most comforta ble fo r them l/
Fast speech : Th ree friends are in a Ch inese resta urant:
A: 1/ is a nyone havi n g a sta rter or notl/ o r a re we goi n g
stra i gh t t o the ma i n cou rsel/
B: 1/ I ' m goi n g to go stra i ght to the m a i n cou rse l/
C: 1/ yea h l/
B: 1/ but I m i ght have an extra portion of somet h i n gl/ you neve r kno w//
A: 1/ do they do n i ce sweets herel/
C: 1/ I t h i n k i t's j ust Iycheesl/
A: 1/ what's Iycheesl/
B: 1/ they' re the fu nny l ittle wh ite onesl/ a ren't theyl/
C: 1/ that's ri ght l/ I ' m not terribly keen on the m l/
listen again to some of the long units from the resta u ra nt conversation. Notice how the words are run
together:
1/ or a re we goi n g stra i ght to the m a i n cou rsel/
1/ but I m i ght have an e xt ra portion of somet h i n gl/
;7' Because words within units are run together, it can sometimes be difficult to understand them. However,
one or mo re word in each unit is emphasised and may be said more clearly than others (see also Units 33
and 34). It is important to focus on th ese as they usually carry the most important information in the
,
unit. listen to these speech units from the restaurant conversation and notice how the words with
syllables in large capita l letters are emphasised:
I/I' m goi n g to go STRAI G HT to the MAI N cou rsel/
1/ I t h i n k i t's just lyCHEESI/
1/ they' re the FUNny l ittle WHITE onesl/
1/ that's R I G HTI/
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
Section A Getting started
Exercises
5. 1 I n wh ich th ree of th ese situations is slow speech more l i kely?
1 A lecturer is giving details of timetable changes to a group of university students.
2 Two friends are discussing what they might do at the weekend.
3 You are giving directions to a stranger who has asked how to get to a local hospital.
4 A witness in a trial is explaining to a j ury what she saw when a robbery was taking place.
S A hairdresser and a customer are talking about their recent summer holidays.
6 Members of a family are having dinner and talking about what they have been doing during
the day.
5.2 Here a re som e l o n g speech u n its taken from fast speech. Listen t o each j ust once a n d try t o write
,A) 3 down what you h ea r.
EXAMPLE What .. gr.� .. !.jQ?l ..dQl�q.'±Qru:Qr:r.Q!!i.. g.QQ?l±..hg!£.p'g$.:t. twelve ?
1 I .......... . .. ..................................................................................................... not .
2 She ........... . . .......... before.
3 They _ well.
4 As ................................. ....................................................................... ... late.
S We ........ hours.
If you had d ifficu lties, l isten again as many times as you need, a n d then check you r answers in the Key.
5.3 Fi rst, l isten t o a n extract from a busi ness m eeti n g . The n repeat s i x s i n g l e speech u n its taken from the
A14 d iscussion. I f possible, repeat them without looking at the u n its written out below. Try to r u n the
words in the u n it smooth ly tog ether.
1 II so why did you go for Jensensll
2 II and we've done business with them beforell
3 II and they've still got a pretty good reputation/I
4 II that the product isn't up to scratch/I
S II they've been pretty poor/I
6 II shall I contact the lawyers about it/I
5.4 Listen t o these speech u n its taken from t h e sa me
conversation. U n d e r l i n e the one word, o r someti mes
two words, that a re e m p hasised i n these u n its.
EXAMPLE II to � the machinesll
1 II but that was years agoll
2 II but the management hasn't changed at a Wl
3 II to be honest/I
4 II we ought to be looking for a different supplier/I
S II we'll leave that to you/I
Now check you r a n swers i n the Key a n d then say the speech u n its a l o u d . Try to r u n the words i n the
unit smooth ly tog eth er a n d e m p hasise the u n d e r l i ned words.
Follow up: Record yourself reading a l l parts of the business meeting extract used in exercises 5.3 and 5.4
(or act it out in a g roup of three) . Try to d ivide it i nto speech u nits as in the recording, making sure you ru n
the words i n the u nits smoothly together. In the Key you w i l l fi nd the extract with the speech u nits marked.
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) 17
Pronunciation in slow and fast speech (2)
4
,
1n fast speech sounds that are found in words spoken slowly maybe missed out Listen and noti ce how
/ the highlighted sounds are missed out in this conversation extract:
the two It I sounds
Idl is missed out
merge into one
I t occu rred to me that Terry hadn't been in tou ch fo r a ges, so I tho u gh t I o u ght to phone
h im . Wel l , j ust then the re w as a rin g on the front door and the re he was.
Ihl is missed out It I is missed out It I is missed out Ihl is missed out
For more details, see Units 8, 9, 29 and 30.
A'As well as sounds, syllables or whole words that we would expect to hear in slow speech may be reduced
/ or missed out in fast speech. listen and notice how the highlighted parts are reduced or missed out in
this conversation:
'it's' is reduced to Isl 'are' is missed out
( is missed out �Come on, it's time to go. What a re you l ookin g fo r?
'I'
the vowel/'dl
B: I don't su ose ou 've seen my glasses?
is missed out and
A: Have you lost them a ga in?
the word is said with
B : You'd be tte r carry on. I ca n ' t go w ith o u t my glasses.
one syllable
'I' is missed out
For more getails, see Units 27-30.
4 Sounds in wo rd s may also change in fast speech compared with how they are said in slow speech or how
7 they are represented in dictionaries. listen and notice how the sound /t/ cha ng es in the highlighted pa rts
of this conversation:
1nl is missed out
and It I is said like Ipl
before Iml
A: I want you to pa int my kitchen.
It I is said as a 'glottal
B : What colou r? stop' (a sound made by stopping
=--== =- ---------J
A: A I i h t gre-=-
en . the flow of air by closing the
B: R ight. vocal cords)
For more details, see Units 26 and 29.
It is not essential to make these changes in your own speech in order to be understood, although
they can help your speech sound more natural and fluent.
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
Section A Getting started
Exercises
6. 1 Liste n to these senten ces as many times as you need. Fi rst you w i l l h ea r them sa id slowly a n d
A19 ca refu l ly and then at a more normal speed for conversation. I nd i cate the d i fferences you h ea r i n the
'conversation' versions.
a 'we-ak' +ornt It I ;s rn.;sse-J It I ;s rn.isse-J
uj ;)IJ I'I.O-+- Iju:1> Oll-+- Oll-+-
EXAMPLE l
y u couldn' ! giVe me a !if( could y'ou?
IV:;: prol'l.olll'l.ce-J �Id31I ... Ij l J <''1') is prol'l.olll'l.ce-J
(as il'l. arn.')
like- Ibl
1 Has he been to see you smce Saturday ?
Do you mind moving
2 I asked her for the best tickets they'd got left.
along a bit?
3 Do you mind movmg along a bit?
Now check you r a n swers i n the Key.
6.2 Listen to th ese conversations as m a ny times as you n eed a n d fi l l in the spa ces. How is the
AlO pro n u nciation of each m i ssi n g word d i fferent from its slow for m ?
doesn't 'n' is said like ' rn '
1 A: Rick .
/, \
dp..���.. ± ....... take . . . ........ .9.�? ... ..... ... bit of interest. He
. .
B: That . ..... ........ terrible. Why ... ..... . . ... . .. do that?
A: Maybe ... ...... jealous .... she's ..... ... so well.
2 A: . ............... know ........... ........................ .. coming?
B: Everyone ........... Cathy.
A: What time ... they be here ?
B: .... S I X .
.
3 A: ......................................... ... ......................... ......... coming out . ............ a walk ?
u
B: Okay. . ........ :..... my coat .
A: .......... hat . ...
.......... gloves, too.
Now check you r a n swers in the Key.
Follow up: Record yourself sayi ng the sentences in exercise 6.1. First say
them slowly and carefu lly, and then at normal speed. Then compare
what you said with what you heard in the recording.
English Pronunciation i n Use (Advanced) 19
p l ay, g row, s p l a s h
Consonant clusters at th e beg inning of word s
A2fc Combinations of consonant sounds (consonant clusters) can be difficult to pronounce for some
learners. English words can start with a vowel, or one, two or three consonant sounds.
Compare:
am ram cram scram
Here are the possible two-consonant clusters at the start of English words:
/p/ /t/ /k/ /hi /d/ /9 / /m/ /n/ /f/ /v/ /8/ /f/ /h/
+/1/ play x class b l a ck x gla ss x x fly x x x x
+/r/ p ray tri p cri m e b ro w n d ro p grow x x fry x th ree s h ri n k x
+ /w/ x tw i n s q ueen x dwell x x x x x x x x
+/j / p u re tu be q ue u e bea u ty d u e x m usi c n ews few view x x h u ge
In addition, the following two-consonant clusters are possible with Is/:
slow
III
sphere sWim
/f/ Iwl
snow 1nl Ipl spot
Imf It!
smile star
/kI
sky
All Here are the possible three-consonant clusters at the start of English words:
/sp/ /st/ /sk/
+ /11 splash x x
+ /r/ spray s tra w s crea m
+ /w/ x x sq uea k
+ /j / x s tew skewer
& Note: Some consonant clusters ma rked i n A and B a re used i n a few u ncommon
x
words, for exa mple· sch wa (the name of the sound /;,f) and people's names. Is it faree?
In order to be understood clearly you should -
• avoid changing a consonant in a cluster to a different consonant.
For example: saying 'present' for 'pleasant' or saying 'queue' for 'crew'
• avoid leaving out one of the consonant sounds.
For example: saying 'poblem' for 'problem' or saying 'foo' for 'few'
• avoid adding an extra vowel between consonants.
For example: saying 'tewin' for 'twin' or saying 'faree' for 'free'
• avoid adding an extra vowel at the beginning of the word.
For example: saying 'estop' for 'stop' or saying 'escream' for 'scream'
You can find more practice of consonant clusters at the beginning of words in Section E2 .
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
Section B Pronunciation of words and phrases
Exercises
7.1 You w i l l hear som e short defi n itions. After each d efi n ition, press 'pause', tick (.r) the word you t h i n k
A2� is be i n g defi ned a n d say it a l o u d . When you p ress 'play' aga i n you w i l l hea r the correct answer.
Repeat it a n d then conti n u e i n the sa me way.
EXAMPLE 'to cook in hot oil' fly I fir
1 string I sting 3 strain I stain S slum I sum 7 slip I sip 9 scare I square
2 clean I queen 4 Spain I sprain 6 pain I plain 8 kick I quick 10 grass I glass
7.2 You w i l l hear som e words. After each word , press 'pause' a n d u nderl i n e the correct defi n ition. When
Al4 you press 'pl ay' a g a i n you w i l l hear the correct a n swer.
EXAMPLE 'stray' to not leave I to move away from the intended route
1 to produce a continuous light I to increase in size
2 to shake with fear I a sweet food
3 to move through water I attractively thin
4 dried stalks of wheat I another word for shop
S watery liquid in your mouth I to divide into two
6 activity done for enjoyment I to give money for something
7 a border around a picture I burning gas
8 not mixed I not rich
7.3 Listen a n d u n d e r l i n e the sentence you hea r.
Al5 EXAMPLE The band isn't very popular. I The brand isn't very popular.
1 Just across the road. I Just cross the road.
2 The cat was following its tail. I The cat was following its trail.
3 Before that I had tried a motorbike. I Before that I had to ride a motorbike.
4 It's Michael's twin. I It's Michael's to win.
S He fell into a deeper sleep. I He fell into a deep sleep.
6 I thought it was a terrible slight ( = insult). I I thought it was a terrible sight.
7 Just blow your nose. I Just below your nose.
8 This one is a pear. I This one is spare.
Now check you r a n swers in the Key. Th en l i sten a g a i n a n d repeat the senten ces.
7.4 Try b u i l d i n g words by a d d i n g conso n a n t sou n ds. Sta rt with a vowel sou nd , a n d then a d d one
conso n a n t sou n d at a time before o r after the vowel, i n a ny o rder, to build new words.
(Note : (i) a consonant sou n d may consist of more than one letter; (iil don't add a ny new vowel sounds.)
Then say a l o u d the words you have written . For exa m pl e :
lel/: ache � lake � flake � flakes (2 consonants before the vowel and 2 after)
lall: rye � rife � rifle � trifle � trifles (2 before and 3 after)
li:/: sea � seem � scheme � scream � screamed ( 3 before and 2 after)
Now try with other vowels. You m i g ht fi n d it h e l pfu l to use a d i cti o n a ry. (Note : There is a l ist of
vowels on page 1 92.)
Follow up: Are there a ny consonant clusters at the beg i n n i ng of words that you have special problems with?
Collect a list of words that sta rt with these, record you rself saying them, and l isten. Repeat this often.
See U n it 3, exercise 3 for a n idea on how to collect words sta rting with a particu lar consonant cluster.
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) 21