The Sound of English Free Sample 2

Index
1 Introduction
2 How to Use the Book
3 IPA Chart
Chapter/ Sound
Sounds Spelling & Sound
Page Comparison
Intro 5-6 Consonants

-
9 ‘ghoti’ Introduction
4 - 15 7-8 Vowels 10 Schwa
1 17-18 Fricative
19-20  vs ð 21-22 < s > Endings
16 - 27 Consonants
2 29-30 Long Vowels 31-32  vs i: 33-34 Silent < r >

28 - 39
3 41-42 Plosive 43-44 Glottal Stop

45-46 < ed > Endings
40 - 51 Consonants vs /t/
4 53-54 Short Vowels

-
56 < h > Function
52 - 63 55 /h/ Fricative 57-58 Silent Letters
5 65-66 Approximant 67 Weak  vs 

69-70 < oo >
64 - 75 Consonants 68 Weak  vs i
6 77-80 Diphthong
- 81-82< o >
76 - 87 Vowel Sounds
7 89-90 Nasal
91-92  vs g 93-94 < a >
88 - 99 Consonants
8 101-102 Affricate 103-104 Long vs

105-106 Contractions
100 - 111 Consonants Short Vowels
112 -130 Answer Key

131-132 Glossary
133 Acknowledgements & Further Reading
Structure Intonation Postscript
11 Function / Content 13 Patterns

15 IPA
12 Schwa Function 14 Usage
23-24 Schwa Function 25-26 Sentence Stress &

27 Homographs
Words Tonic Syllable
35-36 2 Syllable Words 37-38 Wh- Questions 39 Homophones
47-48 3 Syllable Words 49-50 Yes/No Questions 51 Silent Syllables
59-60 Joining 61-62 Prominence 62-63 Verb/Noun Stress
71-72 Vowel Joining 73-74 Question Tags 75 ‘have’
83-84 Compounds 85-86 High-fall 87 ‘do’
95-96 Double Stress

97-98 Fall-rise 99 ‘are’
Compounds
107-108 Stress Shift 109-110 Adverbials 111 Phrasal Verbs

Introduction
English is a confusing language to pronounce. Its 19 vowel and 25 consonant sounds,

joining rules, weak forms, stress and intonation all present challenges. Perhaps the most
confusing aspect of all is the way written English can appear so different to its spoken
form.
This course is designed to take the student step by step through all of these tricky areas
of speech. Using clear explanations, drills and exercises, ‘The Sound of English’ is
practical, fun and designed to gradually build accuracy and confidence.
In particular the course teaches:
• How to pronunce every vowel and consonant sound of English.

• IPA (Phonetic) symbols for every sound.
• The rules of joining and sound selection.
• Weak/strong structures of speech.
• Accurate use of intonation patterns and stress.
• Advanced listening skills.
The course is ideal for those who have a high intermediate to proficient level of English,
no previous knowledge of pronunciation or phonetics is required. The book and audio
are designed for self-study or classroom use.
Throughout the book and on all audio recordings, a neutral English accent model is
used, sometimes known as ‘Received Pronunciation’ or ‘BBC English’, so the course is
also suitable for anybody who would like to learn the sounds and structures of this
accent.
The course was written and produced at the Pronunciation Studio speech school in
London where the method was developed through years of working with students from
all over the globe; over 10,000 students having studied our courses since 2007.
You can find out more about the course including additional materials, classes and
teachers on the website www.thesoundofenglish.org. We hope you enjoy the course,
please let us know how you get on with improving your English pronunciation!
Joseph Hudson
1
IPA Symbols
 IPA is phonetic script, it shows us the sounds to pronounce rather than spelling.
 The script is very useful for improving accuracy in pronunciation.
 You will learn each sound and symbol as you progress through the course.
IPA Sound Chart
Other symbols used in IPA:
Symbol Meaning Example

 stressed syllable carpet
 secondary stressed syllable fantastic
/ / IPA marks /fæntæstk/
< > Written English marks < fantastic >
 ↗ ↗ Intonation pattern symbols. Yes
3
Answer Key
Chapter Pages
Introduction 113 - 114
1 115 - 116
2 117 - 118
3 119 - 120
4 121 - 122
5 123 - 124
6 125 - 126
7 127 - 128
8 129 - 130
112
Answer Key | Introduction
Consonant Articulation | Sounds
EXERCISE
1. f/v 2. t/d/l/n 3. m/p/b 4. k/g/ 5. /ð 6. h/
EXERCISE
- sentence 2 Who took Pauls watch uses only rounded vowels.
Introduction | Spelling & Sound

EXERCISE
1. choose 2. lose 3. played 4. author 5. said 6. put 7. gone 8. food
9. slow 10. worn 11. wall
Schwa | Spelling & Sound

- around /rand/, manner /mæn/, sailor /sel/, cactus /kækts/
- // appears in every IPA transcription (in bold above).
EXERCISE
servant persist bacon picture commit alive
jumper sublime London salad Peru structure
suggest soldier persuade combine balloon
terror cushion scripture tighten sofa Russia
Function & Content | Structure

- go and walk are stressed because they carry meaning.
- The other words shall, we, for, & a are all grammatical words used to gel the
sentence.
EXERCISE
1. Can we go for a swim in the sea?
2. Its a beautiful day in the South of England.
3. How do you want to pay for this sir?
4. Jessica Smith is required in Arrivals immediately.
5. When you get to the station, give me a call.
6. Would you like some of my carrot cake?
Schwa Function Words | Structure

- Function words pronounced with schwa in the passage: to, for, a, of, but, the,
are, there, a, have, at.
Introduction | Intonation
- i) Maybe = ↗yes ii) Definitely = yes iii) Why are you asking? = ↗yes.
EXERCISE
1.  2. ↗ 3. ↗ 4. ↗ 5.  6. ↗
113
Answer Key | Introduction
Usage | Intonation
EXERCISE
1. ATTITUDE
i) In the first version, the father is excited and interested, in the second he is
uninterested and a little rude.
ii) The fathers intonation is falling in both examples, the main difference is that he
starts from a much higher pitch in the first example. This shows more emotion. In the
second version, he starts his phrase quite low, showing disinterest.
2. IMPLICATION
i) In the first version, we understand that person B really felt the film was good. In the
second version, he is not entirely sure, he is showing reservation, we are expecting him
to say something less positive now.
ii) In the first version, person B uses falling intonation on it was good, whereas in the
second version he uses fall-rising intonation, known as an implicational fall-rise.
3. REPETITION
- The first question is asking for new information, person A does not know the answer
and uses falling intonation. The second time she asks, she already knows the answer,
she is repeating the question and for this reason uses rising intonation.
IPA | Postscript
- The IPA version shows us a silent < r >, a long vowel /:/ and a silent < a >. It also
indicates the pronunciation of the vowels // and /i/.
EXERCISE
1 autumn :tm n
2 half h:f l
3 lamb læm b
4 know n k (and w)
5 island alnd s
6 light lat gh
7 cupboard kbd p (and r)
8 write rat w
9 often fn t
10 handbag hænbæg d
114

www.thesoundofenglish.org

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Index

Intro 5-6 Consonants

2 29-30 Long Vowels 31-32  vs i: 33-34 Silent < r >

3 41-42 Plosive 43-44 Glottal Stop

4 53-54 Short Vowels

5 65-66 Approximant 67 Weak  vs 

8 101-102 Affricate 103-104 Long vs

112 -130 Answer Key

11 Function / Content 13 Patterns

23-24 Schwa Function 25-26 Sentence Stress &

35-36 2 Syllable Words 37-38 Wh- Questions 39 Homophones

47-48 3 Syllable Words 49-50 Yes/No Questions 51 Silent Syllables

59-60 Joining 61-62 Prominence 62-63 Verb/Noun Stress

71-72 Vowel Joining 73-74 Question Tags 75 ‘have’

83-84 Compounds 85-86 High-fall 87 ‘do’

95-96 Double Stress

107-108 Stress Shift 109-110 Adverbials 111 Phrasal Verbs

English is a confusing language to pronounce. Its 19 vowel and 25 consonant sounds,

In particular the course teaches:

• How to pronunce every vowel and consonant sound of English.

IPA Sound Chart

Other symbols used in IPA:

Symbol Meaning Example

Introduction | Spelling & Sound

Schwa | Spelling & Sound

Function & Content | Structure

Schwa Function Words | Structure

4 know n k (and w)

7 cupboard kbd p (and r)

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