CONTENTS

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Preface

English Pronunciation Made Simple: An Introductory Course for Students of English is designed to help first-year students acquire correct articulation, practise rhythm and basic intonation patterns of the English language. The book is an attempt to fill a real gap in the materials available on practical phonetics.

The bulk of the theoretical material on English practical phonetics presented in the manual has been used for many years in teaching first-year students and has, in the authors’ opinion, passed the test of time.

In preparing the manual for publication, the authors have enlarged the original material by including exercises in practising English articulation and intonation, the list of tongue twisters, preparatory tests and a list of phonetic and grammar terms with transcription.

The material presented has been developed for use in the classroom as well for students working alone.

The manual concentrates on elements of pronunciation which help students to overcome difficulties in acquiring English pronunciation, understand and be understood in English as well as develop a competence for effective speaking.

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Key to phonemic and other symbols

Vowels

Introductory Corrective Course

Academic Thematic Syllabus

NOTES ON ENGLISH PHONETICS

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics, which deals with the investigation of the sound means of a certain language from the point of view of their articulation, acoustic qualities and semantics.

The phoneme is the smallest linguistic unit, which is capable of differentiating the meaning and grammar forms of words.

Phonemes are elements of language. The number of them is quite definite for every separate language. In British English there are 44 phonemes: 20 vowel phonemes and 24 consonant ones. In speech they manifest themselves in the form of phonemic variants or allophones.

The allophone is a material representation of the phoneme in speech. They appear in connected speech as a result of assimilation or reduction or due to the individual speech habits. The number of allophones in a language is unlimited.

Phonetic transcription is a sort of phonetic alphabet, a system of symbols in which every phoneme is supposed to have its own symbol. It helps in learning a foreign language.

THE ORGANS OF SPEECH

In learning a foreign language as a speciality it is necessary to know in detail the structure and function of the speech apparatus. The organs of speech are as follows:

1.The nasal cavity.

2.The mouth cavity.

3.The pharyngal cavity (the pharynx).

4.The tongue: the blade of the tongue with the tip; the front of the tongue; the back of the tongue; the root of the tongue.

5.The root of the mouth: the alveoli (the teeth ridge); the hard palate; the soft palate; the uvula.

6.The teeth: the upper teeth; the lower teeth.

7.The lips: the upper lip; the lower lip.

8.The larynx.

9.The vocal cords.

10.The windpipe.

11.The lower jaw.

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