Transcript The difficulty with pronouncing English vowels

English Pronunciation Practice
A Practical Course for Students of English
By
Wang Guizhen
Faculty of English Language & Culture
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Objectives of the Course
This course is intended to help the
students to improve their English
pronunciation, including such elements as
1) the correct pronunciation of individual
phonemes and words in English
2) the rhythmic patterns of the English language
3) patterns and functions of English intonation,
so that the students will be able to communicate
more effectively with good pronunciation and
intonation.
Course content
1. English phonemes: correct discrimination
and pronunciation
2. Stress of English words and sentences:
basic rules and functions
3. English rhythmic patterns: basic features
and functions
4. English intonation: structures, functions
and use
Textbook
《英语语音教程》
An English Pronunciation Course
王桂珍 编著
高等教育出版社
2000
Reference books
1. Cruttenden, A., Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English, Edward Arnold Limited & Foreign
Language Teaching and Research Press,
2001
2. Gimson, A.C., An Introduction to
Pronunciation of English, London: Arhold,
1970.
3. O’Connor, J. D. Better English
Pronunciation, Cambridge University Press,
1967
Assessment
1. Written Exam (30%):
Discrimination of phonemes and
the meaning of sentences, marking
of the prominence and intonation
of sentences.
2. Oral Exam (70%): Reading of
short passages and dialogues, oral
interview, etc.
English
West Germanic language
About 325 million native speakers:
Britain, 56 million
the USA, 232 million
Canada, 24 million
Australia & New Zealand 17 million
The sole official language in more
than two dozen countries
The most important language of
commerce The most widely learned
second language
General British & General American
GB GA


e









:
dance…


:
i:
i
kit, ship, bridge, milk, myth…
dress, step, neck, edge, shelf…
trap, tap, back, badge, hand…
lot, stop, sock, possible, quality …
truck, cup, suck, budge, pulse…
foot, put, bush, full, good, look…

bath, staff, brass, ask,
cloth, cough, broth, cross, long …
r nurse, hurt, lurk, burst…
fleece, speak, leave, feel, key…
GB
e
:
:

u:
a

a


:
:
:
GA
e face, tape, cake, raid, veil, steak …

palm, psalm, father, bra, spa …

thought, taught, sauce, jaw …
o
goat, soap, joke, home, know, so …
u
goose, loop, shoot, tomb, huge …
a price, ripe, write, arrive, try …
 choice, avoid, noise, join, toy …
a mouth, out, house, loud, crowd …
(r near, beer, sincere, fear …
(r square, care, fair, pear, scarce …
(r start, far, bark, carve, farm …
(r north, for, short, scorch, born …
o(r force, four, sport, porch, borne …
Find Thyself
The only problem unconsciously assumed
by all Chinese philosophers to be of any
importance is: How shall we enjoy life, and
who can best enjoy life? No perfectionism,
no straining after the unattainable, no
postulating of the unknowable; but taking
poor, mortal human nature as it is, how
shall we organize our life so that we can
work peacefully, endure nobly and live
happily?
•
Who are we? That is the first question. It is a question
almost impossible to answer. But we all agree that the busy
self occupied in our daily activities is not quite the real self.
We are quite sure we have lost something in the mere pursuit
of living. When we watch a person running about looking for
something in a field, the wise man can set a puzzle for all the
spectators to solve: what has the person lost? Someone thinks
it is a watch; another thinks it is a diamond brooch; and others
will essay other guesses. After all the guesses have failed, the
wise man who really doesn’t know what the person is seeking
after, tells the company: “I’ll tell you. He has lost some
breath.” And no one can deny that he is right. So we often
forget our true self in the pursuit of living, like a bird
forgetting its own danger in pursuit of a mantis, which again
forgets its own danger in pursuit of another prey, as is so
beautifully expressed in a parable by Chuangtse.
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
Elements of good English
pronunciation
•
•
•
•
to pronounce correctly the individual
speech sounds of English
to pronounce correctly the speech
sounds in their combinations in isolated
words as well as in sentences
to speak fluently with correct rhythm,
including the correct placement of
stresses and pauses and the transition of
sounds according to the context
to speak with appropriate intonation
according to the context
Phonemes:
Combination of sounds:
Sound linking:
Word stress:
Rhythmic pattern:
Weak forms:
Sentence stress:
Intonation:
20 vowels & 24 consonants
camera
Was all of it eaten?
present vs present
How did you manage to finish it?
fish and chips
– Were you there last night?
– No, John was there.
I beg your pardon.
I beg your pardon?
English vowels & vowel
classification
The English pure vowels can be classified according to
the height of the raised part of the tongue
the part of the tongue raised
the position of the lips
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I’ve got a week off.
Don’t rush into anything.
Wrap it in a scarf.
Your aunt is very ill.
It’s about a family on a farm.
It ends at a quarter to eleven.
The actors were all on the stage at the
end.
Put it in a big envelope and lock it up.
English vowels
Classification & Description
Three factors for the description of English vowels
I. The height of the body of the tongue –
highest point of tongue (vertical axis);
II. The front-back position of the tongue –
highest point of tongue (horizontal axis);
III. The degree of lip rounding - lip posture
front
high
mid
back
i:
u:

I
mid-high
э:
e
:
ə
mid-low
۸
æ
:
low
Vowel Charts: English Pure Vowels
ɒ
English consonants
& consonant classification
The English consonants can be classified
according to
place of articulation
manner of articulation
voicing, i.e. voiced or voiceless
Reading Practice
I shall have to try and get some
cash from our bank at
lunchtime. Then we can let
them have the money that they
want as soon as they like. What
are they asking us to pay them?
Reading Practice
I shall have to try and get
some cash from our bank at
lunchtime. Then we can let
them have the money that
they want as soon as they like.
What are they asking us to
pay them? (15/41)
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