English Pronunciation for Communication --An Introduction English Pronunciation for Communication is a compulsory course offered to the first year Engl ish majors with an aim to help the students to improve their English pronunciation and intonation for more effective communication. The students will undergo intensive training in the pronunciation of individual phonemes in English, in the rhythmic patterns of the English language and in the patterns and functions of English intonation, so that the students will be able to communicate more effectively with good pronunciation and intonation To have good pronunciation means 1)to pronounce correctly all the individual speech sounds in English; 2) to pronounce correctly the speech sounds in their combinations in isolated words as well as in sentences; 3 )to speak fluently with correct rhythm, including the correct placement of stresses and pauses and the transition of sounds according to the context; and 4)to speak with appropriate intonation accord ing to the context Before we attain good pronunciation, it is essential that we should perceive the d ifferences between the sounds in the new language. This is what the present course sets out to do: drills of listening and discrimination come before all attempts at performance. As most of the students have already gone over some practice in English pronunciation, we will concentrate on some of the difficult sounds. And as we all know that English rhythm is new and difficult to most of us, we will pay special attention to the training of the features that are required for the appropriate rhythm. The correct intonation also forms an important part of the course Such a perceptual approach requires from the learner only the minimum of theoretical knowledge. For this reason, the theoretical commentary in this course is restricted to essentials. For more detailed theoretical information, such as might be needed by an instructor or a more ad vanced student the user is referred to the following books: An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English(A C. Gimson, 1970) Better English Pronunciation (. D. O'Connor 1967) and English Phonetics and Phonology(P. roach, 1983) 1. English phonemes: discrimination and pronunciation Correct discrimination of English phonemes is the first step towards the correct pronunciation. The students need to learn the correct discrimination and pronunciation of the English consonants and vowels
1 English Pronunciation for Communication --An Introduction English Pronunciation for Communication is a compulsory course offered to the first year English majors with an aim to help the students to improve their English pronunciation and intonation for more effective communication. The students will undergo intensive training in the pronunciation of individual phonemes in English, in the rhythmic patterns of the English language and in the patterns and functions of English intonation, so that the students will be able to communicate more effectively with good pronunciation and intonation. To have good pronunciation means 1) to pronounce correctly all the individual speech sounds in English; 2) to pronounce correctly the speech sounds in their combinations in isolated words as well as in sentences; 3) to speak fluently with correct rhythm, including the correct placement of stresses and pauses and the transition of sounds according to the context; and 4) to speak with appropriate intonation according to the context. Before we attain good pronunciation, it is essential that we should perceive the differences between the sounds in the new language. This is what the present course sets out to do: drills of listening and discrimination come before all attempts at performance. As most of the students have already gone over some practice in English pronunciation, we will concentrate on some of the difficult sounds. And as we all know that English rhythm is new and difficult to most of us, we will pay special attention to the training of the features that are required for the appropriate rhythm. The use of correct intonation also forms an important part of the course. Such a perceptual approach requires from the learner only the minimum of theoretical knowledge. For this reason, the theoretical commentary in this course is restricted to essentials. For more detailed theoretical information, such as might be needed by an instructor or a more advanced student, the user is referred to the following books: An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English (A.C. Gimson, 1970), Better English Pronunciation (J.D. O'Connor, 1967) and English Phonetics and Phonology (P. Roach, 1983). 1. English phonemes: discrimination and pronunciation Correct discrimination of English phonemes is the first step towards the correct pronunciation. The students need to learn the correct discrimination and pronunciation of the English consonants and vowels
English consonants There are 24 consonants in English. These consonants may according to the following: 1)place of articulation, 2)manner of articulation, and 3) voicing, i.e. voiced or voiceless According to the place of articulation we may distinguish the following types of consonants: 1)bilabial(two lips) 2)labio-dental(top teeth/bottom lip) 3)dental (tongue tip/top teeth 4)alveolar (tongue tip/tooth ridge) 5)post-alveolar(tongue tip/hard palate 6)palate-alveolar(tongue mid/hard palate) 7 palatal (tongue mid/hard palate) 8)velar(tongue back/soft palate) 9)glottal(not localized Accord ing to the manner of articulation we can distinguish 1)stops(or plosives) 2)fricatives 3)affricates 5)lateral(s) 6)semi-vowels It will be useful if we place the english consonants on a chart. On the follow lart, the different places of articulation are arranged from left to right and the manner of articulation is arranged from top to bottom. Where there is a pair of consonants with the same place and manner of articulation but differing in whether they are voiced or voiceless, the voiceless one is placed to the top of the voiced
2 English Consonants There are 24 consonants in English. These consonants may be classified according to the following: 1) place of articulation, 2) manner of articulation, and 3) voicing, i.e. voiced or voiceless. According to the place of articulation we may distinguish the following types of consonants: 1) bilabial (two lips) 2) labio-dental (top teeth/bottom lip) 3) dental (tongue tip/top teeth) 4) alveolar (tongue tip/tooth ridge) 5) post-alveolar (tongue tip/hard palate) 6) palate-alveolar (tongue mid/hard palate) 7) palatal (tongue mid/hard palate) 8) velar (tongue back/soft palate) 9) glottal (not localized) According to the manner of articulation we can distinguish: 1) stops (or plosives) 2) fricatives 3) affricates 4) nasals 5) lateral(s) 6) semi-vowels It will be useful if we place the English consonants on a chart. On the following chart, the different places of articulation are arranged from left to right and the manner of articulation is arranged from top to bottom. Where there is a pair of consonants with the same place and manner of articulation but differing in whether they are voiced or voiceless, the voiceless one is placed to the top of the voiced
of articulation Bilabial Labio- Dental Alveolar Palato- Palatal VelarGlotal Manner ofarticulathen Dental alveolar Plosive p Fricative Affricate d Lateral Approximant CONSONANTS Denbl alvor Postabroobr Rebofkx PabtalVelar Plain Nasal m n or Ibp treating f vast t d3 Lateral wher syabolsappar a pois, th on to the ril repress a voice d comona. Shaded areas dene artubtiw ided mpoa English vowels There are 20 vowels in English among which 12 are pure vowels and 8 are diphthongs. A diphthong is a glide from one vowel to another within one syllabi The English pure vowels can be classified according to I)the height of the raised part of the tongue, 2)the part of the tongue raised
3 Place of articulation Manner of articulation Bilabial LabioDental Dental Alveolar Palatoalveolar Palatal Velar Glotal Plosive p b t d k Fricative f v s z h Affricate t d Nasal m n Lateral l Approximant w r j English Vowels There are 20 vowels in English among which 12 are pure vowels and 8 are diphthongs. A diphthong is a glide from one vowel to another within one syllable. The English pure vowels can be classified according to: 1) the height of the raised part of the tongue, 2) the part of the tongue raised
The chart in the textbook is often used to describe the English pure vowels. In the chart, the front vowels are to the left, and the back vowels to the right, the close vowels are upmost and the unrounded ones( See textbook ). The chart below is also a description of the English pure vowel a open ones at the bottom. Those in the circle are rounded vowels while those in the square F2(Bark (Bark PoQ bit xbool F1(Hz) 0:caught bird butter Hot fast BRITISH ENGLISH Data: Deterding 1997-g00 300025002000 According to the classification, /i/ is a close, front and unrounded vowel, /u: a close, back and rounded vowel, //an open, front unrounded vowel and// an open, back and rounded vowel The eight English diphthongs can be divided into three groups: three with a glide towards /6/ (et/, /at/, /s+/, two with a glide towards //(/e/, /a@n), and three with a glide towards /l (B/, ler/, /p/). The first element of an English Diphthong is strong, clear and distinct. The second element is rather weak and uncle 2. Stress of english words and sentences: basic rules and functions The students need to learn the concept about words stress and sentence stress In some languages, every sy llable is given about the same length while in others, syllables vary in length. In English, strong beats are called stress In words of more than one syllable. one of them will receive more stress than the others. Stressed syllables are those that are marked in the dictionary as stressed Stressed syllables s are usua ly longer, louder, and higher in pitch
4 3) the position of the lips. The chart in the textbook is often used to describe the English pure vowels. In the chart, the front vowels are to the left, and the back vowels to the right, the close vowels are upmost and the open ones at the bottom. Those in the circle are rounded vowels while those in the square are unrounded ones (See textbook). The chart below is also a description of the English pure vowels. According to the classification, /i:/ is a close, front and unrounded vowel, /u:/ a close, back and rounded vowel, // an open, front unrounded vowel and / / an open, back and rounded vowel. The eight English diphthongs can be divided into three groups: three with a glide towards // (/e/, /a/, //), two with a glide towards /☺/ (/☺/, /a☺/), and three with a glide towards // (//, /e/, /☺/). The first element of an English Diphthong is strong, clear and distinct. The second element is rather weak and unclear. 2. Stress of English words and sentences: basic rules and functions The students need to learn the concept about words stress and sentence stress. In some languages, every syllable is given about the same length while in others, syllables vary in length. In English, strong beats are called stress. In words of more than one syllable, one of them will receive more stress than the others. Stressed syllables are those that are marked in the dictionary as stressed. Stressed syllables are usually longer, louder, and higher in pitch
In English, stressed syllables are usually long sy lables with clear vowel sounds The word"banana", for example, has 3 syllables. Syllable 1 is not stressed and so is short. Syllable 2 is stressed and so is long with a clear vowel sound Syllable 3 is not stressed and so is also short In conclusion, stressed syllables are strong syllables and unstressed syllables are weak syllables. Stressed syllables are usually long, have a pitch change and have full vowel sounds while unstressed syllables are short and often have a reduced vowel In an English utterance, stressed words give information to the listener unstressed words join the information words together. Correct pronunciation stressed and unstressed words is thus extremely important for effective communication in english Information words in a sentence are usually nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs They give information about who, what, when, where, why, and how. They express the main idea or content of the phrase or sentence. They carry the message and therefore usually stressed. Unstressed words are usually function words like articles, pronouns, possessives, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, and conjunctions. These words connect the information words to form grammatical sentences If you stress all the words in an utterance, you may sound unpleasant or even cause misunderstand ing because you are giving too much information, and English speakers usually stress all words only when they are impatient or angry 3. English rhythmic patterns: basic features and functions The students need to learn about the concept of the rhythmic patterns in English Correct pronunciation of the individual English sounds is important in communication, but the way the sounds are organized is often more crucial for understanding. The rhythm of English, for example, is one of the two major organizing structures that native speakers rely on to process speech Rhythm can be found everywhere in life: the sound of a clock, the beating of the heart, the strokes of a swimmer, and of course in poetry and music. But rhythm in language is less familiar because it is less obvious. The rhythm of a language is characterized by the timing pattern of successive syllables. In some languages, every syllable is given about the same length while in others, syllables vary in length. In English, strong beats are called stress -the heart of the rhythmic pattern Every language in the world has its own rhythmic patterns. English is very different from Chinese in its rhythmic patterns. From what we learned in the previous
5 In English, stressed syllables are usually long syllables with clear vowel sounds. The word "banana", for example, has 3 syllables. Syllable 1 is not stressed and so is short. Syllable 2 is stressed and so is long with a clear vowel sound. Syllable 3 is not stressed and so is also short. In conclusion, stressed syllables are strong syllables and unstressed syllables are weak syllables. Stressed syllables are usually long, have a pitch change and have full vowel sounds while unstressed syllables are short and often have a reduced vowel sound. In an English utterance, stressed words give information to the listener and unstressed words join the information words together. Correct pronunciation of stressed and unstressed words is thus extremely important for effective communication in English. Information words in a sentence are usually nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. They give information about who, what, when, where, why, and how. They express the main idea or content of the phrase or sentence. They carry the message and therefore usually stressed. Unstressed words are usually function words like articles, pronouns, possessives, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, and conjunctions. These words connect the information words to form grammatical sentences. If you stress all the words in an utterance, you may sound unpleasant or even cause misunderstanding because you are giving too much information, and English speakers usually stress all words only when they are impatient or angry. 3. English rhythmic patterns: basic features and functions The students need to learn about the concept of the rhythmic patterns in English. Correct pronunciation of the individual English sounds is important in communication, but the way the sounds are organized is often more crucial for understanding. The rhythm of English, for example, is one of the two major organizing structures that native speakers rely on to process speech. Rhythm can be found everywhere in life: the sound of a clock, the beating of the heart, the strokes of a swimmer, and of course in poetry and music. But rhythm in language is less familiar because it is less obvious. The rhythm of a language is characterized by the timing pattern of successive syllables. In some languages, every syllable is given about the same length while in others, syllables vary in length. In English, strong beats are called stress -- the heart of the rhythmic pattern. Every language in the world has its own rhythmic patterns. English is very different from Chinese in its rhythmic patterns. From what we learned in the previous