Perfecting Your English Pronunciation wi - Cameron, Susan.pdf

Praise forSusan Cameron andPerfecting Your EnglishPronunciation

“In my experience, there is no onemore insightful and profoundlygifted. Students under her tutelageare radically transformed and earnthe right to be competitive in thetheater.”

Robert Lupone

Director, MFA Program, The NewSchool for Drama,

The New School University

“Susan sets a new standard forexcellence in the field of ESLpronunciation, which is available toall who train with her method.”

Dr. Pamelia Phillips

Director of Professional Program,CAP21,

and author of Singing for Dummies

“Susan worked with my twoprincipal actresses in Snow Flowerand the Secret Fan. She did accentreduction with them and helped

them say their dialogue with morefluency. She was an experiencedand creative coach.”

Wayne Wang

Film director, The Joy Luck Club,Maid In Manhattan, and Smoke

“This is by far the best instructionalvideo for pronunciation and speechimprovement in American Englishon the market today—her methoddelivers!”

Bettina Anagnostopoulos

Manager of Corporate Language

Training for a global relocationfirm

“Whether you are a nonnativeEnglish-speaking business personor a native English speaker with anaccent seeking career advancement,polishing up your speech withSusan Cameron’s technique shouldbe at the top of your to-do list.”

Junko Carter

Director of Strategic Alliances,Rhode Island School of Design

“It would have been very difficultto accomplish what I did in my

career in the U.S. without SusanCameron’s lessons.”

Taro Minami, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Medicine,

Brown University, Alpert MedicalSchool

id="1T140">For all my students, past, present,and future,andin memory of my father, Harold T.MacDonald,who instilled in me a passion forthe English language

Copyright © 2012 by SusanCameron. All rights reserved.Except as permitted under theUnited States Copyright Act of1976, no part of this publicationmay be reproduced or distributed in

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART ONE GETTINGSTARTED

ONE Retraining the articulationmuscles

The articulators of speech

DVD exercises

TWO The International PhoneticAlphabet

Introduction to the consonantsounds

Introduction to the vowel sounds

PART TWO THE DIFFICULTSOUNDS OF ENGLISH

THREE The consonant th (θ/ð)

The th sound defined

Step 1: Feeling the placement ofθ/ð

Step 2: Hearing the placement ofθ/ð

Step 3: Applying the placement ofθ/ð

Sentences: θ/ð

Sentences: θ/ð vs. t/d

FOUR The consonant r

The r sound defined

Step 1: Feeling the placement of r

Step 2: Hearing the placement ofr

Step 3: Applying the placement ofr

Sentences: r

Sentences: r vs. l

FIVE The consonant l

The l sound defined

Step 1: Feeling the placement of l

Step 2: Hearing the placement ofl

Step 3: Applying the placement ofl

Sentences: l

SIX The consonant ng (η)

The η sound defined

Step 1: Feeling the placement ofη

Step 2: Hearing the placement ofη

Step 3: Applying the placement ofη

Sentences: η

Sentences: η vs. n

SEVEN The consonants b, v, and

kindle:pos%3Afid%3A0015%20easy%2C%20once%20you%20learn%20the%20difference%20in%20tongue%20placement-s.%3Aoff%3A0000000412

w

The b, v, and w sounds defined

Step 1: Feeling the placement ofb, v, and w

Step 2: Hearing the placement ofb, v, and w

Step 3: Applying the placement ofb, v, and w

Sentences: b vs. v< Sentences: vvs. w

EIGHT The consonant j or g ( )

The sound defined

Step 1: Feeling the placement of

Step 2: Hearing the placement of

Step 3: Applying the placement of

Sentences:

Sentences: vs. ">NINE The vowel Ι

The Ι sound defined

Step 1: Feeling the placement of Ι

Step 2: Hearing the placement ofΙ

Step 3: Applying the placement ofΙ

Sentences: Ι

Sentences: Ι vs. i

TEN The vowel e

The e sound defined

Step 1: Feeling the placement of e

Step 2: Hearing the placement ofe

Step 3: Applying the placement ofe

Sentences: e

ELEVEN The vowel

The sound defined




Sentences:

Sentences: vs. e

Sentences: vs. a

TWELVE The vowels of r ( and)

The sounds defined




Sentences: vs.

THIRTEEN The vowel Λ

The Λ sound defined

Step 1: Feeling the placement ofΛ

Step 2: Hearing the placement ofΛ

Step 3: Applying the placement ofΛ

Sentences: Λ

Sentences: Λ vs. a

FOURTEEN The vowel

The was confused …

sound defined

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of

Step 2: Hearing theplacement of

Step 3: Applying the

placement of

Sentences:

Sentences: vs. u

FIFTEEN The vowel

The sound defined



Step 3: Applying theplacement of

Sentences:

Sentences: vs.

SIXTEEN The vowels and

The and sounds defined

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of vs.

Step 2: Hearing the

placement of vs.

Step 3: Applying theplacement of vs.

Sentences:

Sentences:

Sentences: vs.

PART THREE THERHYTHMS OF ENGLISH

SEVENTEEN Syllable stresswithin words

Noun and verb variants

The principle of vowelreduction

Suffix spelling patterns thataffect syllable stress

Sentences

EIGHTEEN Word stresswithin sentences

The rhythm of Englishspeech

Weak forms

Contrasting operative andinoperative words

Speaking in phrases andclauses

Intonation or pitch variance

PART FOUR PUTTING ITALL TOGETHER

NINETEEN Marking abusiness speech

How to prepare for apresentation

Step 1: Marking difficultsounds

Step 2: Marking operativeand inoperative words

Further practice

Scoring your presentations

APPENDIX A Prefixes,

suffixes, and common wordendings with Ι

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the manypeople who helped make this book,DVD, and CD set a reality. I amindebted to McGraw-Hill, andespecially to my wonderful editor,Holly McGuire, for guiding methrough the process of publication. Iam eternally grateful to mycolleagues, who have taught me somuch and who continue to inspireme daily, especially Dr. PamPhillips, Patricia Fletcher, DeborahHecht, and Nova Thomas.

For the text of the book, I thank

Patricia Fletcher and NickCianfrogna for their editingsuggestions and input. Thanks, too,to those who helped me in the earlywriting, especially Sara Wolski,literary consultant extraordinaire;my sister Meg MacDonald, forediting support; Keith Buhl, forlending me his IPA font; DiegoGalan, for assistance with thebusiness text in Part Four; andTheodora P. Loukas, for compilingand typing the numerous word lists.

I am grateful to the talented peoplewho helped create the DVD andCDs: Theodora P. Loukas, producer

and director; Maggie Mei Lin,filmographer and editor; and CarlosCano, Chih Hua Yeh, Wayne Liu,Dimitri Letsios, and Angelo Niakas.Special thanks to Anne Goulet, forthe “Fred” artwork; Aaron Jodion,for the DVD music; and Eric Maltz,for editing and mix are the same inboth columns "http://www.w

Introduction

Fred skipped lunch that Mondayafternoon. It wasn’t because he wasplanning to leave the office earlyfor his much anticipated first datewith Carla, or that he was savinghis appetite for their 7:15 p.m.dinner reservation at the hot newFrench bistro in the West Village. Itwasn’t even because of the extraserving of bacon he’d had atbreakfast.

Fred skipped lunch because hisstomach was churning, his pulsewas racing, and his thoughts had

begun to jumble. The CEO ofFred’s company had flown into thecity for a managerial meeting todiscuss downsizing at the corporatelevel, and in an afternoon pepperedwith presentations, Fred wasscheduled to speak first.

Fred was prepared. He was excitedabout the innovative cost-cuttingmethods he had devised. HisPowerPoint slides were exquisite,his handouts polished, and hispresentation of both was wellrehearsed. But there was aproblem: Fred had to deliver hisspeech in English, and English

wasn’t Fred’s native tongue.Although Fred’s expertise wasclear, his pronunciation was not. Heworried that if his words were notcompletely understood, hisremarkable contribution would beundervalued.

Sound familiar? If you have pickedup this book, it probably does.

Every day, millions of businessprofessionals like you report tojobs dreading the possibility of notbeing understood. This has nothingto do with talent, skill, or advancedknowledge of the subject; it is

because you must speak in theinternational language of English,and as a nonnative speaker, youhave never learned precisepronunciation. This isunderstandable: When learningEnglish as a second language, moststudents are taught primarilythrough reading and writing. Whatmany ESOL classes do notemphasize, however, is that Englishis a nonphonetic language—itsspelling patterns often seem to havelittle resemblance to itspronunciation. At best, this ispuzzling; at worst, it can costtalented individuals their jobs.

Consider the words stop, go, andother; all three are spelled with theletter o, but each is pronouncedwith a different vowel sound. Thus,while you may be fluent in English—even a master of vocabulary—speaking English clearly andnaturally may be difficult. You mayalso have been influenced by yourown ESOL teachers’ less-than-perfect pronunciation skills.

Compounding this difficulty is thefact that most languages do not havesome of the sounds used in English.You may approximate these sounds,is a front vowel: For both sounds,

the tip of the tongue rests against thelower teeth and it is the arch in thefront of the tongue that determinesthe phoneme. The difference in thearch is minuscule—about one-eighth of an inch between the two.The17">Many Asian ESOL speakers havefound success with the PerfectingYour English Pronunciationmethod. In September 1993, Ireceived a telephone call from adiplomat with the Japaneseconsulate, asking if I might helpPrime Minister Morihiro Hosokawawith his English pronunciation: Hewanted to be the first Japanese

prime minister ever to address theGeneral Assembly of the UnitedNations in English. Of course, Iagreed, and had the honor both tomeet and work with the primeminister on his pronunciation andintonation. His English wasexcellent, and his attention to thenuances of pronunciationexceptional. His address before theGeneral Assembly was, indeed,quite impressive.

Although few of us have to performon such a public platform, excellentpronunciation is a valuable asset—indeed, a necessity—in any career.

I have had the honor to work withmany professionals like you, who,while mastering the skills andknowledge needed to excel in theirfields, do not have a clearunderstanding of the natural soundsand rhythms of English. Forexample, a brilliant Chinesecorporate executive for AmericanExpress had been repeatedlyoverlooked for promotion becausehis English pronunciation wasunclear, and he was oftenmisunderstood in meetings and onconference calls. After we workedwith the Perfecting Your EnglishPronunciation method, he

understood exactly which soundswere difficult for him and how tocorrect them—and was able toconduct meetings with ease. Shortlythereafter, he received thepromotion he deserved.

I am a strong advocate of diversityin the workplace, and the last thing Iwant to do is to make all people“sound alike.” Many clients haveexpressed the fear that, in workingon accent modification, they willlose their sense of identity, sincetheir speech is a reflection of whothey are as individuals and asrepresentatives of their own

particular cultures. I completelyunderstand this concern, and Iwould never advocate nor attempt ahomogenization of a global businesscommunity. Rather, I am pursuingthe opposite result: The goal of thePerfecting Your EnglishPronunciation method is not toreduce the appearance of ethnicity,but to offer individuals the option ofspeaking clearer Global English (or“Business English,” that is, Englishwithout the idioms of nativespeakers). This showcases eachperson’s unique identity and allowsexpertise to shine through.

I have coached thousands of clientsfrom all over the world—fromgeographical areas and cultures asdiverse as Asia (Japan, India,Korea, China, Hong Kong,Thailand, and Singapore); SouthAmerica (Venezuela, Argentina,Brazil, Chile, and Peru); Hispaniccultures, such as Puerto Rico, theDominican Republic, and Mexico;Europe (France, Germany,Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Italy,Greece, all countries in the BritishIsles, Russia, and other EasternEuropean countries, includingHungary, the Czech Republic,Poland, Romania, Albania, Estonia,

Turkey, Armenia, Serbia, andCroatia); and many Middle Easterncountries, including Israel andLebanon. From this large crosssection of students, I have identifiedthe 14 difficult sounds and groupsof sounds of English pronunciationfor all nonnative speakers. And aremade very close to 1s. thePerfecting Your EnglishPronunciation method of accentmodification has never failed.

Part One introduces the physicalplacement of sound and themusculature used in articulation.Many other languages rely heavily

on the back of the tongue toarticulate sounds; by contrast, mostsounds in English are formed at thefront of the mouth, using the tip ofthe tongue and the musculature ofthe lips for consonant placement.You may have trouble with Englishpronunciation because of excessivetension in the back of your tongue,as well as lack of muscledevelopment in the tip of yourtongue and lips. The good news isthat this problem is easilyovercome by using the exercisesdescribed in Chapter One. Think ofit as your mouth going to the gymfor 10 minutes every day. These

exercises are also demonstrated onthe accompanying DVD.

Also in Part One, we introduce thesystem of phonetics, theInternational Phonetic Alphabet,and provide an overview of the 48sounds, or phonemes, of the Englishlanguage.

Part Two forms the core of thisbook, with one chapter devoted toeach of the 14 phonemes and groupsof phonemes that you may finddifficult to pronounce. Each sound’sprecise anatomical placement isdescribed in the text, then

demonstrated on the DVD. You willneed a hand mirror to check for thecorrect physical placement ofsounds; a freestanding mirror isbest, since it allows free use ofyour hands to practice theexercises. The text contains tricksto perfect sound placement, such asputting a finger to your lips todiscourage excessive tightening of avowel.

CD recordings are provided to trainyour ears in the differentiation ofdifficult sounds, within both wordsand sentences. I recommend usingan audio recording device (an

inexpensive digital recorder or aniPhone or Blackberry application isperfectly suitable) to record yourpractice sessions; this allows you tocompare your own pronunciationwith that on the CD recordings.

An additional asset of this book isthat it can serve as a minipronunciation dictionary: Eachchapter contains comprehensiveword lists—in all, 8,400 of themost commonly used andmispronounced words in English,grouped by sound pattern.

Part Three of Perfecting Your

English Pronunciation has the“goodies.” It addresses the issuesof stress, intonation, and operativevs. inoperative words, whichcollectively create the rhythm ofEnglish speech. I say “goodies,”because this rhythm often seems tobe the most elusive aspect for thosestruggling with Englishpronunciation. We focus on stresswithin words, as well as stresswithin sentences (also calledintonation). Stress within words isoften dictated by suffix patterns,which explains the shifting stress inthe words démonstrate,demónstrative, and demonstrátion.

The precise rules for syllable stresswithin words as determined bysuffix patterns are explained.Operative and inoperative wordsare analyzed— those that carry theinformation in a sentence, asopposed to thosexiv" aid="4OIQ

that merely provide grammaticalstructure. Understanding thisconcept allows you to determinewhich words are stressed withinphrases, clauses, and sentences.

In Part Four, instructions areprovided on how to mark and scoreall your presentations for clearerpronunciation. Sample businesspresentations are marked forintonation and flagged for difficultsounds. Included are three casestudies featuring clients of the

Perfecting Your EnglishPronunciation method; these client

improved their pronunciation usingthis technique, and the case studiesinclude “before” and “after”recordings of their presentations onthes dramatically

TWOThe International PhoneticAlphabet

As we saw in the Introduction, thewords stop, go, and other are allspelled with the letter o, but theyhave three different vowel sounds.Over the centuries, English hasadopted so many words from otherlanguages that its spelling patternsare confusing at best, and at worstthey seem arbitrary.

In the late 19th century, a group ofBritish and French linguistsinvented the International Phonetic

Alphabet (IPA), a system thatuniquely identifies all of the sounds,or phonemes, used in humanlanguages. Each sound isrepresented by a single symbol, andconversely, each symbol representsa single sound. The linguistsadvocated that English spelling bereformed, using a phonetic alphabetto represent the exact pronunciationof words. Unfortunately for us, theylost the battle. Fortunately, theydevised a phonetic system by whichwe can precisely identifypronunciation.

The English language uses 48

sounds: 24 consonants and 24vowels (including 12 pure vowels,10 diphthongs, and twotriphthongs). A consonant is asound in which the voice, or breathstream, is interrupted or impededduring production. Consonants canbe either voiced or voiceless; if thevocal folds vibrate duringproduction, the consonant is voiced,and if they do not vibrate, theconsonant is voiceless. Allconsonants are formed by using twoof seven articulators (the lips, thetip of the tongue, the middle of thetongue, the back of the tongue, thealveolar ridge, the hard palate, and

the soft palate) either touching or inproximity to each other.

A vowel, by contrast, is anuninterrupted voiced sound. For allvowel sounds (with the exceptionof the vowels, diphthongs, andtriphthongs of r), the tongue rests onthe floor of the mouth, with its tipresting against the lower teeth, andthe arch in the tongue determines thephoneme produced.

By now, you have watched theDVD Articulation Exercises andmastered the daily warm-up. Let’smove now to the specific articulator

placement for consonant and vowelsounds.

Introduction to theconsonant sounds

Consonants can be divided into sixmajor categories: stop plosives,nasals, the lateral, fricatives,glides, and affricates. Each of theseis named for the way in which thebreath stream, or voice, is impededor interrupted while producing thesound.

Let’s review the physiology of thearticulators (see the DVD

Articulation Exercises and theillustration on Following are listsof common English words 1em;border-bottom: solid 0.02em; }.L">page 20). Just behind the upperteeth, where the gums begin, you’llfeel a small bony bump. This iscalled the alveolar ridge.Proceeding toward the back, thereis the bony roof of the mouth, alsoknown as the hard palate. Behindthis is a soft fleshy area called thesoft palate. We explored this in theinitial retraining articulationexercises; it is the area of the mouthengaged when yawning and can bemost fully sensed when forming a k,

g, or ng sound. The tongue can bedivided into three distinct areas: theback, the middle, and the tip. Otherconsonant articulators include thelips and, less frequently, the upperteeth.

As mentioned above, consonantscan be either voiceless or voiced.Place your hand on your larynx, orvoice box, and say the followingsounds: p, then b. Say only theconsonant sound—do not add avowel, as in puh. Notice that yourvocal folds are not engaged—thereis no vibration—for the p sound,but they are engaged for the b.

These partner sounds are calledcognate pairs: Both consonants areproduced with the same articulatorsin the same position, but one of theconsonants is voiceless and theother voiced.

Don’t worry: While all thisinformation seems very technical,most consonant sounds areintuitively pronounced correctly byEnglish for Speakers of OtherLanguages (ESOL) students. Thosethat may be mispronounced arecovered in detail in Part Two (Thedifficult sounds of English).

The consonants

Most consonants may occur ininitial, medial, and final positionsin words. Initial position is at thebeginning of a word, medialposition is in the middle of a word,and final position is at the end of aword. All of these positions aredemonstrated in the word examplesbelow; exceptions are noted forcertain consonants.

We are now entering the world ofphonetics. From now on, we willuse the IPA symbol for each sound,rather than the alphabet spelling.

IPA symbols are set in sans seriftype (for example, b, d, g or b, d,g), while spelled words are set inserif type (for example, base,dance, go or base, dance, go).

Stop plosives

The breath stream is “stopped,”then “exploded” to produce a stopplosive. English has six stopplosives.

Nasals

The sound is released through thenose to produce a nasal. English

has only three sounds that are nasal.All three are voiced.

Note that η is never used in initialposition.

Lateral

The lateral is produced laterally,over the sides of the tongue. The tipof the tongue remains in contact

with the alveolar ridge, and thesound is always voiced. English hasonly one lateral.

Fricatives is a front vowel: Forboth sounds, the tip of the tonguerests against the lower teeth andit is the arch in the front of thetongue that determines thephoneme. The difference in thearch is minusculone-eighth of aninch between the two. The8om A fricative is named for the

friction created by forcing thebreath stream or voice betweentwo articulators. English has ninefricatives.

Note that h is never used in finalposition.

Glides

The articulators move from oneposition to another to produce aglide. Glides are voiced and arealways followed by a vowel sound.English has three glides.

Note that none of these threeconsonant sounds, w, j, and r, isever used in final position.

Affricates

An affricate is a combination of astop plosive and a fricative,blended seamlessly into a singlephoneme. English has twoaffricates.

Consonant overview

Introduction to the vowelsounds

Vowels are uninterrupted, orunimpeded, voiced sounds. Exceptfor the vowels, diphthongs, andtriphthongs of r, all vowels aremade with the tip of the tongueresting against the lower teeth. Itis the arch in the front, middle, orback of the tongue thatdetermines the phoneme. This isimportant, since most ESOLstudents have tension in the backof the tongue that causes thetongue muscle to retract (pullback) during vowel articulation.

Vowels can be divided into threecategories: pure vowels,diphthongs, and triphthongs. Inthe production of a pure vowel,the arch in the tongue is fixedthroughout the duration of thesound. A diphthong is a blend oftwo pure vowels soundedtogether as one. A triphthong isthree vowels sounds blendedtogether as one.

The pure vowel sounds can becategorized as front, middle, andback, named for the arch in thetongue. For a front vowel, thefront of the tongue is arched; for

a middle vowel, the middle of thetongue is arched; and for a backvowel, the back of the tongue isarched (with the exception of thevowel , for which the back of thetongue is flat).

The differences between some ofthese sounds may seem minimalat first, but we will use a tactileapproach, so that you can feeleach vowel’s placement while yousimultaneously train your ear.Don’t worry if some vowels seemdifficult to make at this point.This chapter is intended to be anintroduction to the physical pwels

according to the arch in thetongue; Part Two explores eachof the problematic vowelphonemes in detail, and all thevowel positions are demonstratedon the accompanying DVD. tohighlight the desired imaging ofthe speaker.

Noun and verb variants b

We are now going to starttranscribing entire words usingthe IPA. Notice how logical thepronunciation seems when viewedthrough the prism of phonetics.Note: When a word contains two

or more syllables, one syllable willbe stressed more than the others.This syllable is said to carryprimary stress and is preceded bythe symbol ′.

The vowels

English has 12 pure vowels, asshown in the pure vowel overviewchart on page 18.

Once you have learned the purevowels, combining two or threevowels to form a diphthong ortriphthong should be easy (′izi).English has 10 diphthongs and two

triphthongs, as shown in thecharts on page 19.

C">Pure vowel overview

Diphthong overview

Triphthong overview

PART TWOTHE DIFFICULTSOUNDS OFENGLISH

THREEThe consonant th (θ/ð)

Fred was being considered for anew position in his marketing firm:a job that would require frequentoral presentations in English.Fred’s boss began to call on him inmeetings, and Fred knew that hisperformance was under scrutiny.

Public speaking in English ignitedFred’s fears. His mouth wouldbecome dry, and he felt his breathgrow short and shallow. Freddecided to confide in a colleague.After an especially difficultmeeting, he pulled Margaret aside,and told her, in confidence, “I havetrouble breeding.” Margaret wasconfused …

The th sound defined

The th sound can be eithervoiceless (as in the word thin) orvoiced (as in then). The placementis the same, but in the voiceless

sound, the vocal folds do notvibrate, and in the voiced sound,they do. These sounds arerepresented by the phoneticsymbols θ (voiceless th, as in thin)and ð (voiced th, as in then).Nonnative speakers of English oftenmispronounce th in the followingways: Voiceless th (θ) is usuallyreplaced by the consonant t (as intin), and voiced th (ð) is usuallyreplaced by d (as in den). This is anunderstandable mistake, since t andd are found in nearly all languages,and the th sounds occur almostexclusively in English.

The sounds θ/ð are made very closeto t/d, but with a definite differencein tongue placement. For both the tand d consonants, the tip of thetongue touches the alveolar ridge,then flicks off it. When producing at, the vocal folds do not vibrate;when forming a d, they do. (Youmay want to refer to the tip of thetongue exercises in Chapter One.Be sure that you are forming t and doff the alveolar ridge, not againstthe back of your teeth.) θ/ð, on theother hand, are formed with the tipof your tongue touching the bottomof your upper teeth.

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of θ/ð

Turn now to DVD Track 1, wherea step-by-step demonstration of thedifference between t/d and θ/ð ispresented. After you have watchedthe DVD, read the followingdescription of the sound placementand do the exercises below.

Take out your mirror. Begin bysaying the t sound, since youalready pronounce this soundcorrectly. Say the word tin tohighlight the desired imaging ofthe speaker.

Put your fingers against yourlarynx and say d. Notice that yourvocal folds are vibrating, and thatthe tip of your tongue touches thealveolar ridge, then flicks quicklyoff it. Now, place the tip of yourtongue against the bottom of yourupper teeth and allow your vocalfolds to vibrate. This is voiced th,ð, as in then. Alternate between

these two placements: d … ð … d… ð.

Return now to DVD Track 1.Practice the difference inplacement between the consonantst/d and θ/ð.

Step 2: Hearing theplacement of θ/ð

Using your mirror, look closelyinside your mouth. Move yourtongue back and forth between theplacements of these two pairs ofwords: tin, thin, tin, thin and den,then, den, then. (Of course, the tip

of your tongue will touch thealveolar ridge for the finalconsonant n.)

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words inthe following list. consonant soundchanges as well, so that you cantrain your ear to hear thedistinction, as well as feel thephysiological difference inplacement.

Turn now to CD Track 1, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween t/d and θ/ð. Repeat thepairs of words, while comparingyour pronunciation with that onthe CD.

Record your own pronunciation,and compare it to the CD track.Repeat this exercise until you feelready to proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Applying theplacement of θ/ð

Following are lists of commonEnglish words that contain the thsounds. You can practice thesesounds by reading these listsaloud. After you have mastered thesounds, advance to the sentencesin the next section.

Sentences: θ/ð

Turn to CD Track 2 . Listen to therecording of the followingsentences, then read the sentencesaloud. Concentrate on correctlypronouncing the θ/ð sounds, whichare marked phonetically.

* All cardinal numbers except one,two, and three can be changed toordinal numbers by adding θ at theend.

Sentences: θ/ð vs. t/d

Turn to CD Track 3. Listen to therecording of the followingsentences, then read the sentencesaloud. Concentrate ondistinguishing between the θ/ð andt/d sounds, which are markedphonetically.

FOURThe consonant r

The r sound defined

The consonant r, represented by thephonetic symbol r, is almost alwaysmispronounced by nonnativespeakers of English. Depending onyour native language, you maypronounce r at the back of thethroat, or you may trill it off thealveolar ridge. If your nativelanguage is Asian, you maypronounce r with tension in the backof your tongue, or the front of yourtongue may be touching the roof of

the mouth, much like an l.

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of r

Turn now to DVD Tracks 2A and2B is a front vowel: For bothsounds, the tip of the tongue restsagainst the lower teeth and it isthe arch in the front of the tonguethat determines the phoneme. The

difference in the arch isminuscule—about one-eighth ofan inch between the two. Thes C"of the tongue that determines thephoneme. omal, where a step-by-step demonstration of the placementof r is presented. After you havewatched the DVD, read thefollowing description of the soundplacement and do the exercisesbelow.

Take out your mirror. Let’s examinethe position of the tongue in formingthe consonant r. Looking in themirror, place the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth, with your

tongue lying flat on the floor of yourmouth. Now, arch the middle ofyour tongue toward the roof of yourmouth and point the front of yourtongue toward the alveolar ridge.Say r. You’ll feel the sides of yourtongue touching the inside of yourupper teeth.

Again looking in the mirror, watchthe movement of your tongue. Thetip of your tongue begins againstyour lower teeth. Now, arch themiddle of your tongue toward thehard palate, then lift the front ofyour tongue toward the alveolarridge. This is the position for r.

Make sure the tip of your tongueisn’t touching anywhere inside yourmouth.

The most difficult problem you willhave with this new, unfamiliarplacement is a tendency towardtongue retraction. Because the tip ofyour tongue isn’t touching anywhereinside your mouth, the back of yourtongue may tense and retract (pullbackward) in order to feel“anchored.” As demonstrated on theDVD, place your thumb under yourjaw at the base of your tongue. Holdyour thumb there firmly as you archt>

Return now to DVD Tracks 2A and2B. Practice the correct placementof the consonant r.

Step 2: Hearing theplacement of r

Using the mirror, look closelyinside your mouth. Move yourtongue back and forth between theplacements of these two pairs ofwords: light, right, light, right. (Ofcourse, the tip of your tongue willtouch the alveolar ridge for the finalconsonant t.) Notice that the tip ofyour tongue touches the alveolarridge for l, but donywhere in your

mouth for the consonant r.

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words in thelist below. Listen to the consonantsound changes as well, so that youcan train your ear to hear thedistinction between l and r, as wellas feel the physiological differencein placement.

Turn now to CD Track 4, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween l and r. Repeat the pairs ofwords, while comparing yourpronunciation with that on the CD.



placement of r

Following are lists of commonEnglish words that contain the rconsonant. You can practice thissound by reading these lists aloud.After you have mastered the sound,advance to the sentences in the nextsection.

Image

Sentences: r

Turn to CD Track 5. Listen to therecording of the followingsentences, then read the sentencesaloud. Concentrate on correctlypronouncing the r sound, which ismarked phonetically.

The Ι sound defineds.TEEN

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Sentences: r vs. l

FIVEThe consonant l

The l sound defined

The consonant l, represented by thephonetic symbol l, frequentlypresents a challenge to nonnativespeakers of English. Depending onyour native language, you maypronounce l too “darkly,” with theentire front of your tongue pressedup against the roof of your mouth;this is called velar l. Or your lipsmay try to pronounce l by rounding,when your tongue doesn’t lift. Bothplacements are incorrect.

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of l

Turn now to DVD Track 3, wherea step-by-step demonstration of theplacement of l is presented. Afteryou have watched the DVD, readthe following description of thesound placement and do theexercises below.

Take out your mirror. Let’s examinethe position of the tongue in formingthe consonant l. Looking in themirror, place the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth, with yourtongue lying flat on the floor of yourmouth. To form the l correctly, liftyour tongue, and place only the tipagainst the alveolar ridge, justbehind your upper teeth. Make surethat your tongue is not touching theback of your upper teeth and thatyou are using only the tip of yourtongue against the alveolar ridge.Now, say l.

Do not round your lips when saying

l. Your lips should not move at allduring the production of this sound.You can check yourself by placingyour index finger against your lips,as demonstrated on the DVD.

Again looking in the mirror, watchthe movement of your tongue. Thetip begins against your lower teeth.Relax your lips, put only the tip ofyour tongue against the alveolarridge, and say l.

Return now to DVD Track 3.Practice the correct placement ofthe consonant l.

Step 2: Hearing theplacement of l

Using the mirror, look closelyinside your mouth. Begin by makinga velar l, whose phonetic symbol is

. Place the entire front of yourtongue against the roof of yourmouth. Exaggerate by using force asyou push your tongue against thehard palate. As you feel the body ofyour tongue tense, listen for thedark, thick sound that results as yousay .

Now, relax your tongue on the floorof your mouth, and using very little

effort, lift the tip to the alveolarridge, and say la-l6RG"> Noticehow relaxed this position f_ HNmirror, look closely at1em;border-bottom: solid 0.02em; }.eels—and how much lighter this lsounds. Go back and forth betweenthese two positions: your tonguetensed against the hard palate ( ),then your tongue lightly touchingthe alveolar ridge: … l … … l.

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words inthe following list. Listen to thedifferences between l and , sothat you can train your ear to hear

the distinction, as well as feel thephysiological difference inplacement.

Note: Inters, the correct soundplacement for a consonant wascontrasted with another frequentlysubstituted phoneme of English.There are no words in English,however, that use a velar .Therefore, the words in the listbelow are the same in bothcolumns. The purpose of theexercise is to pronounce eachword incorrectly with a velar ,then correctly with an alveolar l.The difference between the two is

recorded on the accompanyingCD.

Turn now to CD Track 7, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween and l. Repeat the pairsof words, while comparing yourpronunciation with that on the CD.



placement of l

Following are lists of commonEnglish words that contain the lsound. You can practice this soundby reading these lists aloud. Afteryou have mastered the sound,advance to the sentences in thenext section.

SIXThe consonant ng (η)

Fred was practicing his Englishpronunciation more often and wasbeginning to enjoy the sound of hisvoice. He worked on his lplacement by vocalizing on la-la-la-la. when he saw his colleagueMargaret on the elevator, Fred toldher of his practice. “Margaret,” heconfessed, “I’m sinning all thetime!”

The η sound defined

The consonant ng, represented by

the phonetic symbol η, is almostalways mispronounced bynonnative speakers of English. Thisis because the spelling pattern isdeceptive: Most individualspronounce the n, followed by aseparate g. So it was with Fred,who meant to say singing instead ofsinning. But this ng spelling patternin English represents a singlephoneme, and its sound is formed ina very different place than that ofthe consonant n. Additionally, thissound is used in the spelling patternnk. When used in an ng spellingpattern, only η is sounded. Thereare some exceptions to this rule,

notably when the ng spelling is inthe root of the word (as in angle)and when it occurs in thecomparative and superlative formsof an adjective (as in stronger andstrongest). In these instances, the gis sounded in addition to the ηphoneme. These exceptions aremarked in the following word lists.In an nk spelling pattern, the k isalways sounded as a separatephoneme: ηk.

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of η

Turn now to DVD Track 4, wherea step-by-step demonstration of theplacement of η is presented. Afteryou have watched the DVD, readthe following description of thesound placement and do theexercises below.

Take out your mirror. Let’s examinethe position of the tongue in formingthe consonant η. Looking in themirror, place the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth, with your

tongue lying flat on the floor of yourmouth. First, we will make an nsound, as a contrast to η. Lift the tipof your tongue, place it against thealveolar ridge, and say n … win.

Now, let’s try η. Place the tip ofyour tongue against your lowerteeth, then raise the back of yourtongue until it touches the softpalate, as you do for the consonantsk and g. Say k … g. Now, loweryour tongue to the floor of yourmouth again, with the tip of yourtongue against your lower teeth.Touch the back of your tongue to thesoft palate again">The Ι sound

definedorMA stress withinwords1em; border-bottom: solid0.02em; } ., and holding it there,allow the sound to be releasedthrough your nose. Say η.

Avoid the tendency to pull yourentire tongue backward. You cancheck yourself by holding the frontand middle of your tongue downusing the tip of your little finger, asdemonstrated on the DVD. Raiseonly the back of your tongue, andsay η … wing.

Return now to DVD Track 4.Practice the correct placement of

the consonant η.

Step 2: Hearing theplacement of η

Using your mirror, look closelyinside your mouth. Place the tip ofyour tongue against the alveolarridge, and say n. You will hearthis sound as both nasal and veryforward in the mouth. Now,anchor your tongue against yourlower teeth, raise only the backof your tongue until it touches thesoft palate, and say η. You willhear a nasal sound here too, but itis realized at the back of the

throat. Go back and forthbetween the two placements: n …η … n … η.

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words inthe following lists. Listen to thedifferences in the consonantsounds, so that you can train yourear to hear the distinction, as wellas feel the physiologicaldifference in placement.

Turn now to CD Track 9, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween n and η. Repeat thepairs of words, while comparingyour pronunciation with that onthe CD.


Step 3: Applying theplacement of η

Following are lists of common

English words that contain the ηsound. You can practice thissound by reading these lists aloud.After you have mastered thesounds, advance to the sentencesin the next section.

Note that the η sound does notoccur at the beginning of a wordin English.

Sentences: η

Turn to CD Track10presentationsQMA59t. Listento the recording of the followingsentences, then read thesentences aloud. Concentrate oncorrectly pronouncing the ηsound, which is markedphonetically.

SEVENThe consonants b, v, and w

The b, v, and w soundsdefined

The consonants b, v, and w,represented by the phoneticsymbols b, v, and w, are frequentlymispronounced by nonnativespeakers of English. Depending onthe spelling patterns of your nativelanguage, you may mispronounce vas either b or w. Another commonmistake is to mispronounce w as v.

While this may seem confusing atfirst, English is actually fairlyconsistent with spelling patterns forthe phonemes b and v, which arerepresented by the English alphabetletters b and v.

The w sound may be a littletrickier, as it not only represents aw spelling in English, but is usuallyfound in the qu spelling pattern(phonetically, kw). Sometimes, theu spelling in the pattern gu ispronounced as w. Additionally, asindicated in Chapter Two (page14), the w phoneme is alwaysfollowed by a vowel. Therefore,

the spelling of w is never a fullylip-rounded consonant phoneme wwhen it is used at the end of asyllable; instead, the spelling isoften accounted for by the use of avowel or diphthong, as in the wordslaw, snow, and down (see ChaptersFifteen and Sixteen).

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of b, v, and w

Turn now to DVD Track 5, wherea step-by-step demonstration of theplacement of the consonants b, v,and w is presented. After you havewatched the DVD, read thefollowing description of the soundplacements and do the exercisesbelow.

Take out your mirror. Let’s examinethe position of the lips and upperteeth in forming the consonants b, v,and w. Looking in the mirror, placethe tip of your tongue against yourloweB7V8">

First, let’s form a b. Put your lips

together, apply a little pressure,pop them forward, and say b …bill. Now, return your lips to aneutral position. Place your lowerlip against the bopper teeth, keepyour upper lip completely still,and say v … village.

Last, put your upper and lowerlips together, round them, and sayw … way. Your upper teeth are notused in forming w.

Return now to DVD Track 5.Practice the placement of theconsonants b, v, and w.

Step 2: Hearing theplacement of b, v, and w

Using your mirror, look closely atyour lips and upper teeth. Placethe tip of your tongue against yourlower teeth. Say b … v … w,watching your lips and upper teethfor careful placement.

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words inthe following lists. Listen to thedifferences in sounds, so that youcan train your ear to hear thedistinction, as well as feel thephysiological difference in

placement.

Turn now to CD Track 12, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween b and v. Repeat the pairsof words, while comparing yourpronunciation with that on the CD.

Record your own pronunciation,and compare it to the CD track.

Turn now to CD Track 13, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween v and w. Repeat the pairsof words, while comparing yourpronunciation with that on the CD.

Record your own pronunciation,and compare it to the CD track.Repeat this exercise until you feelready to prext step.

Step 3: Applying theplacement of b, v, and w

Following are lists of commonEnglish words that contain the b,

v, and w consonants. You canpractice these sounds by readingthese lists aloud. After you havemastered the sounds, advance tothe sentences in the next section.

to highlight the desired imaging ofthe speaker.

Sentences: b vs. v

Turn to CD Track 14. Listen to therecording of the followingsentences, then read the sentencesaloud. Concentrate ondistinguishing between the b and vsounds, which are markedphonetically.

EIGHTThe consonant j or g ( )

The sound defined

The consonant j or soft g,represented by the phonetic symbol

, is frequently mispronounced bynonnative speakers of English,since it is confused with theconsonant , as in the wordpleasure. These sounds are verysimilar, but with an importantdistinction in placement. Thesecond element of is, indeed, ,but it is preceded by the consonant

d. Physiologically speaking, thetongue touches the alveolar ridge(to form a d) before pulling backinto the sound.

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of">The Ι sounddefinedorMA">b, v, and

Turn now to DVD Track 6, wherea step-by-step demonstration of the

placement of is presented. Afteryou have watched the DVD, readthe following description of thesound placement and do theexercises below.

Take out your mirror. Let’s examinethe position of the tongue in formingthe consonant . Looking in themirror, place the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth, with yourtongue resting flat on the floor ofyour mouth.

First, we’ll form the sound, sinceyou can form this sound correctly.Say . Notice that the sides of your

tongue are touching the inside ofyour upper teeth and that the tip ofyour tongue is pointed toward thealveolar ridge, but not touching it.Say … massage.

Next, we’ll form the sound.Raise the tip of your tongue, place itagainst the alveolar ridge, and sayd. Move your tongue backwardslightly and feel the sides of yourtongue touching the inside of yourupper teeth, as you say . Now, formthese two sounds sequentially. Startwith the tip of your tongue on thealveolar ridge (for d), then move itslightly backward (for ). Say d …

… d … .

Finally, we’ll combine d and .Place the tip of your tongue againstthe alveolar ridge, and pull yourtongue backward during theproduction of the sound. Say …age.

Return now to DVD Track 6.Practice the correct placement ofthe consonant .


Using the mirror, look closely

inside your mouth. Place the tip ofyour tongue against your lowerteeth, raise your tongue, and say .Notice that the sides of your tongueare touching the inside of yourupper teeth and that the tip of yourtongue is pointed toward thealveolar ridge. Say _ aHinstruction b. You will hear thissound as long; it will continue aslong as your vocal folds arevibrating.

Now, touch the tip of your tongue tothe alveolar ridge, form a d sound,then move your tongue slightlybackward into . Combining the

two, say . Listen to the soundproduced. This phoneme is muchshorter than , since it is the resultof the pressure from the firstelement (d) releasing into thesecond element ( ).

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words in thelist below. Listen to the sounddifferences as well, so that you cantrain your ear to hear thedistinction, as well as feel thephysiological difference inplacement.

Turn now to CD Track 16, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween and . Repeat the pairsof words, while comparing yourpronunciation with that on the CD.



Following are lists of commonEnglish words that contain the sound. You can practice this sound

by reading these lists aloud. Afteryou have mastered the sound,advance to the sentences in the nextsection.

Sentences:

T easy, once you learn thedifference in tongue placement aHinstruction burn to CD Track 17.Listen to the recording of thefollowing sentences, then read thesentences aloud. Concentrate oncorrectly pronouncing the sound,which is marked phonetically.

NINEThe vowel Ι

Fred was excited: He had beenflown into New York City tointerview for a highly covetedposition at a large securities firm.During the taxi ride from theairport, he saw the city in itsdizzying splendor—fromskyscrapers to street vendors. Fredcould picture himself living here asa true New Yorker, and he wantedto convey that to his potential boss.As he shook the CEO’s hand, heannounced passionately, “I want toleave here! Now!” The CEO was

confused …

The Ι sound defined

For nonnative speakers of English,the short i sound, represented by thephonetic symbol Ι (as in him), isoften confused with the vowel i (asin he). This is an understandablemistake, since i is used by nearlyall languages and Ι is used almostexclusively by English. These twodifferent vowel sounds are madevery close to each other, but with adefinite difference in tongueplacement.

Both i and Ι are front vowels: Thetip of the tongue is resting againstthe lower teeth and it is the arch inthe front of the tongue thatdetermines the vowels’ sounds. Thedifference in the arch is minuscule—about one-eighth of an inch.

Correct to highlight the desiredimaging of the speaker.

The easily recognized i sound inEnglish is spelled with e, ea, ee, ei,and ie, as in the words be, eat, see,receive, and chief. Final y inEnglish words use the i sound, as inhappy and country. The Ι sound is

almost always spelled with i, as inthe words in, with, and his, or withmedial y, as in myth and syllable.

Since most languages other thanEnglish pronounce i as i, itspronunciation as Ι may beunfamiliar to you. As we saw in theunfortunate story above, Fredpronounced live as if it were leave.Similarly, you may think is ispronounced as ease, and sit as seat,but this is incorrect.

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of Ι

Turn now to DVD Track 7, wherea step-by-step demonstration of thedifference between i and Ι ispresented. After you have watchedthe DVD, read the followingdescription of the sound placementand do the exercises below.

Take out your mirror. Begin bysaying the i sound, since youalready pronounce this soundcorrectly. Say the word he severaltimes. Looking in the mirror,

become aware of your tongue’splacement. Notice that the tip ofyour tongue is resting against yourlower teeth and that the front ofyour tongue is arched forward. Youcan check yourself by placing thetip of your little finger on the topedge of your lower teeth, asdemonstrated on the DVD. Feel thearch in the front of your tongue as itcontacts your finger when you sayhe.

Return your tongue to its restingposition, with the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth, but withthe body of your tongue lying flat on

the floor of your mouth. Say theword he again, freezing on thevowel. Once again, you will feelthe arch of your tongue contact thetip of your finger.

Now, drop the arch of your tonguebackward about one-eighth of aninch, leaving the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth. This is theplacement of the vowel Ι, as in theword him. Go back and forthbetween these two placements: i …Ι … i … Ι.

Return now to DVD Track 7.Practice the difference in placement

between the sounds i and Ι.

Step 2: Hearing theplacement of Ι

Using the mirror, look closelyinside your mouth. Move yourtongue back and forth between theplacements of these two words: he… him … he … him … he … him… he … him. (Of course, your lipswill come together for theconsonant m.)

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words in thefollowing list. Listen to the

differences between i and Ι, so thatyou can train your ear to hear thedistinction, as well as feel thephysiological difference inplacement.

Turn now to CD Track 19, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween i and Ι. Repeat the pairs ofwords, while comparing yourpronunciation with that on the CD.



placement of Ι

Following are lists of commonEnglish words that contain the Ιsound. You can practice this soundby reading these lists aloud. Thelists are quite extensive, since Ι isthe second most common vowelsound in English. After you havemastered the sound, advance to thesentences in the next section.

Note: The -ing suffix always usesthe vowel Ι.

Sentences: Ι

Turn to CD Track 20. Listen to therecording of the followingsentences, then read the sentencesaloud. Concentrate on correctlypronouncing the Ι sound, which ismarked phonetically.

TENThe vowel e

The e sound defined

The short e sound, represented bythe phonetic symbol e (as in hem),is a potential pronunciationproblem for nonnative speakers ofEnglish. The e spelling pattern isused in other languages, but it isusually pronounced more openly, asε, which is not used in English. Theε pronunciation is often substitutedfor the more closed e used byEnglish. These two different vowelsounds are made very close to each

other, but with a definite differencein tongue placement.

Like Ι, which we discussed in theprevious chapter, e is a frontvowel: For both sounds, the tip ofthe tongue rests against the lowerteeth and it is the arch in the front ofthe tongue that determines thephoneme. The difference in the archis minuscule—about one-eighth ofan inch between the two. The evowel is usually spelled with e; itis also used in the suffix -ary (as insecretary and ordinary), as well asin the words any and many.

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of e

Turn now to DVD Track 8, wherea step-by-step demonstration of theplacement of e, in contrast to theplacement of i and Ι, is presented.After you have watched the DVD,read the following description ofthe sound placement and do theexercises below.

Take out your mirror. Begin bysaying the i sound. Say the word heseveral times. Looking in themirror, check the placement of yourtongue. Notice that the tip of restingagainst your lower teeth and that thefront of your tongue is archedforward. You can check yourself byplacing the tip of your little fingeron the top edge of your lower teeth,as demonstrated on the DVDexercise. Feel the arch in the frontof your tongue as it contacts yourfinger when you say he.

Drop the arch in the front of yourtongue back about one-eighth of an

inch, leaving the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth. This is theplacement of the vowel Ι, asdescribed in the previous chapter.Say i … he … Ι … him.

Now, drop the arch in the front ofyour tongue back about anadditional one-eighth of an inch.This is e … hem. Say these threefront vowels as you feel the arch inthe front of your tongue drop backabout one-eighth of an inch for thenext phoneme: i … Ι … e … he …him … hem.

Return now to DVD Track 8.

Practice the difference in placementamong the vowels i, Ι, and e.

Step 2: Hearing theplacement of e

Using the mirror, look closelyinside your mouth. Move yourtongue back and forth between theplacements of these three words:he, him, hem … he, him, hem …he, him, hem. (Of course, your lipswill come together for theconsonant m.)

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words in the

following list. Listen to thedifferences between ε and e, so thatyou can train your ear to hear thedistinction, as well as feel thephysiological difference inplacement.

Note: In previous chapters (exceptChapter Five), the sound placementfor each new phoneme wascontrasted with that of another,frequently substituted phoneme.However, since no words inEnglish use ε, the words in the listare the same in both columns. Thepurpose of the exercise is topronounce each word incorrectly

with ε, then correctly with e. Thedifference between the two isrecorded on the accompanying CD.

Turn now to The Ι sound defineds.the sides b">CD Track 22, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween ε and e. Repeat the pairs ofwords, while comparing yourpronunciation with that on the CD.


Step 3: Applying theplacement of your tongue is

ELEVENThe vowel

The sound defined

The short a sound, represented bythe phonetic symbol (as in ham),is often mispronounced bynonnative speakers of English.Depending on a person’s nativelanguage, the vowel can bepronounced too tightly, like ε, ortoo openly, like .

Like e, which was discussed in theprevious chapter, is a frontvowel: For both sounds, the tip of

the tongue rests against the lowerteeth and it is the arch in the front ofthe tongue that determines thephoneme. The difference in the archis minuscule—about one-eighth ofan inch between the two. The vowel is always spelled with a.


Turn now to DVD Track 9, wherea step-by-step demonstration of theplacement of , in contrast to theplacement of i, Ι, and e, ispresented. After you have watchedthe DVD, read the followingdescription of the sound placementand do the exercises below.

Take out your mirror. Begin bysaying the i sound. Then say theword he several times. Looking inthe mirror, check the placement ofyour tongue. Notice that the tip ofyour tongue is resting against yourlower teeth and that the front ofyour tongue is arched forward. You

can check yourself by placing thetip of your little finger on the topedge of your lower teeth, asdemonstrated on the DVD exercise.Feel the arch in the front of yourtongue as it contacts your fingerwhen you say he.

Drop the arch in the front of yourtongue back about one-eighth of aninch, leaving the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth. This is theplacement of the vowel Ι. Now,drop the arch in the front of yourtongue back about an additionalone-eighth of an inch, as describedin the previous chapter. This is e.

Say these first three front vowels asyou feel the arch in the front of yourtongue drop back about one-eighthof an inch for the next phoneme: i… Ι … e … he … him … hem.

Now, drop the arch in the front ofyour tongue back about anadditional one-eighth of an inch.This is … ha m. Say all fourfront vowels as you feel the arch inthe front of your tongue drop backabout one-eighth of an inch for thenext phoneme: i … Ι … e … …he … him … hem … ham.

Now that you’ve located the

placement of , let’s contrast

with . As demonstrated on theDVD, put your little finger back inyour mouth and say . Then, dropyour to the floor of your mouth. Thisis . Go back and forth between thetwo placements: … … … … … .

Return now to DVD Track 9.Practice the difference in placementamong the vowels i, Ι, e, and , aswell as the physical contrastbetween and .

Intonation or pitch

varianceEOLE">Step 2:Hearing the placement of

Using the mirror, look closelyinside your mouth. Move yourtongue back and forth between theplacements of these four words: he,him, hem, ham … he, him, hem,ham … he, him, hem, ham. (Ofcourse, your lips will come togetherfor the consonant m.)

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words in thefollowing list. Listen to the vowelsound changes, so that you can trainyour ear to hear the distinction, as

well as feel the physiologicaldifference in placement.

Turn now to CD Track 24, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween e and . Repeat the pairsof words, while comparing yourpronunciation with that on the CD.



placement of

Following are lists of commonEnglish words that contain the sound. In addition, there is an“answer” list, which containscommon words where an a spellingis pronounced with in BritishEnglish, but with in AmericanEnglish. You can practice the sound by reading these lists aloud.After you have mastered the sound,advance to the sentences in the nextsection.

Sentences:

Turn to CD Track 25. Listen to therecording of the followingsentences, then read the sentencesaloud. Concentrate on correctlypronouncing the sound, which ismarked phonetically.

Sentences: vs. e

TWELVEThe vowels of r ( and )

The sounds defined

The vowels of r, represented by thephonetic symbols (in a stressedsyllable) and (in an unstressedsyllable) are frequentlymispronounced by nonnativespeakers of English. Depending onyour native language, you maypronounce the vowels of r tootightly, because of too much tensionin the back of your tongue. Or the rcoloring may be dropped, becausethe tip of your tongue is touching

your lower teeth.


Turn now to DVD Track 10, wherea step-by-step demonstration of theplacement of the vowels / ispresented. After you have watchedthe DVD, read the followingdescription of the sound placement

and do the exercises below.

These two r vowels are soundedthe same; they have differentphonetic representations because ofthe syllable stress within words(see Chapter Seventeen for adetailed explanation of syllablestress). Stressed syllables withinwords are enunciated with moreemphasis and are typically longer,louder, and higher in pitch thanunstressed syllables. The vowel is used in a stressed syllable withina word. The unstressed vowel marks a syllable as shorter andlower in pitch.

Take out your mirror. Let’s examinethe position of the tongue in formingthe vowels / . Begin by placingthe tip of your tongue against yourlower teeth, with your tongue lyingflat on the floor of your mouth.Now, lift only the tip of your tongueand say .

To produce the consonant r, thesides of your tongue touch theinside of your upper teeth and yourtongue is lifted close to the alveolarridge. By contrast, to pronounce thevowels of r, , the tip of yourtongue is lifted only slightly, nohigher than the bottom of your upper

teeth, and the sides of your tonguedo not make contact anywhereinside your mouth.

The most difficult problem you willhave with the placement is atendency towraction. Because thetip of your tongue isn’t touchinganywhere inside your mouth, theback of your tongue may tense andpull backward to feel “anchored.”As demonstrated on the DVD, placeyour thumb under your jaw at thebase of your tongue. Hold yourthumb there firmly as you lift onlythe tip of your tongue. This willprevent your tongue from retracting

backward.

Return now to DVD Track 10.Practice the placement of thevowels .


Using the mirror, look closelyinside your mouth. Say … …

… . Hear that the two vowelssound the same, except that hasmore emphasis and is longer andhigher in pitch than . Theexamples of the words hurt ( )and other ( ) demonstrate this.

The tip of your tongue is lifted onlyslightly for both, no higher than thebottom of your upper teeth, and thesides of your tongue should not betouching anywhere inside yourmouth.

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words in thefollowing list. Listen to the vowelsound changes, so that you can trainyour ear to hear the distinction, aswell as feel the physiological pl

Turn now to CD Track 28, whichfeatures the pronunciation of and

. Repeat the pairs of words,while comparing yourpronunciation with that on the CD.


Note: The first four sets">The Ιsound defineds. and vowels

and are read only once on the CD.


Following are lists of comacement.

THIRTEENThe vowel Λ

The Λ sound defined

The short u sound, represented bythe phonetic symbol Λ (as inpuddle), is almost alwaysmispronounced by nonnativespeakers of English. It is usuallyreplaced by the vowel (as inpasta). This is an understandablemistake, since is found in nearlyall languages and Λ is used almostexclusively in English. These twovowel sounds are made very closeto each other, but with a definite

change in the arch of the tonguefrom one to the other.

For both sounds, the tip of thetongue is resting against the lowerteeth. But Λ is a middle vowel,with a distinct arch in the middle ofthe tongue. By contrast, is a backvowel, occurring farther back in themouth. In addition, is the onlyEnglish vowel where the tongue hasno arch but remains flat on the floorof the mouth.

Correcting the Λ/ vowelsubstitution can be easy, once onelearns the difference in their tongue

placements. It is also easy torecognize which of the two shouldbe used by reme Practice thedifference in placement between thein46 contact">

is usually spelled with o (as inhonest, bond, and rock), althoughthere is a small number of wordsthat are pronounced with and are

spelled with a (as in father, drama,and pasta).

Let’s pause for a moment and take adeep breath—this is not asconfusing as it sounds. True, wehave just entered the mysteriousworld of the o spelling pattern, ashining example of the lack of logicin the correspondence betweenpronunciation and spelling in theEnglish language. But there is atrick here that you can use todistinguish between Λ and : Justlook at the word lists in thischapter. All the common words inEnglish that use an o spelling

pattern and are pronounced with Λare found in the “Λ with o spelling”lists in this chapter. If a wordspelled with o is not on one of theselists, it is either pronounced with or with the diphthong , which isaddressed in Chapter Sixteen. Andall the common words in Englishthat are pronounced with Λ—eitherwith an o or u spelling pattern—arein the word lists in this chapter.

Now, let’s turn our attention to thedifference in the physicalplacements of Λ and .

Step 1: Feeling the

placement of Λ

Turn now to DVD Track 11, wherea step-by-step demonstration of thedifference bend is presented.After you have watched the DVD,read the following description ofthe sound placements and do theexercises below.

Take out your mirror. Begin bysaying , since you already

pronounce this sound correctly. Saythe word ah several times. Lookingin the mirror, become aware of yourtongue’s placement. Notice that thetip of your tongue is resting againstyour lower teeth and the entire bodyof your tongue is lying flat on thefloor of your mouth. You can checkyourself by placing the tip of yourlittle finger on the top edge of yourlower teeth, as demonstrated on theDVD. Feel that there is no arch inyour tongue against your finger asyou say ah.

Now, keeping the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth, let the

middle of your tongue arch forwardabout one-quarter inch against yourfinger. This is the placement of thevowel Λ, as in up. Move easy, onceyou learn the difference in tongueplacement aH Japanese b back andforth between these two vowelpositions: … Λ … … Λ.

Return now to DVD Track 11.Practice the difference in placementbetween the sounds Λ and .

Step 2: Hearing theplacement of Λ

Using the mirror, look closely

inside your mouth. Move yourtongue back and forth between theplacements of these two words: ah… up … ah … up … ah … up …ah … up. (Of course, your lips willcome together for the consonant p.)

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words in thefollowing lists. Listen to thedifferences between Λ and , sothat you can train your ear to hearthe distinction, as well as feel thephysiological difference inplacement.

Turn now to CD Track 30, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween Λ and . Repeat the pairsof words, while comparing your

pronunciation with that on the CD.


Step 3: Applying theplacement of Λ

Following are lists of commonEnglish words that contain the Λsound. You can practice this soundby reading these lists aloud. Afteryou have mastered the sound,advance to the sentences in the nextsection.

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Note: The un- prefix, as in unableand undefeated, is alwayspronounced with Λ.

Sentences: Λ

Turn to CD Track 31. Listen to therecording of the followingsentences, then read the sentencesaloud. Concentrate on correctlypronouncing the Λ sound, which ismarked phonetically.tween Λ a

FOURTEENThe vowel to highlight thedesired imaging of thespeaker.

Fred was now well established atthe securities firm, and he wasentrusted with the enviable taskof signing a lucrative new accountover an extensive and expensivebusiness lunch. His clientremarked that the portions werehuge and that she was so full fromher entrée that she couldn’t evenconsider having dessert. As thewaiter began to recite the list of

rich chocolate pastries available,Fred politely interrupted. “Shedoesn’t want dessert,” heannounced, shaking his head.“She’s fool.”

The sound defined

The oo sound, represented by thephonetic symbol (as in full), isoften confused with the sound u(as in fool). As with other vowelsounds in English that causeconfusion for nonnative speakers,the reason is that is used almostexclusively in English, whereas uis found in nearly all languages.

Both vowel sounds are made closetogether, but with a slightdifference in the arch of thetongue and a marked differencein lip rounding.

Both u and are back vowels:The tip of the tongue is restingagainst the lower teeth and it isthe arch in the back of the tonguethat determines the vowels’sounds. The difference inplacement of the arch of thetongue is minuscule—about one-eighth of an inch. However, u hasa much more noticeable liprounding than .

Correcting the u/ vowelsubstitution can be easy, once youlearn the difference in tongueplacement and how to relax yourlips. However, it is difficult to tellwhich vowel sound is pronouncedby spelling pattern alone; bothsounds are commonly associatedwith oo, ou, and u spellings. Thegood news is that is notfrequently used in English. Theword lists in this chapter containall the common English wordsthat have the sound. Bybecoming familiar with thesewords, you will easily recognizewhen to use this vowel.


Turn now to DVD Track 12,where a step-by-stepdemonstration of the differencesbetween u and is presented.After you have watched the DVD,read the following description ofthe sound placement and do theexercises below.

Take out your mirror. Begin bysaying u, since you alreadypronounce this sound correctly.Say the word who several times.Looking in the mirror, becomeaware of the">The Ι sounddefineds.top plosive b placementof both your tongue and your lips.Notice that the tip of your tongueis resting against your lower teethand that the back of your tongueis arched forward. You can checkyourself by placing the tip of yourlittle finger on the top edge ofyour lower teeth, asdemonstrated on the DVD. Feelthe arch in the back of your

tongue as it contacts your fingerwhen you say who. Also, feel yourlips rounded around your finger.

Return your tongue to its restingposition, with the tip of yourtongue resting against your lowerteeth, but with the body of yourtongue lying flat on the floor ofyour mouth. Say the word whoagain, freezing on the vowel.Once again, you will feel the archof your tongue contact the tip ofyour finger and your lips roundedaround your finger.

Now, drop the arch of your

tongue backward about one-eighth of an inch, leaving the tipof your tongue against your lowerteeth. Relax your lips by releasingthe tension in the inner lip muscle.Looking in the mirror, notice thatthere is still a slight rounding onthe outside of the lips, but thatthe inner lip muscle relaxesconsiderably. This is theplacement of the vowel , as inhood. Go back and forth betweenthese two placements: u … … u… .

Return now to DVD Track 12.Practice the difference in

placement between the sounds uand .


Using the mirror, look closelyinside your mouth. Move yourtongue back and forth betweenthe placements of these twowords: who … hood … who …hood … who … hood … who …hood. (Of course, the tip of yourtongue will touch the alveolarridge for the consonant d.)

Watch in the mirror as you

pronounce the pairs of words inthe following list. Listen to thedifferences between u and , sothat you can train your ear tohear the distinction, as well asfeel the physiological differencein placement.

Turn now to CD Track 33, whichfeatures the sound adjustmentsbetween u and . Repeat thepairs of words, while comparingyour pronunciation with that onthe CD.



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Following are lists of all thecommon English words thatcontain the sound. Readthrough the lists carefully, and tryto become familiar with thesewords. To choose between u and

in pronouncing a word, refer tothese lists; if the word is notlisted here, it is safe to assumethat the pronunciation uses u. Youcan practice the sound by

reading these lists aloud. Afteryou have mastered the sound,advance to the sentences in thenext section.

Sentences:

FIFTEENThe vowel

The sound defined

The au or aw sound is representedby the phonetic symbol (as inlaw). Nonnative speakers ofEnglish often confuse this soundwith the diphthong (as in loud).This is understandable, since thespelling patterns for are usuallycomprised of two vowels, andnonnative speakers assume that aphonetic relationship existsbetween the spelling of a word andits pronunciation. Unfortunately,

English is not a phonetic language,as we’ve seen in previous chapters:Its spelling patterns often do notcorrespond to pronunciation. Thephoneme is a pure vowel. Adiphthong, as defined earlier, is ablend of two vowels soundedtogether as one. There is nodiphthong in the pronunciation of ,and therefore, the articulators donot move during the production ofthe sound.

The vowel is a back vowel: Thetip of the tongue is resting againstthe lower teeth and it is the arch inthe back of the tongue that

determines its sound.

Correcting the tendency todiphthongize this vowel can beeasy, once one realizes that thecorrect placement of involves nomovement down the center axis ofthe lips. The spelling patterns forthis sound are a(l), au, aw, oa(d),and ou(gh). The word lists in thischapter contain all the commonwords in English that have the sound. By memorizing thesespelling patterns and becomingfamiliar with the words in the lists,you will easily recognize when touse this vowel.


Turn now to DVD Track 13, wherea step-by-step demonstration of thedifference between and ispresented. After you have watchedthe DVD, read the followingdescription of the sound placementand do the exercises below.

Take out your mirror. Begin bysaying the sound, since youalready pronounce this diphthongcorrectly. Say the word loudseveral times. Looking in themirror, become aware of theplacement of your tongue and lipsdiscussed in the previouschapter,ha">The η sounddefinedEOL. Notice that the tip ofyour tongue is resting against yourlower teeth and that the back ofyour tongue arches forward duringthe movement of the diphthong. (Ofcourse, your tongue will contact thealveolar ridge on both the l and dsounds.) You can check yourself by

placing the tip of your little fingeron the top edge of your lower teeth,as demonstrated on the DVD. Feelthe arch in your tongue shift fromthe front to the back as you combinethe two vowel sounds into thediphthong .

Even more importantly, notice thatyour lips round during theproduction of this sound. Put yourindex finger to your lips, asdemonstrated on the DVD. Say theword loud several times, and whileyou watch in the mirror, feel yourlips tighten down their center axis,against your index finger. There is

distinct, marked lip rounding whenforming this diphthong.

Return your tongue to its restingposition, with the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth, but withthe body of your tongue lying flat onthe floor of your mouth. Say theword loud again, freezing at the endof the diphthong. Once again, feelwith your index finger that your lipshave rounded forward, with tensiondown their center axis.

Now, lower your jaw and relaxyour lips. Leaving the tip of yourtongue against your lower teeth,

allow your lips to form an ovalshape, with a slight tension in thecorners. Place the thumb and indexfinger of your right hand against thecorners of your lips. Say the wordlaw, using your index finger andthumb to “pull” the sound forward.

Refer again to the DVD and repeatthis movement, following the on-screen instruction. This establishesthe position of your outer lipmuscles for the vowel .

The task now becomes to not movethe center lip muscles during theproduction of the pure vowel .

Place your index finger on thecenter axis of your lips again, andrepeat the word law. Do not allowany movement down the center ofyour lips.

This is the placement of the vowel . Go back and forth between the twoplacements of and : … …

… .

Return now to DVD Track 13.Practice the difference in placementbetween the diphthong and thevowel .

Step 2: Hearing the

placement of

Using the mirror, look closely atyour lips. Move your lips back andforth between the placements ofthese two words: loud … law …loud … law … loud … law …loud … law. (Of course, yourtongue will touch the alveolar ridgefor the consonants l and d.)

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words in thefollowing list. Listen to thedifferences between and , sothat you can train your ear to hearthe distinction, as well as feel the

physiological difference inplacement.




placement of

Following are lists of all thecommon English words that containthe sound, grouped by spellingpattern. Read through the listscarefully, and try to becomefamiliar with these words. Tochoose between and inpronouncing a word, refer to theselists, using the spelling pattern. Youcan practice the sound by readingthese lists aloud. After you havemastered the sound, advance to thesentences in the next section.

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Sentences:

SIXTEENThe vowels and

The and sounds defined

The o spelling pattern is usuallymispronounced by nonnativespeakers of English as a pure vowelrepresented by the phonetic symbolo. This sound is rarely used inEnglish. In Chapter Thirteen, whichtreated the vowel Λ, we entered themysterious world of the o spellingpattern, a shining example of thelack of logic in the correspondencebetween English spelling andpronunciation.

There is, however, a trick that youcan use to distinguish among thevowels Λ, , and . For all ospelling patterns, first check theword lists for Λ with an o spellingpattern in Chapter Thirteen: All ofthe common English words thatcontain o pronounced as Λ arefound in Chapter Thirteen.

If a word containing o is not on oneof those lists, it is pronouncedeither with 2"src="kindle:embed:000C?mime=image/gif" alt="Image"/> orwith the diphthong , and all ofthe common words with an or

pronunciation are presented in theword lists in this chapter.

Step 1: Feeling theplacement of vs.

Turn now to DVD Track 14, wherea step-by-step demonstration of thedifference between and ispresented. After you have watchedthe DVD, read the following

description of the sound placementand do the exercises below.

Take out your mirror. Begin byplacing the tip of your tongueagainst your lower teeth. Now,place the tip of your little finger onyour lower teeth so that it touchesthe front and middle of your tongue.Say u … … . You will feel theback of your tongue arch, droppingabout one-eighth of an inch fromone vowel to the next.

Now, drop your tongue until it islying flat on the floor of your mouth,and completely relax your lips. This

is the position for . Say , then sayu … … … … u … … …

. Next, say u … who …

… hood … … awesome. Now,drop your tongue until it’s lying flat,and say … stop.

Next, let’s consider the diphthong . We will begin with the o

sound, since you already pronouncethis vowel correctly. Place the tipof your little finger between yourlips, just outside your front teeth,and say o. You will feel your upperand lower lips touching yourfingeer lip muscles are fairly

relaxed. Now, say . You will feelthe inside of your lips roundingslightly. Say o … . Now, combineo and : … … .

Last, contrast the two o vowels: … … … … … .

Return now to DVD Track 14.Practice the difference in placementbetween the sounds and .

Step 2: Hearing theplacement of vs.

Using the mirror, look closely atyour mouth. Move your lips back

and forth between the placements ofthese two words: stop … go …stop … go … stop … go. (Ofcourse, your lips will come togetherfor the consonant p.)

Watch in the mirror as youpronounce the pairs of words in thefollowing list. Listen to thedifferences between a and , sothat you can train your ear to hearthe distinction, as well as feel thephysiological difference inplacement.

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Step 3: Applying theplacement of vs.

Following are lists of all thecommon English words that containthe and sounds, grouped byspelling pattern. Read through thelists carefully, and try to becomefamiliar with these words. Tochoose between and inpronouncing a word, refer to theselists.

You can practice the and sounds by reading these lists aloud.After you have mastered the sounds,advance to the sentences in the next

section.

* When the alm spelling patternoccurs at the end of a syllable orword, the l is silent and notpronounced.

Fred skipped lunchEOL?mime=image/jpg" alt="Image"/>

Sentences:

Sentences:

Turn to CD Track 40. Listen to the

recording of the followingsentences, then read the sentencesaloud. Concentrate on correctlypronouncing the sound, which ismarked phonetically.

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PART THREETHE RHYTHMS OFENGLISH

SEVENTEENSyllable stress within words

When we think of “stress,” wenormally associate it with suchfeelings as discomfort, agitation,and even duress. You may haveexperienced these feelings in thecourse of studying English. But“stress” in this and the followingchapter denotes far more than theseemotional reactions. The principle

of stress in spoken English dictatesits innate rhythm and intonation.

There are two main areas in whichwe employ stress: (1) syllablestress within words and (2) wordemphasis within sentences. We’llexplore sentence stress in ChapterEighteen. Right now, let’s considerstress within words.

All words containing two or moresyllables give main emphasis to oneprimary syllable. This isaccomplished by making thatsyllable longer, louder, and higherin pitch. Say the following words

aloud, and notice how the stressedsyllable within each is emphasized.

tradítion

annivérsary

nécessary

breákable

mírror

engineér

If you have trouble hearing wherethe stress within a word lies, try thefollowing exercise, using the wordtradition. Tradition has threedistinct syllables. Try saying it _aHTEENThe vowel">Drop the arch in thefront of your tongue back about one-eighth of an inch, leaving the tip ofyour tongue against your lowerteeth. This is the placement of thevowel Ιem; margin-left: 0.01em; }.three different ways: trádition,tradítion, traditión. Each time yousay the boldfaced syllable, stampyour foot on that syllable. This willautomatically cause you to

pronounce that syllable longer,louder, and higher in pitch. Byshifting the stress in this way, youwill be able to recognize where thesyllable stress falls within a word.In our example, the syllable stressfalls on the second syllable:tradítion.

Often, stress within words isn’tpredictable and can seem arbitrary,since English has incorporatedvocabulary from so many otherlanguages. There are, however, afew rules that we can use to predictsyllable stress.

Noun and verb variants

One rule—which applies to wordsthat can be either a noun or a verb—is that two-syllable nouns areusually stressed on the firstsyllable, and two-syllable verbs arestressed on the second syllable.Consider the following examples.

A second rule is that a compoundnoun (two nouns blended together toform a new word) has its stress onthe first noun, as in the followingexamples.

By contrast, in a phrasal verb (averb coupled with a preposition oradverb), the second element isstressed, as in the followingexamples.

The principle of vowelreduction

Adding to the confusion of thecorrespondence between spellingpatterns and pronunciation in

English is the principle of vowelreduction. Every word in Englishcarries primary stress on one of itssyllables. Most of the vowels in theunstressed syllables are reduced toa schwa, which is phoneticallyrepresented by . This is a neutralsound, similar to the phoneme in theword uh. Thus, the words loyal,introduction, and commandmentare pronounced and Vowelreduction makes it imperative thatyou find the correctly stressedsyllable in a word, since many ofthe vowels in the unstressedsyllables are reduced, changing the

pronunciation of their phonemesaltogether.

Two common spelling patterns thatcan take either the strong vowel or the weak vowel , depending onwhere the primary syllable stresslies in a word, are com- and con-;compare comment Following is a list of commonEnglish words with these spellingpatterns. In all of these words, thevowel in the com- and con- spellingpattern is in a prefix or unstressedposition and is pronounced .">Contrasting operative andinoperative wordss., where a step-

by-step demonstration of theplacement of b

Image

Suffix spelling patterns thataffect syllable stress

Most suffixes fall into three groups:(1) those from Old English andother Germanic languages, (2) thosefrom Latin through Old French, and(3) those from Greek.

The suffixes derived from OldEnglish (such as -ness, -en, -ish, -like, and -ern) do not influencesyllable stress. However, we canisolate 21 Latin and Greek suffixesthat, when added to the roots ofwords, usually shift the stress (but,of course, there are always

exceptions in English).Additionally, 10 suffixes derivedfrom Old French recei

EIGHTEENWord stress withinsentences

The rhythm of Englishspeech

Native speakers of English knowwhich words to emphasize andwhich to “throw away,” andtherefore have little trouble figuringout how to make even the mostcomplex of sentences fluent.Nonnative speakers of English havea far more arduous task: An Englishsentence often contains many small

words that do not carry the essentialmeaning of the idea or thought. Acommon mistake made by nonnativespeakers is to pronounce everyword with equal stress, creating avery stilted rhythm that does notmatch that of native Englishspeakers.

To understand the rhythm of Englishspeech, it is useful to differentiatebetween operative and inoperativewords.

Operative words

Operative words carry the meaning

of a sentence and therefore conjurean image in the listener’s mind.There are four categories of thesewords.

Verbs

Nouns

Adjectives

Adverbs

Inoperative words

Inoperative words are largely

responsible for the syntax, orstructure, of sentences; they don’tcarry the key meaning of the thoughtbeing communicated and aretherefore “thrown away”—that is,pronounced with very littleemphasis. In some of these words,the vowel can be reduced to theweak form of the schwa . Thereare several categories of thesewords.

Articles

Prepositions

Conjunctions

Pronouns (Although they are oftenthe subject of a sentence, pronounsrefer to a noun mentioned earlier inthe discourse.)

Auxiliary verbs

The verb to be in all its forms

The first word of infinitives, as into look (The word to is reduced tothe weak form.)

Of course, rhythm is ultimately the

choice of the speaker. But as ageneral guideline, distinguishingbetween operative and inoperativewords allows a nonnative speakerto more accurately create thenatural rhythm of English speech.And if one reduces the stress of allinoperative words while givingmore stress entered the mysteriousworld of >Record your ownpronunciation, and compare it to theCD track. Repeat this exercise untilyou feel ready to proceed to thenext step.

Weak forms

Certain words in English can have

Certain words in English can havetwo distinct pronunciations: astrong form and a weak form.Always use the weak forms of thesewords unless the strong form isneeded to change the meaning of thesentence.

Examples of strong forms vs.weak forms

Contrasting operative andinoperative words

Following is an exercise inpracticing the natural rhythms of

English speech. Follow the stepsbelow.

1. Underline all the operativewords in a sentence.

2. Cross out all the inoperativewords in a sentence.

3. Now, read aloud only theunderlined operative words. Noticethat they make sense and convey theessential meaning of the sentencewithout the inoperative words.

4. Finally, read the entire sentencealoud. Notice if this affects therhythm to which you are normally

accustomed.

Just as primary stress within wordsmakes a syllable longer, louder,and higher in pitch, so stressingoperative words in sentences makesthose words longer, louder, andhigher in pitch. Reading aloudenables you to listen and correctyourself as you work toward a morenatural rhythm and flow of Englishspeech.

Sentences

In the following sentences, theoperative words are underlined and

the inoperative words are crossedout. The weak forms of words aremarked with the schwa . phoneme.Following the steps above, readaloud only the operative words in asentence, and notice that the thoughts is presented. After you havewatched the DVD, read thefollowing description of the soundplacements and do the exercisesbelow.

ovement in your intonation. You cancheck yourself by listening to arecording of these sentences on CDTrack 44.

th="465" heigh

p>

Further practice

Now, let’s work on the moreadvanced business presentationsbelow. After you have practicedwith these sample presentations,you can apply the same steps toyour own business text.

Business sample No. 1: Theimpact ofcrisis on insurancecompanies

Begin by marking all of yourdifficult sounds in the paragraphsbelow. Underline the consonant andvowel sounds that you find

challenging, then mark theirphonetic symbol equivalents above.

The first text is scored for operativeand inoperative words. Phrases andclauses are bracketed to highlightthe desired imaging of the speaker.

Now listen to CD Track 50. Thespeaker is a native of Thailand, andthere are two recordings—“before”and “after” versions of Businesssample No. 1. The secondrecording was made after learningand using the Perfecting YourEnglish Pronunciation method.

Business sample No. 2: Strategyin the information systemsbusiness

Begin by marking all of yourdifficult sounds in the paragraphbelow. Underline the consonant andvowel sounds that you find

challenging, then mark theirphonetic symbol equivalents above.

Next, score touching anywhereinside your mouth." height="Nn theb this second text for operative andinoperative words, and bracketphrases and clauses to highlight thedesired imaging of the speaker.

Let’s focus o the economic

n the information systems business.The issues are real.

Our company can leverage apowerful mix of technologies forthe information systems. Yet othersubsidiary companies—partssuppliers, electronics companies,content providers, and airtimeproviders—are all fighting fordominant positions in the samespace. Major growth in informationsystems is certain—who willcapture that growth is not at allclear. For our company, theinformation systems businessrepresentopportunity amidst great

uncertainty and change. In the end,we must together define the corevalue at which our company excels,the currency that will cause partnersto sign up for this integratedbusiness model to serve theconsumer. To speed our company’srace towards the marketplace, andto more clearly define a strategy,we will use external interviews,internal interviews, and objectivedata to establish the value that eachtype of player brings at positionsalong the value chain.

Now listen to CD Track 51. Thespeaker is of Hispanic descent, andthere are two recordings—“before”and “after” versions of Businesssample No. 2. The secondrecording was made after learningand using the Perfecting YourEnglish Pronunciation method.

Business sample No. 3: Valuationfinancial model

Begin by marking all of yourdifficult sounds in the paragraphsbelow. Underline the consonant andvowel sounds that you findchallenging, then mark theirphonetic symbol equivalents above.

Next, score this third text foroperative and inoperative words,and bracket phrases and clauses tohighlight the desired imaging of thespeaker.

This model is a vehicle forcomparing the results of yourcompany’s valuation methodologywith the historical share prices of

other companies under analysis.Previously, viewing the effect onshare price tracking was laboriousand time-consuming. Now, usingthis tool, your company can performthis analysis quickly. This modelalso allows analysis on anunlimited number of departmentssimultaneously, rather than one byone.

It is important to note that thismodel is designed for use withfinancial services companies. Thus,the growth rates used to create spotvaluations are those of equity, notassets, and thes a wonderful

return measure is return on equity,not return on investment. Adaptingthe model for use with industrialcompanies should not be difficult,but in its present incarnation, itapplies to banks.

Now listen to CD Track 52. Thespeaker is a native of India, andthere are t#8212;“before” and“after” versions of Business sampleNo. 3. The second recording was

made after learning and using thePerfecting Your EnglishPronunciation method.

Scoring your presentations

You can use the following system toscore all your dramaticallyimproveha">Return your tongue toits resting position, with the tip ofyour tongue EOLpresentationsworecordings&

APPENDIX BPronunciation of final s: s orz?

Nonnative speakers of English areoften confused about how topronounce the letter s: as avoiceless s or as a voiced z?Unfortunately, s can be eithervoiceless or voiced, independent ofspelling patterns. However, thereare three instances in English inwhich s is added to an existingword.

To make a noun plural

To make a noun possessive

To make the third-person singularform of a present-tense verb

In these three instances, a simplerule dictates whether the s isvoiceless or voiced. When addings, look at the sound that precedes it.If the sound is voiceless, the s isvoiceless; if the sound is voiced,the s is voiced.

Note, however, that if the wordends in a sibilant (s, z, f, , , or

), whether voiced or voiceless, thesuffix is -es (or ’s for possessives)and is pronounced Ιz.

Examples

APPENDIX CCD contents by track

CD track numbers and titlesare followed bycorresponding book pagenumbers.

Documents

Perfecting Your English Pronunciation wi - Cameron, Susan.pdf