Phonemes and Pronunciation

Improve Your Pronunciation with Gabriel Sowrian

~* ORAL PREFACE *~

-{ Click 'HERE' for the transcript of my voice }-

This is an actual MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan of a man’s head, side view, captured while talking. Observe closely the movements of the speech organs, especially tongue. This is what happens inside our mouth when we talk, shout, whisper or sing! It looks very interesting, doesn't it? You can see the image here on a slightly bigger scale. Also, watch similar MRI scans with voice on Video 1 and Video 2.

The following figure shows the sequence of changes in the shape of our mouth and lips when we pronounce the word 'funny'. Such changes occur because we say four different sounds swiftly in the process of pronouncing the word 'funny'.

Now, try saying the word while looking at you in the mirror. Do you see what I just mentioned? Remember that all spoken words are made up of small units of sounds called phonemes. The word 'funny' has four phonemes - /f/, /ʌ/, /n/ and /i/ - /'fʌni/.

/ f / / ʌ / / n / / i /

The next time when you converse with your friend watch carefully how his mouth, lips and even the tongue (visible during the making of some sounds) move while he is talking. This is a good way to identify the articulation of different sounds that are involved when a word is said. I do this all the time just for the fun of it!

Well! Do you see the importance of learning the phonemes in order to pronounce words appropriately? If your answer is 'yes', you've taken the very first step to improve your pronunciation. Congratulations!

See below for the 44 phonemes that make up the pronunciation

of all the words in Standard British English.

(Click on the image and you'll be taken to an in-house Interactive Phonemic Chart.)

Now, click Session 1 and begin your study. Once you are done with a Session, come to this contents page and continue with the next Session. Feel free to revise a session as many times as you want until you really feel satisfied. The key is, your active participation in every single exercise or activity that I have drawn up. Don't be shy - *record your voice and post your audio for each lesson so that we could help you to attain your goal. Let's do it!

Note: Currently, Study Session 1 to 9 are available. I’ll activate the others as and when the related study sessions are posted. This list is merely to show you in advance all the topics that the study comprises.

Glitter Graphics | http://www.graphicsgrotto.com/

.................Session 1: Introduction and the Sounds of English

.................Session 2: IPA - International Phonetic Alphabet

.................Session 3: Consonant sounds: voiceless /p/ - voiced /b/

.................Session 4: Consonant sounds: voiceless /t/ - voiced /d/

.................Session 5: Consonant sounds: voiceless /k/ - voiced /g/

.................Session 6: Consonant sounds: voiceless /f/ - voiced /v/

.................Session 7: Consonant sounds: voiceless /θ/ - voiced /ð/

.................Session 8: Consonant sounds: voiceless /s/ - voiced /z/

.................Session 9: Consonant sounds: voiceless /ʃ/ - voiced /ʒ/

.................Session 10: Consonant sounds: voiceless /ʧ/ - voiced /ʤ/

.................Session 11: Consonant sounds: voiced /n/ - voiced /ŋ/

.................Session 12: Consonant sounds: voiced /m/

.................Session 13: Consonant sounds: voiced /l/ - voiced /r/

.................Session 14: Consonant sounds: voiced /w/ - voiced /j/

.................Session 15: Consonant sounds: voiceless /h/

.................Session 16: A recollection of consonant sounds

.................Session 17: Vowel sounds: short /ɪ/ - long /i:/

.................Session 18: Vowel sounds: short /ʊ/ - long /u:/

.................Session 19: Vowel sounds: short /ɒ/ - long /ɔ:/

.................Session 20: Vowel sounds: short /æ/ - long /ɑ:/

.................Session 21: Vowel sounds: short /ʌ/ - long /ɜ:/

.................Session 22: Vowel sounds: short /e/

.................Session 23: Vowel sounds: short /ə/

.................Session 24: A recollection of vowel sounds

.................Session 25: Diphthongs ss: /aɪ/, /eɪ/ and /ɔɪ/

.................Session 26: Diphthongs ss: / aʊ/ and /əʊ/

.................Session 27: Diphthongs ss: /ɪə/, /eə/ and /ʊə/

.................Session 28: A recollection of diphthongs

................

Session 29: ………..........…..... ?! …...……….…….……

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to Prostomolotova Galina. I could not have formulated the lessons without the many hours of fruitful discussions I had with her for the past two weeks. It was a great privilege working with someone who is so enthusiastic about the English Sound System.

Thank you from the heart, Galina! Your contribution is greatly appreciated!

....................................................................................................................

What do you say?

I’d appreciate some feedback from you about phonemes. Do you think it is worth learning the phonemes? Do you really feel like mastering the speech sounds? Share your views in the comment box below. Thank you!

....................................................................................................................

* Check my blog "Make your voice heard" to learn where to get a voice recorder; how to record your

voice and embed the audio player anywhere on EC.

~* GS *~

July 13th, 2012

My heartfelt thanks to EC for featuring this discussion today... July 14th, 2012

Don't forget to click the 'Like' button if you find the posting useful!

Tags: Gabriel Sowrian, Pronunciation

51 members like this

Attachments:

The transcript of my oral preface.docx, 18 KB
Letters vs Phonemes - Written and Spoken words.doc, 34 KB

Replies to This Discussion

ModPermalink Reply by Anele on July 13, 2012 at 0:48

Wow........Teacher Gabriel! I have no doubts that studying these phonemes is very much a part of our English language. All learners of English should not only focus on the grammar side of studying but also on the correct pronunciation of each word that they can't escape from uttering especially when communicating face to face with the people or with a particular person.

It's really worth learning the phonemes and I really like mastering the speech sounds. I am "IN" Teacher Gabriel.............just don't make me sing!

Really looking forward to the lessons..............GO! GO! GO!

Permalink Reply by Gabriel Sowrian on July 13, 2012 at 13:00

Dear Anele,

Thank you for being the first to respond to my call. I couldn’t agree more! I’m so pleased that you’ve acknowledged the learning of phonemes. Also, it’s very noble of you to lend your name willingly to this study programme. I think I’ve a cause to rejoice! See you around, teacher!

Regards,

~* GS *~

Permalink Reply by mitran on July 13, 2012 at 4:12

My dear Teacher,

Maybe you don't know me...so let me introduce....

As I know, You are Rajesh's brother, right? I'm Rajesh Mom...hahaha...too funny...But my speaking and listening are poor. So now I join your class and become your student...wow..wow..wow...What a nice situation!.

I'm just joking, please don't mind. Sure. I will listen your voice and try to add my voice here. Let give me some days (or some months)..lol.....

Thanks for the help.

Permalink Reply by Gabriel Sowrian on July 13, 2012 at 22:38

Hi, Mitran!

Thank you for the interest you’ve shown in pronunciation. You are, I’m glad to say, that a keen learner of English. You’ve never failed to grab an opportunity when it comes by. I’m amazed by your enthusiasm!

Here’s some good news for you. The study sessions that I’m going to conduct are not difficult, as widely perceived by many EC members, actually. It’s as easy as pie! The other thing is I’m going to introduce, in a few days’ time, a new ‘voice recorder’ to MyEC. I’ve singled out this tool keeping members, who find it challenging to record their voice, in mind! To cut a long story short, I have a bag of tricks for you guys! Just keep your fingers crossed, Mitran. See you!

Best regards,

~* GS *~

Permalink Reply by mitran on July 13, 2012 at 4:17

And please..please...accept my friend request. I'm so glad if I can become your friend.

Thank you.

Have a nice day!

Permalink Reply by Gabriel Sowrian on July 13, 2012 at 22:48

Dear Mitran,

Do we really need to be introduced? I don’t think so because we already know each other for some time. Yes, you’ve commented before on the videos that were uploaded and blogs posted by me! If I recall correctly, I had responded to all those comments of yours. So, you see, we are no strangers!

However, I was very much delighted when you put in the friendship request a few hours ago. Surely this will pave the way for us to get to know each other better. Hope to see in my class with a pen, notepad and microphone :-) Cheers!

Regards,

~* GS *~

SpamBusterPermalink Reply by Rajesh on July 13, 2012 at 6:32

Permalink Reply by Gabriel Sowrian on July 14, 2012 at 0:14

Hello, Rajesh!

I could vividly imagine you beamed with excitement at the look of your ‘surprise’! It’s perfectly understandable why you were jumping. A word of advice, my dearest bro! If you are still bouncing, please don't do it in a room where there’s a ceiling-mounted fan. ;-)

Ok! I’m pleased and relieved to hear that this is your ‘biggest (study) lesson’ to date! Given your dogged determination for flawless spoken English and unspoiled pronunciation, you’ll master beyond a shadow of a doubt the speech sounds, believe me. Wish you all the best, bro!

Best regards,

~* GS *~

SpamBusterPermalink Reply by Rajesh on July 14, 2012 at 5:32

hahaha......bro, I can't reach to the fan, 'coz I'm not leaving my chair. :-)

Cheers!

Permalink Reply by Gabriel Sowrian on July 14, 2012 at 4:08

Dear Nida,

It’s music to my ears that you are quite enthusiastic about learning phonetics. This is the exact ‘sound’ I want to hear from EC members! It’s a pleasure to lend you a hand with the speech sounds. Let’s ring the changes with a set of phonemes, Nida! See you later!

Regards,

~* GS *~

Permalink Reply by Hala J.M on July 13, 2012 at 7:52

We used to describe Phonetics : The aesthetics of the language ,and the sound of it.

It's the main part of speech and communication, because speech is more revealing than any other form of a language.

English is difficult in pronunciation ,because we can see the same letters or sequences of letters represents different sounds in different words ...example:/ ei / are pronunced differently in three words:

- height - eight - deceive..

This is why in phonetics ,the problem of sounds and letters has been overcome by forming a phonetic spelling in which every letter represents a single distinct sound .

My point of view as a teacher ,it's so important to know the phonemes and the pronunciation, and this needs an experet teacher who can move away the learners from the spelling to phonemic script not just getting to know the symbols, but also making sure that we can say the right sound for each one .

Lots of help by an expert teacher is needed very much ,and you are now giving us this chance to improve our speaking skill.

Thanks a lot for all the great effort to help us in this valuable branch of a language.

- Best Wishes -

Permalink Reply by Gabriel Sowrian on July 14, 2012 at 4:58

Dearest Hala,

I like the use of the word ‘aesthetics’ in your opening remarks. You hit the nail on the head! There is no question mark over phonetics – it’s aesthetic and functional!

Teacher, to tell the truth, I’m all excited having you on board! And, I’m glad to say that I stumbled on you here at the Club. Could you see me beaming from ear to ear at this very moment? Bye for now! I’ll catch you later ;-)

Warm regards,

~* GS *~