013 guidelines for phonemic transcription

Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

Guidelines for Phonemic Transcription
The following list is made up of a selection of tendencies that will surely help you transcribe. Although we
may sometimes refer to them as “rules,” you should always remember that there are very few 100%-safe
rules in English phonetics.
It’s important for you not to panic! You’ll be incorporating these concepts gradually as the course
develops, and you will be coming back to them regularly. However, it’s extremely useful to have a
compendium of guidelines.

Script conventions:
1. Phonemic script is enclosed by slant lines ... Make sure you do not write a slant after each word.
This is a phonemic transcription.
.
CHr
Hy
?
e?!mh9lHj
sqzm!rjqHoRm
.

2. Phonetic or allophonic script is enclosed by square brackets.
tell .!sdk.+
Z!sçd4\-

3. Ordinary spelling may be enclosed by angle brackets <> in order to avoid confusion.
<mess> .!ldr..
4. As stress is a property of the whole syllable, stress marks are placed before the syllable begins.
hotel .g?T!sdk.
subsequently .!rUarHjv?mskh.

5. Do not use capital letters in transcriptions.
Irish .!`HqHR.
August .!N9f?rs.
London .!kUmc?m.



Wednesday .!vdmycdH.

6. Do not use punctuation marks in transcriptions.
a. You may use a single bar ({) to show pauses, such as most commas.
b. A double bar ({{) stands for a longer pause, such as full stops, semi-colons or colons.
Well, I guess you’re wrong, Howard. Can you think it over?
.
!vdk
{
`H
!fdr
iN9
!qPM
!g`T?c
{{
j?m
it
!SHMj
Hs
!?Tu?
{{.
7. Do not confuse letters with phonetic symbols. Letters may be pronounced in a number of ways.

Phonetic symbols, however, always stand for the same sound.
<g> can be .f.
or .cY.:
go
.!f?T.
gym .!cYHl.

.f.
will always stand for a voiced velar plosive:
give .!fHu.








goose .!ft9r.

8. The following symbols are not English phonemes: <c, ñ, o, q, x, y>.


Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

Phonemic inventory:
9. There is a limited inventory of phonemes in English. Stick to these conventions – in other words,
don’t create new combinations!!!
a. Vowels:
• Pure vowels or monophthongs

1. Relatively long .h9+
@9+
N9+
t9+
29.
2. Short .h+
H+
d+
z+
U+
?+
P+
T+
t.
• Diphthongs or glides
1. Closing .`H+
dH+
NH+
`T+
?T.
2. Centring .H?+
d?+
T?.
b. Consonants
• Plosives .o+
a+
s+
c+
j+
f.

• Affricates .sR+
cY.
• Fricatives .e+
u+
S+
C+
r+
y+
R+
Y+
g.
• Nasals .l+
m+
M.
• Approximants .k+
q+
v+
i.

10. Be neat! Make sure that you don’t confuse these pairs in your handwritten transcriptions:
a. .d+
?.
b. .?T+
`T.
c. .H+
h+
h9.
d. .T+
t+
t9.

e. .r+
R.
f. .`H+
`T+
@9.
g. .N9+
NH+
P.
11. Vowel sounds are difficult to pronounce and recognize at first. Also, they differ quite a lot
depending on the speaker’s accent. In order to help you, we can either call the vowels of the
General British accent by their number or standard lexical set.

Vowel Number Lexical Set
.h9.
.H.
.d.
.z.
.@9.
.P.
.N9.
.T.
.t9.
.U.
.29.
.?.

1
2
3
4

5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

FLEECE
KIT
DRESS
TRAP
START
LOT
NORTH
FOOT
GOOSE
STRUT
NURSE
Schwa

Vowel

Lexical Set

.h.
.t.

Happy

Thank you

Diphthong Lexical Set
.`H.
.dH.
.NH.
.d?.
.H?.
.T?.
.?T.
.`T.

PRICE
FACE
CHOICE
SQUARE
NEAR
CURE
GOAT
MOUTH

12. Miscellanea:
a. General British English is a non-rhotic accent. That is, the sound .q. is only found before
vowels. Therefore, letter <r> is not pronounced before consonants or silence.
British .!aqHsHR.


red .!qdc.

German .!cY29l?m.

hair .!gd?.






Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

b. The velar nasal consonant .M. is never found in word-initial position.
c. The voiceless glottal fricative .g. is never found in word-final position.
d. The semivowels .i.
and .v.
can only occur before vowels.
when .!vdm.
wow .!v`T.

youth .!it9S.
yea .!idH.

e. Don’t confuse .H?.
with .i?+
id+
iU+
i@9+
iz.; or .T?. with .v?+
vU+
v@9+

vz.. They differ in
terms of which element in the sequence is the more prominent. Diphthongs have a more
prominent first element, whereas in the semivowel + vowel clusters it is the vowel that has
the more prominence.
ears .!H?y.

Cf.
yes .!idr.

sure .!RT?.

Cf.
schwa .!Rv@9.
f.

Don’t use the happy .h.
and the thank-you .t.
vowels in diphthongs. Diphthongs can only
end in .H+
T+
?.My cow .l`H
!j`T.
(not .l`h
!j`t.)


g. Diphthongs may be followed by other vowels, especially schwa. Make sure you don’t use
semivowels here.
hour
.!`T?.

(not .!`v?.)
fire
.!e`H?.

(not .!e`i?.)
player
.!okdH?.

(not .!okdi?.)
loyal
.!kNH?k.

(not .!kPi?k.)
lower
.!k?T?.

(not .!kPv?.)

h. DRESS .d., TRAP .z., LOT .P., FOOT .T. and STRUT .U. are checked vowels. This means
that they never occur word-finally.
i.

FLEECE .h9., START .@9., NORTH .N9., GOOSE .t9.
and NURSE .29.
can’t occur before the velar
nasal .M..

j.

The velar nasal .M.
is normally preceded by checked (i.e. short) vowels.
sang .!rzM.



song .!rPM.



sing .!rHM.

sung .!rUM.


ginseng .!cYHmrdM.



k. NURSE .29.
almost always occurs in stressed syllables.
l.

You’re not supposed to use schwa .?.
in stressed syllables.

m. GOOSE .t9.
and FOOT .T.
are extremely rare in word-initial position. Note the following
relatively frequent words (among some other rare words):

ooze .!t9y.



oops .!Tor+
!t9or.

n. Stress has an impact on pronunciation. For example, we generally use .it9. in stressed
syllables, and .it+
i?.
in unstressed syllables.
using
.!it9yHM.



university
.$it9mH!u29r?sh.

particular
.o?!sHji?k?+
o?!sHjiTk?.


o. The sequences .h9q. and .t9q.
don’t occur in General British. Instead, you should use .H?. for
the former, and .T?. (or at times also .N9.) for the latter.
mysterious .lH!rsH?qh?r.

hero .!gH?q?T.

curious
.!jiT?qh?r+
!jiN9qh?r.


plural .!okT?q?k+
!okN9q?k.



Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016


p. The spelling <oo>
• It’s generally GOOSE .t9.
• It takes STRUT .U. just in blood and flood.
• It takes FOOT .T.
in foot, good, hood, stood, soot, woof, wood, wool.
• It takes FOOT .T.
in all <-ook> endings (except for spook).
q. The spellings for TRAP .z. and STRUT .U.
are mutually exclusive. The spelling <a> never
takes STRUT .U.. The spellings <o, u, ou> never take TRAP .z..
fan
.!ezm.

Cf.

fun
.!eUm.
tan
.!szm.



Cf.
ton
.!sUm.

r.

Some words whose spelling is <a> are called BATH words because they take .@9. in
General British instead of TRAP. Normally, the <a> is followed by:
• Nasal (+consonant)
dance .!c@9mr.


sample .!r@9lok.
• Fricative (+consonant)
after .!@9es?.



pass .!o@9r.

Transcribe your “own voice”:
13. Do not transcribe ‘dictionary talk.’ You should consult a pronouncing dictionary but you should
transcribe the version of the word that you think is most suitable.
a. We will focus on the British version, not the American one. Also, if there are several
options, you should choose the first one (which is supposed to be the most frequent)1:

b. Omit raised sounds:
Dictionary:
little .!kHs?k.
sense .rdmsr.


You:


.!kHsk.
.rdmr.

c. Keep symbols in italics:
Dictionary:
lunch .!kUmsR.
You: .!kUmsR.
oral .!N9q?k.


.!N9q?k.

d. Omit all symbols and spaces other than primary and secondary stresses:

Dictionary:
Caribbean .$jzq
?
!ah9
^?m.
You
.$jzq?!ah9?m.
category .!jzs
?f
?q^{
h.


.!jzs?f?qh.
14. You should transcribe a text in the way you would pronounce it, not necessarily the way it is
written:
e. We favour contractions in speech
We are late. .vH?
!kdHs.

You are right. .iN9
!q`Hs.
They are friends. .Cd?
!eqdmcy.
It has finished. .Hsr
!eHmHRs.
f.

We pronounce numbers and conventions fully
3 men .!Sqh9

!ldm.



£ 2,000 .!st9
!S`Ty?mc
!o`Tmcy.


Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

g. We add words when we read dates
1st June, 1998
December 11th, 2002

.C?
!e29rs
?u
!cYt9m
{
!m`Hmsh9m
!m`Hmsh
!dHs.
.Ch
H!kdu?mS
?u
cH!rdla?
{
!svdmsh
!?T

!st9.
or
.!st9
!S`Ty?mc
?m
!st9.


h. We should be familiar with acronyms and abbreviations
iPhone .!`He?Tm.



UNICEF .!it9m?rde.






USB .$it9
dr
!ah9.



The role of stress within the word

15. There are two stress marks: primary stresses .!. and secondary stresses .$.. It is the primary stress
of the word that can normally change the melody of intonation.

.$jPlo?!sHR?m.

$Compe!tition!
Vs.
$Compe!tition?
.!jzoHs?$kHy?l.


!Capita$lism!

Vs.

!Capita$lism?

16. The presence of stress has an impact on the choice of vowel sounds. There are two subsystems of
vowels (notice that .H+
T.
belong to both groups):
a. Strong vowels – They tend to occur in stressed syllables:
.h9+
H+
d+
z+
@9+
P+
N9+
T+
t9+
U+

29+
dH+
`H+
NH+
`T+
?T+
H?+
d?+
T?.
b. Weak vowels – They only occur in unstressed syllables: .?+
h+
t+
H+
T.
i. .h. is used:
1. In the weak forms:
he .gh.


she .Rh.
we .vh.
me .lh.
be .ah.


the (+ vowel sound) .Ch.

2. In unstressed word-final position:
happy .!gzoh.
phonology .e?!mPk?cYh.

Charlie .!sR@9kh.
anybody .!dmh$aPch.
3. In unstressed syllable-final position before another vowel
react .qh!zjs.
envious .!dmuh?r.
ii. .t. is used:
1. In the weak forms:
you .it.


to (+ vowel sound) .st.



who .gt.
do (+ vowel sound) .ct.

2. In unstressed syllable-final position before another vowel:
graduation .$fqzcYt!dHRm.
silhouette .$rHkt!ds.
usual .!it9Yt?k.
graduate .!fqzcYt?s.

17. Notice that unstressed syllables generally take schwa .?., not DRESS .d..
government .!fUu?ml?ms. (not .!fUudmldms.)
18. English, being a Germanic language, doesn’t allow the occurrence of two unstressed syllables at
the beginning of a word. In other words, the Teutonic rule demands that either the first or second
syllable of every word should be stressed. If the primary stress falls later than either on the first or
second syllable, there will be a secondary stress either on the first or second syllable. The rule of
alternation helps us there: if we hear a strong (primary) stress on the third syllable, then there

may be a “hidden” secondary stress on the first syllable. If we perceive a strong prominence on the


Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

fourth syllable, then there may be a prominence in the second syllable. The unstressed syllables
normally take weak vowels (especially schwa).
oven .!Uu?m.
contain .j?m!sdHm.
preposition .$oqdo?!yHR?m.



sophistication .r?$eHrsH!jdHR?m.
representative .$qdoq?!ydms?sHu.

grammaticality .fq?$lzsH!jzk?sh.

19. Many unstressed endings are generally weak in English; therefore they take weak vowels. Some
words allow the optional use of either schwa or another weak vowel. Sometimes, it’s even possible
to elide a weak vowel altogether (possible elisions are shown in italics).
• -able .,?ak.
preferable .!oqdeq?ak.
• -ace .,?r+
,Hr.
preface .!oqde?r.
• -age .,HcY.
village .!uHkHcY.
• -ain .,?m.

certain .!r29sm.
• -al .,?k.

special .!rodRk.
• -an .,?m.

American .?!ldqHj?m.
• -ary .,?qh.

secretary .!rdjq?sqh.
• -ate .,?s+
,Hs.
(adjectives & nouns)
certificate .r?!sHeHj?s.
• -ed .,Hc. (past tense after final .s+
c.)
planted .!ok@9msHc.
• -edly .,Hckh+
,?ckh. (adverbs)
supposedly .r?!o?TyHckh.
• -ed
.,Hc. (adjectives) wicked .!vHjHc.
• -en .,?m.

tighten .!s`Hsm.
• -eon .,?m.

dungeon .!cUmcY?m.
• -er
.,?. (comparative) quicker .!jvHj?.

• -es /-’s
.,Hy. (plurals, simple present, genitive after sibilants) Well’s .!vdkyHy.
• -est
.,?rs+
,Hrs. (superlatives) biggest .!aHf?rs.
• -et .,Hs.

circuit .!r29jHs.
• -eth .,?S+
,HS.

twentieth .!svdmsh?S.
• -ful .,eTk. (quantity nouns) spoonful .!rot9meTk.
• -ful .,ek. (adjectives) beautiful .!ait9s?ek.
• -ible .,?ak+
,Hak.
incredible .HM!jqdc?ak.
• -ily .,Hkh+
,?kh.

happily .!gzo?kh.
• -ion .,?m.

invention .Hm!udmRm.
• -less .,k?r+
,kHr.
timeless .!s`Hlk?r.
• -ly .,kh.

timely .!s`Hlkh.

• -ment .,l?ms.

moment .!l?Tl?ms.
• -ness .,m?r+
,mHr.
careless .!jd?k?r.
• -on .,?m..

Amazon .!zl?ym.
• -ory .,?qh.
laboratory .k?!aPq?sqh.
• -ous .,?r.

ridiculous .qH!cHji?k?r.
• -some .,r?l.

awesome .!N9r?l.
• -ure .,?.

temperature .!sdloq?sR?.
• -y /-ey .,h.

Tony .!s?Tmh.

20. Some of these endings are really words in their own right, but they have become unstressed and
weak because of these combinations are extremely frequent. We call this process monolithicity.
They take weak vowels.
• -burgh /-borough .,a?q?.

Edinburgh .!dcHlaq?.

• -chester .,sRHrs?+
,sR?rs?.
Manchester .!lzmsR?rs?.
• -ford .,e?c.


Oxford .!Pjre?c.
• -ham .,?l.


Buckingham .!aUjHM?l.
• -land .,k?mc.


Scotland .!rjPsk?mc.


Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

•
•
•
•

-man .,l?m.


Gentleman .!cYdmskl?m.
-men .,l?m.
Gentlemen .!cYdmskl?m.

-shire .,R?+
,RH?.

Yorkshire .!iN9jR?.
-son .,r?m.


Smithson .!rlHSrm.

21. When the following word-beginnings are unstressed, they tend to take weak vowels.
• ab- .?a,.

abandon .?!azmc?m.
• ad- .?c,.

admire .?c!l`H?.
• be- .aH,+
a?,+
ah,.
before .aH!eN9.
• col- .j?k,.

collect .j?!kdjs.
• con- .j?m,.

control .j?m!sq?Tk.
• de- .cH,+
c?,+
ch,.
derive .cH!q`Hu.

• em- .Hl,.

employ .Hl!okNH.
• en- .Hm,.


entire .Hm!s`H?.
• ob- .?a,.


obtain .?a!sdHm.
• pho- .e?,.


photography .e?!sPfq?eh.
• pre- .oqH,+
oq?,+
oqh,.
prepare .oqH!od?.
• pro- .oq?,.


promote .oq?!l?Ts.
• re- .qH,+
q?,+
qh,.
remember .qH!ldla?.
• sub- .r?a,.

sublime .r?!ak`Hl.
• sup- .r?,.


support .r?!oN9s.
• to- .s?,.

today .s?!cdH.

Spelling and pronunciation:
predicting vowel sounds
22. There are only five pure-vowel contrasts in Spanish. In English, there are twelve contrastive pure
vowels. This means that it will be hard for Spanish speakers to discriminate between these sounds,
both in their production and in their perception. The English spelling system, however chaotic it
seems to be, can certainly help.
a. Vowel letters stand for a checked vowel sound (i.e. short vowel)
• Basic Vowel Pattern (Consonant letters +) Vowel letter + Consonant letter (+consonant letters)
A single vowel letter needs at least to be followed by a consonant in a
monosyllable or in the stressed syllable of a longer word to keep the vowel sound
checked.
<a> = TRAP .z.
at
hat
straps
<e> = DRESS .d.
ex
met stretch
<i> = KIT .H.
if
bin

strict
<o> = LOT .P.
off
clog flocks
<u> = FOOT .T.

put
pushed
<u> = STRUT .U.
up
fun
brushed
•

Doubling of consonant letters
The doubling of a consonant blocks the formation of a diphthong. A checked vowel
is normally found in these cases.
<a> = TRAP .z.
added
latter
<e> = DRESS .d.
begging
petted
<i> = KIT .H.
written
bidding

<o> = LOT .P.
clogged
floppy

<u> = FOOT .T.
putting

hubby
<u> = STRUT .U.
rubbing


Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

b. Vowel letters “say their name”
• Two vowels together
Two vowel letters may be written together so as to break the Basic Vowel Pattern
and, as a result, represent a long vowel sound. In general, the first vowel letter
tends to “say its name”.
<a> = FACE .dH.

paid
<e> = FLEECE .h9.

sea
see

<i> = PRICE .`H.

die

<o> = GOAT .?T.

load soul

<u> = GOOSE .'i(t9.
fruit
• Final silent <-e>
A final silent <-e> is added to the word to make the previous vowel letter say its
name.
<a> = FACE .dH.

place
<e> = FLEECE .h9.

Pete

<i> = PRICE .`H.

hike

<o> = GOAT .?T.

mode

<u> = GOOSE .'i(t9.
duke
• Final “magic” <y>
It makes the previous vowel say its name.
baby
Levy
shiny
Toby
ruby

<a> = FACE .dH.

<e> = FLEECE .h9.

<i> = PRICE .`H.

<o> = GOAT .?T.

<u> = GOOSE .'i(t9.





c. “Radical <r>”
General British English is a non-rhotic accent, therefore, you should pronounce those <r>
letters in the spelling only when they are followed by a vowel sound. When there’s no
vowel sound after a <r> in a strong syllable, then this consonant letter normally affects the
vowel letter before it by either lengthening it or turning it into a more open sound.
<ar> = START .@9.

star
<er> = NURSE .29.

hers

<ir> = NURSE .29.

first

<or> = NORTH .N9.

form

<ur> = NURSE .29.

curse



The role of stress in connected speech
23. As you know by now, when you transcribe a word you need to focus on what syllables can be
potentially stressed. These syllables will always take a strong vowel. The same is true when you
transcribe connected speech, but in order to spot the stressed syllables in the chunk, you first need
to discriminate between content and grammar words.

Grammar words:
- They’re the only possible
collocations
- They are predictable
- They are frequent
- They have little semantic value
- They tend to be unstressed

CAPPA
conjunctions – articles – pronouns –
prepositions – auxiliaries

Content words:

- They compete against other options
The minister of agriculture
The chairman of Shell
The president of Argentina

The secretary of education
.C?

!rdjq?sqh


?u

$dcY?!jdHRm.

- They’re less predictable
- They’re more semantically loaded
- They tend to be stressed

NAVA
nouns – adverbs – verbs - adjectives


Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

a. Content words (NAVA: nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs) can potentially carry one or
several stresses. Content words are highlighted in speech by means of stress because they
are loaded with meaning and are not easily predictable in the context.
category .!jzs?fqh.
representative .$qdoq?!ydms?sHu.

uselessness .!it9rk?rm?r.
situation .$rHsRt!dHRm.

b. The following grammar words (CAPPA: conjunctions, auxiliaries, pronouns, prepositions,
articles) take a weak form as the norm.
Tip: if in doubt, choose a weak form over a strong form. These are the most frequent
words in the language and, therefore, they are highly predictable in the context in which
they appear. These words take weak vowels because they are not stressed. (See the notes
on weak and strong forms)

.?.

.h.

am .?l., are .?., was .v?y., were .v?.
do (+consonant sound) .c?., does .c?y., have .g?u., has
.g?y., had .g?c.
her .g?., us .?r., them .C?l.
that .C?s., there .C?., some .r?l., the (+consonant sound)
.C?., a .?., an .?m.
of .?u., to (+consonant sound) .s?., from .eq?l., at .?s., for
.e?.
as .?y., and .?m., but .a?s., than .C?m.
must .l?rs., can .j?m., could .j?c., will .v?k., would
.v?c., should .R?c., shall .R?k.

be .ah.
he .gh.
she .Rh.
we .vh.

me .lh.,
the (+vowel sound) .Ch.

.t.

.T.

.H.

could
.jTc.
do (+vowel sound) .ct.
you .it.
to (+vowel sound) .st.
who .gt.

would
.vTc.

Will
.vHk.

should
.RTc.


c. Polysyllabic grammar words can potentially take a stress, too.
about .?!a`Ts.
behind .aH!g`Hmc.
beyond .aH!iPmc.

above .?!aUu.

24. If the grammar word you’re looking for is not in the list above, don’t turn it into a weak form.
It’s on and off, till you break up, then.
.Hsr
!Pm
?m
!Pe
{
sHk
it
!aqdHj
!Uo
!Cdm.
25. Pre-consonantal vs. Pre-vocalic weak forms
The weak forms of to, do, the change depending on whether they’re followed by a consonant or a
vowel sound. They take schwa .?. before consonants and thank-you .t.
or happy .h.
before
vowels.
To eat .st
!h9s.

Cf.
To drink .s?
!cqHMj.
The east .Ch
!h9rs.

Cf.

The west .C?
!vdrs.
Do I eat? .ct
`H
!h9s.

Cf.
Do they eat? .c?
CdH
!h9s.

26. The verb to be is so frequent and predictable that it is almost always weak if it’s a monosyllable,
regardless of whether it functions as the main verb in a sentence.
We were tired. .vh
v?
!s`H?c.
The boys are late. .C?
!aNHy
?
!kdHs.
You’re being funny. .iN9
!ah9HM
!eUmh.
(Being is made up of two syllables)


Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

27. Contractions:
a. Negative contractions are always strong, because they contain a negative adverb inside

them.
They weren’t scared. .CdH
!v29ms
!rjd?c.
b. Pronoun + auxiliary contractions are generally weak.
He’ll be happy that she’s back. .ghk
ah
!gzoh
C?s
Rhy
!azj.
28. Confusable weak and strong forms:
a. That is strong when it works as a demonstrative, but it’s weak when it works as a
conjunction.
I’m glad (that) that man’s bad. .`Hl
!fkzc
'C?s(
'!(Czs
!lzmy
!azc.
b. There is strong when it works as a locative, but it’s weak when it denotes existence.
There’s a pear over there. .C?y
?
!od?q
!?Tu?
!Cd?.
c. Be careful with us and as.
Tell us as much as you know. .!sdk
?r
?y

!lUsR
?y
it
!m?T.
d. Be careful with of and off.
This friend of mine’s taken off. .CHr
!eqdmc
?u
!l`Hmy
!sdHj?m
!Pe.
e. Be careful with then and than.
You’re older than me, then. .iN9q
!?Tkc?
C?m
lh
!Cdm.

f. Be careful with he’s and his.
He’s younger than his brother. .ghy
!iUMf?
C?m
gHy
!aqUC?.


Spelling and pronunciation:
Voice agreement
29. Regular plural nouns, the genitive and the 3rd person singular inflection of the simple present
tense:

a. If the final sound in the original word is voiceless .o+
s+
j+
e+
S., we add .r. to agree in voice
with it.
pops .!oPor.

gets .!fdsr.


kicks .!jHjr.
wife’s .!v`Her.
maths .!lzSr.



b. If the final sound in the original word is voiced .a+
c+
f+
u+
C+
k+
l+
m+
M., a vowel or a
diphthong, we add .y. to agree in voice.
Bob’s .!aPay.

hoods .!gTcy.



digs .!cHfy.
arrives .?!q`Huy.

bathes .!adHCy.


Will’s .!vHky.
comes .!jUly.

means .!lh9my.


King’s .!jHMy.
draws .!cqN9y.


carries .!jzqhy.


toys .!sNHy.

c. Exception: If the final sound in the original word is a sibilant consonant (i.e.
.r+
y+
R+
Y+

sR+
cY.), a new syllable (.Hy.) is added to the root. Notice that the two
phonemes in .Hy.
agree in voice.
dresses .!cqdrHy.

washes .!vPRHy.


Mitch’s .!lHsRHy.
James’s .!cYdHlyHy.

garages .!fzq@9YHy.

bridges .!aqHcYHy.

d. IRREGULARITIES:
• The spelling shows the change from .e. to .u., but not from .S. to .C.life .!k`He.
lives .!k`Huy.

(C.f. wives .!v`Huy.
wife’s .!v`Her.)

path .!o@9S.
paths.!o@9Cy.




Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

• There’s one irregular root word:
house .!g`Tr.


C.f.

houses .!g`TyHy.

30. Regular verbs in the past tense <-ed> (and most adjectives):
a. If the final sound in the original word is voiceless .o+
j+
sR+
e+
S+
r+
R., we add .s. to agree in
voice with it.
hoped .!g?Tos.

booked .!aTjs.


watched .!vPsRs.
laughed .!k@9es.

wished .!vHRs.

passed .!o@9rs.
gap-toothed .$fzo!st9Ss.
b. If the final sound in the original word is voiced .a+
f+
cY+
u+
C+
y+
Y+
k+
l+
m+
M., a vowel or
a diphthong, we add .c. to agree in voice.
rubbed .!qUac.

clogged .!jkPfc.


ranged .!qdHmcYc.
arrived .?!q`Huc.

breathed .!aqh9Cc.


buzzed.!aUyc.
filled .!eHkc.

skimmed .!rjHlc.

cleaned .!jkh9mc.
longed .!kPMc.


glued .!fkt9c.


carried .!jzqhc.
played .!okdHc.
camouflaged .!jzl?ek@9Yc.

c. Exception: If the final sound in the original word is either .s.
or .c., a new syllable (.Hc.) is
added to the root. Notice that the two phonemes in .Hc.
agree in voice.
decided .cH!r`HcHc.

invented .Hm!udmsHc.



d. Notice:
• Some adjectives always take .Hc..
naked .!mdHjHc.
wicked .!vHjHc.

ragged .!qzfHc.

• The adverbial ending <-edly> is pronounced .Hckh.Supposedly .r?!o?TyHckh.


allegedly .?!kdcYHckh.

Miscellanea
31. Be careful with the demonstratives:
a. Basic vowel pattern: this .'!(CHr.

that .'!(Czs.
b. Silent <-e>:
these .'!(Ch9y.

those .'!(C?Ty.
32. <some> is strong in compounds
somebody .!rUla?ch.
someone .!rUlvUm.

somewhere .!rUlvd?.
something .!rUlSHM.

sometimes .!rUls`Hly.
somewhat .!rUlvPs.
33. Notice:
.!vd?. where – wear – ware
.v?. were (most frequent form – weak)
.!v29. were (rarely – strong form)

34. The word <use>. Compare:
Noun:

The use
Verb:
To use
Past habit:
Used to

.C?
!it9r.
.s?
!it9y.
.!it9rs
s?.
+ consonant sound

.!it9rs
st.
+ vowel sound


Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

35. Inflecting:
a. Sometimes, a vowel is added after another vowel. You should keep both!
Vowel
Final <-ing>
Superlative <-est>
Ordinal <-th>
FLEECE .h9.
seeing .!rh9HM.
freest .!eqh9Hrs.

happy
.h.
tidying .!s`HchHM.
happiest .!gzohHrs.
fortieth .!eN9shHS.
tying .!sq`HHM.
shiest .!R`HHrs.
PRICE
.`H.
saying .!rdHHM.
grayest .!fqdHHrs.
FACE
.dH.
toying .!sNHHM.
coyest .!jNHHrs.
CHOICE
.NH.

b. Make sure you don’t add an extra vowel in these cases. Just follow the rule!
Vowel
Final <-ed>
Final <-es>
FLEECE .h9.
skied .!rjh9c.
skies .!rjh9y.
happy
.h.
worried .!vUqhc.
worries .!vUqhy.
PRICE

.`H.
dried .!cq`Hc.
dries .!cq`Hy.
played .!okdHc.
plays .!okdHy.
FACE
.dH.
enjoyed .Hm!cYNHc.
enjoys .Hm!cYNHy.
CHOICE
.NH.
36. <-ng> vs. <-gn>
Final <-gn> is .m. (i.e. <g> is silent).
foreign .!ePqHm.
reign .!qdHm.
Final <-ng> is .M. (i.e. <g> has fused with <n>).
king .!jHM.

strong .!rsqPM.
37. Spelling <ng>
a. Word-internal <-ng->, when it’s not at morpheme boundaries, is .Mf.. The .f. belongs in
the word, therefore the nasal shows velar assimilation.
English .!HMfkHR.

language .!kzMfvHcY.
finger .!eHMf?.
anger .!zMfqh.

hunger .!gUMf?.

bingo .!aHMf?T.

b. Word-final and morpheme-final<-ng> is .M.. The letters <n> and <g> fuse.
sing .!rHM.


sing|er .!rHM?.

sing|ing .!rHMHM.
wrong .!qPM.


wrong|ly .!qPMkh.

c. Exception: the comparative and superlative forms of <long>, <strong> and <young>
add .f..
Adjective
Comparative <-er>
Superlative <-est>
long .!kPM.
longer .!kPMf?.
longest .!kPMf?rs.
strong .!rsqPM.
stronger .!rsqPMf?.
strongest .!rsqPMf?rs.
young .!iUM.
younger .!iUMf?.
youngest .!iUMf?rs.
38. Spelling <x>
a. It’s mostly found after a stressed vowel, and it’ .jr.. For example:

• At the end of words
mix .!lHjr.

text .!sdjrs.

sex .!rdjr.


• When it’s followed by an unstressed vowel sound
mixing .!lHjrHM.
sexes .!rdjrHy.
toxic .!sPjrHj.

toxicology .$sPjrH!jPk?cYh.




Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

b. It’s .fy.
when followed by a stressed vowel sound
exist .Hf!yHrs.

exhausted .Hf!yN9rsHc.

exam .Hf!yzl.
anxiety .zM!y`H?sh.

c. It’s .jR.
in:
anxious .!zMjR?r.
complexion .j?l!okdjRm.
luxury .!kUjRqh.
sexual .!rdjRt?k.

d. It’s .y. at the beginning of words.
xylophone .!y`Hk?e?Tm.
Xavier .!ydHuh?.



exotic .Hf!yPsHj.
example .Hf!y@9lok.

xenophobia .$ydm?!e?Tah?.

Strong word beginnings
39. Prefixes can be strong when they are stressed. They could take a primary stress, or a secondary
stress.
semivowel .!rdlhu`Tk.
overcoat .!?Tu?j?Ts.

understand .$Umc?!rszmc.
forecast .!eN9j@9rs.

aftermath .!@9es?lzS.
anticlockwise .$zmsh!jkPjv`Hy.

40. Negative <un-> takes a strong vowel, even if it’s not stressed.
undo .'$(Um!ct9.

unhappy .'$(Um!gzoh.

unabridged .$Um?!aqHcYc.

41. <de->
a. .!cd. when it takes either the primary or secondary stress
decorate .!cdj?qdHs.

derivation .$cdqH!udHRm.
b. .ch9. when it means “the opposite”
devoice .'$(ch9!uNHr.

detoxify .'$(ch9!sPjrHe`H.
c. .ch+
cH+
c?. before a stressed syllable
determine .cH!s29lHm.
decide .cH!r`Hc.

42.
a. .!oqh9. when it takes either the primary stress in some words
pretext .!oqh9sdjrs.

prefix .!oqh9eHjr.
b. .!oqd. when it takes a secondary stress (or primary stress in some words)
preferable .!oqdeq?ak.
preparation .$oqdo?!qdHRm.

c. .$oqh9. when it means “before”
prejudge .$oqh9!cYUcY.
pre-exist .$oqh9Hf!yHrs.
d. .oqh+
oqH+
oq?. before a stressed syllable
prepare .oqH!od?.

preside .oqH!y`Hc.
43. <re->
a. .!qd. when it takes either a secondary or primary stress
represent .$qdoqH!ydms.
resonate .!qdy?mdHs.

b. .qh9. when it means “again”
rewrite (noun) .!qh9q`Hs.
rewrite (verb) .$qh9!q`Hs.

c. .qh+
qH+
q?. before a stressed syllable
repair .qH!od?.


react .qh!zjs.


Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

44.
a. .!oq?T+
!oqP. in stressed position (every word is different!)
pronoun .!oq?Tm`Tm.

probable .!oqPa?ak.
b. .$oqP. in many words when the syllable takes a secondary stress
proclamation .$oqPjk?!ldHRm.


c. .oq?T. when it means “in favour of, instead of”
pro-abortion .$oq?T?!aN9Rm.
proactive (verb) .$qh9!q`Hs.
d. .qh+
qH+
q?. before a stressed syllable
repair .qH!od?.


react .qh!zjs.

45. The following prefixes take a strong vowel when they’re stressed:
• a- .$z,.

acquisition .$zjvH!yHRm.
• ad- .$zc,.

adaptation .$zc?o!sdHRm.
• col- .$jPk,.

collocation .$jPk?!jdHRm.
• con- .$jPm,.

confidential .$jPmeH!cdmRk.
• de- .$cd,.

derivation .$cdqH!udHRm.
• en- .$dm,.


entertaining .$dms?!sdHmHM.
• ob- .$Pa,.


obligation .$PakH!fdHRm.
• pho- .$e?T,.


photographic .$e?Ts?!fqzeHj.
• pre- .$oqd,.
preparation .$oqdo?!qdHRm.
• pro- .$oq?T,.


prohibition .$oq?TH!aHRm.
• pro- .$oqP,.


proposition .$oqPo?!yHRm.
• re- .$qd,.

representative .$qdoqH!ydms?sHu.
• sub- .$rUa,..


sublimation .$rUakH!ldHRm.
• sup- .$rUo,.


supposition .$rUo?!yHRm.
46. The following prefixes are always strong:
• anti- .$zmsh,.

anticlimatic .$zmsHjk`H!lzsHj.
• hom- .$gPl?,
$g?Tl?.homorganic .$gPlN9!fzmHj.
• hyper- .$z,.

hyperactive .$g`Ho?q!zjsHu.
• pseudo- .$rit9c?T,.
pseudo-Marxist .$rit9c?T!l@9jrHrs.
• psycho- .$r`Hj?T,.
psycholinguistics .$r`Hj?TkHM!fvHrsHj.
• super- .$rt9o?,.
supermarket .!rt9o?$l@9jHs.
• trans- .'$(sqzmr,.
transcription .'$(sqzm!rjqHoRm.
• ultra- .$r`Hj?T,.
ultramodern .$Uksq?!lPcm.

Strong word endings

47. These endings are strong, especially when they’re stressed.
• -ade .,!dHc.


parade .o?!qdHc.
• -ain .,!dHm.


ascertain .$zr?!sdHm.
• -ate .,dHs.
(verbs)
concentrate .!jPmr?msqdHs.
• -gramme .,fqzl.

programme .!oq?Tfqzl.
• -graph .,fq@9e.

photograph .!e?Ts?fq@9e.
• -ice .,`Hr.


advice .?c!u`Hr
• -ile .,`Hk.


agile .!szjs`Hk.
• -ise/-ize .,`Hy.

realize .!qH?k`Hy.
• -oir(e) .,v@9.

repertoire .!qdo?sv@9.


Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

/s/ or /z/?
48. It’s extremely difficult to know when to use .r. or .y.. Although the real answer is only found in a
pronunciation dictionary, the following tendencies are of great help:
a. The spelling <z> is never .r.
b. The beginning <s-> is never .y.
Sore .!rN9.

strong .!rsqPM.


But: sure .!RN9.
sugar .!RTf?.

c. You should never use .y. for the spelling <c>
face .!edHr.



cinema .!rHm?l?.
d. The spelling <ss> is generally .r..
Mississippi .$lHrH!rHoh.

class .!jk@9r.

Exceptions:
scissors .!rHy?y.


possess .o?!ydr.


dissolve .cH!yPku.


hussar .g?!y@9.




dessert .cH!y29s.

e. In word-internal position, <-s-> is:
• Almost always .y. between vowels
easy .!h9yh.



present .!oqdyms.
• Generally .y.
before or after a vowel or voiced consonant
clumsy .!jkUlyh.

husband .!gUya?mc.

• Generally .y.
before or after a voiceless consonant
test .!sdrs.



tipsy .!sHorh.

f.

The ending <-se> is normally:
• Homographs tend to take .y. in verbs and .r. in adjectives and nouns
to excuse .st
Hj!rjit9y.




the excuse .Ch
Hj!rjit9r.

to house .s?
!g`Ty.





the house .C?
!g`Tr.

• .r. in <-lse, -nse, -rse>
tense .!sdmr.



pulse .!oUkr.




horse .!gN9r.


g. The ending <-s> is normally:
• .r. in most monosyllabic content words
bus .!aUr.



yes .!idr.

• .y. in most monosyllabic grammar words
does .c?y.



is .Hy.

• .y. after long vowels

yours .iN9y.




series .!rH?qh9y.


Works consulted:
Jones, D. (2003). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (16th edition). Cambridge: CUP.
Ortíz Lira, H. (2007). La transcripción fonemática del inglés: problemas y soluciones. Santiago de Chile:
UMCE.
1
Wells, J.C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd edition). Hong Kong: Longman.