ENGLISH PHONETICS PHONOLOGY BY NGUYEN HUY KY (unpublished)

NGUYỄN HUY KỶ, PhD

ENGLISH PHONETICS AND
PHONOLOGY
SOME ESSENTIALS OF SEGMENTAL AND
SUPRASEGMENTAL ELEMENTS
For major students of English at Hanoi College of Education
and those who are interested in the field

Collated by Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, PhD, a senior lecturer of English
from Hanoi College of Education
Tapescripts presented by Sonia Mc Cann, an English specialist

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HANOI – 20…

CONTENTS

Chapter 1: * Essentials of English Phonetics and Phonology
* The Production and Analysis of speech
Unit 1
- Introduction to English phonetics and phonology
- Speech organs
Unit 2
- The consonants of English and their classification (to be continued)
Unit 3
- The consonants of English and their classification (continued)
Unit 4
- The vowels of English and their classification

Unit 5
- Allophones

Chapter 2: Essentials of stress, rhythm and intonation
Unit 6
- Word stress
Unit 7
- Sentence stress
Unit 8
- Strong forms and weak forms
- Degrees of stress
Unit 9
- Rhythm and rhythm units/ groups
- Assimilation
Unit 10
- Elision and linking
- Intonation: Functions of intonation (to be continued)
Unit 11
- Some basic functions of English intonation (continued)
- The 4 basic tunes and their uses
Bibliography

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CHAPTER 1
*Essentials of English Phonetics and Phonology
*The production and analysis of speech
UNIT 1
1.1. Introduction to English Phonetics and Phonology:

One of the most important purposes of the course is to explain how English is
pronounced in the accent normally chosen as the standard for people learning the
English spoken in England. However, at the comparatively intermediate level at
which this course is aimed it is usual to present the information in the context of a
general theory about speech sounds and how they are used in language. This
theoretical context is called phonetics and phonology.
The nature of phonetics and phonology will be explained as the course
progresses, but one or two basic ideas need to be introduced here. In any language,
we can identify a small number of regularly used sounds (e.g. vowels and
consonants) that we call phonemes (e.g. the vowels in the word ‘pond’ and ‘pen’
are different phonemes, and so as the consonants at the beginning of the words
‘pet’ and ‘bet’.).
What is phonetics? It is the study of speech sounds (i.e. concrete but unlimited in
number) and their production. In other words, it is the study of the way humans
make, transmit, receive speech sounds, and how speech sounds are made. In the
field of phonetics, we usually use square brackets ([...]) for phonetic transcription.
It is divided into 3 main branches corresponding to the three distinctions:
+Articulatory phonetics is the study of the way the vocal organs are used to
produce speech sounds.
+Acoustic phonetics is the study of the physical properties of speech sounds.
+Auditory phonetics is the study of the way people perceive speech sounds.
What is a speech sound? It is a concrete sound from a similar phoneme
articulated by a speaker and phonetically it is said to be unlimited in number.
What is phonology? It is the study of the system of speech sounds, especially in a
particular language. Its object of study is a phoneme. In the field of phonology, we
usually use slant brackets (/.../) for phonemic transcription.
What is a phoneme? It is any one of the set of the smallest distinctive speech
sounds in a language that can distinguish one word from another and it is abstact
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but limited in number. In English, the ‘s’ in ‘sip’ and ‘z’ in ‘zip’ represent two
different phonemes (/s/≠ /z/) or ‘cat’ is different from ‘fat’ because /k/ ≠ /f/.
As we all know that language can perform its function as the most important
means of human intercourse only as a language of sounds because spoken words
consist of speech sounds, and speech without words is impossible. Letters serve to
represent spoken words in writing.
As a means of communication by word of mouth, language is used in oral speech
and in reading aloud. Therefore , we must be able to pronounce isolated words
in the sentences in that language correctly. One must also have a good
pronunciation to understand other people easily when they speak or read aloud.
This is proved by the fact that the better we pronounce a foreign language the easier
we understand it when we hear it. Thus, one of the principal aims of would- be
teachers of a foreign language is to master both the pronunciation of the language
they are going to teach and the methods of teaching the pronunciation. To achieve
this aim, they should have a clear idea of what a good pronunciation is, what the
difficulties in acquiring it are, and how these difficulties can be overcome, i. e, to
articulate correctly all the speech sounds and their combinations (not only in
isolated words, but also in sentences); to pronounce sentences fluently at the speed
required by the situation with correct stresses, rhythm, intonation..., to know what
to do with the organs of speech to produce the necessary speech sounds. This
involves a great deal of memory work, i. e, the language student must remember
the articulation of each speech sound of the foreign language. For example, to
pronounce the English consonant /ŋ/ correctly, the language student/ learner must
remember to presss the back part of his tongue against the soft palate. To acquire a
memory of foreign speech sounds, the language student must learn to hear the
difference between the various sounds of the foreign language, and between the
foreign sounds and the sounds of his mother tongue. This ability to distinguish
between speech sounds and recognize foreign sounds can be acquired by systematic
practice in listening or by ear training. There is an effective exercise for this

purpose, i. e, writing down in phonetic transcription separate sounds, words and
sentences pronounced either by the teacher in class or recorded on magnetic tape.
Another kind of exercise for the development of automatic pronunciation habits is
to train the student’s organs of speech (or speech organs) to articulate the foreign
sounds and intone sentences correctly at the required speed. For this purpose,
special articulation and intonation exercises must be used (because imitation is also
of great help) and the language students must acquire some theoretical knowledge
(both general and language studied); master the norms of the language in the matter
of its phonemes, stress, rhythm, intonation...; learn how to diagnose, prevent nad
correct all sorts of pronunciation mistakes; learn those phonetic terms both in their
native language and in the language they are studying.
In short, what we have mentioned above are the matters of phonetics- the
comparatively straightforward business of describing the sounds that we use in
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speaking. When we talk about how phonemes function in language, and the
relationships among the different phonemes- when, in other words,we study the
abstract side of the sounds of language- we are studying a related but different
subject that we call phonology. Only by studying both the phonetics and the
phonology of English is it possible to acquire a full understanding of the use of
sounds in English speech.
(Note: The type of English pronunciation described in the material is known as
Received Pronunciation (R. P) which is easily understood in all the English
speaking countries: Great Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada... and most
other countries... ).
1.2. Speech organs:
1.2.1. General description:
In all languages, we speak with air from the lungs. We draw it into the lungs
quickly and we release it slowly through the nose and mouth. The prats of the body

that are used to modify the stream of air to produce different sounds are called the
speech organs or articulators.
E.g. Sounds such as /t/ or /d/ are made with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge.
1.2.2. Specific description:
Figure 1 is a diagram that is used frequently in the study of phonetics. It
represents the human haed. seen from the side, displayed as though it had cut in
half.
1. Upper lip
2. Upper teeth
3. Tooth ridge or Alveolar
ridge
4. Hard palate
5. Soft palate or Velum
6. Lower lip
7. Lower teeth
8. Pharynx

Figure 1: Diagram of the speech organs (or organs of speech)

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Figure 2: Sub-divisions of the tongue
a) The Pharynx is a tube which begins just above the Larynx. It is about 7cm long
in women and about 8cm long in men, and at its top end it is divided into two, one
part being the back of the mouth and the other being the beginning of the way
through the nasal cavity. If you open your mouth and look in your mirror, you can
see the part of pharynx marked X on the diagram (Figure 1).
b) The Soft palate or Velum is seen in the diagram (Figure 1) in a position that
allows air to pass through the nose and through the mouth. But often in speech it is

raised so that air cannot get/ escape through the nose. The other important thing
about the velum is that it is one of the articulators that can be touched by the
tongue. When we make the sounds /k/ and /g/, the tongue in contact with the lower
side of the velum, so we call these velar consonants.
c) The Hard palate is often called ‘the roof of the mouth’. You can feel its smooth
curved surface with your tongue. (See Figure 1).
d) The Tooth ridge or Alveolar ridge is between the top front teeth and the hard
palate. Sounds made with tongue touching here (such as /t/ and /d/) are called
alveolar. (See Figure 1).
e) The Tongue is a very important articulator and it can be moved in to many
different places and different shapes. The tongue is usually divided into different
parts though there are no dividing lines within the tongue. Sub-divisions of the
tongue can be shown in Figure 2: Tip, Blade, Front, Back and Root.
f) The Teeth (upper and lower) are clearly shown in Figure 1. They are only at the
front of the mouth, immediately behind the lips (upper and lower). Sounds made
with the tongue touching the teeth are called dental.
g) The Lips are important in speech. They can be pressed together to produce the
sounds /p/ and /b/. Sounds in which the lips are in contact with each other are called
bilabial, while those with lip- to- teeth contact are called labiodental.
The seven articulators described above are the main ones used in speech, but
there are 3 other things for us to remember: the larynx, the jaws and the vocal
apparatus.
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1.3. Homework:
1) Briefly write a short paragraph (about 20 lines long) about English Phonetics and
Phonology you have learnt so far.
2) Draw the speech organs and point out their names.
UNIT 2

The consonants of English and their classification
(From this unit, we begin to basically deal with speech sounds and their
classification. So we need 10 class hours to go.)
2.1. The consonants of English:
There are 2 reasons to begin with English consonants rather than its vowels:
- Consonants contribute more to making English understood than vowels do.
- Consonants are generally made by a definite interference of the vocal organs with
the air stream, and so are easier to describe and understand. Let’s take 2 examples
for illustration: The sentence ‘C- - ld y- - p- ss m- - p- - c- -f str-ng, pl- -s-?’ is easy
for us to understand even though all of the vowel letters have been left out. But
look at the same sentence with all the consonant letters left out: ‘-ou- - -ou –a- - -e
a –ie-e o- - - -i- -, - -ea-e?’. It is impossible to make any sense, and the same would
be true in speaking, because the consonants form the bones, the skeleton of English
words and give them their basic shape.
In dealing with the consonants, you must first learn how each one is mainly
distinguished from the others so that it will not be mistaken for any other
consonant.
In general, a consonant is produced with an obstruction or constriction of the air
stream formed in the mouth by the speech organs.The air stream from the lungs is
stopped or obstructed somewhere in the mouth before getting out, which forms
different consonants. In English, there are 24 consonants that we are going to study.
2.2. Classification of the English consonants:
2.2.1. According to the articulators/ place of articulation:
- Labial: 2 lips are used
+ bilabial: e.g. /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/
+ labiodental: lower lip + upper teeth: e.g. /f/, /v/
- Dental: Tip of tongue + upper teeth: e.g. /θ/, /ð/
- Alveolar: Tip of tongue + alveolar ridge or tooth ridge:
e.g. /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/
- Palato- alveolar: Tip and front of tongue + alveolar ridge and palate:

e.g. /∫/, /3/, / t∫/, /d3/, /r/
- Palatal: Tongue + hard palate: e.g. /j/
- Velar: Back of tongue + soft palate or velum: e.g. /k/, /g/, /ŋ/
- Glottal: Epiglotis: e.g. /h/
2.2.2. According to the manner of articulation:
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- Plosive: The air is stopped, then rushes out with an plosive.
- Fricative: The air is constricted and causes friction when passing through the
speech organs.
- Affricative: Combination of plosive and fricative consonants.
- Nasal: The air passes through the nasal cavity.
- Lateral: The air passes out at one or both sides of the tongue.
- Approximant or Glide or Semi- vowel: A glide from one vowel to another.
In short, the following table will help you know more about the
English consonant phonemes:
Articulators
Manner
of
articulation
Plosive/stop
Fricative
Affricative
Nasal
Lateral
Approximant

Labial

Bilabial
p, b

Dental

Velar

Glottal

Labiodental
f, v

m

Alveolar PalatoPalatal
alveolar
(postalveolar)

θ, ð

t, d
s, z

k, g
h

∫, 3
t∫, d3

n

l

w

ŋ
r

j

2.2.3. Specific description:
2.2.3.1. Fricative/ Friction consonants: (9)
There are 9 consonant phonemes whose main sounds all have friction as there
most important feature. They are /f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ∫, 3, h/. For all of them, the lungs
push air through a narrow opening where it causes friction of various kinds.
a) /f/ and /v/
For both /f/ and /v/, the speech organs are in the position shown in figure 3:

Figure 3: /f/ and /v/
Notice:
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- The soft palate is raised so that no air goes through the nose and it is all forced
through the mouth.
- The bottom lip (or the lower lip) is very close to the upper front teeth: This forms
the narrowing and when the air is pushed through this narrowing, it causes slight
friction.
- The tongue is not directly concerned in making those sounds, but it does not lie
idle; it takes up the position necessary for the following sound. The difference
between /f/ and /v/ is mainly one of strength: /f/ is a strong, voiceless consonant; /v/

is a weak, voiced one. /f/ is rather longer than /v/.
Now say the word ‘fast’ /fa:st/ with strong friction for /f/, and ‘vast’ /va:st/ with
very short, weak friction for /v/. Alternate /fa:st/, /va:st/, and be sure that there is
very little, very weak friction for /v/, but also be sure that it is the lip and the teeth
which are causing the friction, not the two lips. Now practise the following lists of
words, with long, strong friction for /f/, and short, weak friction for /v/:
T1
Feel /fi:l/
Ferry /’feri/
Fan /fæn/
Fat / fæt/
Few /fju:/
Fear /fiə/
File /fail/
Fail /feil/

Veal /vi:l/
Very /’veri/
Van /væn/
Vat /væt/
View /vju:/
Veer /viə/
Vile /vail/
Veil /veil/

Now try these sounds between vowels:
Suffer /’sΛfə/
Sniffing /’snifiŋ/
Proofing /’pru:fiŋ/
Rougher /’rΛfə/

Sofa /’soufə/
Offer /’Ɔfə/
Refuse /ri’fju:z/

Cover /’kΛvə/
Giving /’giviŋ/
Proving /’pru:viŋ/
Lover /’lΛvə/
Over /’ouvə/
Hover /’hƆvə/
Reviews /ri’vju:z/

In phrases, we do exactly the same: long, strong friction for /f/, and short, weak
friction for /v/: e.g. very fast /’veri fa:st/, very vast /’veri va:st/, I feel fine /ai fi:l
fain/, I feel vile /ai fi:l vail/, four fans /fƆ: fænz/, four vans /fƆ: vænz/.
When /f/ and /v/ occur at the end of words, after a vowel, they have an effect on
the length of the vowel. The strong consonant /f/ makes the vowel shorter, the weak
consonant makes the vowel longer, e.g. in the words ‘safe’ /seif/, and ‘save’
/seiv/, /f/ is stronger and longer, /v/ is weaker and shorter, but the vowels are of
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very different lengths; in /seif/, /ei/ is quite short and in /seiv/, /ei/ is really long.
Now do the same with the following words:
Leaf /li:f/
Calf /ka:f/
Proof /pru:f/
Surf /sə:f/
Half /ha:f/

Leave /li:v/
Carve /ca:v/
Prove /pru:v/
Serve /sə:v/
Halve /ha:v/

Sometimes when you are listening to English, especially these words mentioned
above (and others containing /f/ and /v/, try to fix the sounds in your mind).
b) /θ/and /ð/
/θ/ is strong, long and always voiceless, but /ð/ is weak, short and always voiced.
Notice: Both /θ/and /ð/ have the position of the speech organs shown in figure 4:

Figure 4: /θ/and /ð/
- The soft palate is raised so that all the breath is forced to go through the mouth.
- The tip of the tongue is close to the upper front teeth to create the narrowing
where the friction is made.
- The noise made by the friction for /θ/and /ð/ is not very great, much less than
for /s/ and /z/. Now try the words supplied below:
Thin /θin/
Think /θiŋk/
Thank /θæŋk/
Thought /θƆ:t/
Thief /θi:f/

Then /ðen/
This /ðis/
That /ðæt/ (stressed)
/ðət/ (unstressed)
Those /ðouz/
These /ði:z/

Notice: Be sure that for /f/ and /v/, you use a lip- teeth action, and for /θ/and /ð/- a
tongue - teeth action. Now try the following words:
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T2
Fin /fin/
Free /fri:/
They /ðei/
There /ðeə/
Fry /frai/
Fought /fƆ:t/

Thin /θin/
Three /θri:/
Veil /veil/
Veer /viə/
Thrill /θril/
Thought /θƆ:t/

At the end of words, /θ/and /ð/ affect a preceding vowel in the same way as /f/
and /v/. Try the following words and make the vowel specially long before /ð/:
Loathe /louð/
Smooth /smu:ð/

Breathe /bri:ð/
Bathe /beið/

and make the vowel short before /θ/:

Growth /grouθ/
Faith /feiθ/
Tooth /tu:θ/
Mouth /mauθ/
c) /s/ and /z/
/s/ is a strong friction sound, but /z/ is a weak one. The position of the speech
organs for these sounds is shown in figure 5:

Figure 5: /s/ and /z/
Notice:
- The soft palate is raised so that all the breath is forced to go through the mouth.
- The tip and blade of the tongue are very close to the alveolar ridge. There is a
very considerable narrowing at this point, neither near the teeth nor the hard palate.
- The teeth are very close together.
- The friction for these sounds, especially for /s/, is much greater than for /f/, /v/, /θ/
and /ð/. So /s/ is strong, long and voiceless, but /z/ is weak, short and voiced (but
the gentleness of /z/ is the thing to concentrate on). Alternate strong and weak
friction. Try the following words:
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T3
Sink /siŋk/
Zink /ziŋk/
Said /sed/
Zed /zed/
Seal /si:l/
Zeal /zi:l/
At the end of words, after a vowel, /s/ makes the vowel shorter and /z/ makes it
longer. Try the words below and both the difference of vowel length and of

consonant strength:
Place /pleis/
Plays /pleiz/
Niece /ni:s/
Knees /ni:z/
Price /prais/
Prize /praiz/
Loose /lu:s/
Lose /lu:z/
d) /∫/ and /3/
/∫/ is a strong friction sound and /3/ is a weak one. /∫/ is always voiceless, but it is
a much noisier sound than /f/ and /θ/ and only little less noisier than /s/. For /3/ , the
friction is weaker and shorter.
Notice:
- The soft palate is raised so that all the breath is forced to go through the mouth.
- There is a narrowing between the tip of the tongue and the back of the alveolar
ridge.
- The front of the tongue is higher than for /s/ and /z/.
- The lips are slightly rounded.
The position of the speech organs for /∫/ and /3/ is shown in figure 6:

Figure 6: /∫/ and /3/
/3/ does not occur at the beginning of English words, but /∫/ quite frequently does.
Now try these words below:
T4
She /∫i:/
Shop /∫Ɔp/
Ship /∫ip/
Show /∫ou/
Should /∫ud/

Sharp /∫a:p/
Short /∫Ɔ:t/
Shirt /∫ə:t/
Sure /∫uə/
Share /∫eə/
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Between vowels, /3/ is voiced, and if you voice this sound naturally in that
position so much the better; if not, make it very gentle and short, for instance:
Treasure /’tre3ə/, explosion /iks’plou3ən/, invasion /in’vei3ən/, decision /di’si3ən/,
measure /’me3ə/, occasion /ə’kei3ən/…
At the end of words, /∫/ is quite common, but /3/ is rare and only occurs in a few
words borrowed from French: like the other gentle sounds, /3/ makes the vowel
before it longer, whereas /∫/ makes it shorter. Let’s try the following /∫/ words:
Finish /’fini∫/
Rubbish /’rΛbi∫/
Punish /’pΛni∫/
Wash /wƆ∫/
Push /pu∫/

Crash /kræ∫/
Crush /krΛ∫/
Wish /wi∫/
Ash /æ∫/
Spanish /’spæni∫/

Now try the following /3/ words which makes the vowels fully long:
Garage /’gæra:3/, beige /bei3/, rouge /ru:3/.

e) /h/
In English, there are as many /h/ sounds as there are vowels because /h/ always
occurs before a vowel and consists of the sound of breath passing between the open
vocal cords and out of the mouth which is already prepared for the following
vowel, i.e., before /i:/ the mouth is in position for /i:/, before /a:/ it is ready for /a:/,
and so on. /h/ does not make very much noise, but it must not be left out when it
should be sounded, for 2 reasons:
- Many words are distinguished by the presence of /h/ (e.g. here /hiə/ and ear
/
iə/, hit /hit/ and it /it/…).
- English speakers consider that the leaving out of /h/ is the mark of an uncultivated
speaker.
Leaving out /h/ is the biggest danger, but a lesser error is to make /h/ too noisy.
Try the following /h/ words:
T5
Heart /ha:t/, who /hu:/, him /him/, he /hi:/, hat /h æt/, her /hə:/, hall /hƆ:l/, hill /hil/,
hot /hƆt/…
Pronounce the above- mentioned words several times and make sure that /h/ is
there, but not too noisy – just the sound of breath streaming from the mouth.
Let’s compare the following pairs, one word with /h/ and one without:
Harm /ha:m/
Hair /heə/
Heat /hi:t/
Hill /hil/

Arm /a:m/
Air /eə/
Eat /i:t/
Ill /il/
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Hit /hit/

It /it/

2.2.3.2.Affricative consonants/ Affricatives: (2)
T6
There are 2 affricatives in English: /t∫/ and /d3/. They are consonants of a special
kind. The air is trapped as for all the plosive/ stop consonants, but it is released with
definite friction of /∫/ and /3/. The position of the speech organs for /t∫/ and /d3/ is
shown below:

Figure 7: /t∫/ and /d3/
Notice:
- The tongue tip touches the back part of the alveolar ridge, and the soft palate, is
raised so that the breath is trapped for the short time.
- The rest of the tongue is in the position of /∫/ and /3/ so that a short period of this
friction is heard. The friction of /t∫/ and /d3/ is not as long as for /∫/ and /3/ alone.
2.3. Homework:
1) What are the fricatives and affricatives in English? Briefly describe each of them
and give examples for illustration.
2) What is the main difference in the production/ articulation of a stop/ plosive
consonant and a fiction consonant?
3) Transcribe the underlined letters supplied below:
- The bathroom is large.
- Is that Peter?
- That’s OK.
- I’m thirty- three.
4) Practise the following tongue twister:

I can think of six thick things.
Six thick things can you?
I can think of six thin things,
And of six thick things, too.
5) Listen and repeat (either after the teacher or the tape).

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UNIT 3
The consonants of English and their classification (continued)
3.1. Specific description:
3.1.1. Nasal consonants: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/ (3)
There are 3 phonemes in English that are represented by nasal consonants: /m/,
/n/, /ŋ/. In all nasal consonants, the soft palate is lowered and at the same time, the
mouth passage is blocked at some point so that all the air is pushed out of the nose.
a) /m/ and /n/
The position of the speech organs for these sounds is shown in figures 8 and 9:

Figure 8: /m/

Figure 9: /n/

Notice:
- The soft palate is lowered for both /m/ and /n/.
- For /m/, the mouth is blocked by closing the 2 lips; for /n/, by pressing the tip of
the tongue against the alveolar ridge, and the sides of the tongue against the sides
of the palate.
- Both sounds are voiced, and the voiced air goes/ passes out through the nose.
T7

Practise the following words:
Him /him/
Lamb /læm/
Lamp /læmp/
Send /send/
Fond /fƆnd/

Room /ru:m/
Soon /su:n/
Bean /bi:n/
Harm /ha:m/
Farm /fa:m/

When /m/ or /n/ is found before another consonant (as in some of the examples
above), the voiced or voiceless nature of the final consonant has an effect on the
length of both the vowel and nasal consonant. This is very similar to the
lengthening or shortening of the vowel in the examples like ‘send’ /send/, ‘sent’
/sent/.
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b) /ŋ/
This is the third English nasal consonant and the only one likely to cause trouble.
The position of the speech organs for /ŋ/ is shown in figure 10 below:

Figure 10: /ŋ/
Notice:
- The soft palate is lowered and all the air passes out through the nose.
- The mouth is blocked by the back of the tongue pressed against the soft palate.
- The sound is voiced.

Now try the following words. Make the final / ŋ/ long and let it die away into
silence:
Sing /siŋ/
Sang /sæŋ/
Sung /sΛŋ/
Ring /riŋ/
Rang /ræŋ/
Rung /rΛŋ/
3.1.2. Plosive/ Stop consonants: (6)
In stop consonants, the breath is completely stopped at some point in the mouth
by the lips or tongue tip or back part of the tongue, and then released with a slight
explosion. In English, there are 3 pairs of phonemes containing stops: /p, b/, /t, d/
and /k, g/.
a) /p/ and /b/
/p/ is a strong stop consonant and /b/ is a weak one. The position of the speech
organs for these stops is shown in figure 11:

Figure 11: /p/ and /b/
Notice:
- The lips are closed firmly and the soft palate is raised so that the breath cannot get
out of either the nose or the mouth, but is trapped for a short time.
16


- When the lips are opened suddenly, the breath passes out with a slight explosion
or a popping noise.
- Before the lips are opened, the rest of the mouth takes up the position for the
following sound, a vowel position if a vowel follows (as in ‘pool’) or a consonant
position if a consonant follows (as in ‘play’).
- /p/ is voiceless whereas /b/ is voiced.

- /p/ is a strong sound and has a special feature: it causes the following sound (if
there is) to lose some of the voicing which it would have.
- /b/ is a weak stop, and it never has aspiration.
Now let’s try the following pairs of words and make /p/ strong and aspirated,
and /b/ weak and unasserted:
T8
Peak /pi:k/
Beak /bi:k/
Port /pƆ:t/
Bought /bƆ:t/
Pride /praid/
Bride /braid/
When /p/ occurs between vowels, the aspiration may be less noticeable or even
absent, but it will never do any harm to keep the aspiration. /b/ is never aspirated,
but in this position, it is usually voiced, e,g.
Happy /’hæpi/
Shabby /’∫æbi/
Paper /’peipə/
Labour /’leibə/
In final position, /p/ is aspirated and shortens the vowel before it while /b/ is
particularly weak and makes only little noise, but lengthens the vowel before it.
b) /t/ and /d/
/t/ is a strong stop consonant, and /b/ is a weak one. The position of the organs of
speech for /t/ and /d/ is shown in figure 12 below:

Figure 12: /t/ and /d/
Notice:
- The tongue tip (not the blade) is firmly against the middle of the alveolar ridge,
not too near the teeth and the hard palate.
- The soft palate is raised, so the breath cannot escape through either the nose or the

mouth, but is trapped for a short time.
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- The sides of the tongue are firmly against the ones of the palate so that the breath
can’t pass over the sides of the tongue.
- When the tongue tip is lowered from the alveolar ridge, the breath rushes out with
a slight explosion or a popping noise.
- /t/ is strong, voiseless and aspirated in the same way as /p/ and this may be
described in a similar way, e.g. too /tu:/. Put the tongue tip on the centre of the
alveolar ridge, (but be sure that only the very poit of the tongue is in contact, not
the blade) then allow the air to bourst out with a vowel /u:/. /d/ is short, weak,
voiced but never aspirated. Try the following words:
T9
Do /du:/
Done /dΛn/

Day /dei/
Die /dai/

Too /tu:/
Tie /tai/

When /d/ occurs between vowels, it is usually voiced, but very gentle and short.
Now try these words:
Wedding /’wediŋ/
Pudding /’pudiŋ/

Wonder /’wΛndə/
Reader /’ri:də/

In final position, /d/ is particularly weak and makes only very little noise, but
lengthens the vowel before it. Try the following words:
Bed /bed/
Said /sed/

Hard /ha:d/
Side /said/

c) /k/ and /g/
/k/ is a strong stop and aspirated consonant, but voiseless. /g/ is a short, weak and
never aspirated one, but voiced. The position of the speech organs for these sounds
is shown in figure 13:

Figure 13: /k/ and /g/
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Notice:
- The back of the tongue is in firm contact with the soft palate, which is raised, so
that the breath is trapped for a short time.
- When the tongue is lowered from the soft palate, the breath goes/ rushes out of the
mouth with a slight explosion or a popping noise.
Now try the following words:
T10
Cat /kæt/
Class /kla:s/
Curl /kə:l/
Could /kud/
Coal /koul/

Gap /gæp/
Glass /gla:s/
Girl /gə:l/
Good /gud/
Goal /goul/

In final position, /k/ is aspirated and shortens the vowel right before it, but /g/ is
very gentle and lengthens the vowel right before it. Try these words below:
Back /bæk/
Pick /pik/
Dock /dƆk/
Lake /leik/

Bag /bæg/
Pig /pig/
Dog /dƆg/
Plague /pleig/

3.1.3. Lateral consonant: (1)
Only one English consonant /l/ is laterally formed, i.e., instead of the breath
passing down the centre of the mouth, it passes round the sides of an obstruction set
up in the centre. The position of the speech organs for /l/ is shown in figure 14
below:

Figure 14: /l/
Notice:
- The soft palate is raised.
- The tongue tip and the sides of the tongue blade are in firm contact with the
alveolar ridge, obstructing the centre of the mouth.

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- The sides of the remainder of the tongue are not in contact with the sides of the,
so the air can pass between the sides of the tongue and the palate, round the central
obstruction formed by the tongue tip and tongue blade and so out of the mouth.
- The sound is voiced and there is no friction (except when it is immediately after
/p/ or /k/).
Now practise the following words:
T11
Letter /’letə/
Lost /lƆst/
Leave /li:v/
Leaf /li:f/

Learn /lə:n/
Late /leit/
Like /laik/
Loud /laud/

Feeling /’fi:liŋ/
Holiday /’hƆlədi/
Believe /bi’li:v/
Allow /ə’lau/

This is /l/ before vowels and it is known as the clear /l/. The following words
are /l/ in final positions and before consonants:
Fill /fil/
Fall /fƆ:l/
All /Ɔ:l/

Tall /tƆ:l/

Filled /fild/
Felt /felt/
Cold /kould/
Miles /mailz/

/l/ is very often syllabic, like /n/, that is, it occurs in a position more usually
occupied by a vowel:
Parcel /’pa:sl/ or /’pa:səl/
Level /’levl/ or /’levəl/
Puzzel /’pΛzl/ or /’pΛzəl/
Ruffle /’rΛfl/ or /’rΛfəl/
Lethal /’li:θl/ or /’li:θəl/
Syllabic /l/ is usually dark /l/. But after the stop consonants as in ‘trouble, apple,
bottle, middle, eagle’, it is less desirable to have a vowel between the stop and the
/l/.
3.1.4. Gliding consonants (or Approximant): (3)
There are 3 consonants which consist of a quick, smooth, non-friction glide
towards a following vowel sound, the gliding consonants: /j, w, r/.
a) /j/
This consonant is a quick glide from the position of the vowel /i:/ or /i/ to any
other vowel. We usually transcribe the word ‘yes’ as /jes/, but we might transcribe
it as /i:es/ or /ies/ on the understanding that /i:/ or /i/ is very short and that we move
smoothly and quickly to the following /e/. There is no friction in the /j/ glide.
20


Now practise the following words in that way:
T12

Yet /jet/
Yacht /jƆt/
Yard /ja:d/

You /ju:/
Your /jƆ:/
Yours /jƆ:z/

The same is true in the following words where /j/ is not innitial:
Beautiful /’bju:tif(ə)l/
Value /’vælju:/
Few /fju:/
New /nju:/

View /vju:/
Due /dju:/
Music /’mju:zik/
Queue /kju:/

When /j/ follows /p, t, k/, it loses the voice that it usually has, and is made
voiceless. This causes some friction, and it is important to do this because
otherwise the stop consonants may be heard as /b, d, g/, and the word ‘tune’ /tju:n/
may be confused with ‘dune’ /dju:n/. Now let’s try the following words:
Tuesday /’tju:zdi/
Tune /tju:n/
Pure /’pju:ə/

Computer /kəm’pju:tə/
Queue /kju:/
Accuse /ə’kju:z/

b) /w/
This consonant is a quick glide from /u:/ or /u/ to whatever vowel follows. Start
with /u:/ or /u/ and follow this immediately by the vowel / Ɔ:/, e.g. ‘war’ /wƆ:/. /w/
must be short and weak (as with /j/), but the lips must be rounded quite firmly.
Practise the following words in the same way:
T12
Wet /wet/
We /wi:/
Wait /weit/
White /wait/

Watch /wƆt∫/
Where /weə/
Wool /wul/
Wood /wud/

We must remember too that when /w/ immediately follows /t/ or /k/, the glide is
not voiced, though the lips are again rounded during the stop consonant. Try the
following words:
Twin /twin/
Queen /kwi:n/

Twenty /’twenti/
Quick /kwik/
21


Twice /twais/
Quite /kwait/

Twelve /twelv/
Quiet /’kwaiət/

Words such as ‘which, when, where, what, why’ (but not ‘who’) are pronounced
with simple /w/ in R.P. In some other kinds of English (e.g. American, Scottish,
Irish), they begin with /hw/. If your model is one of these, you can begin these
words with a completely voiceless /w/ instead of the voiced one. Remember that
/w/ does not occur in final position.
c) /r/
The position of speech organs for /r/ is shown in figure 15 below:

Figure 15: /r/
Notice:
- The tongue has a curved shape with the tip pointing towards the hard palate at the
back of the alveolar ridge, the front low and the back rather high.
- The tongue tip is not close enough to the palate to cause frition.
- The lips are rather rounded, especially when /r/ is at the beginning of words.
- The soft palate is raised, and voiced air flows quietly between the tongue tip and
palate with no friction.
Try to think of English /r/ as a new sound altogether (because we have
Vietnamese /r/). Now practise the following words:
T12
Red /red/
Run /rΛn/
Race /reis/
Raw /rƆ:/

Read /ri:d/
Rare /reə/

Round /raund/
Right /rait/

Between vowels the sound is the same except that the lips are not rounded. Try
the following words, and concentrate on getting the tongue tip up and back, then
smoothly down and forward again:
Very /’veri/
Vary /’væri/
Marry /’mæri/

Arrive /ə’raiv/
Correct /kə’rekt/
Around /ə’raund/

Hurry /’hΛri/
Arrest /ə’rest/
Borrow /’bƆrou/
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In R.P, /r/ only occurs before vowels, never before consonants, so words like
‘learn /lə:n/, farm /fa:m/, sort /sƆ:t/’ do not contain /r/. At the end of words, R.P may
also have /r/ if the immediate following word begins with a vowel, e.g. ‘never
again’ /’nevər ə‘gen/. This is called the linking /r/. We may use it if we find it
easier. Now try these phrases, either with or without /r/:
Better off /betər Ɔf/
Here it is /hirə it iz/
Four or five /fƆ:r Ɔ: faiv/
Poor old Tom /puər ould tƆm/
It is usual to hear the linking /r/ following the vowel /ə/ even when there is no

letter ‘r’ in the spelling, for instance:
Africa and Asia /æfrikə ən(d) ei∫ə/
Linda and Ann /lindər ən(d) æn/
We may also hear it after /a:/ and /Ɔ:/ as in:
The Shah of Persia /ðə∫a:r əv pə:∫ə/
I saw it /ai sƆ:r it/
Notes: Many English speakers disapprove of the linking /r/ (the so-called
‘intrusive’), so we’d better not use it.
3.2.Homework:
1)Study each section, each item carefully and decide what your difficulties are, e.g.
phoneme difficulties (confusing /s/ and /z/, /θ/and /ð/, or /t/ and /d/...) and sound
difficulties (pronouncing /t/ with the tongue tip on the teeth instead of on the
alveolar ridge)... Which difficulties will you concentrate on?
2)Take any passage of English and mark any one of your difficulties, e.g. underline
every /θ/, /ð/, /l/, /r/... Then read the passage aloud, and try to pronounce or say
particular sounds perfectly. Gradually do this for all your difficulties.

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UNIT 4
The vowels of English and their classification
4.1. The vowels of English:
Vowels are made by voiced air passing through different mouth shapes in which
the differences are caused by different positions of the tongue and the lips.
It is easy to see and feel the lip differences, but it is difficult to see and feel the
tongue differences.
The English vowels are divided into two large groups: monophthongs and
diphthongs. This division is based on the stability of articulation. A monophthong is
a pure (unchanging) vowel sound. In its pronunciation. The speech organs do not

change their position throughout the duration of the vowel. A diphthong is a
complex sound consisting of two vowel elements pronounced so as to form a single
syllable. In the pronunciation of a diphthong, the speech organs start in the position
of one vowel and glide gradually in the direction of another vowel. The first
element of an English diphthong is called the nucleus the is strong, clear and
distinct. The second element is rather weak, and it is called the glide.
In English, there are 20 vowels:12 pure vowels (monophthongs) and 8
diphthongs.
4.1.1. 12 monophthongs are /i:/ (as in ‘see’ /si:/), /i/ (as in ‘sit’ /sit/), /e/
(as in ‘ten’ /ten/), /æ/ (as in ‘hat’ /hæt/), /a:/ (as in ‘harm’ /ha:m/), /
/ or /Ɔ/ (as in ‘hot’ /h t/ or /hƆt/), /Ɔ:/ (as in ‘door’ /dƆ:/), / / or /u/
(as in ‘put’ /p t/ or /put/), /u:/ (as in ‘too’ /tu:/), /ʌ/ (as in
‘cut’ /kʌt/), /3:/ or /:/ (as in ‘herd’ /h3:d/ or /h:d/) and // (as in
‘today’ /t`dei/).
4.1.2. 8 diphthongs are /ei/ (as in ‘today’ /t`dei/), / / or /ou/ (as in ‘ago’

/`g

/ or /`gou/), /ai/ (as in ‘nine’ /nain/), /a / or /au/ (as in ‘now’ /na n/ or
/naun/), /Ɔi/ (as in ‘toy’ /tƆi/), /i/ (as in ‘here’ /hi/), /e/ or// (as in ‘chair’

/t

e/ or /t /) and / / or /u/ (as in ‘pure’ /pj / or /pju/).
In vowel production, the tongue may move in a horizontal direction (forward and
backward) and in a vertical direction (to various heights in the mouth cavity). As a
24


result of the movements, the tongue may take up various positions in the mouth

cavity.
4.2. Classification of the English vowels (monophthongs):
4.2.1. The English monophthongs may be classified according to the following
principles:
1) According to the tongue position.
2) According to the lip position.
3) According to the length of the vowel (as in /i/ or /i:/).
4) According to the degree of tenseness.
(1 and 2 are the main principles because they reflect the qualitative characteristics
of the English vowel phonemes, which are their most important features, while
their quantitative characteristics are of secondary importance.)
4.2.1.1. According to the tongue position (or the horizontal movement of the
tonfue), the English vowels are divided into five groups: front, front-retracted,
central, back-advanced and back.
1) Front vowels are those which are produced with the bulk of the tongue in the
front part of the mouth while the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the
hard palate, forming a large empty space in the back part of the mouth. They are
/i:/, /e/ and /æ/.
2) Front-retracted vowels are those which are produced with the bulk of the tongue
in the front part of the mouth, but somewhat retracted (as compared with its
positions for /i:/, /e/ and /æ/ while the front of the tongue is raised in the direction
of the hard palate. The only one front-retracted monophthong in English is /i/.
3). Central vowels are those in which the central part of the tongue is raised
towards the juncture between the hard and soft palate. They are /Ɔ/, /3: /and //.
4). Back-advanced vowels are those which are produced with the bulk of the
tongue in the back part of the mouth, but somewhat advanced (as compared with
25