Like [p]-[b] and [t]-[d], [k] and [g] are a pair, the only difference in the two sounds being that the first is voiceless, the second voiced. So place your tongue in the same position as for [k] but do not let the air rush out, and control the sound from your vocal cords, which should be vibrating. Until you are quite confident that you can make the correct sound every time, always check for this vibration. Remember to lengthen a preceding vowel.
PRACTICE
A.
(a)
go - get - good - give - gold
Gran - great - grey - angry - Greece
grumble - Grandfather - grocer - telegram - disgraceful
glass - glove - Gladys - glade - igloo
ago - again - begin - together - regatta
'-gue'
plague - league - prologue - dialogue - synagogue
Remember to lengthen the vowel (ba-a-ag)
bag - flag - sag
bog - fog - jog
target - organ - eager
silent 'g'
(g)naw - (g)nat - (g)nome
si(g)n - campai(g)n - forei(g)n
[nj]
poignant - cognac
(b)
(i) Say each column downwards, taking care to make the initial sound exaggeratedly voiced or voiceless.
(ii) Repeat the words, but reading across the page, so that you have alternate voiced/voiceless sounds. Again, make the difference very clear.
pin - tin - kin
bin - din - begin
pan - tan - can
ban - Dan - began
Pay - Tay - Kay
bay - day - gay
pin - bin
tin - din
kin - begin
pan - ban
tan - Dan
can - began
Pay - bay
Tay - day
Kay - gay
(c)
To kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
All that glisters is not gold.
Go and teach your grandmother to suck eggs.
As good as gold.
To give as good as you get.
B. Which is she saying?
(a) Put this in the back/bag, will you?
(b) I thought I caught a glimpse of the ghost/coast.
(c) Your class/glass is in there.
(d) I found a cap/gap in the hedge.
(e) You haven't drawn that ankle/angle very well.
DIALOGUE 6: Eggs from the Greek grocer
GLADYS: Gran, I'm hungry. Can we go home?
GRANNY: Grumbling again, Gladys! A great big girl like you. Now take my grey bag and go and get some eggs from the grocer, there's a good girl.
GLADYS: But Gran...
GRANNY: I'm going to send a telegram to your grandfather. Oh, give me my glasses before you go. In the green and gold grosgrain case.
GLADYS: But Granny...
GRANNY: Don't giggle, girl, I'm beginning to get angry. Go and get the eggs.
GLADYS: But Gran, it's no good my going to the grocer. He's gone away. He goes back to Greece every August. He's Greek.
GRANNY: Gone to Greece? How disgraceful!
Thursday, 8 March 2007
Friday, 2 March 2007
Unit 5: [k] cut
Raise the back of your tongue and press it against your soft palate at the back of your mouth cavity, completely blocking the passage of air. As with [p] and [t], as soon as this blockage is released the air rushes out and the voiceles sound is produced. And as with [p] and [t], there is a great deal of aspiration.
PRACTICE
A.
(a)
cash - case - come - coin - car
Mike - take - park - keep - kid
market - taking - broken - baker - crikey
clock - neck - back - duck - sick
'ch' (mostly from Greek)
ache - school - chaos - Christmas - echo
stomach - monarch - mechanic - archaeology - archipelago
[ks]
taxi - six - accent - mixed - success
[kw]
quick - quite - quiet - quality - question
* but [k]
quay - quarter - conquer - cheque - mosquito
silent 'k' before 'n'
(k)now
(k)nock
(k)nee
(k)nife
(k)new
(b)
Curiosity killed the cat.
To cut your coat according to your cloth.
Cool as a cucumber.
The pot calling the kettle black.
A cat may look at a king.
To come a cropper.
Catch as catch can.
To kill a wife with kindness.
B. Question and answer (this is best done in pairs)
1. Can you talk in Cockney to a crowd in Connaught Square?
Of course I can talk in Cockney tu a crowd in Connaught Square.
2. Can you coat a coffee cake with Cornish clotted cream?
Of course I can ...
3. Can you quickly kick a crooked Coca-Cola can?
Of course I can ...
4. Can you catch a cuckoo in a broken wicker cage?
Of course I can ...
C. Which of these words are said twice?
(a) sack/sag (b) pick/pig (c) cap/gap (d) came/game
(e) coat/goat (f) card/guard (g) peck/peg (h) class/glass
DIALOGUE 5. Cash in the ice-cream carton
COLIN: O.K., Mike. At six o'clock you take a taxi to the bank. Max will come out with the cash in a cream-coloured case ...
MIKE: I'm to collect the cash?
COLIN: Of course. Don't ask questions. Just concentrate.
MIKE: Colin, if they catch me I'll confess.
COLIN: Keep quiet, can't you? At a quarter to six Coco will be parked at the corner of the Market Square.
MIKE: I'll scream. l'm a coward. The kids at school call me ...
COLIN: Pack the cash in the ice-cream carton in the back of the car and make your way as quick as you can back to the café.
MIKE: Colin, I'm scared.
COLIN: Oh crikey, Mike! You do make me sick!
PRACTICE
A.
(a)
cash - case - come - coin - car
Mike - take - park - keep - kid
market - taking - broken - baker - crikey
clock - neck - back - duck - sick
'ch' (mostly from Greek)
ache - school - chaos - Christmas - echo
stomach - monarch - mechanic - archaeology - archipelago
[ks]
taxi - six - accent - mixed - success
[kw]
quick - quite - quiet - quality - question
* but [k]
quay - quarter - conquer - cheque - mosquito
silent 'k' before 'n'
(k)now
(k)nock
(k)nee
(k)nife
(k)new
(b)
Curiosity killed the cat.
To cut your coat according to your cloth.
Cool as a cucumber.
The pot calling the kettle black.
A cat may look at a king.
To come a cropper.
Catch as catch can.
To kill a wife with kindness.
B. Question and answer (this is best done in pairs)
1. Can you talk in Cockney to a crowd in Connaught Square?
Of course I can talk in Cockney tu a crowd in Connaught Square.
2. Can you coat a coffee cake with Cornish clotted cream?
Of course I can ...
3. Can you quickly kick a crooked Coca-Cola can?
Of course I can ...
4. Can you catch a cuckoo in a broken wicker cage?
Of course I can ...
C. Which of these words are said twice?
(a) sack/sag (b) pick/pig (c) cap/gap (d) came/game
(e) coat/goat (f) card/guard (g) peck/peg (h) class/glass
DIALOGUE 5. Cash in the ice-cream carton
COLIN: O.K., Mike. At six o'clock you take a taxi to the bank. Max will come out with the cash in a cream-coloured case ...
MIKE: I'm to collect the cash?
COLIN: Of course. Don't ask questions. Just concentrate.
MIKE: Colin, if they catch me I'll confess.
COLIN: Keep quiet, can't you? At a quarter to six Coco will be parked at the corner of the Market Square.
MIKE: I'll scream. l'm a coward. The kids at school call me ...
COLIN: Pack the cash in the ice-cream carton in the back of the car and make your way as quick as you can back to the café.
MIKE: Colin, I'm scared.
COLIN: Oh crikey, Mike! You do make me sick!
Unit 4: [d] die
This is the voiced equivalent of [t], so the tongue starts in the same position, against the alveolar ridge, and the lower jaw is pulled down and the tongue withdrawn from the rídge to release the pressure. However, as this is a voiced sound, there will be no rush of air but only a tiny explosion.
Don't forget to check on your vibration, either with your fingers on your Adam's apple, or by covering your ears. And don't forget to lengthen any vowel sound immediately before the [d].
PRACTICE
A.
(a)
do - day - dog
dreary - drab - drive
long vowel
bed - rode - afraid
date - daughter - don't
silent 'd'
han(d)some - han(d)kerchief - han(d)cuff
gran(d)mother - gran(d)father - We(d)nesday
past tense '-ed'
after voiced consonant
lived - called
sagged - banged
seized - waged
after 't', 'd' (/id/)
wanted - waited
patted - acted
added - loaded
landed - ended
(b) Don't forget to lenthen the vowel if it's followed by a voiced consontant:
tame - dame
mate - made
time - dime
spite - spied
tram - dram
mat - mad
toll - dole
coat - code
(c)
All dressed up like a dog's dinner.
Never say die until you're dead.
Between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Dull as ditch water.
Dead as door nail.
B. Which is s/he saying?
(a) I've put a tent/dent in the car.
(b) This seed/seat should be kept in the garden shed.
(c) I saw two men pushing a trunk/drunk into the taxi.
(d) I'm afraid he's a heart/hard case.
(e) I think it's thirsty/Thursday.
C. One word in each sentence (3 words in (f) ) makes the whole sentence into nonsense. Which are the words? And what ought they to be?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
DIALOGUE 4. All dressed up for a date with David
DONALD: And what's my darling daughter doing all dressed up?
DEIRDRE: I've got a date with David, Daddy. We're going to a dance at Dudley Head, with Dan and Ada Dodd.
DONALD: David? Not that dreary lad who came to dinner on Friday and trod on the dog? Deirdre, he's dreadful!
DEIRDRE: Oh Daddy! He's divine! I adore him!
DONALD: I found him dreadfully dull, I'm afraid. You know, that dress doesn't do anything for you, my dear. Dark red! Darling, it's so deadening, so dreadfully drab!
DEIRDRE: Oh Daddy! Why is everything I do dreadful these days? (The front doorbell rings.) Oh, there's David! I must dash.
DONALD: Is he driving? Don't let him drink. And don't forget, you said you'd be in bed by midnight.
DEIRDRE: Oh Daddy!
Don't forget to check on your vibration, either with your fingers on your Adam's apple, or by covering your ears. And don't forget to lengthen any vowel sound immediately before the [d].
PRACTICE
A.
(a)
do - day - dog
dreary - drab - drive
long vowel
bed - rode - afraid
date - daughter - don't
silent 'd'
han(d)some - han(d)kerchief - han(d)cuff
gran(d)mother - gran(d)father - We(d)nesday
past tense '-ed'
after voiced consonant
lived - called
sagged - banged
seized - waged
after 't', 'd' (/id/)
wanted - waited
patted - acted
added - loaded
landed - ended
(b) Don't forget to lenthen the vowel if it's followed by a voiced consontant:
tame - dame
mate - made
time - dime
spite - spied
tram - dram
mat - mad
toll - dole
coat - code
(c)
All dressed up like a dog's dinner.
Never say die until you're dead.
Between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Dull as ditch water.
Dead as door nail.
B. Which is s/he saying?
(a) I've put a tent/dent in the car.
(b) This seed/seat should be kept in the garden shed.
(c) I saw two men pushing a trunk/drunk into the taxi.
(d) I'm afraid he's a heart/hard case.
(e) I think it's thirsty/Thursday.
C. One word in each sentence (3 words in (f) ) makes the whole sentence into nonsense. Which are the words? And what ought they to be?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
DIALOGUE 4. All dressed up for a date with David
DONALD: And what's my darling daughter doing all dressed up?
DEIRDRE: I've got a date with David, Daddy. We're going to a dance at Dudley Head, with Dan and Ada Dodd.
DONALD: David? Not that dreary lad who came to dinner on Friday and trod on the dog? Deirdre, he's dreadful!
DEIRDRE: Oh Daddy! He's divine! I adore him!
DONALD: I found him dreadfully dull, I'm afraid. You know, that dress doesn't do anything for you, my dear. Dark red! Darling, it's so deadening, so dreadfully drab!
DEIRDRE: Oh Daddy! Why is everything I do dreadful these days? (The front doorbell rings.) Oh, there's David! I must dash.
DONALD: Is he driving? Don't let him drink. And don't forget, you said you'd be in bed by midnight.
DEIRDRE: Oh Daddy!
Unit 3: [t] tie
Press the tip of your tongue against the ridge of bone behind and above your top teeth (the alveolar ridge) so that no air can get through. Build up the pressure of air behind this barrier, and then break the pressure by opening your mouth a little and removing your tongue from the ridge so that the air rushes out. Carry on the rush of air through the vowel sound that follows, as you did with [p], so that the word 'tin' sounds like 't-hin' or even 'tsin'. Exaggerate this aspiration to begin with as you practise.
PRACTICE
(a)
time - tell - town
torn - taxi - telephone
twelve - twenty - between
trousers - tried - transport
what - late - night
after - water - empty
Templetons - tempted - extravagant
(b)Past forms with '-ed' following a voiceless consonant sound (except [t]).
hoped - hopped
looked - asked
puffed - laughed
missed - passed
wished - crashed
fetched - watched
mixed - boxed
(c) 'th' pronounced [t].
Anthony, Thomas and Theresa Thompson live at No. 10 Chatham Street, Walton-on- Thames, next to Thyme Cottage.
(d) Silent 't'.
chris(t)en - lis(t)en - glis(t)en
cas(t)le - wres(t)le - whis(t)le
ches(t)nut - Chris(t)mas - exac(t)ly
sof(t)en - of(t)en - mus(t)n't
cabare(t)- balle(t) - croque(t)
(e)
Better late than dead on time.
To fall between two stools.
A storm in a teacup.
On the tip of your tongue.
If at first you don't suceed, try, try and try again.
Temptations are like tramps-let one in and he returns with his friends.
B. Listen and fill in the missing words. Then say the sentences aloud.
(a) These ... (1) are ... (2) ... (3) Why ... (4) you ... (5) them?
(b) ... (1) answer the ... (2) ... (3) I ... (4) you ... (5)
(c) The ... (1) ... (2) arrive ... (3) a ... (4) ... (5) ... (6) so you'd ... (7) ... (8) a ... (9) ... (10) ... (11) the ... (12)
(d) ... (1) was ... (2) a ... (3) or ... (4) the ... (5) was ... (6)
DIALOGUE 3. Waiting for Templetons
TESSA: What time did you tell Templetons to get here, Martin?
MARTIN: Any time between 10 and 12.
TESSA: But it's after two! They're terribly late!
MARTIN: Why didn't you contact United Transport as I told you?
TESSA: Peter Thompson said that Templetons were better.
MARTIN: Tessa! Peter Thompson's a director of Templetons. Oh! blast it! I've torn my trousers on the radiator!
TESSA: Oh Martin, do take care! ... Hadn't we better telephone?
MARTIN: I've tried. The telephone's not connected yet.
TESSA: And the water's still cut off. We can't just wait here all afternoon in an empty flat with no water and no telephone.
MARTIN: How uninviting an empty flat is.
TESSA: And it seems tiny, too, now, doesn't it?
MARTIN: I'm tempted to take a taxi straight into town and stay the night in a hotel.
TESSA: How extravagant! But what a delightful thought!
PRACTICE
(a)
time - tell - town
torn - taxi - telephone
twelve - twenty - between
trousers - tried - transport
what - late - night
after - water - empty
Templetons - tempted - extravagant
(b)Past forms with '-ed' following a voiceless consonant sound (except [t]).
hoped - hopped
looked - asked
puffed - laughed
missed - passed
wished - crashed
fetched - watched
mixed - boxed
(c) 'th' pronounced [t].
Anthony, Thomas and Theresa Thompson live at No. 10 Chatham Street, Walton-on- Thames, next to Thyme Cottage.
(d) Silent 't'.
chris(t)en - lis(t)en - glis(t)en
cas(t)le - wres(t)le - whis(t)le
ches(t)nut - Chris(t)mas - exac(t)ly
sof(t)en - of(t)en - mus(t)n't
cabare(t)- balle(t) - croque(t)
(e)
Better late than dead on time.
To fall between two stools.
A storm in a teacup.
On the tip of your tongue.
If at first you don't suceed, try, try and try again.
Temptations are like tramps-let one in and he returns with his friends.
B. Listen and fill in the missing words. Then say the sentences aloud.
(a) These ... (1) are ... (2) ... (3) Why ... (4) you ... (5) them?
(b) ... (1) answer the ... (2) ... (3) I ... (4) you ... (5)
(c) The ... (1) ... (2) arrive ... (3) a ... (4) ... (5) ... (6) so you'd ... (7) ... (8) a ... (9) ... (10) ... (11) the ... (12)
(d) ... (1) was ... (2) a ... (3) or ... (4) the ... (5) was ... (6)
DIALOGUE 3. Waiting for Templetons
TESSA: What time did you tell Templetons to get here, Martin?
MARTIN: Any time between 10 and 12.
TESSA: But it's after two! They're terribly late!
MARTIN: Why didn't you contact United Transport as I told you?
TESSA: Peter Thompson said that Templetons were better.
MARTIN: Tessa! Peter Thompson's a director of Templetons. Oh! blast it! I've torn my trousers on the radiator!
TESSA: Oh Martin, do take care! ... Hadn't we better telephone?
MARTIN: I've tried. The telephone's not connected yet.
TESSA: And the water's still cut off. We can't just wait here all afternoon in an empty flat with no water and no telephone.
MARTIN: How uninviting an empty flat is.
TESSA: And it seems tiny, too, now, doesn't it?
MARTIN: I'm tempted to take a taxi straight into town and stay the night in a hotel.
TESSA: How extravagant! But what a delightful thought!
Sunday, 25 February 2007
Unit 2: [b] as in 'bin'
Your mouth is in the same position as for [p], but this time the sound is voiced, that is, the vocal cords behind your Adam's apple are vibrated. Put your fingers on your throat or over your ears each time, to check that you really are making a difference between the voiced and voiceless sounds. Don't be afraid to exaggerate. Make sure there is only the smallest explosion of air.
A.
(a)
bit - bat - bad
baby - balcony - bottle
blanket - blades - bless you
brother - brandy - breathe
trouble - table - problem
Silent 'b'
clim(b)- com(b)- thum(b)
de(b)t - dou(b)t - su(b)tle
tap - tab
sheep - Sheba
lope - lobe
Caple - cable
harp - harbour
baps - Babs
simple - symbol
tripe - tribe
- His bark's worse than his bite.
- The blind leading the blind.
- Your eyes are bigger than your belly.
- A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
- Beauty will buy no beef.
- Blind as a bat.
- Bold as brass.
B. Which is the speaker saying? Remember, when there's a voiced consonant sound at the end of a syllable, the vowel before it is lengthened. If the consonant sound is voiceless, the vowel is short. The answers are in the Comments section, as usual
(a) What a beautiful golden peach/beach!
(b) The pills/bills are on the table.
(c) The mop/mob fell on him.
(d) He threw off the rope/robe and ran away.
C. Mixed voiced/voiceless. Say slowly, then faster and faster, but always thinking carefully whether you are saying [p] or [b].
(a) The butcher put the pork spareribs into a brown paper bag.
(b) Betty's prepared beautiful puff pastry for the blackberry and apple pie.
(c) Peter's big pink pig's broken the tips of Bill's best rhubarb plants.
DIALOGUE 2. Brandy in the baby's bottle!
Telephone rings. Brr . . . brr brr.
BOB: Rob Batterby.
BABS: Oh Bob, this is Babs. I'm baby-sitting for Betty and my brother Bill. I'm sorry to bother you but . . .
BOB: What's the trouble? No problem's too big when Bob's on the job!
BABS: Oh stop being stupid, Bob. It's baby. I put her on the balcony on a blanket with a biscuit to bite on and I think a bit of biscuit . . . She can't breathe.
BOB: Bang her on the back, between the shoulder blades.
BABS: I've banged her till she's black and blue.
BOB: Try putting a bit of brandy in her bottle.
BABS: Brandy in the baby's bottle! Oh Bob!
BOB: Sorry, Babs. Sounds bad. I'd better bicycle over. Be with you before you can say 'bread and butter'.
BABS: Bless you, Bob. 'Bye 'bye. Be quick!
A.
(a)
bit - bat - bad
baby - balcony - bottle
blanket - blades - bless you
brother - brandy - breathe
trouble - table - problem
Silent 'b'
clim(b)- com(b)- thum(b)
de(b)t - dou(b)t - su(b)tle
tap - tab
sheep - Sheba
lope - lobe
Caple - cable
harp - harbour
baps - Babs
simple - symbol
tripe - tribe
- His bark's worse than his bite.
- The blind leading the blind.
- Your eyes are bigger than your belly.
- A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
- Beauty will buy no beef.
- Blind as a bat.
- Bold as brass.
B. Which is the speaker saying? Remember, when there's a voiced consonant sound at the end of a syllable, the vowel before it is lengthened. If the consonant sound is voiceless, the vowel is short. The answers are in the Comments section, as usual
(a) What a beautiful golden peach/beach!
(b) The pills/bills are on the table.
(c) The mop/mob fell on him.
(d) He threw off the rope/robe and ran away.
C. Mixed voiced/voiceless. Say slowly, then faster and faster, but always thinking carefully whether you are saying [p] or [b].
(a) The butcher put the pork spareribs into a brown paper bag.
(b) Betty's prepared beautiful puff pastry for the blackberry and apple pie.
(c) Peter's big pink pig's broken the tips of Bill's best rhubarb plants.
DIALOGUE 2. Brandy in the baby's bottle!
Telephone rings. Brr . . . brr brr.
BOB: Rob Batterby.
BABS: Oh Bob, this is Babs. I'm baby-sitting for Betty and my brother Bill. I'm sorry to bother you but . . .
BOB: What's the trouble? No problem's too big when Bob's on the job!
BABS: Oh stop being stupid, Bob. It's baby. I put her on the balcony on a blanket with a biscuit to bite on and I think a bit of biscuit . . . She can't breathe.
BOB: Bang her on the back, between the shoulder blades.
BABS: I've banged her till she's black and blue.
BOB: Try putting a bit of brandy in her bottle.
BABS: Brandy in the baby's bottle! Oh Bob!
BOB: Sorry, Babs. Sounds bad. I'd better bicycle over. Be with you before you can say 'bread and butter'.
BABS: Bless you, Bob. 'Bye 'bye. Be quick!
Unit 1: [p] as in 'pin'
The first six sounds we are going to examine are called 'plosives' because you build up a pressure of air and release it like a small explosion. To produce the first one, [p], press your lips together, let the air from the lungs build up behind them and then blow it out suddenly. You should be able to blow out a candle or a feather off your hand. Let the air come straight up from the lungs, as this is a voiceless sound. Keep blowing through the vowel that follows; e.g. 'park', 'pin'. Listen carefully to exercise A on the tape before you try. The speaker is exaggerating, but only a little. When you practise, exaggerate too. Sometimes it helps to think there is an 'h' after the 'p'. As if you were saying 'p-hin'.
PRACTICE
A. Hold your hand upright in front of your mouth, so that your fingers are just touching your nose. Make sure that you feel a definite explosion of air each time you say [p]:
a)
Percy - perfect - purpose - people - Popplewell
pass - put - pot - pay - pound
pet - poor - post - pack - pun
presume - practical - pride - pretty - present
expensive - expect - explain - explore - explode
porridge - possible - parcel
puce - puny - computer
uphill - upheaval - upholstery
silent'p'
(p)neumonia -(p)salm - (p)sychology
cu(p)board - ras(p)berry - recei(p)t
cou(p) - cor(ps)
(b)
- Practice makes perfect.
- The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
- Promises and piecrusts are made to be broken.
- Penny plain, twopence coloured.
- To rob Peter to pay Paul.
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper, where's the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?
B. Listen to the recording. Which is s/he saying? Choose the right word in each pair. You can check your answers in the Comments section.
(a) pig/big
(b) pill/fill
(c) pen/ten
(d) pick/thick
(e) pat/bat
(f) post/boast
(g) pan/can
(h) pole/hole
(i) pop/bop
DIALOGUE 1: A present for Penelope
Peter: Pass the pepper, will you, please, Percy, old chap?
Percy: Pepper? You're not proposing to put pepper on your porridge?
Peter: Shut up, Percy! Why do you always presume that I'm stupid?
Percy: Well, stop snapping and explain the purpose of the pepper pot.
Peter: It's perfectly simple. I want to compare our pepper pot with the pepper pot I've bought as a present for Penelope Popplewell.
Percy: A practical --but pretty expensive--present!
Peter: Well, she's a super person. I thought perhaps, if you happened to be passing the Post Office… Could you possibly pop the parcel in the post?
Peter: Am I expected to pay the postage on this pepper pot for Penelope Popplewell?
Peter: Percy, you're impossible! I may be poor but I have my pride! Here’s £1 for the postage.
PRACTICE
A. Hold your hand upright in front of your mouth, so that your fingers are just touching your nose. Make sure that you feel a definite explosion of air each time you say [p]:
a)
Percy - perfect - purpose - people - Popplewell
pass - put - pot - pay - pound
pet - poor - post - pack - pun
presume - practical - pride - pretty - present
expensive - expect - explain - explore - explode
porridge - possible - parcel
puce - puny - computer
uphill - upheaval - upholstery
silent'p'
(p)neumonia -(p)salm - (p)sychology
cu(p)board - ras(p)berry - recei(p)t
cou(p) - cor(ps)
(b)
- Practice makes perfect.
- The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
- Promises and piecrusts are made to be broken.
- Penny plain, twopence coloured.
- To rob Peter to pay Paul.
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper, where's the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?
B. Listen to the recording. Which is s/he saying? Choose the right word in each pair. You can check your answers in the Comments section.
(a) pig/big
(b) pill/fill
(c) pen/ten
(d) pick/thick
(e) pat/bat
(f) post/boast
(g) pan/can
(h) pole/hole
(i) pop/bop
DIALOGUE 1: A present for Penelope
Peter: Pass the pepper, will you, please, Percy, old chap?
Percy: Pepper? You're not proposing to put pepper on your porridge?
Peter: Shut up, Percy! Why do you always presume that I'm stupid?
Percy: Well, stop snapping and explain the purpose of the pepper pot.
Peter: It's perfectly simple. I want to compare our pepper pot with the pepper pot I've bought as a present for Penelope Popplewell.
Percy: A practical --but pretty expensive--present!
Peter: Well, she's a super person. I thought perhaps, if you happened to be passing the Post Office… Could you possibly pop the parcel in the post?
Peter: Am I expected to pay the postage on this pepper pot for Penelope Popplewell?
Peter: Percy, you're impossible! I may be poor but I have my pride! Here’s £1 for the postage.
Introduction: Why Pronunciation is necessary
Language is a means of communication. It has three components:
(a) Structures (the patterns that can be seen in these are usually called the grammar of the language).
(b) Words that convey meaning (vocabulary or lexis).
(c) Sound, stress, and intonation patterns, which combine to make up 'Pronunciation'.
If you communicate only through the written word, you will need only the first two of these components. If, on the other hand, you want to be able to understand the spoken language, and to be understood, you'll need all three components. Some people think that as long as you know the words, and perhaps a smattering of grammar, the way you say things doesn't really matter. Well, that's all right as long as all you want the language for is to point to something and say 'How much?', in which case there's not much purpose in your following this course. A child can get what it wants by pointing and saying 'Da! Da!', or screaming till it gets it. But a child soon learns that there are better ways of conveying its needs, and later, that the world and human thought and emotions are far too complex to be expressed merely by pointing or screaming.
Ideally, all three components of language should go hand in hand from the very beginning. If the unfamiliar sounds and pronunciation patterns are mastered early they become so natural that it seems unnatural to say them incorrectly. All that's left to learn is where the stress lies and how some of the more unusual words are said.
Communication is a two-way process-
1. Understanding other people when they speak.
2. Conveying what you want to say so that other people can understand you.
For the first, understanding, we need--
(a) Knowledge and
(b) Awareness, sensitivity.
For the second, conveying meaning, we need-
(a) Knowledge
(b) Awareness and
(c) Control.
If you have no idea, for instance, that there's an important difference in English between 's' and 'sh', and furthermore you can't distinguish between the two, you won't know how to react if someone asks you to 'bring in the seat'--or was it sheet? This situation doesn't seem very serious, but it could be. There are hundreds of stories told of misunderstandings caused by mispronunciation. Sometimes there is laughter, sometimes people walk out in anger, and on at least one occasion there was very nearly an International Incident. There may be only one, tiny difference between the word the speaker said and the word he thought he was saying. Suppose there were two or three 'mistakes' in your pronunciation?
The consequences could be
(a) offence to the listener,
(b) misunderstanding by the listener,
(c) complete lack of comprehension by the listener,
(d) a listener so exhausted by the effort of trying to interpret what it is you're
trying to say that he gives up and goes and talks to someone else.
(a) Structures (the patterns that can be seen in these are usually called the grammar of the language).
(b) Words that convey meaning (vocabulary or lexis).
(c) Sound, stress, and intonation patterns, which combine to make up 'Pronunciation'.
If you communicate only through the written word, you will need only the first two of these components. If, on the other hand, you want to be able to understand the spoken language, and to be understood, you'll need all three components. Some people think that as long as you know the words, and perhaps a smattering of grammar, the way you say things doesn't really matter. Well, that's all right as long as all you want the language for is to point to something and say 'How much?', in which case there's not much purpose in your following this course. A child can get what it wants by pointing and saying 'Da! Da!', or screaming till it gets it. But a child soon learns that there are better ways of conveying its needs, and later, that the world and human thought and emotions are far too complex to be expressed merely by pointing or screaming.
Ideally, all three components of language should go hand in hand from the very beginning. If the unfamiliar sounds and pronunciation patterns are mastered early they become so natural that it seems unnatural to say them incorrectly. All that's left to learn is where the stress lies and how some of the more unusual words are said.
Communication is a two-way process-
1. Understanding other people when they speak.
2. Conveying what you want to say so that other people can understand you.
For the first, understanding, we need--
(a) Knowledge and
(b) Awareness, sensitivity.
For the second, conveying meaning, we need-
(a) Knowledge
(b) Awareness and
(c) Control.
If you have no idea, for instance, that there's an important difference in English between 's' and 'sh', and furthermore you can't distinguish between the two, you won't know how to react if someone asks you to 'bring in the seat'--or was it sheet? This situation doesn't seem very serious, but it could be. There are hundreds of stories told of misunderstandings caused by mispronunciation. Sometimes there is laughter, sometimes people walk out in anger, and on at least one occasion there was very nearly an International Incident. There may be only one, tiny difference between the word the speaker said and the word he thought he was saying. Suppose there were two or three 'mistakes' in your pronunciation?
The consequences could be
(a) offence to the listener,
(b) misunderstanding by the listener,
(c) complete lack of comprehension by the listener,
(d) a listener so exhausted by the effort of trying to interpret what it is you're
trying to say that he gives up and goes and talks to someone else.
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