The correct pronunciation is the basis of effective communication in English. Pronunciation refers to the way words are spoken. It includes attention to the particular sound of language, intonation, stress, linking, rhythm, how the voice is projected, and attention to gestures and expressions.
Correct pronunciation of words in English requires an understanding of the different sounds of Spoken English.
Sounds
Sounds are what we hear, the individual chunks of noise that make up a word. For example, cat - /k/- /a/- /t/, and you get three sounds that come together to make one word. When a person knows the proper sounds of the alphabet letters, they can use those sounds to sound out or decode a word.
Sounds can be divided into two major groups. Group One is vowels, and Group Two is consonants.
The letters of the alphabet in the English language have 21 consonants and five vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and twenty-one consonants (B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z).
Phoneme
A phoneme is a speech sound. It is the smallest unit of sound that distinguishes one word from another.
There are 44 sounds in English, with some variation dependent on accent and articulation. The 44 English phonemes are represented by the 26 letters of the alphabet individually and in combination. These 44 English sounds can be divided into two major categories – consonants and vowels. English has 20 vowel sounds and 24 consonant sounds.
The phonemes are represented by symbols, like the normal alphabet. Some of the symbols are the same as the normal alphabet, like /r/, /s/, /k/, and some are different, like /ɔ/, /əʊ/ and /θ/.
Vowel Sound
We learned at school that there are five vowels—a, e, i, o, and u. But remember that the written vowel is not always the same as the spoken vowel. A vowel sound is made by shaping the air as it leaves the mouth. We use the lips, tongue, and jaw to make the shape. There are as many as twenty vowel sounds in English.
There are three types of vowel sounds in English: short, long, and diphthongs.
There are short vowel sounds in words: ‘cat’, ‘sit’, men’
There are long vowel sounds in words: ‘car’, ‘seat’, ‘more
Diphthongs are a combination of two vowel sounds: /ɔɪ/ as in ‘boy’, /ɪə/ as in ‘near’, and /əʊ/ as in ‘home’.
Consonant Sound
Consonants involve blocking the air movement. Usually, we use teeth, lips, or tongue to do so. Examples are /p/, pronounced with the lips; /t/, pronounced with the front of the tongue; /k/, pronounced with the back of the tongue; /h/, pronounced in the throat.
Most letters of the English alphabet are consonants. Some letters, however, can represent more than one sound, including both consonant and vowel sounds. These letters are known as “sometimes consonants.” They are /h/, /r/, /w/, /y/
Some consonants have voice from the voicebox, and some don’t.
An unvoiced consonant means that there is no vibration or voice coming from the voicebox when the sound is pronounced. Examples of unvoiced consonant sounds are /s/, /p/, and /t/.
A voiced consonant means that there is a voice or vibration coming from the voicebox when the sound is pronounced. Examples of voiced consonant sounds are /v/, /b/, and /g/.
IPA
The International Phonetic Alphabet is a very helpful tool for English learners because English is not a phonetic language. The spelling of an English word doesn’t tell us how to pronounce it.
In English, several different letter combinations can be used to spell the same sound and there are silent letters. The IPA tells us exactly the correct sounds and word stress for pronouncing English words.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein
Conclusion
If you want to speak English well, you must teach yourself to recognize and pronounce the set of English sounds. If you can’t pronounce the sounds of English, people won’t understand you very well. If you can’t recognize the sounds of English, you won’t understand people very well. The learning of the sounds of English allows the learners to become aware of how to pronounce words as correctly as possible and to pronounce words to near perfection.
Speakho is an AI tool that helps you speak English confidently and accurately.
It provides an assessment of your pronunciation and fluency. It shares correct pronunciation so you can learn and correct it within the tool.
It create an assessment report to provide insights into areas for improvement.
It is always right time to speak confidently and be understood by a large and diverse audience. Good English skills are crucial as they help to communicate effectively with customers, provide excellent service, project a professional image, and open up career opportunities.
Speakho is beneficial for students, employers, or anyone who aspires to speak in English.
Comments