Phonetics is a basic section of English linguistics. Language school teachers tell their students about the rules of pronunciation during introductory classes. The reason for this is simple: a significant portion of English words are pronounced differently from how they are written. Combinations of letters can form phonemes that differ significantly from those familiar to native speakers of the Russian language. Knowledge of English phonetics, coupled with practice, will help you communicate with foreigners without the typical accent of Russian speakers.
Phonemes of English
The sound structure of British English includes 44 phonetic units: 24 consonants and 20 vowels. Vowel phonemes include 8 diphthongs - sounds whose pronunciation involves a transition from one vowel to another. The table presents all English phonemes in the form of transcriptions.
| Consonant phonemes | |||
| [f] - five | [d] - do | [v] - very | [k] - key |
| [θ] - thick | [g] - gas | [ð] - this | [tʃ] - chin |
| [s] - so | [dʒ] — Jim | [z] - zoo | [m] - mother |
| [ʃ] - ship | [n] - no | [ʒ] - pleasure | [ŋ] - long |
| [h] - horse | [l] - less | - park | [r] - river |
| — book | [j] - yellow | [t] - tea | [w] - white |
| Vowel phonemes - monophthongs | |||
| [i:] - eat | [ə] - paper | — it | [ʌ] - cup |
| [e] - pen | [ʊ] - cook | [æ] - bad | [u:] - school |
| [a:] - art | [ɜ:] - girl | [ɒ] - box | [ɔ:] - all |
| Vowel phonemes - diphthongs | |||
| [ai] - like | [eə] - air | [aʊ] - house | [ʊə] - poor |
| [ɔi] - boy | [əʊ] - home | [ei] - lake | [iə] - ear |
English sounds are divided into vowels and consonants according to the principle of pronunciation. During the formation of vowel phonemes, active vibrations of the vocal cords occur, and exhaled air passes freely through the speech apparatus. The use of consonant phonemes assumes that the air flow overcomes various obstacles: the tongue, teeth, lips and muscles responsible for sound production. Let's look at the rules for the formation of phonemes that are part of the English language.
Learning transcription of English words
Of course, it would be stupid to say that by spending 15 minutes learning the rules of transcription, you will be able to read and learn English words on your own and still have perfect pronunciation. Of course this is not true. And you will have to spend much more time on transcription, and you will not immediately be able to accurately apply the acquired knowledge. At first, difficulties and errors are not excluded, but each time they will become less and less. Some time will pass, and you will even be able to perform (record by ear) transcription of words yourself.
So, this training has come to an end. Let's repeat all the sounds of the English language that you already know!
Summing up: how to improve English pronunciation yourself
- Short /ɪ/ is wider than ours: the tongue is pulled back more strongly, the back of the tongue rises, but lower; the mouth is more relaxed (almost like for our E); the sound is shorter. A bit reminiscent of the Russian sound IE, as in the word h e
tyre. - Long /i:/ is also wider than ours (but not as wide as short ɪ), and longer than ours. Mouth in a “smile” position. This is a diphthongoid sound: the back of the tongue slides forward and upward during pronunciation, so the “overtone of two sounds” is heard.
- The sound /e/ is shorter and more closed than ours: the middle back of the tongue rises higher to the palate and moves more forward, the jaws are placed closer to each other.
- The unstressed neutral sound “shva” does not need to be pronounced like the Russian / e /. It is pronounced in a completely relaxed position: the tongue is in the middle, the mouth is not tense. The analogue in Russian is post-stress and 2nd pre-stress A, O or E.
Gymnastics for the tongue and lips
Staging and automating sounds [v] - [f] can be fun and relaxed. Articulation gymnastics, which can include the following exercises, will help you master the correct position of your tongue and lips.
"The Hedgehog Who Snorts"
Hedgehogs make funny sounds that resemble snorting. First, the adult shows by example how to snort correctly. In order to snort easily, you need to invite the child to raise his lower lip to his upper teeth, and then exhale slowly. This way you get [f]. If you repeat the exercise several, or even many times, your baby will learn to snort more and more clearly.
"Vetroduy"
By performing this exercise, we will no longer snort, but howl, imitating the howling of the wind. First, the adult should howl so that the baby can see how this is done and how the sound [v] should sound.
First we make a quiet breeze, the sound is weak at first. Then we start adding voice, the sound gets stronger and louder.
If an adult howls in unison to a child, then the sound [v] according to the model will turn out faster and more correctly.
"Snowstorm"
The exercise can be carried out in the form of a competition to see who can howl the longest.
Such articulation tasks contribute to the development of speech breathing and the duration of exhalation. And this will help prepare the speech apparatus for the development of word pronunciation.
How and why to practice sounds
You have to practice sounds when learning any foreign language: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Chinese, Japanese, etc. Different languages have completely different sound systems.
, which, in turn, corresponds to
different articulation
.
When speaking your native language, you don’t think at all about exactly how you open your mouth, whether you tense your lips or not, or where your tongue should be located. But when learning a foreign language, especially at the initial stages, you will have to pay attention to such aspects. This is especially true for sounds that have no analogues in the native language
or that are pronounced differently than in the native language. For example, R is pronounced differently in Russian, English, French and German.
However, when the skill is mastered and trained, the need to keep in mind and control the correct articulation/pronunciation will gradually disappear. Consolidating the correct pronunciation of sounds will definitely come with practice.
To practice sounds and pronounce words correctly in the future, it is not necessary to attend classes with a phonetics specialist.
.
It is enough to perform a number of exercises, and we will give some tips below. However, it should be noted that classes with a teacher can significantly facilitate the process
.
The teacher will not only show you how to articulate correctly, but also correct mistakes.
, if you pronounce sounds incorrectly.
At the initial stages, this is very important - then the risk that you will learn an incorrect option is reduced to almost zero. In addition, the teacher can conduct classes in the form of phonetic games
(especially if you are studying in a group) - they are more entertaining than just doing exercises.
How to practice sounds: practical tips
If you want to achieve good results in producing sounds, you must:
Exercise regularly
The more often you practice, the faster you will get used to pronouncing sounds, articulating them correctly. At least 15-20 minutes
Focus on practicing sounds and/or pronunciation in general.
The result does not depend on how much you study per day or what part of the lesson you devote to this skill. What's more important is how consistently
you do it. It is better to exercise regularly for 15-20 minutes. each lesson is less than an hour once a week.
Select a specific pronunciation option
The same language can have different variants
.
For example, if you are going to university in Germany, then it is best for you to adhere to the Hochdeutsch (literary German) standards. And if you are learning German in order to move, for example, to the south of Germany, you are better off concentrating on the Swabian dialect in order to communicate with the local population. One of the features of this dialect is, for example, the replacement in some cases of “s” with “sch”: Was machst (mach sch
t) du heute?
Hast (Ha sch
t) du Zeit?
Use different resources for classes
On our website there is an article devoted to different types of phonetic exercises. In general, a variety of materials will help you work effectively on pronunciation. Here are just some of the possible options:
- Educational video and audio materials
. Constantly listen to authentic recordings - they will help you get used to foreign speech and the correct pronunciation of sounds. And the video will give you an idea of how to articulate correctly. - Educational sites
.
There are a large number of sites where you can find not only recordings for practicing certain sounds, but also various phonetic exercises, tests, games, etc. For example, for the English language: – https://www.learnersdictionary.com
– 15 levels with exercises for practicing individual sounds;
– https://soundsofspeech.uiowa.edu
– the site presents a system of consonants and vowels, a transcription of each sound, pronunciation and an animated picture on which you can see how to articulate correctly;
– https://www.spokenskills.com
– different types of phonics exercises. - Phonetics Textbooks
. As a rule, they include two parts: theoretical and practical. The theoretical section explains the structure of the articulatory apparatus (ideally with clear illustrations) and gives basic terms. In the practical section you will find directly exercises for practicing correct pronunciation. As a rule, exercises are a set of letters, letter combinations, words, and at the last stage - texts, with the help of which the student learns to articulate correctly.
Do the exercises out loud
In order for phonetic exercises to give a positive result, it is necessary not only to read them, but to pronounce them out loud
, clearly and until you hear that the sound or sound combination has already been worked out quite well by you. After that, move on to practicing the next sound.
Practice skills in front of a mirror
It is useful to practice some exercises in front of a mirror. Especially if the pronunciation of the spoken sound involves articulation that is unusual for your native language. During such exercises, you first need to carefully monitor how the speaker articulates on the video recording (watch the position of the lips and tongue)
, and then practice the sound in front of the mirror, trying to imitate the speaker’s articulation.
Direct speech from our expert:
While still a student at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, I often heard from a phonetics teacher that sometimes it is more useful and effective to see how a sound is pronounced once than to listen to it several times.
Use a voice recorder
Surely you have encountered the fact that your voice on a recording sounds unusual to you and is not at all similar to what you are used to. People around us really hear us differently, so it’s quite difficult to control how we actually pronounce sounds. In this case, technology will come to the rescue, namely a voice recorder. Take notes regularly during phonics exercises
- this way you will not only hear how you pronounce individual sounds, but also track your progress in your studies.
When doing exercises, reading texts or keeping a dictionary, do not sign sounds using their “analogues” from your native language.
. As we have already noted, the sound systems in different languages are not the same, so you simply run the risk of learning them incorrectly, associating them with similar, but still slightly different ones.
And in conclusion, one more piece of advice. After you have mastered a particular sound, find a simple song or poem
, where it is repeated at least several times. It is a well-known fact that it is easier to pronounce a rhymed text in a foreign language without an accent than a prosaic text. And if you like this song or poem as a work of art, then remembering and reproducing them correctly will not be difficult for you. If you want to achieve good results in learning any aspect of a foreign language, it is better to do it with pleasure
