EXERCISE – I

INTRODUCTION TO PHONETICS - LISTENING COMPREHENSION-

COMMON INDIAN VARIANTS IN PRONUNCIATION-
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN PRONUNCIATION

INTRODUCTION TO PHONETICS:

Phonetics (from the Greek word phone = sound/voice) is a fundamental branch of Linguistics which
deals with the study of speech sounds of a language. English has its own phonetic system.
The actual sound produced, such as a simple vowel or consonant sound is called phone. All theories
of phonology hold that spoken language can be broken into a string of sound units (phonemes). A
phoneme is the smallest ‘distinctive unit sound’ of a language.
The Use of Basic Knowledge of Phonetics
Phonetics is the study of speech sounds. It not only describes and discusses the production and
transmission of different speech sounds, but also addresses itself to a host of other aspects of words
and sentences and their pronunciation patterns. With a basic knowledge of Phonetics and a bit of
conscious practice, one can become a better speaker of English language.

Speech Mechanism:
English uses pulmonary-aggressive air-stream mechanism for the production of its speech sounds.
This means all English speech is made with the help of the stream of air coming out of the lungs. The
human voice works on the same principle as any musical wind instrument. The air coming from the
lungs is changed into a sound by an organ called larynx present in the throat. Various organs of
speech present in the mouth also participate in the production and transmission of different speech
sounds. Also present in the throat, on top of the wind pipe, are a pair of lip-like structure called vocal
cords. The vibration of the vocal cords plays an important role in speech. They have two functions:
i) They determine the pitch of our voice and
ii) Giving voice to our speech sounds i.e., they determine whether a speech sound is
voiceless or voiced.

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The Sounds of English and Their Representation:

In English, there is no one-to-one relation between the system of writing and the system of
pronunciation. The alphabets which we use to write English has 26 letters but in (Standard British)
English there are approximately 44 speech sounds. To represent the basic sound of spoken languages
, the linguists use a set of phonetic symbols called the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The
chart below contains all of the IPA symbols used to represent the sounds of the English language.
This is the standard set of phonemic symbols for English (RP and similar accents).

Vowels:
There are twenty distinctive vowel sounds, made up of twelve pure vowels or monophthongs and
eight vowel diphthongs (glides). Vowels are the most important sounds. Every word has to have a
vowel sound. To articulate, one needs to allow the free flow of air through the mouth. Vowels are of
two kinds – Pure vowels and Diphthongs. Of the twelve pure vowels seven are short and five are
long. We notice that the sounds indicated by the long vowels are stretched and the sounds indicated
by the short vowels are clipped. Besides Monophthongs there are eight vowel sounds called
Diphthongs. They are actually combinations of two vowel sounds with the voice gliding from one
sound to another.
Consonants:
We can define a consonant by reference to three characteristics:

 The point of articulation -where in the vocal tract it is made.

 The type of articulation - how we make it.
 Whether the sound is voiced or unvoiced.

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Vowel Sounds of English
Of the 44 sounds present in the English language, 20 are vowel sounds. Of these twenty, the first
twelve are pure vowels and the remaining eight are long vowels or diphthongs. Vowel sounds are
free-flowing sounds in the sense air comes out without any friction when these sounds are uttered.

Consonant sounds of English

Classification and description of consonant sounds:
While vowels are speech sounds produced with an open mouth, consonant sounds are produced with
a friction i.e., when these sounds are produced any two organs of speech in the mouth come into a
contact and produce some friction. There are 24 consonant sounds in English language. Consonant
sounds are described with reference to the place of articulation and the manner of articulation. The
latter is known as stricture. Based on this stricture consonant sounds are classified into 6 groups.

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LISTENING COMPREHENSION:

Introduction

Listening is a language modality. It is one of the four skills of language i.e., listening, speaking,

reading and writing. It involves an active involvement of an individual. Listening involves a sender,

a message and a receiver. It is the psychological process of receiving, attending to constructing

meaning from and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages.

Listening comprises of some key components, they are:

• Discriminating between sounds

• Recognizing words and understanding their meaning

• Identifying grammatical groupings of words,

• Identifying expressions and sets of utterances that act to create meaning,

• Connecting linguistic cues to non-linguistic and paralinguistic cues,

• Using background knowledge to predict and to confirm meaning and

• Recalling important words and ideas.

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COMMON INDIAN VARIANTS IN PRONUNCIATION:

Mend your speech a little

Lest you may mar your fortunes.
-Shakespeare, King Lear

The Choice of the Model: Which English?

What do we mean by a perfect English pronunciation? There are as many different kinds of English
as there are speakers of it. How do we decide what sort of English to use as a model? We have
Educated South-Eastern British, Educated Scottish, General American, Educated Canadian,
Educated Australian and Educated South African that are regarded as standard. All these are
regarded as correct, acceptable and even respectable forms of pronunciation in those respective
regions-where English is spoken as mother tongue. In this sense, they are among the native accents
of English.

General Indian English (GIE):

In India, one may come across many accents of English - spoken in different states. Some of these
so diverge from one another that they may largely remain mutually unintelligible. Nevertheless,
there has evolved, over the years, one variety of English largely acceptable among most of the
educated speakers of English who use it. This is General Indian English.

Received Pronunciation (RP):

The choice of many educated speakers of English around the world is RP or Received
Pronunciation, the word received here suggesting its social acceptance. This is a better model for
Indian speakers for well-known historical reasons.

Disparities between Spelling and Pronunciation Systems

It is common knowledge that English spelling and pronunciation systems are not consistent with
each other - i.e. there is no one-to-one correspondence the alphabet and the sounds they represent.
While English language uses 44 sounds, its alphabet has only 26 letters. In English, very often:

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 i. The same letter(s) stand(s) for different sounds.
a. The letters ch stand for different sounds in the words ‘machine’,‘ monarch’ and ‘chief’.
b. The letter a stands for different sounds in the words ‘late’,‘last’,‘fat,‘woman’,‘village’,
‘water’ and ‘what’.
c. The letters ‘ough’ stand for different sounds in the words ‘though’,‘through’,‘bought’,
‘thorough’ and ‘cough’.
ii. The same sound is represented by different letters or combination of letters.
a. The n sound is represented by n in ‘neck’, nn in ‘funny’, gn in ‘sign’, kn in ‘know’ and pn in
‘pneumonia’.
b. The vowel sound /e/ is represented by the letter e in ‘end’, ea in ‘head’, ei in ‘leisure’, eo in
leopard, a in many, ai in said, ie in friend, u in bury and ue in guess.
c. The vowel sound /i:/ is represented by the letters ea in ‘beat’, ie in ‘brief’, eo in ‘people’, e in
‘scene’, ee in ‘seen’, ey in ‘key’, i in ‘machine’, oe in ‘foetus’, ei in ‘receive’ and uay in
‘quay’.
iii. One letter of the alphabet stands for a sequence of two sounds.
a. The letter q stands for /k/ and /w/ in the words ‘question’, ‘quiet’ and ‘sqare’.
b. The letter x stands for a sequence of /k/ and /s/ in the words ‘excuse’, ‘excite’ and ‘extra’.
c. The letter x stands also for a sequence of /g/ and /z/ in the words ‘exact’, ‘examine’ and
‘exist’.
d. The letter u sometimes stands for a sequence of /j/ and /u:/ in the words ‘unit’, ‘use’ and
‘utilize’.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN PRONUNCIATION:

Americans and the British clearly speak the same language, but there’s enough variation to create
versions of the language with slightly different personalities
Accent
It is difficult to make clear distinctions between US and UK accents when there is such a wide
variety of accents within both the US and UK. A Texan and a New Yorker are both Americans, but

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have very different accents. The same goes with British accents in London, Manchester and
Glasgow.
However, some very general distinctions can be made. Americans usually pronounce every “r” in a
word, while the British tend to only pronounce the “r” when it’s the first letter of a word.

American English British English

Color Colour
Behavior Behaviour
Theater Theatre
Meter Metre
Organize Organise
Traveled Travelled

Vocabulary
American English British English
Apartment Flat
College University
Theater Theatre
Vacation Holiday
Chips Crisps

Grammar
Prepositions
The differences below are only a general rule. American speech has influenced Britain via pop
culture, and vice versa. Therefore, some prepositional differences are not as pronounced as they once
were.

American English British English

I’m going to a party on the weekend. I’m going to a party at the weekend.
What are you doing on Christmas? What are you doing at Christmas?
Monday through Friday. Monday to Friday.
It’s different from/than the others. It’s different from/to the others.

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Past Simple vs Present Perfect
Americans tend to use the past simple when describing something that has recently occurred, while
people in the UK are more likely to use the present perfect.
American English British English
I ate too much. I’ve eaten too much.
I went to the store. I’ve been to the shop.
Did you get the newspaper? Have you got the newspaper?
The past participle of get
In the UK, “gotten” as the past participle of “get” is considered archaic and was abandoned long ago
in favor of “got.” However, in the US people still use “gotten” as the past participle.

American English British English

get — got — gotten get — got — got
I haven’t gotten any news about him. I’ve not got any news about him.
Collective nouns: singular or plural?
In British English, a collective noun (like committee, government, team, etc.) can be either singular
or plural, but more often tends toward plural, emphasizing the members of the group. Collective
nouns in the US, by comparison, are always singular, emphasizing the group as one whole entity.
American English British English
The government is doing everything it can The government is doing everything they can
during this crisis. during this crisis.
My team is winning. My team is winning.
Regular or irregular verbs?
This is a subtle difference that can be easily overlooked in speech, but is much more apparent in
written form. Many verbs that are irregular in the preterite in Britain (leapt, dreamt, burnt, learnt)
have been made regular in America (leaped, dreamed, burned, learned).

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 EXERCISE – I
(ACTIVITY SHEETS 1-9)

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ACTIVITY SHEETH-1
LABEL THE DIAGRAM

4 6

8
3
2
1 9
13

14 10

12

11

1. 6. 11.

2. 7. 12.

3. 8. 13.

4. 9. 14.

5. 10. 15.

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ACTIVITY SHEET-2
CONSONANT SOUNDS
Recollect and write consonant sounds with three words for each one.

/ / ___________ __________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________
/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

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ACTIVITY SHEET-3
CIRCLE CONSONANT SOUNDS
Pronounce and circle the consonant sounds in the given words.

1. SHIP 18. RED 35. COLLEGE

2. TREE 19. SING 37. LODGE

3. FOUR 20. CURTAIN 38. CHURCH

4. RED 21. DOOR 39. SINK

5. COLOUR 22. FROST 40. MONTH

6. COMPUTER 23. CHAIR 41. THEN

7. CRICKET 24. GINGER 42. THROUGH

8. FURTHER 25. SHOP 43. FEAR

9. CULTURE 26. FINISH 44. PLUMB

10. FIRST 27. FRAME 45. MEASUR

11. CLIMB 28. STRING 46. FISH

12. MISSION 29. DRESS 47. COUSIN

13. COUGH 30. WONDER 48. PHRASE

14. PHRASE 31. TEACHER 49. LUGGAGE

15. FURNITURE 32. PERSON 50. ADJUST

16. PLEASE 33. BOX 51. COLOUR

17. PRESSURE 34. COUGH 52. MISSION

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ACTIVITY SHEET-4
VOWEL SOUNDS
Recollect the vowel sounds and write three words for each one.

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

/ / ___________ ___________ ___________

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ACTIVITY SHEET-5
CIRCLE THE VOWEL SOUNDS
Pronounce and circle the vowel sounds in the given words.

1. SKY 22. NOWO

W
2. CLEAR 23. NO O
O
3. CRUSH 24. FOUR
W
Y
4. PLAYER 25. HAND
W
5. FREEZE W
26. BROAD
W
6. BRIDGE 27. WORD

7. COOL 28. CLEAN

8. TOY 29. RUST

9. FILL 30. FEEL

10. FIRE 31. SORT

11. NIECE 32. AGAIN

12. STOP 33. STAR

13. CAUGHT 34. CURD

14. FATHER 35. CUT

15. LOW 36. PAIR

16. PURE 37. FOOD

17. FRIEND 38. SAID

18. AGAIN 39. BROTHER

19. FAR 40. FEAR

20. POT 41. DANCE

21. CLAP 42. SEARCH

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ACTIVITY SHEET-6
PHONEMIC TRANSCRIPTION
Transcribe the underlined consonant and vowel sounds.

1. BIRD ________ 22. POST ________ 42. BOW ________

2. TRUTH ________ 23. MERGE ________ 43. COUGH ________

3. SINK ________ 24. MATCH ________ 44. CHURCH ________

4. MACHINE ________ 25. STOOL ________ 45. BROTHER ________

5. BEAR ________ 26. SPOIL ________ 46. CARRIAGE ________

6. FREEZE ________ 27. STUMP ________ 47. MACHINE ________

7. ONE ________ 27. CEASE ________ 48. TOWN ________

8. PLAY ________ 28. CREASE ________ 49.COURAGE ________

9. HALF ________ 29. LODGE _______ 50. PARK ________

10. SING ________ 30. STORY ________

11. CLOSE ________ 31. CLASS ________

12. PRESSURE________ 32. FISH ________

13. REVISION________ 33. FRIEND ________

14. EXAM ________ 34. DELIVER ________

15. CLIMB ________ 35. VULTURE________

16. HEIGHT________ 36. TEAR ________

17. MUTTON________ 37. CARRIER _______

18. CLEAR ________ 38. SIR ________

19. SURE ________ 39. CAUGHT________

20. CLASS ________ 40. CREASE ________

21. ABOUT ________ 41. STOOL ________

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ACTIVITY SHEET-7
IDENTIFY ENGLISH WORDS
From the transcribed words identify English words.
1. /ɪŋglɪʃ / ______________ 28. / sɜːtn / ______________

2. /bʌs / ______________ 29. / kærɪzmə / ______________

3. /rəʊz / ______________ 30. / bʊk / ______________

4. /kɑːm / ______________ 31. / kəlekt / ______________

5. /preɪz / ______________ 32. / kɔːz / ______________

6. /kʌzn / ______________ 33. / strɒŋ / ______________

7. /kʌlʧə / ______________ 34. / pɒliʃ / ______________

8. /kərɛkt / ______________ 35. / huː / ______________

9. /ɛnʤɪnɪə / ______________ 36. / bɒm / ______________

10. /ɪnhɑːns / ______________ 37. / kəmpjuːtə /______________

11. /wɔːtə / ______________ 38. /meʒər/ ______________

12. /pəliːs / ______________ 39. /əmʌŋ / ______________

13. /kwɒlɪti / ______________ 40. / bjuːtəfʊl/ ______________

14. /lɛʒə / ______________ 41. / sɜːkɪt/ ______________

15. /stɔːm / ______________ 42. / kɒlɪʤ/ ______________

16. /friːz / ______________ 43. /kɒləm/ ______________

17. /paɪənɪə / ______________ 44. / kɔːs/ ______________

18. /kærɪə / ______________ 45. /ɛnʤɪnɪərɪŋ/ ______________

19. /tɛknɒləʤi / ______________ 46./gærɑːʒ/ ______________

20. /sɪgnɪʧə / ______________ 47. / lʌgɪʤ/ ______________

21. / ʃʊgə / ______________ 48. /mɑːkɪt/ ______________

22. /dɪlɛmə / ______________ 49. /əʊpən/ ______________

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ACTIVITY SHEET-8
TRANSCRIBE WORDS
Transcribe the following words phonemically.

1. CUP ______________ 23. DESK ______________

2. PUSH ______________ 24. CASH______________

3. BEAT ______________ 25. BOOK______________

4. FEEL ______________ 26. PLAY______________

5. POOR ______________ 27. COOL ______________

6. RUST ______________ 28. STORY______________

7. TRUTH____________ 29. WORD______________

8. ZOOM______________ 30. HEAR______________

9. SKY ______________ 31. PEN______________

10. PAIR ______________ 32. PASTE______________

11. SURE ______________ 33. POT______________

12. PEOPLE___________ 34. START______________

13. APPLE _____________ 35. EXAM______________

14. SORT ______________ 36. BELT______________

15. FOUGHT__________ 37. BAG______________

16. TENTH _____________ 38. POST______________

17. BENCH____________ 39. PLEASE______________

18. PAIN______________ 40. BOY______________

19. CURTAIN____________

20. DESK ______________

21. TEACHER______________

22. PURE ______________

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ACTIVITY SHEET-9
BRITISH vs AMERICAN WORDS

Identify the correct spelling of the British and American word from the
transcribed words.

WORD BRITISH AMERICAN

/ˈfeɪvə/ _________ ___________

/tɛkˈniːk/ _________ ___________

/ˈmiːtə/ _________ ___________

/dɪˈfɛns/ _________ ___________

/ˈkrɪtɪsaɪz/ _________ ___________

/ˈʤuːəlri/ _________ ___________

/ˈkætəlɒg/ _________ ___________

/ˈprəʊgræm/ _________ ___________

/ˈʃɛdjuːl/ _________ ___________

/direktə/ _________ ___________

/ɪnˈkwaɪəri/ _________ ___________

/dɪˈrɛkʃən/ _________ ___________

/dɪˈrɛktəri/ _________ ___________

/ ˈaɪðə/ _________ ___________

/dɪˈlɛmə/ _________ ___________

/dɪˈsɛkt/ _________ ___________

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