STUDY GUIDE 2024 pp1-30

STUDY GUIDE
ENGLISH PHONETICS I
CÁTEDRA DE
FONÉTICA INGLESA I
2024
FONÉTICA INGLESA I – 2024 – FAC. DE FILOSOFÍA Y LETRAS 2
TIMETABLE
Wednesday 7:30 - 9:30 Anf. D
COM A: Friday 7:30 - 9:30 Anf. 1
Wednesday 7:30 - 9:30 Anf. Imbert
COM B: Friday 7:30 - 9:30 Anf. D
Wednesday 7:30 - 9:30 Anf. Labrousse
COM C: Friday 7:30 - 9:30 Anf. Labrousse
THEORY CLASS:
COM A, B and C: Wednesday 11:30 – 12:30 - Anf. Prebisch
Website
https://campus.filo.unt.edu.ar/login/index.php
Cuenta de correo institucional

[email protected]
SUGGESTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Roach, P. (2009) English Phonetics and Phonology, A Practical Course. 4th Ed. C.U.P..
Wells, J. C(2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, Pearson Longman.
Finch, D. & Ortiz Lira, H. (1982) A Course in English Phonetics for Spanish Speakers.
Heinemann.
Jones, D.; Roach, P.; Setter, J. & Esling, J. (2011) Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary,
18th Ed. CUP.
STAFF Horarios de consulta
Prof. Edgardo Ruiz (profesor Adjunto) Lunes: 12:00 a 13:00 Online
Prof. Ana Gabriela Torres (JTP) Viernes: 11:30 a 12:30

Prof. Sergio A. Rojas (JTP) Martes: 11:30 a 12:30
Prof. Mario H. Usandivaras (JTP) Jueves: 11:00 a 12:00
Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

INDEX
Page
Timetable, Bibliography, Website platform and Staff 1
Key to Phonetic Symbols 4
Introduction 5
Study Guide 6-50
Glossary of Phonetic terms 51
Phonetics I 2024 Syllabus (Programa) 59

KEY TO PHONETIC SYMBOLS IN ENGLISH

INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET
Short single vowels
/æ/ /ʌ/ /e/ /ɪ/
pack , hat duck , sun pet , red pick , sit
/ɒ/ /ʊ/ /ә/

pot , lot book , good about , pilot
Long single vowels

/ɑː/ /ɜː/ /iː/ /ɔː/ /uː/
dark , start work , hurt week , seat talk, course blue , soon
Diphthongs – two vowel sounds

/aɪ/ /eɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /aʊ/
buy , bite stay , state boy , voice now, found
/әʊ/ /ɪә/ /eә/ /ʊә/

low , phoned near , here hair , stairs pure , fewer
Consonants
/p/ /b/ /t/ /d/
pay , paper buy , big top, letter date , model
/k/ /g/ /f/ /v/

cat , check, arch girl , bigger few, offer very , of
/θ/ /ð/ /s/ /z/

thank , birthday then , other sun, miss zero , user
/ʃ/ /ʒ/ /ʧ/ /ʤ/

sheet , wash measure , television check, watch joke , manager
/l/ /m/ /n/ /ŋ/

laugh , yellow might , farmer nothing, funny thing , singer
/h/ /r/ /j/ /w/

head , perhaps ring , arrange yes, beyond wet , world

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this Study Guide is to provide students of English Phonetics I at Facultad de Filosofía
y Letras, with the material for classroom use.
Our Study Guide arose as a need to provide students with material from a variety of sources. Its
production involved a thorough selection of exercises as well as elaboration of our own. We intend to adjust
both practice and theory to the needs of the course and approach. The activities suggested in this SG will be
reinforced, complemented or expanded with supportive material online, so we strongly suggest the use of
this booklet in combination with the platform “Moodle”. Teacher training in English involves learning the
English language and learning about the language.
The approach developed in class focuses on discourse. We view language in context to allow students
to go on acquiring the language in a meaningful way.
We sincerely hope students will make the best use of this material.
Course Objectives
By the end of our course, students should be able to:
❖ Recognize and distinguish English sounds of speech.

❖ Describe the articulatory features of English phonemes and allophones.
❖ Identify the similarities and differences between English and Spanish speech sounds.
❖ Acquire an adequate pronunciation of English, both at the segmental level (meaningful sound
units) and at the suprasegmental one (assignment of prominence, pauses, use of intonation, etc)
❖ Recognize and use the phonological rules governing English pronunciation.
❖ Be able to transcribe texts into phonemic scripts.

UNIT I
PROMINENCE IN THE UTTERANCE
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. This is a conversation between Sid and Joe. Look at the picture and decide:
● Where they are.

● How they are feeling.
● What they are doing.
● What is happening
● What is about to happen
● What you think they are saying
Adapted from Hancock, Mark (2003). English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge, CUP
1.2. Before listening: Use the first column of the chart on page 7 to order the following words in order to
create a dialogue.
Bear! Bear! Bear? Far?
Near? No! Run! Run?
Shhhhh! There! What? Where? Yeah!

First Column Second Column Third Column

Sid: Sid: Sid:
Joe: Joe: Joe:
Sid: Sid: Sid:
Joe: Joe: Joe:
Sid: Sid: Sid:
Joe: Joe: Joe:
Sid: Sid: Sid:
Joe: Joe: Joe:
Sid: Sid: Sid:
Joe: Joe: Joe:
Sid: Sid: Sid:
Joe: Joe: Joe:
Sid: Sid: Sid:
1.3. Listen to the recording. Use the second column to write the lines in the correct order as you hear them
on the dialogue.
1.4. Use the third column to write a full version of the lines in the dialogue. You can add additional
words, but try to be brief.
1.5. Reflect upon the following statement :
What made it possible to understand the conversation, even

when you could only hear single words?
1.6. Work with a partner and write a conversation of your own using key words only.
2. PROMINENT WORDS
MEET ELLIE1
Pre-listening task
2.1. Before listening to the text, introduce yourself to the class:
Hello / Hi, my name is……………………. Nice to meet you!
Then, discuss the following questions with a partner:

● The different ways people introduce themselves. What expressions are frequently used?
● What information do you usually offer when you meet new people?
● What additional information would you include?
1
Downloaded from Easy English, ’Introduce yourself in 5 different English Accents’, in YouTube on March 16, 2022.
https://youtu.be/CTT7SDa-vLA (2:48-3:05)

2.2. Listen again and say what additional information she offers.
2.3. Listening for meaning: Listen to the text about Ellie and find out more about her life. Report your
findings to the class.
2.4. Now listen to the first part of the text again and pay attention to the words that helped you understand
the text. Write them down on a separate piece of paper
Highlighting. When we speak, we concentrate on the meaningful or important words of the

message we want to transmit to the hearer, leaving the rest of it to come out naturally and
spontaneously. The result is that, in English, those meaningful words stand out from the rest;
that is to say, they are more noticeable or prominent.
2.5. Now read the text silently. As you listen to the text, fill in the blanks with the words you hear.
Hi, my name is Ellie and I am … ………………………… years old but I

will turn eighteen next week. I’m a …….……………. in Brighton, UK. I love my
high school, because I have great …………..…….. and my ………………. are
really nice.
2.6. Underline the words that are highlighted or made prominent by the speaker in 2.4.
H i , m y na m e i s E l l i e an d I a m s e v e n t ee n y e a r s ol d b u t I w i l l
t u rn e i gh t e e n n e x t w e ek . I’ m a s tu d e n t in B ri gh t o n, U K. I
l o v e m y h i g h s c ho o l , b e c a us e I h av e g re a t t e ac h er s a n d my
c l as s m a t e s a r e r ea l l y n i c e .
2.7. Listen to the text again and check with the teacher.
2.8. Think: Why did you mark ‘Ellie’ as prominent and not ‘and’?
2.9. Read the text out loud paying attention to prominent words.
2.10. SELECTION SLOTS:
Those parts of the story we marked as highlighted are also called selection slots.
Usually, as long as we know the background to the [text or] conversation and as long
as the words containing the prominent syllables have been heard and understood, all
the other words can be taken for granted in that context... it is a choice which the
speaker makes significant for the subsequent development of the story [...]
Prominence is helpful to listeners because it tells them where the selection slots are,
and so alerts them to where significant choices are made.
David Brazil (1994:77)

2.11. In the following paragraph, fill in the gaps with information about YOU. Identify the words that
should be made prominent and justify your answer.
Hi, my name is …….…... and I’m ……………. years old. I’m a …..……... in …………....,
…………... I ……........ university, because I have ………….. ………….. and my
………………... are ……………… …………..
2.12. Read the text to your classmates paying close attention to prominence and fluency.
2.13. Retell your partner´s version in the third person singular.
3. PROMINENCE AT WORD LEVEL – THE SYLLABLE
Providing the precise definition of the syllable is not an easy task. For the sake of simplicity, we can define
“syllable” as a unit of pronunciation typically larger than a single sound and smaller than a word. We will
now look at the constituents of the syllable:
● The nucleus or central part of a syllable: a vowel sound, ex.:
are / ɑ:/ or / ɔ: / air: / eә /
and, exceptionally, some consonants may constitute the nucleus of a syllable as in:
bottle /bɒt l/
● Onset: One or more consonants preceding the center or nucleus of the syllable
bar / bɑ: / key / ki: / try / traɪ /
● Coda: one or more consonants following the center or nucleus of the syllable
and / ænd / ease / i:z /

3.1. Words may have one, two or more syllables. Look at the “syllable pyramid” below and then try to
complete the missing words from the other pyramids. Use terms belonging to the same word family.
One syllable spend
Spend ing
Two syllables
Three syllables Spend ab le
“care” “text” “cloud”
3.2. In the examples above, there is always a difference between prominent and non prominent syllables,
resulting in different stress patterns. For example:
spending textable
O o O oo

3.3. Write the words from your English textbook, Insight, (Ex 3.3) that contain more than one syllable
under the following columns.
S T R E S S P A T T E R N S
Oo oOo Ooo
losing
Well, the first one is urbanization. At the moment,
animals are losing their habitats. We know that the
urban environment is changing, and that roads and
buildings are destroying their natural habitats. It’s
becoming difficult for animals to live in cities. There’s
more pollution and more artificial light.
Source: 2022. Wildman, J.; Thacker, Claire; Paramour, A.; Myers,

C. Insight Intermediate. Student Book. 2° Ed. OXP. pp 7.
Notice that:
- in English, the concept of “syllables” depends on pronunciation; that is why ‘five’ has only one
syllable.
- In English Phonology, prominence is usually marked with the diacritic / ˈ / before the prominent
syllable, but in Spanish it is marked on the vowel with the diacritic / ´ /. (Do not forget that when
we write in English normal spelling, we do not mark stress. W whereas in Spanish, some words have
a written stress and others have only a prosodic stress).

4. STRONG AND WEAK VOWELS
4.1. The concepts of STRONG and WEAK vowels are closely related to the difference between
prominent and non-prominent syllables. The vowels used in non-prominent syllables are usually
shorter, of lower intensity and of a different quality as compared to other vowels in prominent
position (Roach 2009). David Brazil (1994) explains this difference by adding that speakers of
English do not pay much attention to the pronunciation of vowels that occur in non-prominent
positions. As a result of this, they are reduced to a weak vowel /ә/, /ɪ/ or /ʊ/ or their neutralised
variants [ i ] or [u ]. He calls these vowels “unprotected”.
For example,
centre - famous - appeared
● In the examples above, the second syllables are not prominent, therefore the vowel used in those
syllables is the unprotected vowel schwa /ә/
/sent / /feɪm / / pɪəd/
● The vowel sounds / ɪ/ and /ʊ/ are usually found in the same contexts
Inclusive /ɪn klu:z ɪv/ spoonful /spu:n fʊl/
● The neutralized vowels [ i ] or [u ]
ˈugly ˈusually
ˈreally situˈation
ˈvery muˈseum
ˈmaybe ˈserious
NOTE: the vowel sounds / ɪ / and / ʊ / can also appear in prominent positions.
ugly /ʌgl i/ interest /ˈɪntrәst/ push /pʊʃ / book /bʊk/
4.2. Transcribe the unprotected vowels in the following words taken from previous exercises and from your
language book making sure you pronounce a weak vowel in the non prominent positions.
stunning favourite different

carefully around affect
texting after about
textable staying
around
cloudy embarrassed
attractive
cloudiness season
professional
human greeter
autumn rather
survive
another muscular locations
Adapt Artic musicals

4.3. The following words have been taken from Insight language course book. Classify them according to the
number of syllables and stress pattern. Transcribe unprotected vowels in non-prominent syllables.
example, today, probably, important, online, depends, another, people, better, email,
about, personally, Facebook, probably , stunning ,
Oo oO oOo Ooo
4.4. Find other examples of your own.
4.5. MORE ON UNPROTECTED VOWELS

4.5.1. Some word beginnings and word endings (including suffixes and prefixes) are pronounced with
one of the weak vowels studied above in unstressed syllables.
4.5.2. Weak vowels in unstressed suffixes and word endings.

Nouns: Adjectives Adverbs Verbs
● –ment /mәnt/ ● -hood /hʊd/ ● -y /i/ ● –ly /li/ ● -en /әn/
● -ist /ɪst/ ● -ship /ʃɪp/ ● -less /lәs, lɪs/
● -ing /ɪŋ/
● -ary, -ory /әri/ ● -ness / nәs, nɪs / ● -able /әbl/
● -ed /ɪd/
● -acy /әsi/ ● -sion /ʒәn/ ● -ish /ɪʃ/
● - (i)ty /(ɪ/ә)ti/ ● -ssion /ʃ n/
ә
● -ous /әs/ ● -es /ɪz/
● -al /әl/ ● -tion /ʃәn/ ● -ful /fәl, fʊl/1
● -ance /әns/ ● –er (agentive) /ә/ ● -ic /ɪk/
● -ant /әnt/ ● –ess (female) /әs/ ● -ive /ɪv/
● -land /lәnd/ ● -es (plural) /ɪz/ ● -er (comp) /ә/
(in country names) ● -ey /i/ ● -est (sup) / ɪst, әst /
● –sure
● –al
● –ture
● –an
● – dom
● – ies
In most pronouncing dictionaries:

(a) Superscript symbol /fәl/indicates that native speakers do not use it and therefore elision of the weak
vowel is advisable.
(b) When two possible pronunciations are given, the first option is the most commonly used form, e.g.
biggest: / bɪg ɪst -әst/

4.5.3 Activity: look for examples of words containing suffixes that are pronounced with weak vowels on
pages 4 to 6 from your Language book: Isight Intermediate®.
4.6. NEUTRALIZED VOWELS [ i, u ] are pronounced in:

a) word endings in –ial , -ual, -io -iate, -ious , -y , -ey, -ee, -ie (non-prominent)
Examples :
adverbial intellectual ratio appreciate hilarious happy money committee wifie

/ədvɜːbi əl/ /ɪntəlekʧuəl/ /reɪʃiəʊ/ /əpriːʃieɪt/ /hɪleəriəs /hæpi/ /mʌni/ /kəmmɪti/ /waɪfi
serial actual folio ! city monkey coffee
/sɪəri əl/ /ækʧuəl/ /fəʊliəʊ/ /sɪti/ /mʌŋki /kɒfi/
proverbial mutual radio bungee
/prəvɜːbiəl/ /mjuːʧuəl/ /reɪdiəʊ/ /bʌndʒi/
cardio
/kɑ:diəʊ/
b) Words pronounced with a neutralized final vowel, keep the neutralized form before a suffix :
happy – happier / hæp i ә /

hurry - hurrying / hʌr i ɪŋ /
easy – easiest / iːz i ɪst /
c) Unstressed word beginnings such as those spelt be-, e- de-, pre-, re-, and ge-
depends /diˈpendz / decision / diˈsɪʒn/

before / biˈ fɔː / between /biˈtwi:n/
event /iˈvent / enough /iˈnʌf /
remember / riˈmembә / repeat /riˈpi:t/
prepared / priˈpeәd / pretend / priˈtend/
geography / dʒiˈɒgrəfi / geometry / dʒiˈɒmətri /
d) Pronouns and other structural words with open syllables ending in “e”
he /hi/ be /bi/
she /ʃi / the /ði/
we /wi/
me /mi/

NOTE: Exceptions
- When “re” means again, it is pronounced /ri:/ e.g. rewrite, reuse, etc.
- When “pre” means before it is pronounced /pri:/ e.g. prehistoric, prenatal, etc.
- Negative prefixes “un-”, “non-”, “de-” and “dis-” are pronounced /ʌn , nʌn , diː , dɪs/
IMPORTANT: a weak vowel is usually pronounced in unstressed first syllables preceding a stressed
syllable:
tomorrow /t ˈmɒrəʊ/ again / ˈgen/ / ˈgeɪn/ consider /kən ˈsɪdə/
collect /kəˈlekt/ pronounce /prəˈn ns/ tonight /t ˈna t/
4.7 ACTIVITY 1:
a. Underline the word beginnings and endings and transcribe the weak vowels.
b. Read the words aloud. Try to produce the correct weak vowels.
1. graceful /-fl/ 11. imperative 21. bilingual
2. intended 12. copying 22. Danish
3. pretend 13. reaches 23. Finland
4. accuracy 14. confess 24. businessman
5. needed 15. dangerous 25. wanted
6. resentful 16. careless 26. Bruce’s
7. forget 17. accountant 27. nearest
8. waitress 18. imperialist 28. bacterial
9. saddest 19. usual 29. resistance
10. phonetic 20. improvement 30. shorten

4.8 ACTIVITY 2: Underline and transcribe weak vowels in unstressed affixes, word beginnings and word
endings. The first line has been done for you. Source : Insight Ex 3.3
Change how you see, see how you change

Society conditions us to see fashion models in a particular way. A way that we have long
thought is the norm. But what is normal really? Rick Guidotty is a famous fashion
photographer and his project: “Positive Exposure” challenges the way we see normal. The
models he uses are a representation of the diversity in society and include individuals with a
visible birth mark or genetic conditions such us albinism or Down syndrome. Positive
exposure shows young people who have confidence in themselves and a positive body image.
Guidotty ´s aim is to be inclusive and to change the way we see. Rick Guidotty was a fachion
photographer. He regularly flew to New York, Paris and Milan to photograph perfect people.
There was no one overweight or plain in his photoshoots; they were all elegant, slim and
attractive models. Then, one day, after a photoshoot in New York, he noticed a young girl
ate the bus stop. She stood out from the people around her because she was very pale-skinned
and fair-haired.
5. ELISION
Elision is closely associated with the concepts of prominence and protected and unprotected
vowels stated above. Non-prominent syllables have undergone a process of gradation in
spoken English, i.e. loss of phonemes or obscuration of vowels. It is important, however, to
distinguish between cases of elision which have been established in the language for some
time (historical elision) and those which are the result of rapid, colloquial speech (contextual
elision). In the latter cases, more formal speech tends to retain the fuller form of those words.
Adapted from Cruttenden, Alan (1994) Gimson’s Pronunciation of English. Arnold’s. pp 213
5.1. NLA rule.

One of the most common cases of elision affects weak vowels when they occur after a prominent syllable
and are followed by the consonants /m/ / n / / l / and / r/.
Examples:
Person Brighton condition
normal listen family
professional history model
NOTE: Elision may affect, in some cases, the number of syllables compare
/ hɪs tər i / with Elision / hɪs tri /

6. Practice on PAUSES AND PROMINENCES.
6.1. Listen to the audio “Say it with a T-shirt”, an extract from your coursebook Insight Intermediate and
do the activities listed below:
I. Mark the missing pauses. Provide the missing punctuation marks.
II. Mark the prominences. Use the diacritic ( ˈ ) before the prominent syllables.
III. Transcribe the weak vowels in the structural words and in non-prominent syllables of
content words.
a slogan on a T-shirt can help you say a lot of things words grab
people’s attention they can raise awareness of
important issues and tell the world what you care
about they can make people think or simply make
them smile so how and why did we start wearing
words
1970s.
companies such as Coca-Cola started to sell T-shirts with their logo
on as a cheap way to advertise slogan were also used in popular
fashions such as punk which often recycled and adapted second-
hand shirts wearing a punk-style T-shirt with a shocking slogan
showed which “tribe” you belonged to or who you identified with
6.2. Practice reading this article from your language book (page 10 of your course book Insight).
Suggested techniques:
➢ “Shadow reading”: read the text while listening to the audio file. Be sure the audio volume is not
so loud so that you can hear yourself.
➢ “Reading utterance by utterance: listen and repeat each utterance. You may pause the audio after
each utterance. Pay attention to the pronunciation of non-prominent syllables.
➢ “Reading aloud”: Read the text aloud without audio.
➢ “Read and record your reading”. Then listen to your recording. You may repeat this task if you
are not satisfied with your own outcome.
7. MORE ON SELECTION SLOTS
The assignment of prominence in the utterance indicates that at that particular point in the text the
speaker had the possibility of choosing from a set of options; and that choice, in that particular context
is linguistically relevant and therefore significant for the understanding of the text.
7.1. Think of other possible words instead of the underlined words:
I‛m a student in Brighton, U.K.

………... ……….. …………
………... ……….. …………

7.2. Supply the appropriate words for the selection slots in the following extract from another person’s
routine.
attaching photo friends summer.
including picture parents past month.

taking snapshot siblings recent concerts.
taking screenshot classmates differe events.
nt
I’m .................. a ............................. of me and my .................... from ................. ..................
Transcribe the weak vowels used in the non-prominent syllables. Read the texts aloud and
make sure you pronounce the correct protected vowels.
7.3. Transcribe the weak vowels used in the non-prominent syllables. Read the texts aloud and make sure
you pronounce the correct protected vowels.
8. DICTATIONS
Why dictations:
- They are a rich auditory stimulus for sound recognition.
- They help students in their listening comprehension skills.
- They enhance both listening and spelling.
- They train students in decoding sound-spelling correspondence.
- It’s a powerful exercise for improving receptive skills.
- They enlarge students’ knowledge of the language.
- Students get good training in note taking.
- It triggers students’ guessing of words based on their grammatical function.
- as a follow-up activity, dictations can turn a helpful strategy for improving productive
pronunciation skills.
- As native speakers record dictation texts, students get a good model of the English spoken
language.
- So, try to do all these exercises following the instructions provided.
DICTATION Nº 1.
1. First listening for comprehension: You are going to hear about Nancy who met someone by
chance.
Answer the following questions:

a. What are the chances of meeting people while traveling?
b. Think of places where you met someone for the first time.
c. What do people talk about when they meet for the first time?
d. What do people usually do if they find a lost item?

2. Listen to the text and check your predictions

ii) Second listening. Write in normal spelling what happened to the woman in the text. You will hear the
text divided by pauses. Try to write during each pause; if you don't remember everything, leave a space
to complete during the next listening. After you finish, you have five minutes to check if what you
have written makes sense.
iii) Third listening. Now you are ready to complete the blanks left and make the last corrections in not
more than three minutes.
iv) Checking. Now refer to the key to this dictation provided by your teacher and mark your mistakes.
One or more misspellings in the same word count as only one mistake; additional words are also
considered errors. This text has 83 words; the passing mark is 80% (19 mistakes).
Note: further dictations in class, online or at tests will follow the same procedure
On your own. As you listen again, mark prominent words in the dictation you took in class. Check with a
classmate and justify why some lexical words are not prominent. Practise reading, paying special attention to
prominence.
9. HOMOPHONES AND HOMOGRAPHS
Homophones are words that have the same
pronunciation but different spellings, e.g.:
no / know, ate / eight, etc. In contrast, a
homograph is a word that is spelled like
another word but has a different meaning
from it, and may have a different
pronunciation, e.g. live /lɪv/ verb or /laɪv/
adjective, read /ri:d/ present or /red/ past, etc.
9.1. Practice on homophones: Underline the wrong words and change them for their
corresponding homophones.
Last Monday mourning, as eye was weighting for my sun to get out of school, eye witnessed
a strange situation. Eye was sitting at a table buy the window and having a cup of coffee
with sum suite cookies when eye sore a young woman talking on her phone. She seemed
to be two nervous. Just then a man came to her and court her arm and they started arguing.
Eye could knot here the hole conversation, only when she maid an exclamation and said
“You have know write to speak to me like that. It’s nun of yaw business” she told hymn as
she tried to brake free from hymn. Write then, a policewoman appeared to help the pour
girl. Sew, she shouted at hymn to keep the piece. Unexpectedly, both of them smiled all of
a sudden and explained that they were performers shooting a seen for a movie.

9.2. Provide the pronunciation of the homographs. Your teacher will help you with the correct symbols.
Spelling transcription Spelling transcription

fair fare
blue blew
eyed I´d
sun son
pale pail
straight strait
high hi
wore war
way weigh/whey
sea see
whole hole
know no
paws pause
deer dear
hair hare
red read (past
tense)
10. GROUPING OF WORDS IN THE UTTERANCE
The words that form any text are organized into groups called “utterances” or word groups. All the
words in these groups are said without any interruption of the speech flow, as if they were a single
big word.
10.1. Listen
/ andIamseventeenyearsold /
Each utterance is separated by a pause in speech, but identified in different ways in writing.
The following text is written as spoken in the audio file:
10.2. Listen
/ I’mastudent / inBrighton / UK. /
▪ Sometimes word groups are separated by punctuation which indicates that you should make
a pause. Mark the pauses you hear in the following paragraph using a slant bar (/)
10.3. Listen:
/ Ilovemyhighschool / becauseIhavegreatteachers /
andmyclassmatesareverynice /

▪ Besides, there are other longer stretches of the text which cannot be read without a break, so
we must find the boundaries of groups of words at which we can make a pause for breathing
and for better expression. How would you say the following utterance? Mark the boundary of
word groups in the following utterance while you listen.
10.4. Listen:
/ Ilovemyhighschool / becauseIhavegreatteachers /
andmyclassmatesareverynice /
▪ As you have noticed, these groups of words are organized syntactically; that is to say, pauses
may mark the division between a subject and its predicate, two coordinated clauses, main
sentence and its subordinate sentence, a connector, and adjuncts of place, time, manner, etc.
Pronouncing utterances in the appropriate way has great importance in communication. As we

have shown, speakers must pay special attention to punctuation and syntax. Pauses are not advisable
between an article and noun or between preposition and its complement.
Breath groups are also called “sense groups” since pauses have a great influence on meaning.
10.5. Look at the two ways of dividing the sentences below. For each pair of sentences, cross out the one
where the grouping does not make sense.
1.a. I bought a ticket and got / on the train.

b. I bought a ticket / and got on the train.
2.a. It was a small car / with a red stripe along the side.
b. It was a small car with a red / stripe along the side.
3.a. Do you want chicken and chips / or fish and salad?
b. Do you want chicken / and chips or fish and salad?
4. a. Derek can wear the most / expensive suit but he never looks smart.
b. Derek can wear the most expensive suit / but he never looks smart.
10.6. This is a letter with all punctuation marks missing. Depending on where they are placed and the
pauses made, two different meanings can be achieved. In one of the versions, Cecilia is praising her
sweetheart (version 1) . In the other, she expresses her dissatisfaction with her boyfriend (version 2) .
Work in pairs and mark the punctuation and pauses for each version (supply capital letters where
needed).
Version 1

Version 2
11. PROMINENCE IN THE UTTERANCE:

11.1. Lexical words
Study the words used in the selection slots in 7.2. What kind of words are they?
These are usually called lexical words or content (open class) words, since they carry most of the meaning.
However, not all lexical words constitute “selection slots” since, at some point in the text, those lexical
words may carry information that is already known or that can be inferred from the context of the
conversation. Therefore, they are not made prominent.
11.2. On your own. Assign prominence to the words in the text according to the concept of selection slots.
I like Economics but I don’t like Physics very much.
11.3 Listen to the text and check your predictions.
11.4. Homework: Mark selection slots in the following part of the text:
We often go on school outings to the mountains

or to the seaside, which I enjoy a lot.
12. STRUCTURAL WORDS

In contrast to “lexical words”, which are generally made prominent, structural words are usually
non-prominent since they are not essential for the understanding of the message but they
contribute to its syntactic structure. Most structural words have more than one possible
pronunciation depending on:
a) whether they represent significant choices in the text (selection slots) or not.
b) their position in the utterance (in the case of prepositions).
c) their function: have, do, etc.
Just like non-prominent syllables in the word, structural words are pronounced with weak vowels when
they are non-prominent. This pronunciation is called “weak form” of structural words.
/ә/ /әnd/ /tә/ /ә/

I'm aˈ good student and I ˈlove to study a ˈlot.
Note: The following words have only one pronunciation no matter whether they are prominent or not:
in /ɪn/ ; on /ɒn/ ; I /aɪ/ ; it /ɪt/

12.1. Here is the complete text on “Meet Ellie”. Listen to it again: mark prominence, pauses and
transcribe the pronunciation of structural words. Practice reading the text again.
Ellie talks about herself :
Hi! My nam e is El lie and I ´m seventeen years old but I will t urn
eighteen next week. I´m a student in Brighton, U K. I love my high
school because I have great teachers/ and my classmates ar e really
nice. We often go on school outings to the mou ntains or to the
seaside, which I enjoy a lot . I like Economics but I don't like Physics
very much. I` m hoping to go to university and study busi ness. I´d
like to pursue a career in accounting or finance. I'm a good st udent
and I love t o study a lot. I am responsible and ˌ hard- working so I
study hard to obtain good gr ades.
13. LINKING
Arranging a meeting
13.1. Listening. This is a conversation between two friends, Pedro and Sara.
a. What other types of conversations can you mention?

b. What kind of language do people use in those conversations?
c. Can you predict some of the phrases you are going to hear?
Listen to the text paying attention to prominent words and check your predictions.

S1 Hi Pe dr o , I t´ s Sar a .
P2 Oh, h i ! I was just thin king
ab ou t yo u , S ar a. We ’r e
me etin g for lu n ch with
Est elle t o mor row, a r en ’t
we ?
S2 Act ually , t h a t’ s wh y I ’m
ph o n in g. The re ’s be en a
ch ange o f p lan. I ’m afr a id
I ’v e g ot so met hing e l se o n t om o rro w lu ncht ime . I’ve got a wo rk m ee ting
f r om 12 t ill 2 t ha t I ca n’ t ch ang e. S o, ho w a b o u t g e t tin g tog ethe r afte r
wo rk in ste a d ? S ay 6 o’c lock? We cou ld g o f or an e a rly d inn e r .
P2 Le t m e ju st h ave a lo ok a t m y d iar y… Hm m , I ’m r ea lly so rr y, b u t I can’t
m ake it t he n. I’m mee t in g some one in t o wn a t 6 :3 0 . Are yo u fr e e on
Thu rsd ay a ft e r wo r k?
S3 Well, I ’m su p posed t o b e pla yin g te nn is wit h m y sist er, bu t we can p rob ab ly
ch ange it t o a no t her da y. I ’ll sp ea k t o he r, t he n I ’ll g e t ba ck t o yo u. OK?
An d will yo u see if T hur sd ay is OK wit h Est elle ?
P3 No p ro blem . I ´ll spea k to you l ater , th e n.
S4 By e !
(Source: Navigate, Intermediate 2015, OUP, tapescript 6.11)
a) Mark prominence using the diacritic.

b) Mark pauses using slants ( / )
c) Transcribe the vowels used in non-prominent syllables in the prominent words and mark
cases of elision.
d) Transcribe the vowels used in structural words.
13.2. Words linked into groups.
Remember that spoken language does not imply speaking word by word, but saying them
in groups as if they were a single big word; that is to say, we do not stop speaking until
we get to the next pause; rather, we tend to join all the words one after the other. Linking
words together is a feature of all languages. The most important cases in English are:

1) Consonant in final position + vowel: in English, as well as in Spanish, words that end in
a consonant are joined to the next word if it begins with a vowel, e.g.,
Sp. cantar↵ y jugar ; aquél↵ año ; las ↵ alas ; pared↵ angosta
Eng. There´s been ↵a change↵ of plan

How about getting together↵ after work↵ instead?
2) /s/ + consonant: Words that begin with /s / followed by another consonant, they are both
joined to the final sound of the preceding word in order to avoid pronouncing an intrusive vowel
before the / s /, which is proper of Spanish.
Sp. Al estar no aspirar la escalera
Cf. La luz del stop los estándares de vida
Eng. I´ll ↵ speak to her ; selection↵ slots
3) Linking /r/. The letter “r” that comes after a vowel is not pronounced in British English:
/fɑːmә/, /kɑː/, /stɑːt/
However, this “r” in spelling is ‘activated’ or pronounced when the next word begins with a vowel:
- together ↵ after go for ↵ an ever↵ after
Exercises
a) Find examples of linking words of the type C + V. Join them with the diacritic - ↵ - on the
texts above.
b) Make a list of the words beginning with ‘/s/ + Consonant’ together with their preceding
words. Work with all the texts you have. Then, read these phrases aloud making sure you do
not insert a vowel before the /s/ Example: all↵st ill laughing
c) Write the linking /↵ / where it corresponds in all the texts you have worked with.

13.3. Look at the following movie titles and mark all the cases of linking that you can find. Then,
classify each into the type of linking:
1. Cons + vowel 2. /s/ + cons 3. Linking /r/
14. DICTATION Nº 2
Answer the following questions:
a. Why do young people move to other cities?
b. Where do they usually go?
c. How do the parents feel about it?
ii) Second listening: Write in normal spelling what you hear.

iii) Third listening: Complete the blanks and make the last corrections in not more than two minutes.
iv) Checking: Now refer to the key to this dictation and mark your mistakes. The text has 92 words;
the maximum number of mistakes is 23.

15. ACTIVITY: On your own. Mark:

a. Prominent words
b. Linking
c. Transcribe weak vowels on the underlined syllables.
d. Practice reading the text aloud.
For some time Nancy looked at the hands ome young man sitting
opposite her . Finally, he s mil ed at her and said 'Hello'. It was a
long trip and they talked about a lots of things . He came fro m
Toulouse, and he was inter ested in photography. When he got off
the train in Toulous e, Nancy s aw a book on the seat. She d idn't
know if it belonged to the hands ome Fr enchman, but s he d ecided
to writ e to t he address in the front of the book.
16. RULES OF PRONUNCIATION: English has rules of pronunciation for certain regularities,
which are strongly influenced by the voicing of the final sound of the base form.
A. Pronunciation of “s”. Most English nouns form their plural by adding an –s or -es to their
base form. e.g., “time – times”. Verbs behave the same way in the third person singular. e.g.
“watch – watches”, but the spoken realization of “s” and “es” is pronounced in the following
way:
a) If the final sound of a noun base form is a voiced sound, the plural is pronounced /z/.
b) When the final sound is voiceless, the plural is pronounced with the voiceless /s/.
c) And when the final sound is a sibilant one, such as /s/,/z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /ʧ/, /ʤ/,
the plural is pronounced /ɪz/.
d) The same holds for verbs in the simple present tense, third person singular:
/taɪmz/ /bʊks/ /bɒksɪz/ /lɪvz/ /teɪks/ /wɒʃɪz/
e) When we add –‘s to make the possessive or genitive case, the same occurs. For example,
“Paul’s, Bob’s, Pat’s, Claire’s”.
f) Sometimes, the plural, third person or possessive endings are pronounced by adding another
syllable. For example, “fax” is one syllable but “faxes” is two syllables. Also:
Chris’s kisses Trish’s wishes Rose’s roses The witch’s watches George’s
fridges

B. Pronunciation of “ed”. Regular verbs take “-ed” to form the simple past tense and the past
participle, but it is pronounced in three different ways:
a. When the final sound of the infinitive form is a voiced sound, it is pronounced /d/ as in
rained /reɪnd/; reserved / rizɜːvd/; called / kɔːld/
b. When the final sound of the infinitive form is a voiceless sound, it is pronounced /t/ as in
stopped / stɒpt/ ; looked /lʊkt/ ; watched / wɒʧt/
c. finally, when the final sound is /t/ or /d/, it is pronounced /ɪd/, adding another syllable:
crowded /kraʊdɪd/; started /stɑːtɪd/; needed /niːdɪd/
Note: the same applies to past participle adjectives: ashamed, depressed, excited
Exceptions: wicked /wɪkɪd/; beloved /bilʌvɪd/; naked /neɪkɪd/ learned /lɜːnɪd/(adj)
16.1. Pronunciation of –s
How do you pronounce the final –s in the following words?
word /s/ /z/ /ɪz/
park
square
space
tree
bench
swing
kid
mum
16.2. Now try to use ALL these words in the plural o third person singular in order to write a
paragraph.
16.3. Do the same activity as in 16.1. for homework, but using the following words:
word /s/ /z/ /ɪz/
night
star
moon
place
bar
beer
drink
find
home
crash
church
sleep
bus
bike
dog

13.4 ACTIVITY. Read the following texts carefully and underline all the regular verbs and all the adjectives that end
in –ed. Do the same with verbs and nouns ending in –s.
Rowing Race
When the MacLean brothers rowed almost five thousand kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean in
just over thirty five days, they became the youngest and fastest trio to complete the challenge. One
of the brothers noticed an advert for the Atlantic Challenge to row from La Gomera in Spain to the
island of Barbados. He discussed the idea with his siblings and they agreed to join him. They
managed to find sponsors, purchased a used boat and repaired it. Before they set off on their
journey, they launched the boat and named it Broar on a small Scottish lake named Loch Lomond.
Route 66
It’s over four thousand kilometers long and crosses two-
thirds of the United States. It’s been called the Mother
Road. It’s been in films, books and songs. Route 66 starts
in Chicago in the Midwest and it cuts through cornfields
and the open plains of the West into gold mining towns
and ghost towns, over deserts and through valleys,
winding around lakes and mountains, until it arrives in
Los Angeles on the Pacific coast. Midwest America is
connected to the West Coast, and the past is connected to the present.

ENGLISH CONSONANTS
14. FRICATIVE CONSONANTS
A characteristic group of consonants is FRICATIVE CONSONANTS. In the

production of these sounds, the articulating organs leave a small gap to let the air
go out of the mouth, which results in a kind of “hissing” noise. The places of
articulation for these consonants are: dental, labio-dental, alveolar, palate-alveolar
and glottal.
14.1. Find examples of fricative consonants from previous texts and complete the chart.
DENTAL LABIODENTAL ALVEOLAR PALATOALVEOLAR GLOTTAL
Vd Vless Vd Vless Vd Vless Vd Vless Vless
14.2 Listen to this conversation about English food and find more instances of fricative sounds.
14.3 Transcribe all the fricative sounds you find in the text.
Ravi1: We asked lots of our listeners what they think about when they think about Britain. They said
things like ‘drinking tea’, ‘queuing’, ‘Big Ben’, ‘bad weather’ and lots of people mentioned another
thing they think is bad – any ideas, Tess?
Tess1: Something else that’s bad in Britain? Erm… what?
R2: British food. Lots of people think that the food in Britain is terrible. And, do you know what, Tess?
I can understand why people think that.

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STUDY GUIDE

Cuenta de correo institucional

STAFF Horarios de consulta

Prof. Edgardo Ruiz (profesor Adjunto) Lunes: 12:00 a 13:00 Online

Prof. Ana Gabriela Torres (JTP) Viernes: 11:30 a 12:30

Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

KEY TO PHONETIC SYMBOLS IN ENGLISH

/ɒ/ /ʊ/ /ә/

Long single vowels

Diphthongs – two vowel sounds

/әʊ/ /ɪә/ /eә/ /ʊә/

/k/ /g/ /f/ /v/

/θ/ /ð/ /s/ /z/

/ʃ/ /ʒ/ /ʧ/ /ʤ/

/l/ /m/ /n/ /ŋ/

/h/ /r/ /j/ /w/

Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

By the end of our course, students should be able to:

❖ Recognize and distinguish English sounds of speech.

Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

PROMINENCE IN THE UTTERANCE

● Where they are.

Near? No! Run! Run?

Shhhhh! There! What? Where? Yeah!

Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

First Column Second Column Third Column

1.5. Reflect upon the following statement :

What made it possible to understand the conversation, even

Hello / Hi, my name is……………………. Nice to meet you!

Then, discuss the following questions with a partner:

Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

Highlighting. When we speak, we concentrate on the meaningful or important words of the

Hi, my name is Ellie and I am … ………………………… years old but I

2.10. SELECTION SLOTS:

Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

2.13. Retell your partner´s version in the third person singular.

3. PROMINENCE AT WORD LEVEL – THE SYLLABLE

● The nucleus or central part of a syllable: a vowel sound, ex.:

are / ɑ:/ or / ɔ: / air: / eә /

bar / bɑ: / key / ki: / try / traɪ /

and / ænd / ease / i:z /

Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

One syllable spend

Three syllables Spend ab le

“care” “text” “cloud”

Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

Well, the first one is urbanization. At the moment,

animals are losing their habitats. We know that the

urban environment is changing, and that roads and

buildings are destroying their natural habitats. It’s

becoming difficult for animals to live in cities. There’s

more pollution and more artificial light.

Source: 2022. Wildman, J.; Thacker, Claire; Paramour, A.; Myers,

Cátedra Fonética Inglesa I – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNT– 2024

4. STRONG AND WEAK VOWELS

/sent / /feɪm / / pɪəd/

Inclusive /ɪn klu:z ɪv/ spoonful /spu:n fʊl/

● The neutralized vowels [ i ] or [u ]

ugly /ʌgl i/ interest /ˈɪntrәst/ push /pʊʃ / book /bʊk/