2013 Students' Booklet

FONTICA Y FONOLOGA INGLESA I
1

Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educacin

Clases Prcticas

Departamento de Lenguas Modernas

Fontica y Fonologa Inglesa I

Ao 2013
2

PRACTICAL CLASES - GROUPS

Prof. Moyano: A Tuesday 10 12

Prof. Grasso: D Wednesday 10 12
E Wednesday 12 14

Prof. Palmieri: B Thursday 10 12 (R)
C Thursday 12 14 (R)
Prof. Ruiz Arcodia: F Monday 8 10
G Monday 16- 18
H Monday 18- 20
I Wednesday 8-10 (R)

Material needed for practical classes (available at Campus, Fotocopiadora del CEHCE, Cop-Art).
Booklet FONTICA Y FONOLOGA INGLESA I CLASES PRCTICAS

Dictionaries
Wells, J. (2008) Pronunciation Dictionary. Hong Kong: Longman Group UK Limited.
Jones, D. (2006) English Pronouncing Dictionary. UK: CUP.

Requirements to pass the course

Attendance 75% If necessary, you should provide a certificate.

Written Practice You should hand in transcriptions of the written material in due time.

Weak forms in Elements of pronunciation (44 short dialogues) (up to Winter break)
Selected passages from English Transcription Course - Unit 3 (Aug.); Unit 4 (Sep.);
Unit 7 (Oct.)

E-Laboratory Practice a self-study programme that covers problem areas for Spanish
speakers and provides selected RP practice that should be covered according to a planned
schedule.
Booklet FONTICA Y FONOLOGA INGLESA I - LAB PRACTICE

Printed and audio material will be available from the campus and at the Language Laboratory.

Discussing academic issues in groups, students have to talk about set topics related to
the subject.

ORAL INTERVIEWS
Diagnostic Test 13
th
17
th
May
1
st
Oral Mid-Term Test 1
st
5
th
July
2
nd
Oral Mid-Term Test 28
th
Oct 1
st
Nov
Oral Make-Up Test: 18
th
22
th
Nov.
In pairs, students discuss selected topics
from set readings.
Students are assessed according to
standards: P; BP; F.

3

LECTURES & TUTORIALS

Prof. Laura Andreau
Wednesday 8 10 Room 103
Friday 8 10 Room E1

Wednesday 10 hs. Room 208
Friday 10 hs. Room
Prof. Sara Moyano
Monday 16 - 18 Room E1
Wednesday 16 - 18 Room 312

Tuesday 12 hs. Room 208

WRITTEN MID-TERM TESTS

1
st
Mid-Term Test Wed 19 June
Make-Up Test Wed 3 July
Results will be published on 28
th
June & 15
th
July
100 word-transcription and dictation.
Maximum of 10 mistakes in each part but
no more than 20 in total.
2
nd
Mid-Term Test Wed 16 Oct.
Make-Up Test Wed 6 Nov.
Results will be published on 28
th
& 17
th
Nov.
150 word-transcription and dictation.
Maximum of 10 mistakes in each part but
no more than 20 in total.
Students should mark allophones on the
transcription only.
Art. 14 Wed 20 Nov.

Idem 2
nd
Mid-Term Test

STUDENT ASSISTANTS will provide transcription support supervised by teachers.

CAMPUS VIRTUAL
Information, materials, related links and latest news will be regularly uploaded at
http://campus.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/
4

TRABAJOS PRCTICOS DE LABORATORIO 2013

MES N TP y TEMA Fecha Firma
MAYO
TP 1 Weak forms
Units 21, 22 (Eng Pron in Use-Ad)
TP 2 Rules
Unit 8 (Eng Pron in Use-Ad)
Unit 20 (Sounds English)

JUNIO
TP 3 Front vowels
Units 23, 24 (Sounds English)
TP 4 Central vowels
Units 22 & 25 (Sounds English)
Unit 23 (Eng Pron in Use-Ad)

JULIO
TP 5 Back vowels
Units 26,28 & 29 (Sounds English)
TP 6 Diphthongs
Unit 27, 30, 31, 32 ( Sounds
English)

AGOSTO
TP 7 Plosives & Nasals
Units 8, 9, 10, 15 (Sounds English)
TP 8 Clusters
Units 7, 9, 24 (Eng Pron in Use-Ad)

SEPT
TP 9 Plosives, Fricatives &
Affricates
Units 4, 6, 13, 14, 16, 17 & 18
(Sounds English)

OCTUBRE
TP 10 Processes in
connected speech
Units 26 a 31, 6 (Eng Pron in Use-
Ad)
Unit 21 (Sounds English)

5

The Phonemic Alphabet

Consonants

/ p / pcopIc lop
/pI:pI/ /lnp/
/ b / bIg snob
/big/ /snnb/
/ m / mc gamcs
/mI:/ /gcimz/
/ l / lca Icllci
/lI:/ /Iclo/
/ d / do icad
/du:/ /iI:d/
/ n / nonc iun
/n:n/ /i:n/
/ L / cai aclIvc
/Lu:/ /Lliv/
/ g / go dog
/gou/ /dng/
/ p / sIng angiy
/sip/ /pgiI/
/ lj / chuich
/lj+:lj/
/ d / joLc cnjoy
/douL/ /indi/
/ i / icd !ai avay
/icd/ /!u:i ovci/
/ ! / !un iough
/!:n/ /i:!/
/ v / volc IIvc
/voul/ /Iiv/
/ I / Iunch aII
/I:nlj/ /:I/
/ 0 / lhInL lcclh
/0ipL/ /lI:0/
/ / lhcsc vIlh
/I:z/ /vi/
/ j / ycs musIc
/jcs/ /mju:ziL/
/ s / sun mcss
/s:n/ /mcs/
/ z / zoo vIsIl
/zu:/ /vizil/
/ v / valch quIcL
/vnlj/ /LviL/
/ j / shoc cash
/ju:/ /Lj/
/ / lcIcvIsIon
/lcIivin/

/ h / hal vho
/hl/ /hu:/

Vowels & diphthongs

# 1 / I: / meet sea
/mI:l/ /sI:/
# 7 / : / caught door
/L:l/ /d:/
/ ci / play great
/pIci/ /gicil/
# 2 / i / bit itch
/bil/ /ilj/
# 8 / u / book
/buL/
/ ai / I try
/ai/ /liai/
# 3 / c / bet ate
/bcl/ /cl/
# 9 / u: / who doing
/hu:/ /du:ip/
/ i / enjoy choice
/indi/ /ljis/
# 4 / / act cat
/Ll/ /Ll/
# 10 / : / fun uncle
/!:n/ /:pLI/
/ io / here weird
/hio/ /viod/
# 5 / u: / hard aunt
/hu:d/ /u:nl/
# 11 / +: / turn blur
/l+:n/ /bI+:/
/ co / care chairs
/Lco/ /ljcoz/
# 6 / n / what on
/vnl/ /nn/
# 12 / o / about woman
/obaul/ /vumon/
/ uo / cruel pure
/LiuoI/ /pjuo/
/ ou / go old
/gou/ /ouId/
/ au / about out
/obaul/ /aul/

SET READING Ashby, P. (2000) Speech Sounds Chapter 1 and 2. Great
Britain:Routledge.
6

Letters and sounds
1

Complete the blanks using the words from the box

three letters kite roof symbols sounds top five

The word cat has three ___________ c, a and t. Most people can agree that it
also has three ____________. But letters and sounds are not at all the same thing. The
words cough has ______________ letters in spelling- but when we say it, it too only has
_______________ sounds. The 1
st
is like the first sound in __________, the 2
nd
is like
the middle sound of ____________, and the last is like the end of _____________ .
Phonetic transcriptions use internationally agreed _____________. Our own British
pronunciation of the word is then [k f] (the square brackets are just a convention to show
that the symbols are to be taken as phonetic transcription). One principle governing the
use of phonetic symbols is that there should be one symbol for every sound; the number
of letters in the ordinary spelling is simply irrelevant.

Exercise: How many sounds have each of the following English words?
1. dog 2. moon 3. fish 4. bath
5. rabbit 6. enough 7. study 8. through
9. spaghetti 10. tricky

As can be seen, there is no simple relationship between letters and sounds in
English speech at all. First, some letters are altogether silent. In the example
___________________ above, the letters gh are silent. (Examples of other silent
letters are ________ in hour, the second _________ in bomb, __________ in
psychology). Second, it sometimes takes several letters to spell one sound. What is
written th at the end of bath we hear as a single sound represented with the single
symbol [ _________ ]. Likewise, ____________ at the end of fish stand for one sound [
] ]; gh in enough represents an [ f ] sound (but in spaghetti, it represents [
___________ ] ). The oo in the middle of the word ______________ represents just
one sound (the symbol in fact is [ u:] ); and the bb in rabbit and and ___________ in
spaghetti represent one sound each, [ _________ ] and [t].

Summing up
In English there is not a one to one relationship between letters and symbols.
Because symbols are not letters, you cannot personalize them and create your own
version of them. Symbols must be drawn as they appear in the pronunciation
dictionary. Words can be in CAPITALS. Symbols CANT.

1
adapted from Speech Sounds Ashby 2000

7

MORE ON SOUNDS AND SPELLING
2

English spelling, as you probably know, is not logical. Words which look as though they
are pronounced the same arent pronounced the same.

Meat /mi:t/ and great /greil/
Home / houm/ some /s:m/
Know /nou/ and now /nau/

In the following lists three words rhyme, but one is different. Underline the odd one out.
Then listen and check your answers.

Example: /u/ oi /u:/? boot foot shoot suit

a) /I:/ or /c/? bread head read (past) read (present)
b) /s:/ or /:/? work fork talk walk
c) /:/ or /ou/? done phone son won
d) /c/or /ci/? paid made played said
e) / u:/ or /u/? good food wood stood
f) /ci/ or / I:/? ache break take weak
g) /io/ or /co? dear hear pear near
h) / ou/or /au/? cows knows owes - rose

SILENT LETTERS

There are many silent letters in English words. Example: lis(t)en

1. Cross out the silent letters in the following words.

Talk Write Knife Sign Honest Half Comb Receipt Knee Iron Salmon
Whistle Answer

2. Here are some words in phonetics. Transcribe them. Careful! They all have silent
letters.

a- /Lu:sI/ ............................
b- /bnm/ ..........................
c- /snvid/ .....................
d- /aiIond/ .........................
e- /nnL/ .............................
f- /!nion/
g- /hu:l/
h- /nnIid/
i- /saiLnIodI/
j- /grnmu:/

2
Taken from New Headway Intermediate
8

VOWELS

1. Circle the symbol that matches the sound in the underlined letters. They are all single
vowel sounds.

Example: word /:/ /+:/ /:/

a Weather /c/ /I:/ //
b Sugar /u:/ /u/ /:/
c Woman /n/ /i/ /u/
d Women /n/ /i/ /u/
e Uncle /:/ // /n/
f Half /u:/ // /:/

2. Cross out the word which does not contain the vowel sound on the left.
Example: /i/ build field fill women

a /c/ leather friend break bread
b /:/ front rough wont country
c /n/ clock wonder want wash
d // angry hungry fax salmon
e /I:/ cheese breath meal breathe
f /u:/ spoon wooden zoo souvenir
g - /:/ warm walk store work
h /+:/ world ferry early journalist

3. Transcribe the following words.

Example: /L:bod/ cupboard

a /pclioI/ ...............................
b /jngol/ ................................
c /inlioslip/ .............................
d /0:l/ .................................
c- /bicL!osl/ ..........................

9

QUESTIONAIRE
3

1. Imagine you are talking in your own language with a foreigner. The person doesnt speak your
language very well and is very difficult to understand. What do you do? Do you:
a. pretend you understand even when you dont?
b. ask him or her to repeat everything slowly and carefully?
c. try to get away?

2. What do you say when the foreign speaker apologizes for his poor accent? Do you:
a. tell him his accent is very good even when it isnt?
b. tell him that his poor accent doesnt matter?
c. tell him that his accent is very bad and that he must work hard to improve it?

3. How do you feel when a foreigner pronounces your name wrong?
a. very angry
b. it bothers me a little
c. it bothers me a lot
d. it doesnt bother me at all

4. How do you feel when you meet a foreigner who speaks your language with a very good
accent?
a. surprised
b. pleased
c. not surprised
d. full of admiration
e. dont care or think about it

5. In the future, who will you speak English to?
a. mostly English people visiting my country who dont know my language
b. mostly English-speaking people in other country
c. mostly non-English people who dont know my language and whose language I dont know, so that
we speak English together
d. others
e. dont know

6. Do you think it is more important to have good pronunciation when:
a. you are speaking English to English people?
b. you are speaking English to non-English people?

7. Below are some situations. When is it most important to pronounce well? Put them in order of
importance with a number if you want.
a. speaking on the telephone
b. meeting someone for the first time
c. talking to someone you know very well (a good friend) in an informal situation (e.g. a party)
d. doing business in English (e.g. at the bank, post office, bus station, railway station, in shops, etc)
e. talking to strangers (e.g. asking the way)
f. chatting to a fellow student (e.g. during the break time)

3
Kenworthy, J. (1987) Teaching English Pronunciation. Hong Kong: Longman Group UK Limited
10

Shrek the Third At MERLINS CAMP

Comprehension questions

1. What does Shrek try to do to get closer to Arthur?
2. Why does Arthur know Mr Merlin?
3. What does Merlins journey to the soul consist of?
4. What do Shrek and Artie have in common?

Script

1. ARTIE Yeah, yeah, okay. I get it. The birds me. My dad left. So what?
2. SHREK Look boy...um-
3. (Thats What Friends Are For starts playing loudly from Merlins
4. security device)
5. MERLIN Just thought I might help set the mood!- he says casually-
6. Yknow for your big pure heart to heart chat!
7. SHREK I know what its like to not feel ready for something. Even ogres
8. get scared...you know, once in a while.
9. ARTIE I know you want me to be king, but I cant. Im not cut out for it
10. and I never will be, alright? Even my own dad knew I wasnt worth the
11. trouble. He dumped me at that school the first chance he got and I never
12. heard from him again.
13. SHREK My dad wasnt really the fatherly type either.
14. ARTIE Well, I doubt he was worse than mine.
15. SHREK Oh yeah? My father was an ogre. He tried to eat me. Now, I
16. guess I should have seen it coming. He used to give me a bath in
17. barbecue sauce and put me to bed with an apple in my mouth.
18. ARTIE Okay... I guess thats... pretty bad.
19. SHREK You know, it may be hard to believe what with my obvious
20. charm and good looks, but people used to think that I was a monster.
21. And for a long time, I believed them. But after a while, you learn to
22. ignore the names that people call you and you just trust who you are.
23. ARTIE You know, youre okay, Shrek.(He tosses the stick into the
24. fire).You just need to do a little less yelling and use a little more soap.
25. SHREK Thanks Artie.
26. ARTIE The soaps because you stink. Really bad.
27. SHREK Yeah. I got that.
11

Complete the following questions with the script on the preious page:

1. Line 9. Would you mark non audible release in cant? and in cut out?
2. Line 12. from him again: Is it possible to elide the h here?
3. Line 19. Is there pre- fortis clipping in hard? and in people?
4. Find 2 examples of syllabicity in this text.
5. Are these examples of lip rounding? Well- `want- sauce.
6. What do these two examples have in common? had to liked to
7. Are the following examples of the same process? cant- cotton
8. Line 21. Would you mark dentalization in believed them? and in something?

KEY TO DICTATION Part One

ai nou vnl ils IaiL lo nnl !i:I icdI !o s:m0ip/ I:vn ougoz gcl sLcod/ ju nou/ v:ns in o vaiI/

ai nou ju vnnl mI lo bI Lip/ bol ai Lu:nl/ aim nnl L:l aul !oi il/ on ai ncvo viI bI/ :Iiail/ i:vn mai
oun dd nju: ai vnznl v+:0 o li:bI/ hI d:mpl mI ol l sLu:I o !+:sl lju:ns hI gnl/ on ai ncvo
h+:d !iom him ogcn/

mai dd vnznl iioII o !u:oII laip I:o/

vcI/ ai daul hI voz v+:s on main

mai !u:o voz on ougo/ hI liaid lu I:l mI/ nau/ ai gcs ai jud ov sI: il L:mip/ hI ju:sl lo giv mI o bu:
0
in bu:biLju: s:s on pul mI lo bcd vi on pI in mai mau0/

ou Lci/ ai gcs ls piilI bd/

KEY TO DICTATION Part Two

ju nou/ il mci bI hu:d lo boII:v vi mai nbvios lju:m on gud IuLs/ bol pI:pI ju:sl lo 0ipL ai voz o
mnnslo/ on !oi o Inp laim/ ai boII:vd om/ bol u:!loi o vaiI/ ju I+:n lu ign: o ncimz ol pI:pI
L:I ju/ on ju d:sl li:sl hu: ju: u:/

ju nou/ ju oi ou Lci jicL/ ju d:sl nI:d lo du:/ o IilI Ics jcIip ond ju:z o IilI m: soup/

0pLs u:lI

o soups bILnz ju slipL/ iioII bd

jcs/ ai gnl l=
12

Finding out about pronunciation (1):
dictionaries
4

4
Taken from Hewings, M. (2007) English Pronunciation in Use Advanced. UK:CUP
3
13

Finding out about pronunciation (2):
online resources

4
14

SET READING Roach, P. (2000) English Phonetics and Phonology A practical course
Chapter 12 Weak Forms. United Kingdom:CUP.
Garcia Lecumberri, M.L. & Maidment, J. (2000) English Transcription Course Chapter 3
Stress, rhythm and weak forms. Great Britain:Arnold.

Boys will be Boys
5

Task 1) The following words appear, in that order, in the first part of the poem. Can you make
sense of them? What is the poem talking about?

Look / Peter - Isnt / terror / shooting / neighbours/ cowboy gun?
Screaming / jet plane - Always throwing something.
I / cant control - Trouble? - He / one.

Boys / boys - Fact / human nature - Girls / grow up / mothers.

Now listen to this first part and check your predictions

Task 2) Listen to the second part of the poem, and fill in the blanks. Check in pairs.

Look _____ little Janie, doesnt ______ look pretty
Playing with ______ dolly, proper little mum?
Never being dirty, never being noisy,
Dont touch _______ sister, Peter, now look what _________ done!!

Ahh, ______ boys ______ be boys,
Its ______ fact ______ human nature,
______ girls will grow up ______ ______mothers.

Task 3) Listen now to the third section of the poem and transcribe the words you hear.

Now whats come over Janie? Janies turning nasty!
Left hook to the body, right hook to the eye!
Vicious little hussy! Now, Peters started bawling!
What a bloody cissy! Who said you could cry?!

5
Taken from Accelerate Intermediate

15

Now, transcribe the words you read.

Because boys must be boys,

Its a fact of human nature,

And girls must grow up to be mothers

Task 4) Listen to the end of the poem and mark the sounds or words which you feel are different
from the transcription.

nao i: ws:ld hz gbn Ibpsi Is:vi } deini wbnIs ei loIbo:l
nd pi:Io dtsI si:nz hpi po]iq prnz olbq }
iI neiks ]u: li:l soo gilIi } kidz o: stI] ei wtri }
dbkIo dbkIo Iel ni } weo did wi: goo rbq }
bikbz boiz ntsI bi: boiz } iI iz ei lkI bv h]u:non neiI]o }
nd gs:lz ntsI groo tp Iu: bi: ntoz }}

16

Taken from Rogerson, P. & Gilbert, J. B. (1990) Speaking Clearly. UK: CUP.
17

18

19

20

21

SET READING Garcia Lecumberri, M.L. & Maidment, J. (2000) English Transcription
Course Chapter 2 Transcription hints. Great Britain:Arnold.

The s inflectional ending

Look at the groups of words presented horizontally. What do they have in common? And
the ones that share a column vertically?
They also share a characteristic in relation to their pronunciation. Can you guess what it
is?

/ /

/ /

/ /

Maths
Lakes

Boys
Bags

Buses
Badges

Stops
Laughs

Sees
Runs

Washes
Catches

Mikes
Mr Whites

Bobs
Jills

Roses
Dr Leechs

The ed inflectional ending

What do all the following examples have in common?
Can you work out the rule?

The ed inflectional ending

/ /

/ /

/ /

Liked
Washed
Danced
Asked

Lived
Stayed
Called
Happened

Decided
Visited
Started
Reminded

22

My Favourite Things(song featured in The Sound of Music)

Place the underlined words from the song in the correct column according to their
pronunciation when the inflectional s is added

1 .Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
2. bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens,
3. brown paper packages tied up with strings,
4. these are a few of my favourite things.

5. Cream coloured ponies and crisp apple strudels,
6. door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles,
7. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings,

9. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,
10. snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,
11. silver white winters that melt into springs,

13. When the dog bites, when the bee stings,
14. when I'm feeling sad,
15. I simply remember my favourite things,
16. and then I don't feel so bad

1) / s / 2) /z / 3) / iz /

Which conclusions can you draw at? Which is the rule that governs the
s inflectional ending?
Which is the longest list? Why do you think that is so?
Account for the difference between columns 1) and 2); as opposed to 3).

23

Stranger in town

Text A
It (1) __________ to take an age to get there, but eventually, the bus (2) __________. We'd got
to the terminus and everyone got out. We were somewhere in the commercial district but I
wasn't sure where. I couldn't recognize anything. The others (3) __________ off. I (4)
__________, wondering which way to start. I ought to have (5) __________ someone, but it
was too late. They'd gone. The street was empty. Even the bus driver had gone. I (6)
__________ across and (7) __________ into an alleyway and (8) __________ to walk. It was
dark and drizzling a little. I went through an archway and into another street, where there were
street lights. It was one of those pedestrian precincts - no cars (9) __________ - with concrete
benches to sit on and concrete tubs for plants. But the benches were wet it was winter - and
there wasn't a plant to be seen.

Text B
I passed some (1) __________: bright (2) __________ and (3) __________ and fashionable (4)
__________ on plastic (5) __________, (6) __________, and (7)__________, and (8)
__________ of (9) __________ at giveaway (10) __________. Leftover gift wrapping and holly
and snowmen. I walked along, looking in the (11)__________. The last of the shop (12)
__________ was just closing the (13)_________. Could she tell me, please, where Market
Street was! She'd no idea. She was a student, doing a holiday job, and she didn't know the
district yet. She thought there was a pub in the first street on the left. Perhaps they'd know
there. It was all very odd. There was just nobody about. I walked on and took the left turning
where she'd said, and found the pub, but of course they didn't open till seven, and it was just
half past five. I went round to a side door, and rang a bell ...
24

Some tips and rules

1. -ed inflectional ending (past simple regular, past participles and adjectives)
ending in voiced sound = we add }-d}
ending in voiceless sound = we add }-I}
ending in }-I } }-d} = we add }-id}

Some exceptions to this rule are: naked, wrecked, rugged, ragged, wicked.

Whether they function as verbs or adjectives, most English words ending in ed suffix follow the same phonological
rules as the past tense inflectional ending. However, look at these words ending in ed: blessed, beloved, learned,
dogged, legged. They can also function either as verbs or adjectives. But, do they have the same pronunciation in both
cases?
He blessed us. The blessed virgin
Shes beloved by him Shes his beloved wife
We learned a lot Hes a very learned man
They dogged my steps She has a dogged determination
We legged him out of there Hes sitting on a three-legged stool

2. -s inflectional ending (plurals, genitive case, 3rd person singular PrS)
ending in voiced sound = we add }-z}
ending in voiceless sound = we add }-s}
ending in sibilant = we add }-iz}

Exception to previous rule: house }hao} - houses }haoiz}

25

Clusters: dialogues for practice
6

56 }pl/ /bd/ /ps/ /bz/

A We were robbed!
B Stripped of everything!
A They jumped out into the road
B And when we stopped
A They grabbed me and thumped me in the ribs
B And said if we didnt shut our traps
A Wed be stabbed.
B They tied us with ropes
A And dumped us in the back of a van.
B Finally they dropped us at the bottom of
these steps
A And the polite one I described to you
B Oh, yes he said he was sorry wed been
disturbed!
A and hoped the ropes werent too tight!
B Actually he was rather charming!
vI vo inbd!
sliipl ov cviI0ip!
ci d:mpl aul inlo o ioud
on vcn vI slnpl
ci gibd mI on 0:mpl mI in o iibz
on scd i! vI didnl j:l u: lips
vId bI slbd
ci laid os vi ioups
on d:mpl os in o bL ov o vn
!ainoII ci dinpl os ol o bnlm ov I:z slcps
on o poIail v:n ai disLiaibd lo ju
ou jcs / hI scd hI voz sniI vId bI:n disl+:bd
on houpl o ioups v+:nl lu: lail
LljuoII hI: voz iu:o lju:mip!

57 }Is} }dz}

A He just sits-
B Thats all he does.
A All day sits and sits.
B Occasionally he reads
A And eats.
B But he eats very little.
A We tell him he needs fresh air.
B He needs friends.
A He used to have lots of friends.
B Loads of friends.
A But now he just sits and broods
B And he wont even speak to his kids.
A He still says he has no regrets, of course.
B No regrets. Mm.
A Ah, well. Whats the film at the Ritz?
hI dosl sils
ls :I hI d:z
:I dci / sils on sils
oLcijonoII hI iI:dz
on I:ls
bol hI I:ls vciI IilI
vI lcI him hI nI:dz !icj co
hI nI:dz !icndz
hI ju:sl lo hv Inls ov !icndz
Ioudz ov !icndz
bol nau hI dosl sils on biu:dz
on hI vounl I:vn spI:L lo hiz Lidz
hI sliI scz hI hz nou iigicls / o! L:s
nou iigicls / mm
u: / vcI / vnls o !iIm ol o iils?

58 /I]I} }dd}

A We marched all day.
B We pitched our tents by the river.
A Some of us slept. Some watched.
B In the morning, we bridged the river.
A And marched again until we reached the
battlefield.
B The battle raged for two nights.
A Some of us dodged the shells.
B Some of us managed to survive.
A The privileged ones?

vI mu:ljl :I dci
vI piljl u: lcnls bai o iivo
som ov os sIcpl / som mu:ljl
in o m:nip / vI biidd o iivo
on mu:ljl ogcn onliI vI iI:ljl o blI!I:Id
o blI icidl !o lu: nails
stm ov os dndd o jcIz
stm ov os mnidd lo sovaiv
o piiviIidd v:nz?

6
Taken from Mortimer, C. (1985) Elements of Pronunciation Clusters. CUP.

26

62 /!l/ /vd/ /!0/ /!s/ /vz/

A Hes not on the fourth floor now, hes
been moved to the fifth. Use the lift. Ill
ring to say youve arrived.
B No hurry. Er how is he, Nurse?
A I think hes improved. Still coughs a lot,
of course.
B And he behaves all right, does he?
A Oh, yes. We have plenty of laughs! Well
miss him when he leaves!
B He loves pretty nurses, Grandad does!
Its a family weakness! By the way, he
wanted me to bring him this gift. For his
special favourite a nurse called Soft.
A How lovely!
B Funny name, Soft, isnt it?
A Yes, but Ive got used to it.
B Oh sorry!
A Well, Ill ring to say youve arrived.
B Im sorry!

hIz nnl nn o !:0 !I: nau / hIz bI:n mu:vd / lo o !i!
0 / ju:z o Ii!l / aiI iip lo sci juv oiaivd
nou h:iI / +: hau iz hI n+:s?
ai 0ipL hIz impiu:vd / sliI Ln!s o Inl / o! L:s
ond hI bihcivz :I iail / doz hI?
ou jcs / vI hov pIcnlI o! Iu:!s!' vII mis him vcn hI I
I:vz!
hI I:vz piilI n+:siz / giondod d:z! ils o !omoII vI:L
nos! bai o vci / hI vnnlid mI lo biip him is gi!l / !
o hiz spcjI !civiol / o n+:s Lo:Id sn!l
hau I:vII!
!:nI ncim / sn!l / iznl il?
jcs / bol aiv gnl ju:sl lo il
ou sniI
vcI / aiI iip lo sci juv oiaivd
aim sniI

27

SET READING Ashby, P. (2000) Speech Sounds Chapter 6 and 7. Great
Britain:Routledge.

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

Some tips and rules

1. Sounds andare of exactly the same quality. Consequently, the difference between them is
strictly functional: while vowel 11 is ABSOLUTELY ALWAYS in a stressed position, the schwa
ABSOLUTELY NEVER is!

2. Spelling -ook = always }-ok}

3. Spelling NG= }qg} in Ihe niddle ol a norphene
}q} aI Ihe end ol a norphene

Exception to previous rule: comparatives and superlatives

4. } q} is never ever preceded by a long vowel

5. Letter a + 1 consonant = usually }}
Letter a + 1 consonant + letter e = usually }ei}
Letter a + double consonant = usually }}
(exanple: naI, naIe, naIIer)

6. Letter i + 1 consonant = usually }i}
Letter i + 1 consonant + letter e = usually }ai}
Letter i + double consonant = usually }i}
(exanple: biI, biIe, biIIen)

7. Letter i alone is hardly ever said with vowel number 1 }i:}. Some exceptions to this rule are:
machine, technique, boutique, unique, police.

8. Double consonant = never a diphthong
(some exceptions: roll, gross, bass)

9. Prefix ex- if unstressed - }iks} when followed by voiceless sound (i.e: export)
- }igz} when followed by voiced sound (i.e: exam)
if stressed = ALWAYS }eks-} (i.e: exit, expert)
10. Letter b is silent when its final in the syllable and (1) preceded by a bilabial nasal (ex: bomb,
combing, climber) ; OR (2) preceded by a vowel and followed by a plosive (ex: doubt, debt)

11. Letter t is silent when preceded by }s} and followed by a lateral or nasal (ex: listen, castle)

12. Letter l is silent in the cluster -ould (ex: would, could, should); and when it is preceded by a
long vowel AND followed by a consonant in the same syllable (ex: walk, palm)
37

13. The linking r }r} NEVER links a semivowel with another sound, its only intervocalic

14. Suffix -sion - after a vowel letter = }
o
n}
- after a consonant letter = }]
o
n}
15. Suffix -ate - stressed }-eiI} when its a verb (ex: to complicate)
- unstressed }-iI} when its a noun (ex: the First Certificate)

16. Contracted auxiliaries (like cant, dont, doesnt) are ABSOLUTELY ALWAYS strong

17. The word use - as a noun }]u:s}
- as a verb }]u:z} past tense }]u:zd}
- for habits in the past used to }]u:sIo}

18. }} is ABSOLUTELY ALWAYS spelt with letter a
}t} is ABSOLUTELY NEVER spelt with letter a

19. Always make sure that you control high frequency words such as numbers, days of the week,
months, everyday objects, structural words, etc
38

SET READING Cruttenden, A. (2000) Gimsons Pronunciation of English Chapter 12
The Word in Connected Speech: 12.4.1 Allophonic Variations. Great Britain:Arnold

PLOSIVES

Explain the following sayings
Clothes open all doors.
Clothes make the man.
Clothes do not make the man king.
A wolf in sheep's clothing (idiom)
Have you ever made a wrong judgement of a person because of the way he/she was dressed?
Have you ever felt you were not dressed according to circumstances?

The extract you are about to listen to comes from Down in Paris and London
7
by George Orwell.
Orwell is describing his experience as a tramp in London in the 1930s. Listen to the extract on
the cassette and answer the following questions.
1. How did the speaker feel the night he is recalling?
2. Why would people notice a `disparity between his accent and his clothes?
3. Why do you think he was so shocked when he was called `mate?
4. Do you agree with him when he says clothes are powerful things?
Listen to the first sentence again. Now you can follow the script in your hand-outs.
Do you perceive any difference between the /t/ sounds in the utterances `streets, late, and time?
1.I stayed in the streets till late at night, `keeping on the move all the time. Dressed as I was, I
2.was half afraid that the police might arrest me as a vagabond, and I dared not speak to
3.anyone imagining that they must notice a disparity between my accent and my clothes.
4.(Later I discovered that this never happened) My new clothes had put me instantly into a
5.new world. Everyones demeanour seemed to have changed abruptly. I helped a hawker pick
6.up a barrow that he had upset. `Thanks, mate, he said with a grin. No one had called me
7.mate before in my life it was the clothes that had done it. For the first time I noticed, too,
8.how the attitude of women varies with a mans clothes. When a badly dressed man passes
9.them they shudder away from him with quite frank movement of disgust, as though he were
10.a dead cat. Clothes are powerful things. Dressed in a tramps clothes it is very difficult, at
11.any rate for the first day, not to feel that you are genuinely degraded. You might feel the
12.same shame, irrational but real, your first night in prison.

7
Taken from Fletcher, C (1990). Pronunciation Dictionay:Study Guide. Longman Pag.41

39

Allophonic variation of plosive consonants

}p} }I} }k} }b} }d} }g}
1
||

2
||

3
||

4
|'|

5
| |

6
| |

7a
| |

7b
| |

8
||

9
[]

10
| |

11
|`|

40

Listen to the dialogues
8
. Practise them with your partner.
Unit 8) /p/ /b/
At a travel agents
A: Good morning. Id like to book a cheap spring holiday. What package holidays are available?
B: Theres a splendid holiday in Paris.
A: I expect Paris is expensive!
B: There is a cheap period between November and February. You can compare our prices with other
companies. Ours are cheaper.
A: But I dont want to go in February, Id prefer April.
B: Well, April in Paris is beautiful. But its very popular. Most package tours in April are fully booked.
A: Yes, I remember my neighbour went o Paris in April. She belongs to a travel club. It was beautiful. But
the airport was very busy. What other places are available in April?
B: Heres a brochure, with all the places and prices.
A: Right, Ill probably be back tomorrow. Goodbye.

Unit 9) /t/ /d/
At a library
A: Good afternoon. Ive just joined the library. How many books can I take out?
B: You can take two books, and keep them for ten days. After that, if you havent finished them, you can
renew them.
A: How do I do that? Must I visit the library?
B: No, you can telephone. Tell us the titles of the books, and the dates they are due for return.
A: Splendid. Can you tell me where to find Thomas Hardys books? Im studying Victorian writers. Ive read
two of Thomas Hardys books Tess of the DUrbevilles, and Far from the Madding Crowd. Today I want
A Tale of Two Cities, or David Copperfield
B: Actually A Tale of Two Cities and David Copperfield are by Charles Dickens.

Unit 10) /k/ /g/
At home, husband and wife
A: I cant do all the housework and all the cooking. Youve got to do more.
B: You dont do all the housework and all the cooking. I cook the breakfast.
A: And I clean the kitchen.
B: I take the dog for a walk.
A: I take the kids to school.
B: I do the gardening.
A: No, you dont. I cut the grass.
B: I dig the garden.
A: Once a year, in August.
B: I make you a cup of coffee every evening.
A: I cook the supper.
B: I clean the car.
A: I pick up your things.
B: OK, lets change over. Ill pick up my own things. And you can clean the car.
A: You can cook supper.
B: You can make the coffee.
A: You can cut the grass.
B: You can dig the garden.
A: Once a year, in August. You can take the kids to school.
B: You can take the dog for a walk.
A: You can clean the kitchen.
B: And well give up cooked breakfasts.

8
Taken from OConnor, D.J. & Fletcher, C. (1989) Sounds English. Singapore: Longman Group UK Limited.
41

How honest are we?

Did you ever say you were a. sick when you werent?
b. older or younger than you were? (If yes, how did you feel?)

Do you know anyone who a. took something small from a hotel, airline or restaurant?
b. cheated on a test?
c. stole a small thing when he/she was a young child?

What would you do if you discovered that someone a. took something that belonged to you?
b. lied to you?

i. Talk about the following situations with your partner and decide what you would do in each case

1. Checking in at a fine hotel, you find a thick, new bathmat in exactly the colour you need. Before you
leave, you could hide it in your suitcase. Do you?
o Yes o No o May be

2. You want to add a garage to your house, but a building inspector says the structure will violate a
zoning ordinance. He later hints, however, that for $100 he will OK the construction anyway. Do you
give him the money?
o Yes o No o May be

3. Your 12-year-old brother is very happy. He shows you an old comic book he bought from
a classmate for $1. You know the comic book is worth $500. Your brother knew it was valuable but
the other boy didnt. You
o congratulate your brother on being a good businessman
o tell your brother to sell the comic and share the profit with his friend
o tell your brother that he was dishonest and make him return the comic book.

4. You have just eaten in a restaurant. The food and service were terrible. When you pay the bill, the
cashier makes a mistake and gives you too much change. You
o return the extra change
o keep the change. After all, youve suffered through a terrible meal
o other

5. You have just returned from the supermarket and discover you have an extra bag. You
o return the extra bag o enjoy the extra bag o other

6. Your friend has a new hairstyle. She asks what you think of it. You dont like it but know theres
nothing she can do about it. You say
o Its beautiful! o Mmh, Ill have to get used to it o Have you thought of a wig?

42

In groups of four, think of other situations and provide options
ii. Discuss the following questions with your group

1. You are walking along a quiet street and find a wallet containing $100. It also has a telephone
number in it. What would you do?
2. Does it make any difference whether a. the wallet contains $10 or $100?
b. the wallet is an expensive one, or cheap and shabby?
c. the wallet contains pictures or an ID?
d. you find it in a crowded place or a deserted place?

iii. Read about an experiment carried out by the Readers Digest magazine to see how people would
respond when they found money

1.In a recent experiment carried out by the Readers Digest magazine, a team of
2.researchers dropped 80 wallets - 10 each in 4 big cities and 4 medium-sized towns in
3.England, Scotland and Wales. Each wallet contained a name, two telephone numbers,
4.family photographs, tickets, receipts and 30 in cash. The researchers left them in
5.shopping centres, train and underground stations, supermarkets, car parks and on
6.pavements. Then they watched to see what would happen. Each person who returned a
7.wallet was offered 30 as a reward. The researchers carried out a similar experiment in
8. 12 American cities and towns, and 18 other European cities and towns.

iv. Try to predict the results of the experiment writing True or False next to the following ideas

a. More than half people returned wallets in Britain. ______
b. People in medium sized town were much more honest than people in big cities. ______
c. Nearly everyone accepted the reward. ______
d. Men were far less likely to return the wallet than women. ______
e. There was a fairly significant difference between Britain and the rest of Europe. _______
f. There was hardly any difference between Britain and America. _______

v. Listen to one of the researchers describing the results and fill in the blanks with the corresponding
figure. Were your predictions right?

Britain: ___________ out of 80 wallets were returned- ___________ % overall.
America: The return rate was ___________ %.
Rest of Europe: _____________% (Two Scandinavian cities: _______%. A Swiss
and a German city: ______________%)
_____________% women returned the wallet and _____________% of men.
Medium-sized towns: ______________%. Big cities: _____________%.

vi. Think of 2 or 3 reasons why you think people returned the wallets. Then, listen to the researcher
describing the reasons. What are they and which was the most common?
43

vii. FOCUS on ed ENDING. Go back to the description of the experiment included in ex. iii The words
containing ed endings have been highlighted for you. Put them in the correct column according to their
pronunciation. Provide other examples of your own

/ t / / d / / id /

viii. FOCUS on ASPIRATION. Look at the underlined words in ex. iii and say if the plosives included in
those cases are aspirated or not

ix. FOCUS on WEAK FORMS.

a. a team of researchers (line 1) Does of have a weak and a strong form? How would you
pronounce of in this case?

. And them? researchers left them in shopping centres (line 4)

. What about on (e.g on pavements line 5)
. and in (e.g 30 in cash line 3)?

b. Is the pronunciation of and the same in the following cases? and 4 medium-sized towns (line
2) and 18 other European cities (line 7)

c. Is it possible to pronounce `telephone (two telephone numbers, line 3) with a `schwa on the
first syllable? Why/ why not?

x. Practise reading the text in ex. iii having in mind all the aspects of pronunciation analyzed so far. Then,
take turns with your partner, and read one line each.

b. Record yourself. Listen to your tape and once you are happy with your result, exchange tapes with the
person sitting next to you to do pair correction

44

SET READING Ashby, P. (2000) Speech Sounds Chapter 4. Great Britain:Routledge.

Stranger than Vowels

Do you usually follow the same routine when you wake up every day?
Do you always choose the same dish every time you go to a restaurant?
Are you a routine person?

Use the words and expressions in the box to predict the first scenes of the film
you are about to watch.

Watch the film and check your predictions.
Now group the words according to the twelve English vowels. Some words can be
repeated.

Vowel #1
Vowel #2
Vowel #3
Vowel #4
Vowel #5
Vowel #6
Vowel #7
Vowel #8
Vowel #9
Vowel #10
Vowel #11
Vowel #12
walk every weekday wristwatch man
remarkably single teeth back and forth
bathroom bed toothbrush getting dressed
tax coffee catch use words every morning
look Wednesday bus eat mirror
45

Now listen to your cassettes and fill in the blanks with the missing words. Write
them in phonetics.

s z o (1)__________ oba0t o mn ko:1d hto1d ktk on hz tstwbt
hto1d ktk woz o mn ov nInot (2)__________, end1os (3)__________
on tmo:kob1 Iu: wo:dz on hz tstwbt sed :vn 1es
evt w:k de, Io twe1v (4)__________, hto1d w0d btz :t ov hz
(5)__________tu: t: sevnt sks tamz o:t et tamz bk on Io:
s:tet tamz z on da0n
evt w:k de, Io twe1v o:z hto1d w0d ta hz ta n o sqg1
wndzo (6)__________ nsted ov o dzb1, eo ba sevq hm to Io:tt:
sekondz evt mo:nq hz tswbt o:t o sqg1 wndzo med hz nek
10k (7)__________bot sed (8)__________
evt w:k de, Io twe1v o:z hto1d w0d tzn ot o tet ov no1 IIt
sevn (9)__________ o b1bk Io sks b1bks beo1 ktq et
sevnt:n bzs hz wbt w0d d1at n o (10)__________
ov okts wnd tzq o0vot ts Ies
on evt w:kde, Io twe1v o:z hto1d w0d (11)__________ sevn ont wzn
t: Io: tks Ia1z oz o s:no t (12)__________ Io nts:no1
(13)__________ ss:vs
Now practise reading the script. Once you have practised on your own, listen to
your partner and check his/her pronunciation. You can go back to the recording
every time you need.

Transcribe the following passage.
Harold crawls into bed, gently removing his wristwatch and placing it on the nightstand
next to him. He presses a few of its buttons probably to set its alarm. With a tug of a
chain the yellow light next to him goes out and the room returns to darkness, save for the
blue glow of his watch.
46

SET READING Cruttenden, A. (2000) Gimsons Pronunciation of English Chapter 12
The Word in Connected Speech: 12.4.5 Variations of Place. Great Britain:Arnold

Assimilation

1. ................. .................... assimilation of .......................

Look at the examples and complete the rule

/t/
/ p / before
/ / |L:p polcilouz|
/ / [fp bi]
/ / |p mn|
/ / before
/ / |L L:p|
/ / [L g+:l]

/d/
/ / before
/ / [gub pI:pI|
/ / |bb bi|
/ / |sb mInislo|
/ / before
/ / |Laing g+:I|
/ / |!aing Liols|

/ /
/ / before
/ / |lcm pIcioz|
/ / [scvom b:Iz|
/ / |gnm md|
/ / before
/ / [kop k:m]
/ / |Lop gou|

/t, d, n/ are replaced by ......................... before .................... consonants
and by ................................ before ............................ consonants.

/s / / / before
/ / |ij jnp|
/ / |Linj ljnoI|
/ / |ij d:d|
/ / [mij ju|

/ / / / before
/ / |ljI: jnp|
/ / [ou tj+:tjiz]
/ / |ou dnbz|
/ / [ou j:p mcn|

/s, z/ are replaced by ......................... before consonants
containing a palatal feature.

Generalizing: Word final / / / / / / / / / / assimilate to the p................... of the following word
initial consonant.

47

From the two sounds involved, which one affects the other? So, is the influence progressive or
regressive?

What kind of change do sounds suffer? Do they change their voice? Now, complete the name of
this type of assimilation in the previous page.

2. Coalescent assimilation

What is to coalesce?

Which sounds are combined in these cases?

/ / with / / at word boundaries

/ t /
+
/ /
=
/ / [vnlju vnnl]
/ / / j / / / [wudu]
/ / / / / / |pLciju nI:d il|
/ / / / / / [ho Iclo L:m|

3. ............................ ............................. assimilation of ......................

/n/
/ / .....................
/ p / [hpm|
/ / [+:bm]
/ / .....................
/ / |bciLp|
/ / |:gp|

Plosive + syllabic ....................................= The nasal undergoes assimilation to the same
..................................................................... as the preceding plosive.

4. ............................. assimilation of ......................

What happens in these cases? Is there a change of place? Is there a change of phoneme?

/vnl iz o laim/ /vnls o laim/ /hiz snLs o bIu:/
.................................. ..............................................

48

Before Breakfast
9

Part 1
1. With your partner, read the extracts below taken from a conversation and decide the answer
to the following questions.

Who are the participants?
What might be the relationship between them?
Where are they?
Whats happening?

A: Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last call for breakfast.
[]
B: No, Id better have tea.
C: Right you are, sir. Full English breakfast. With tea.
B: Coffee.
C: As you wish, sir.
[]
D: Can I sit down then?
B: You can if you can bend your knees.
[]
D: Breakfast has been getting a bad press lately. All that cholesterol. []
D: I suppose you think its strange.
B: I drink a lot of coffee myself.
[]
D: You said the dining car wasnt crowed.

2. Listen to some of the extracts above. Notice how certain sounds at word boundaries have
acquired phonological features from neighbouring segments.

(a) }aib beIIo hv Ii: }
(b) }raiI]u o: ss: }
(c) }ou wi] ss: }
(d) }]u kn il ]u kon bendo: ni:z}
(e) }breklosI hoz bi:q geIiq a bb pres leiIli} o:l k kolesIornl}
(f) } ai sopooz ]u Oiqk iIs sIreind}
(g) }ai driqk o lnI ol knli naisell}
(h) }]u sed o dainiq ko: wnzq kraodid}
Part 2
3. Listen to the second part of the conversation. What would you expect from a conversation
between strangers sharing a breakfast table on a train?

9
Axbey, S. 1989 Unit 3 Before Breakfast in Soundtracks. Singapore: Longman Group UK Ltd.

49

4. With your partner, work with the transcript provided and the recording in your cabins to
transcribe exactly what you hear in the expressions in bold.

TEXT A
1. Joanna: You dont recognise me, do you?
2. Tom: Yes, I do.
3. Joanna: Honestly?
4. Tom: Yes. Youre the girl who came and sat down at this table a couple of minutes ago.
5. Joanna: You know thats not what I meant. Dont you recognise me from before? From a
long time ago.
6. Tom: Now you come to mention it
7. Joanna: Yes?
8. Tom: And now that I look at you more closely
9. Joanna: Yes?
10. Tom: I dont believe Ive ever seen you before in my life.
11. Joanna: Well, then how is it that I know your name?
12. Tom: Im not aware that you do know my name.
13. Joanna: Well, I do. Tom.
14. Tom: Well, I have to admit that you do know my name. My first name, anyway.
15. Joanna: I only ever knew your first name. Im Joanna.
16. Tom: Joanna.
17. Joanna: Well, doesnt the name ring a bell?
18. Tom: Not at all.
19. Joanna: But we were in love.
20. Tom: Ive never been in love.
21. Joanna: Well, then you were lying to me. You declare your undying passion.
22. Tom: Look. This is getting embarrassing. The next thing youre going to tell me is that we are
married.
23. Joanna: You did propose to me, but I turned you down.
24. Tom: Sensible girl.
25. Joanna: I said we were too young to marry.

50

4. With your partner, work with the transcript provided and the recording in your cabins
to transcribe exactly what you hear in the expressions in bold.

TEXT B

26. Tom: When did all this happen?
27. Joanna: Seven years ago. Seven years and three months, to be exact.
28. Tom: I was only fourteen then.
29. Joanna: I was twelve.
30. Tom: We were too young to marry. You were absolutely right to turn me down.
31. Joanna: Yes, I was right. All the same, Ive regretted it ever since. Its been the day Ive
remembered all my life. That day in Cornwall when we met at the top of Tintagel Castle and
you bought me a cream tea. And when we said goodbye, you gave me a peck on the cheek.
32. Tom: Youre joking, arent you? Or playing some kind of silly game? Youre not from one
of those TV shows, are you?
33. Joanna: Oh, Tom. Of course not.
34. Tom: Then its all a case of mistaken identity. As it happens, I did once spend a holiday in
Tintagel and I do remember having a cream tea. But I have absolutely no recollection of you.
35. Joanna: I had pigtails.
36. Tom: Im sure I was with my parents.
37. Joanna: I find it hard to believe that an event so important in my life could have had so little
meaning in yours.
38. Tom: Obviously this event, if it actually happened, made no impression on me. You made no
impression on me.
39. Joanna: Thats very hurtful.
40. Tom: Im being honest with you.

51

Part 3

5. In small groups, read the end of the conversation and predict the occurrence of
processes of assimilation.

41. Joanna: Well you forgot me very quickly. You promised to write and so did I. Well, I waited
for you to write first because I wasnt quite sure what to say.
42. Tom: So youre not suddenly going to confront me with a letter in my handwriting.
43. Joanna: You never wrote. I assumed youd lost my address.
44. Tom: Clearly, this romance was never meant to be.
45. Joanna: Well, Im glad now. All these years later, I discover that I dont like you very much.
46. Tom: You hardly know me.
47. Joanna: Youve become pompous and unkind. I dont want to talk to you any more.
48. Tom: Oh, dont dont go.
49. Joanna: Why shouldnt I?
50. Tom: Youve ordered breakfast.
51. Joanna: Well, I sit at another table. Anyway, Im not hungry.
52. Tom: Please, sit down.
53. Joanna: There doesnt seem to be much point.
54. Tom: Please.
55. Joanna: Oh, all right.
56. Tom: You see, Joanna, this morning we started off on the wrong foot. Ive got a feeling that
if we start off as if weve only just met, things might turn out differently.
57. Joanna: Well, you could be right.
58. Tom: Right then. Well, wed better introduce ourselves. Im Tom Watkins.
59. Joanna: Im Joanna Hayes.
60. Tom: How do you do?
61. Joanna: How do you do?
62. Tom: Do you know. I think we might get to like each other quite a bit. Now that weve met
as strangers.

6. Listen and check your predictions.
52

Adjustements in Connected Speech
10

10
Celce-Murcia, M et. al. (1996) Teaching Pronunciation Chapter 5 p.166-169.USA:CUP.
53

54

55

56

Notting Hill (1999) by Richard Curtis
Scene: The last brownie

A group of friends are having dinner together, in celebration of one of
their birthdays (Honeys). After coffee, theres only one brownie left,
and the host (Max) offers it to the saddest-act winner, for which
each of the characters will try to convince the others that he/she is
the one deserving the treat.

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

A) Listen to / watch the scene and note down the key arguments each of the following
characters uses to win the brownie.

Processes in connected speech: LINKING

B) What is linking? When and why does it occur? Which are the 3 ways in which words can
be linked together?

C) Read the script of the first part of the scene you watched earlier. The 3 kinds of linking
have been marked for you, decide to which linking process each case belongs.

MAX Having you here, Anna, firmly establishes what I've long suspected, that we really are the
most desperate lot of under-achievers.
BERNIE Shame!
MAX I'm not saying it's a bad thing, in fact, I think it's something we should take pride in. I'm
going to give the last brownie as a prize to the saddest act here.
WILLIAM Bernie.
BERNIE Well, obviously it's me, isn't it -- I work in the City in a job I don't understand and
everyone keeps getting promoted above me. I haven't had a girlfriend since... well, since puberty
and nobody fancies me, and if these cheeks get any chubbier, they never will.
HONEY Nonsense. I fancy you.
BERNIE Yeah, or I did before you got so fat.

BERNIE

BELLA

HONEY
WILLIAM

ANNA
57

D) In pairs listen to the second part of the scene, and decide if the possible instances of
linking marked in the script actually are so on tape.

MAX You see -- and unless I'm much mistaken, your job still pays you rather a lot of money,
while Honey here earns 20 pence a week flogging her guts out at London's worst record store.
HONEY Yes. And I havent got hair -- I've got feathers, and I've got funny goggly eyes, and I'm
attracted to cruel men. And, actually, no one will ever marry me because um my boosies
have actually started shrinking.
MAX You see its incredibly sad.
BELLA On the other hand, her best friend is Anna Scott.

E) Read the third extract and find instances of linking. Then listen and check. Which is the
type that does NOT appear in this extract?

HONEY That's true, I can't deny it. She needs me, what can I say?
BELLA And most of her limbs work. Whereas I'm stuck in this thing day and night, in a house
full of ramps. And to add insult to serious injury -- I've totally given up smoking, my favourite
thing, and the truth is... we can't have a baby.
WILLIAM Oh,Bella.
BELLA C'est la vie... Still um we're lucky in lots of ways, but... Surely thats worth a brownie.

INTRUSIVE /t

F) Listen and find the instance of intrusive /tin the fourth extract.

MAX Well, I don't know. Look at William. Very unsuccessful professionally. Divorced. Used to
be handsome, now kind of squidgy around the edges -- and absolutely certain never to hear from
Anna again after she's heard that his nickname at school was Floppy.
WILLIAM You did! I cant believe it, you did! Thanks very much, thank you. Well, at least I get
the last brownie
MAX I think so, yes.

G) After listening to Annas arguments to win the brownie, this is what Max and William say:

Why do they react this way?

H) Eventually its William who eats the last brownie. Do you agree with the decision? Who (if
any other) should receive the brownie?

I) In groups of 6 roleplay the scene.

MAX Nah!!! Nice try, gorgeous -- but you don't fool anyone.
WILLIAM Pathetic effort to hog the brownie!

58

Billy Elliot - The Audition

Comprehension questions
1. What does Billy say he likes about ballet?
2. What do they ask Billys father?
3. What does Billy feel when he dances?

1. - kon ]u Iel os wai ]u ls:sI bikein inIrosIid in o blei
2. - dounI nou } dosI wbz}
3. - wel} woz or eni poIik]olo} poIik]olo spekI ov o blei oI ko:I ]or indinei]n
4. - o do:nsiq
5. - hi do:nsiz o:l o Iain} evri naiI} o:lIo sku:l
6. - nisIor elioI} o: ]u: o ln ov o blei
7. - ai wodnI igzkIli sei ai woz on eksps:I
8. - ]u du: riolaiz oI o:l p]u:pilz} p]u:polz nosI oIein o haiosI sIndodz} nbI dosI in
9. blei boI in eor o:donori kodenik ws:k} noo I]aild kon soksi:d wiaoI o htndrid
10. posenI sopo:I ov o lnli
11. - ]u o: konpli:Ili bihaind bili
12. - ]es} ol ko:s
13. - do ]u wbnI Iu o:sk os eni kwesI]onz
14. - noo} nbI rioli
15. - in I keis} wil leI]u nou in d]u: ko:s} dtsI wtn lo:sI kwesI]on} bili} kn ai o:sk ]u
16. bili}wbI doz iI li:l laik wen ]o: do:nsiq}

Find 1 example of the following processes, unless stated in brackets
. Devoicing: __________________
. Aspiration: __________________
. Dentalization (2): __________________ ___________________
. Release Masking (2): __________________ __________________
. Linking (2): __________________ ___________________
. Nasalization: __________________
. Nasal release: __________________
. Pre-fortis clipping: __________________
. Lateral release (2): __________________ ___________________
. Gemination: __________________
. Omission of the onset: __________________
. Progressive assimilation of place (3): _______ _________ ________
. Coalescent assimilation: __________________
. Regressive assimilation of voice: __________________
Score: ../20
59

Parts of speech differences signaled by word stress pattern

With the information from the chart

NOUN VERB (latin origin)
. Conduct
. Insert
. Record
. Conduct
. Insert
. Record

Careful! This is not always the case: e.g: damage (as a verb and a noun); control (idem)

(Germanic) NOUN VERB
. Overcharge
. Overlap
. Overcharge
. Overlap

Nouns: the strong stress goes on the prefix Verbs: the stem carries the strong stress.

Determine the stress pattern and pronunciation of each underlined word in the
passage below

THE GENERATION GAP

Sometimes there is a conflict of interest between parents and teenagers. Young people
feel the need to rebel, to become separate individuals in their own right. Parents often
feel such conduct is not appropriate, especially when their sons or daughters isolate
themselves from the family or when they insult their elders. Young people advocate
that they be permitted to set their own limits and not be obligated to follow their
parents' "rigid" ideas. However, most parents still prefer to exercise some control over
their children until they graduate from high school. Perhaps children should feel
fortunate to have parents who are willing to guide their offspring at the risk of losing
their affection.
60

Complex word stress
11

Complex words are of two major types:
i) words made from a stem (basic word form) with the addition of an affix (either
prefixes or suffixes), and
ii) compound words, which are made of two (or occasionally more) independent
English words.

i.a) Suffixes and stress

1. Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves

-ade escapade
-ee refugee
-eer mountaineer
-ese Portuguese
-ette cigarette
-esque picturesque
-ation examination

2. Suffixes that do not affect stress placement

-able comfort - comfortable
-age anchor - anchorage
-al refuse refusal
-ard drunk - drunkard
-ance
-ence

appear appearance
exist existence

-en wide widen
-er (adj. or n.) big bigger ; lead - leader
-ess lion - lioness
-est big biggest
-ful (adj.)
12
wonder wonderful
-ing amaze amazing

11
Adapted from Cruttenden, A.(1997) The Word, Chapter 10 in Gimsons Pronunciation of English. Great
Britain, Arnold Int and Roach, P.(2000) Complex Word Stress, Chapter 11 in English Phonetics and
Phonology. UK, CUP
12
-ful (noun) mouthful, spoonful
61

-ish(adj.)
13
devil devilish
-ism alcohol alcoholism
-ist separate - separatist
-ize circular circularize
-like bird birdlike
-less power powerless
-ly (adv.) hurried hurriedly
-ment (noun)
14
punish punishment
-ness yellow yellowness
-ous poison poisonous
-fy glory glorify
-wise other otherwise
-y (adj. or noun) fun funny
-y (or -ie) e.g.
-ary
-ery
-ory
-cy
-acy
-ty

aunt auntie (infml.)
custom - customary
pot pottery
explanation explanatory
bankrupt - bankruptcy
private privacy
difficult - difficulty

3. Suffixes that influence stress in the stem
-ate (verb)
15
Operate
-eous advantage - advantageous
-graphy photo - photography
-al medicine - medicinal
-ic climate climatic
-ion perfect perfection
-ious injure injurious
-ity tranquil tranquillity
-ive reflex reflexive

13
This is the rule for adjectives, verbs with stem of more than one syllable always have the stress on the
syllable immediately preceding -ish, e.g. replenish, demolish
14
-ment (verb) experiment, compliment Exceptions: coment, lament, torment, ferment
15
-ate (adj.) separate, accurate, moderate
62

When the suffixes -ance (-ence), -ant, -ary are attached to single-syllables stems,
the stress is almost always placed on the stem.
When the stem has more than two syllables, the stress is on one of the syllables in the
stem. If the final syllable of the stem is strong, that syllable receives the stress. Otherwise
the syllable before the last one receives the stress.

-ance importance vs. inheritance
-ant important vs. customary
-ary centenary vs. military

i.b) Prefixes and stress

Prefixes applied to free stems do not generally affect stress placement.

de- defoliate
dis- disagree
in- incorrect
il- illegal
im- immature
ir- irreverent
mal- malfunction
mis- misunderstood
pseudo- pseudoscientific
re- redesign
sub- substandard
un- unnecessary

63

ii) Compound words

1. Compounds functioning as nouns
`guidebook, `shopping centre, `bulls eyes, `windsurf, `pickpocket, `shoplifting, `burn-
out, `check-in
Exceptions: apple `pie, chocolate `biscuit, Christmas `pudding, London `Road (cf.
Òxford Street), acid `rain, junk `food, fifty p. `change, bay `window, Channel `ferry,
kitchen `sink, morning `paper, office `party, trade ùnion

2. Compounds functioning as adjectives and verbs
a. adjectives: `seasick, `carefree, `sunlit
but sky-`blue, stone-`dead, tax-`free, stone-`deaf, easy-`going
b. verbs: `babysit, `headhunt, `sidetrack
but out`number, over`sleep, under`go

3. Pseudo-compounds
homo`phobic, `microwave, `telegram, àntithesis, `circumflex, ka`leidoscope, `prototype

Variation in the accentual patterns of words
thir`teen but thirteen `pence
West`minster but Westminster Àbbey
full`grown but fullgrown `man
after`noon but afternoon `tea

Vowel # 1 Prefixes, suffixes and endings

de- Dehumanize
re- Remake
pre- pre-judge
-ee Employee
-ice caprice , police
-ine machine, rutine
-ique unique, antique, oblique

Vowel # 2 or Schwa? - on non-final unaccented syllables

-ity Quality
-itive Positive
-ily Happily
64

-ate(adj. or n.)
16
fortunate, chocolate
-ible Possible
-em Problem
-ess Useless
-ace Palace
-age Manage
/L,g,lj,d/ + -et Pocket
-let; -ret bracelet; claret
be-
17
begin, between, become
de- deposit, deny, device
se- sedition, select

Schwa Endings

-am
-em
-om
-um

madam
problem
custom
vacum

-some handsome
-ture furniture, future, temperature
-us
circus

16
-ate (verb) evaluate, congratulate, separate
17
But believe, belong, behave
65

Listening and speaking activities

I . EFL teachers
18

Why do you think people become teachers of English?
What do you think might be the good things and the bad things about the job?
Why are you studying English?

You are going to hear an extract from an interview with two EFL teachers, Ben and Paul.
Answer the following questions

1. What made each of them join the profession?
2. What careers had Ben had before taking up teaching?
In what ways were they unsatisfactory?
3. What does Ben like about his work?
4. What difference does Ben see between the work of state school teachers and teachers of EFL?
5. Why does he prefer EFL teachers to most of the people he worked with before?
6. What is the important difference between the school where he works and the majority of
language schools?
7. In what way does he hope English language schools might change in the future?
8. In what way are Paul and Ben critical of EFL teachers?
9. What does Paul like about his work?

II. Monologue 2: Questions
19

Listen to the monologue and then answer the questions:

1. In what place is the speaker talking?
2. Who is she talking to?
3. Which three single words help you particularly to know who she is talking to?
4. What does the speaker want from the listener?
5. How has the listener reacted?
6. Only . each night, you understand. Fill in the blank.
7. And the funny thing was . What was funny? Why?
8. What did she have in her arms and legs?
9. Who does the pronoun he refer to?
10. What is out there?
11. Who are out there?
12. In a few sentences, describe the speakers reaction to the listeners decision.

18
Taken from Nexus Advanced
19
Taken from Mortimer, C. (1986) Dramatic Monologues for Listening Comprehension. Great Britain: CUP
66

Speaking and discussion activities

I In pairs, prepare short conversations based on some of these situations.
20

1. A man is trying to persuade a woman that he seriously wants to marry her.
Shes not so sure.
2. Two people are having an argument after getting lost.
3. A parent is talking to their teenage child, who is about to go on holiday alone
or with friends for the first time.
4. A couple of friends are sharing a juicy piece of gossip about someone they both
know well.
5. An employer is accusing an employee of stealing some money.

II Are you telling the truth?
In turns choose a topic to talk about to your partner for 2 minutes. Then, your partner
must decide if youre telling the truth or if its a blatant lie!

Im going to tell you about

1. a very good/bad experience I once had at school
2. a very good/bad meal I once cooked
3. the day I slept in quite a strange place
4. something silly I do when Im alone
5. something unusual I do when I have the time
6. the craziest piece of news Ive ever heard
7. a very good/bad experience I once had on holiday
8. a time when I was a witness to a crime
9. a time when I took part in a competition
10. one of the silliest quarrels Ive ever had
11. one of the most interesting conversations Ive ever had
12. something I used to do when I was a child
13. a time I overslept and (nearly) missed something important

20
Taken from Cutting Edge Upper-Intermediate
67

III What do you do when
21

1. You cant get to sleep?
2. Youre stuck in heavy traffic?
3. Youre at a party where you dont know anyone apart from your hosts?
4. Somebody pushes in front of you in a queue?
5. Someone is very rude to you?
6. Youre told a joke which you dont understand?
7. You want to cry during a sad scene in a film?
8. Youre late for an appointment?
9. You see someone hitting an animal?
10. A stranger smiles at you?

IV What kind of person are you?
22

In pairs discuss your answers to the 10 questions in as much detail as possible. Dont
limit yourself to the most obvious, straightaway meaning of the options, how else could
they be understood?

1. Are you a tea person or a coffee person?
2. Are you a morning person or an evening person?
3. Are you an earth person or a fire person?
4. Are you a mountain person or a valley person?
5. Are you a jungle person or a city person?
6. Are you an indoor person or an outdoor person?
7. Are you a garden person or a forest person?
8. Are you a diary person or a knotted handkerchief person?
9. Are you a straight line person or a loops-and-curves person?
10. Are you a sight person or a sound person?

21
Taken from Discussions A-Z Intermediate. 1997,CUP
22
Taken from Classroom Dynamics
68

V Themes & questions
23

GETTING DRESSED
When you get dressed in the morning:
1. Is the order in which you put your clothes important to you?
2. Do you usually dress in your bedroom, in the bathroom, or in some other place?
3. Do you choose what to wear in the morning or the previous day?
4. Do you dress before breakfast or after?
THE TELEPHONE
1. Where do you make most of your telephone calls?
2. Do you have a preferred way of standing/sitting when on the phone?
3. Do you make or recieve most of your calls?
4. At the end of a telephone call, is it usually you or the other person who ends the call?
5. What would be the average length of your telephone calls?
6. Are there people whom you prefer to talk on the phone rather than face to face?
DELAYING
1. Do you generally arrive early/just on time/a bit late/ half an hour late for a film?
2. Which regular tasks do you generally delay doing?
3. Who is the worst delayer amon your family and friends? Why?
4. How do you feel if a train/bus is delayed?
5. When was the last time you kept someone waiting? What happened?
6. When was the last time someone kept you waiting? What happened?

TTE--TTE
When you are sitting and talking with one other person:
1. Do you prefer to sit next to them, or face to face?
2. Do you generally sit forward in the chair, or lean back?
3. How close to your partner do you like to sit? Does this vary according to whom you are talking
to?
4. Do you like to have something in your hands (e.g. a pen, a cup, a bracelet, a cigarette) to play with
while talking?

HANDS
1. When do you keep your hands in your pockets? While standing doing nothing? While walking?
While sitting?
2. In English we say, To know something as well as the back of ones hand. Close your eyes and
describe the back of your hand.
3. Do you ever try to tell the age of someone from their hands?
4. How do you clap?
5. Are there ways in which you would like to change your hands?
6. Can you do any special trick with your hands, e.g. click the joints, move all the fingers
independently, bend your thumb back to touch your wrist?

23
Taken from The Q Book
69

Monologue 2
24

1

5

10

15

Well, as I say, I can fully understand that when your colleague is

away on holiday, someone has to take his place, and of course Im

very glad that you were able to spare the time to see me. After all,

looking after your own practice must be difficult enough, especially

with all this sickness about. And you still have about six out there,

after me, so I mustnt keep you. But when you say you dont think I

should take them anymore and youre not going to prescribe any

more - well, what am I supposed to do? Though I suppose you

could be right. You may very well be right, in fact. Certainly, last

night - well, actually I was watching television. And the funny thing

was, it was my favourite programme, too. Anyway, the next thing I

knew, I had pins and needles in my arms and legs, and I felt stiff

and cold. The programme had finished, of course-long ago - it was

half past three, would you believe it? So,as I say,you may be quite

right- perhaps I dont need them. But, well, Ive sort of got used to

them, you see- though only one each night, you understand. And,

anyway, what will he say when he gets back?

24
Mortimer, C. (1986) Dramatic Monologues for Listening Comprehension. Great Britain: CUP
70

1. Read the conversation and complete the gaps with phrases using
auxiliaries.

LIZ: I suppose youve heard the latest ... about Ian and Patsty?
KATE: No, what happened?
LIZ: Oh, didnt you hear? Theyve split up.
KATE: (a) ...........................?
LIZ: Yeah, I thought everybody knew.
KATE: Hmm, well, I suppose its not really surprising, (b) ...............?
I mean, they never really seemed to have that much in common.
LIZ: How do you mean?
KATE: Well, their interests for a start: hes really into his computers and
computer games and all that kind of stuff, but she (c) ............... .
She prefers something a bit livelier, going out to clubs and
things, having a good time.
LIZ: Yes, she (d) ............... like going out more than him, thats true.
KATE: Has she told you anything about it?
LIZ: Yes, (e) ............... . She phoned me on Friday. It seems that it all
came to a bit of a crisis when ...

2. Listen to ten short convesations. Underline the phrase which would
complete each conversation logically.

1. (a) I do believe you.
(b) I did believe you.
(c) I will belive you.
2. (a) Yes, I am!
(b) Yes, I will!
(c) Yes, I do!
3. (a) dont they?
(b) havent they?
(c) werent they?
4. (a) I wont.
(b) I dont.
(c) Im not.
5. (a) I did tell you!
(b) I am telling you!
(c) I will tell you!

6. (a) Do you?
(b) Are you?
(c) Did you?
7. (a) Of course I will!
(b) Of course I do!
(c) Of course I am!
8. (a) Have they?
(b) Do they?
(c) Are they?
9. (a) Im not.
(b) I wasnt.
(c) I was.
10. (a) wasnt it, darling?
(b) isnt it, darling?
(c) hasnt it, darling?

3. Work in pairs. Prepare similar short convesations based on some of these
situations. Include at least three examples of auxiliaries.
A man is trying to persuade a woman that he seriously wants to marry her. Shes not so
sure.
Two people are having an argument after getting lost.
A mother is talking to one of her children who is about to go on holiday without her for the
first time.
A really good piece of gossip about your friends love life.
An employer is accusing an employee of stealing some money.
While my guitar gently weeps
The Beatles

71

I look at you all, see the love ______________ thats sleeping
while my guitar gently weeps.
I look at the ______________ and I see it needs _______________,
Still my guitar gently weeps.

I dont know why nobody told you
how to unfold your love.
I dont know how someone controlled you,
They___________________ and sold you.

I look at the_______________ and I notice its ________________
while my guitar gently weeps.
With every mistake we must surely be __________________,
still my guitar gently weeps.

I dont know how you were ________________,
You were ______________, too.
I dont know how you were_________________,
No one ________________ you.

I look from the wings at the play you are _________________
While my guitar gently weeps,
As Im sitting here doing nothing but____________,
Still my guitar gently weeps.
72

Morning Love Sonnet XXVII by Neruda (Read by Sting)

1. Naked you are simple as one of your hands,
2. smooth, earthy, small, transparent, round.
3. You have moonlines, apple pathways,
4. Naked you are slender as a naked grain of wheat.

5. Naked you are blue as the night in Cuba,
6. You have vines and stars in your hair;
7. Naked you are spacious and yellow
8. As summer in a golden church.

9. Naked you are tiny as one of your nails,
10. Curved, subtle, rosy, till the day is born
11. And you withdraw to the underground world

12. As if down a long tunnel of clothing and of chores,
13. your clear light dims, gets dressed, drops its leaves,
14. And becomes a naked hand again.

Analyze the poem and decide if the following statements are TRUE or FALSE. Be ready to
account for your answers. Then listen to it on tape and check.

1. Theres omission of the onset on line 1
2. There might be non-audible releas on line 2
3. Theres aspiration on line 2
4. Theres devoicing of an approximant on line 4
5. Theres devoicing on line 5
6. Theres aspiration on line 6
7. Theres a syllabic contoid on line 8
8. Theres nasal release on line 8
9. Theres lateral release on line 10
10. Theres release masking on line 12
11. There are no cases of gemination on the poem
12. A lateral is devoiced in the last stanza
73

Scene: The last brownie

MAX
Having you here, Anna, firmly establishes what I've long suspected that we
really are the most desperate hot of under-achievers.

BERNIE
Shame!

MAX
I'm not saying it's a bad thing, in fact, I think it's something we should take
pride in. I'm going to give the last brownie as a prize to the saddest act
here.

WILLIAM
Bernie.

BERNIE
Well, obviously it's me, isn't it --I work in the City in a job I don't
understand and everyone keeps getting promoted above me. I haven't had a
girlfriends since... puberty and, well, the long and short of it is, nobody
fancies me, and if these cheeks get any chubbier, they never will.

HONEY
Nonsense. I fancy you. Or I did before you got so far.

MAX
You see -- and unless I'm much mistaken, your job still pays you rather a lot
of money, while Honey here, she earns nothing flogging her guts out at London's
seediest record store.

HONEY
Yes. And I don't have hair -- I've got feathers, and I've got funny goggly
eyes, and I'm attracted to cruel men and ... no one'll ever marry me because my
boosies have actually started shrinking.

MAX
You see -- incredibly sad.

BELLA
On the other hand, her best friend is Anna Scott.

HONEY
That's true, I can't deny it. She needs me, what can I say?

BELLA
And most of her limbs work. Whereas I'm stuck in its thing day and night, in a
house full of ramps. And to add insult to serious injury -- I've totally given
up smoking, my favourite thing, and the truth is... we can't have a baby.

WILLIAM
Bella.

BERNIE
No. Not true...
74

BELLA
C'est la vie... We're lucky in lots of ways, but... Surely it's worth a
brownie.

MAX
Well, I don't know. Look at William. Very unsuccessful professionally.
Divorced. Used to be handsome, now kind of squidgy around the edges -- and
absolutely certain never to hear from Anna again after she's heard that his
nickname at school was Floppy.

WILLIAM
So I get the brownie?

MAX
I think you do, yes.

ANNA
Wait a minute. What about me?

MAX
I'm sorry? You think you deserve the brownie?

ANNA
Well... a shot at it.

WILLIAM
You'll have to prove it. This is a great brownie and I'm going to fight for
it. State your claim.

ANNA
Well, I've been on a diet since I was nineteen, which means basically I've been
hungry for a decade. I've had a sequence of not nice boyfriends one of whom
hit me: and every time my heart gets broken it gets splashed across the
newspapers as entertainment. Meantime, it cost millions to get me looking like
this...

HONEY
Really?

ANNA
Really -- and one day, not long from now...my looks will go, they'll find out I
can't act and I'll become a sad middle-aged woman who looks a bit like someone
who was famous for a while.

Silence... they all look at her... then.

MAX
Nah!!! Nice try, gorgeous -- but you don't fool anyone.

WILLIAM
Pathetic effort to hog the brownie.

75

Dead man walking
GROUPS A & B
Dead Man Walking explores the relationship between Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn)- a convicted
rapist/murderer on death row- and his spiritual advisor, Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon).
You are going to watch part of their second encounter. Answer the following questions
1. What are Matthews memories about his father?
2. Why do they talk about `luck and what do they say about it?
3. Why does Sister Helen say Ìm not here for your amusement, Matthew. Show some
respect?
4. Why is Matthews mother mentioned in the conversation?

GROUP A
A - Dictation: Listen to the tape and copy the dialogue in phonetic script.
B - Transcribe the last part of the dialogue.
S: l went to see your mother. She said she'd appear at the pardon board
hearing...if you want her to.
M: l like being alone with you. You're looking real good to me.
S: Look at you. Death is breathing down your neck... and you're playing your
little-man-on-the-make games. l'm not here for your amusement, Matthew. Show
some respect.
M: Why? Because you're a nun? and you wear a little cross?
S: Because l'm a person. Every person deserves respect. What's the answer?
What'll it be with your mama?
C- Check exercises A and B with the key at the end of all the activities

D- Practice reading the dialogue on your own. Then, work in pairs and take turns to read
both roles with your partner.
76

GROUP B
You are going to work with information about the death penalty in America, taken from the
Death Penalty I nformation Center site (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org)
1. Read the first part of the report and underline all the instances you can find of cases
including vowels #3, #11 and #12. Then, write the examples in the corresponding
column.
/e/ /+:/ /o/

The Death Penalty: Public Support
Support for the death penalty has fluctuated throughout
the century. According to Gallup surveys, in 1936 61%
of Americans favored the death penalty for persons
convicted of murder. Support reached an all-time low of
42% in 1966. Throughout the 70s and 80s, the
percentage of Americans in favor of the death penalty
increased steadily, culminating in an 80% approval
rating in 1994. A May 2004 Gallup Poll found that a
growing number of Americans support a sentence of life
without parole rather than the death penalty for those
convicted of murder.
ORAL PRACTISE
a. Practice reading the chart of examples on your own.
b. When you feel ready, read it to your partner. Then listen to him or her doing the
same. Correct yourselves when necessary.
c. Take the cases in context: on your own, go back to the text and read the whole
sentence where the examples are included.
d. Record yourself on your tape. Listen to yourself and record the sentences again if
necessary, until you are happy with the result.
e. Work in pairs. Exchange tapes with your partner. Listen to your partners tape.
Take down his/her strong point and weak points. Give feedback to your partner and
listen to his/her feedback too.

77

2. Work with the next part of the report. How many words do you find in this fragment
that contain vowel #1? Underline them in the text and then, complete the table. And
vowel #2?

/i:/ /i/

The poll also revealed a growing skepticism that the death penalty deters crime, with 62% of
those polled saying that it is not a deterrent. These percentages are a dramatic shift from the
responses given to this same question in 1991, when 51% of Americans believed the death
penalty deterred crime and only 41% believed it did not. Only 55% of those polled responded
that they believed the death penalty is implemented fairly, down from 60% in 2003. When
not offered an alternative sentence, 71% supported the death penalty and 26% opposed. The
overall support is about the same as that reported in 2002, but down from the 80% support
in 1994. (Gallup Poll News Service, June 2, 2004). (See also, DPIC's report, Sentencing for
Life: American's Embrace Alternatives to the Death Penalty)
Provide examples of your own in order to have more or less the same number of instances in
each column.
Proceed as before to do the oral practice contrasting these two vowels.
3. Do the same kind of recognition work with `The Death Penalty Today this time with
vowels # 4, # 5 and # 10. Then, do the oral practice as well.

/u:/ /o/ /:/

The Death Penalty Today
In April 1999, the United Nations Human Rights Commission passed a resolution that calls on
countries which have not abolished the death penalty to restrict its use of the death penalty,
including not imposing it on juvenile offenders and limiting the number of offenses for which
it can be imposed. Ten countries, including the United States, China, Pakistan, Rwanda and
Sudan voted against the resolution. (New York Times, 4/29/99). Each year since 1997, the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights has passed a resolution calling on countries
that have not abolished the death penalty to establish a moratorium on executions. In April
2004, the resolution was co-sponsored by 76 UN member states. (Amnesty International,
2004).

78

In the United States numbers of death sentences are steadily declining from 300 in 1998 to
143 in 2003. Presently, more than half of the countries in the international community have
abolished the death penalty completely, de facto, or for ordinary crimes. However, over 78
countries retain the death penalty, including China, Iran, the United States, and Vietnam all
of which rank among the highest for international executions in 2003. (Amnesty
International, 2004)
4. Re read these fragments or phrases taken from the report shown above and underline the
instances that include vowels 6 and 7; 8 and 9. Then, put them in the correct column
a. Support for the death penalty has fluctuated throughout the century.
b. according to Gallup surveys
c. persons convicted of murder
d. an 80% approval rating in 1994.
e. the United Nations Human Rights Commission passed a resolution
f. countries which have not abolished the death penalty
g. the resolution was co-sponsored by 76 UN member states.
If there is a column with no examples, provide your own. Then, do the oral practice as well.
/u/ / u:/ /n/ /:/

GROUP A & B
In groups of 4, discuss the following questions
. How much luck was involved in your being here at University and in this class today?
. Discuss with your group the different punishments you know exist and your opinion about death
penalty.
Can you think of a different context in which a comment like this could be appropriate?
` l'm not here for your amusement. Show some respect

79

Dead man walking
Key to the exercises
Group A- Dictation
Speakers: /muju:/ /ststa belan/
m: mat dudi tuk mt tu a bu: wen at waz twelv/ an tauld mt ta ptk mat wtski/ a waz
a:l i:z bntlz btbatnd a bu:/ and at sed: atl tetk ut wan wt a prtti ta:ki nn tt/ a
qatz tn a bu: lu:It/ wi qnt draqk az ku:ts ut natt/ mat dudi waz a qud mun/
jeakrnpa/ bu:d wa:ka/ uts a wan tq at qnt Iram tm/ wa:ktq bundz/
s.b: /bau auld wa ju wen bi datd/
m: /Ia:ti:n/ wat u: ju a nan/
s: /at waz dra:n tu tt/ at qes/ uts a bu:d kwestjan tu u:nsa/ tts latk u:sktq ju: wa
jua a knnvtkt/
m: /bud lak/
s: /qud lak en/ at bud a lavtq Iumali / a lnt av sapa:t/ at qes at Ielt ablatdd ta qtv
sam aI tt buk/
m: daunt ju: mts buvtq a mun/ daunt ju: wnnt ta qet murtd/ Ia:l tn lav/ buv seks/
ju: daunt wnnt ta ta:k abaut tt/
s: wel/ at buv klaus Irendz/ men an wtmtn/ at buvnt tksptarianst sekjual tntimasi/
bat az aa wetz av bi:tq klaus/ ju: jeartq ja dri:mz/ ja a:tz/ ja Ii:ltqz/ uts bi:tq
tntimtt tu:/
m: wi:v qnt tntimasi ratt nau/ daunt wi/ ststa

Key to transcription

s: at went ta si: ja maa / ji: sed ji:d aptar at a pu:dan ba:d btartq / tI ju: wnnt a tu:/
m: at latk bi:tq alaun wt ju/ ju a luktq rtali qud ta mi/
s: luk at ju:/ de tz bri:tq daun ja nek / and jua plettq ja lttl mun nn a metk qetmz /
atm nnt bta Ia jar amu:zmant muju:/ jau sam rtspekt/
m: wat/ btkaz juar a nan/ andu wea a lttl krns/
s: btkaz atm a pa:sn/ evri pa:sn dtza:vz rtspekt/ wnts i: u:nsa/ wnt wtl tt bi:
wt ja mu:ma/ mamu:
80

Key to Group B - Ex.1
/e/ /+:/ /o/
Death -Penalty
Century- Steadily
Sentence
Surveys -Thirty-six
Persons-Murder
Support -according
Americans -Favoured
Percentage -Number
Sentence
Rather than the

Ex. 2

/i:/ /i/

Revealed These -Believed
2003
growing skepticism
Saying Deterrent- Percentages
dramatic shift- responses given
this - Americans
penalty deterred - only
62, 1991, 51, 41, 60, 71, 26
Responded - Implemented
Alternative -Service

Ex.3
/u:/ /o/ /:/
Passed
Half
International
Iran -Vietnam
Rank -Amnesty
Number - Hundred
Countries -among

Ex.4

/u/ / u:/ /n/ /:/
Throughout
Approval
United
Human
Resolution
Convicted
Abolished
Sponsored
Support
According
Nineteen ninety four

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