1. Identify the sounds in the following words. How many sounds can you find in ea ch word?

Try and rewrite the words using the phonetic symbols. S.No. Word Phonetic symbol No. of sounds 1) added d d 4 2) project p r d k t 7 3) man m n 3 4) king k 3 5) duck d k 3 6) come k m 3 7) here h r 3 8) chocolate t k l t 6 9) comfortable k m f r t b l 11 10) environment n v a j r n m n t 12 11) technology t k n l d i 9 12) bear b r 3 13) computer k m p j u t r 9 14) English g l 6 15) Manager m n d r 7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. What do you understand by the term schwa? Explain what you have understood wi th the help of examples. In English, schwa is the most common vowel sound. It is a reduced vowel in many unstressed syllables, especially if syllabic consonants are not used: like the 'a' in about [ba t] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. How many sounds do we have in English? 44 sounds The sounds are organized into the following different groups: Short vowels Long vowels Diphthongs (double vowel sounds) Voiceless consonants Voiced consonants Other consonants -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. 'Put and Cut are spelt in a similar fashion but pronounced differently. Could you explain why? Words rhyme when their sounds are the same from the last stressed vowel sound to the end of the word. In single-syllable words it s easy to find rhymes. Cat, sat, hat, and fat all rh yme. There are some non-rhyming words, specifically about words you would expect to r

hyme, but do not. Example: Cut and Put These two words have some similar spelling but they are pronounced in a differen t way. Cut is pronounced as /kt/ Put is pronounced as /p t/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Could you explain connected speech? When we speak naturally we do not pronounce a word, stop, and then say the next word in the sentence. Fluent speech flows with a rhythm and the words bump into each other. To make speech flow smoothly the way we pronounce the end and beginn ing of some words can change depending on the sounds at the beginning and end of those words. These changes are described as features of connected speech. Sounds twinning (gemination) When a word ends in a consonant sound and the following word begins with the sam e consonant sound, we don t pronounce two sounds - both sounds are pronounced to gether as one. I m a bit tired We have a lot to do Tell me what to say She s slept for three hours I ve finished Sounds disappear (elision) When the sounds /t/ or /d/ occur between two consonant sounds, they will often d isappear completely from the pronunciation. I m going nex(t) week That was the wors(t) job I ever had! Jus(t) one person came to the party! I can (t) swim -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. Why does Who is sound as who(w)iz is connected speech? When one word ends with a vowel sound and the next word begins with a vowel, ano ther sound, a /w/ or /j/ can be added depending on the particular sounds to make a smooth transition. This is a type of linking (Vowel to Vowel Linking). Here, in this example, who ends with vowel sound and is begins with a vowel sound. S o, the sound /w/ is added to make a smooth transition. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. Why does Visit us sound as Visi tas ? When one word ends with a consonant sound and the next word begins with a vowel sound there is a smooth link between the two. This type is known as consonant to vowel linking. Here,

visit ends with consonant sound and us begins with a vowel sound. So, there is a smo oth link between these two words -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8. Based on the lessons you have accessed, write a brief note on what you have u nderstood about pronunciation in English. There are 26 letters in the English alphabet but there are many more sounds in t he English language. This means that the number of sounds in a word is not alway s the same as the number of letters. The word CAT has three letters and three sounds but the word CATCH has five letters but still only three sounds. If we write these words using sound symbols, we can see exactly how many sounds they have. CAT is written /k t/ CATCH is written /k / -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9. What is linking /r/? In standard British English the letter r after a vowel sound at the end of wor d is often not pronounced. However, when the following word begins with a vowel the /r/ sound is pronounced to make a smooth link. This is linking /r/. An Example is: ca(r) (no r in pronunciation) The car is here (r is pronounced and links to the following word) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10. What are voiceless and voiced sounds? Please explain this with the help of e xamples. In English, some consonants are voiced like /v/ and some are voiceless like /f/. You cant see the difference, you might be able to hear the difference, but you ca n definitely feel the difference. When making voiced sounds, throat vibrates When making voiceless sounds, its just air coming through the mouth. For Example, 1. Van and Fan 2. Pull and Bull 3. Tin and Din The following sounds are usually voiceless: p t k f The following sounds are usually voiced b d g v