Diphthongs are formed by more than one vowel sounds put together. There are a lot of English words with diphthongs in them even if we can only see one vowel written in the words. Like many words in English, the best way to know how to pronounce the word is by hearing it or by…… Continue reading The diphthongs /aɪ/ / aʋ/
/ɔ:/ for door This sound is a long ‘o’ and it sounds a bit similar to the exclamation Spanish ‘oh’. In English words the sound is in: door, sure, shore (sea), paw (an animal’s foot),and boredom. The transcriptions of the words above are: /dɔ:/ /ʃɔ:/ /ʃɔ:/ / pɔ:/ /bɔ:dəm/ / ɜ:/ for bird This…… Continue reading /ɔ:/ for door & / ɜ:/ for bird
I have a friend who works as a receptionist (as many people on this island do), who one day complained about one of the worst moments she constantly finds herself in at work. ‘I have a problem at work that I just can’t seem to get right’ she said. ‘I don’t know what I say wrong,…… Continue reading Phonetics long vowel sounds VS short vowel sounds /i:/ /I/
Click for activity
This sound is a long ‘u’. In English words the sound is in: shoe, two, you, flue and new. The transcriptions of the words above are: /ʃu:/ /tu:/ /ju:/ /flu:/ /nju:/
This short sound is like Spanish ‘u’. Examples for this sound are in the words: book, look, foot, should. The transcription of these words are: /buk/ /luk/ /fut / /ʃud/
This short sound like the ‘o’ in Spanish . Examples for this sound are in the words: knot, not, cotton, shop. The transcription of these words are: /nɒt/ /nɒt/ /kɒtən/ ʃɒp/
This short sound is similar to the e in Spanish. Examples for this sound are in the words: men, umbrella, when. The transcription of these words are: /men/ /ʌm’brelə/ /wen/
Phonetics?!!! What the *!” does that mean? Teacher : Have you ever picked up a dictionary to look for the meaning of an English word? Yes, of course you have. What a silly question!!! Teacher: Have you ever noticed some funny scribbles on the right side of the word? Student: Yeah! What are they? Teacher: […]
This short sound is not in the Spanish language. It is the sound we can hear in words like English ‘up’. Examples for this sound are in the words: cut, hut, umbrella, cupboard and …here’s one I always tell my students off about ‘comfortable’ 😉 Phonetically these words would appear as: /kʌt/ /hʌt/ /ʌm’brelə/ /’kʌbəd/ […]
