Pronunciation – Chinese & Arabic Speakers

 Pronunciation – Chinese & Arabic Speakers

Basic pronunciation [Chinese Speakers]

1. /ð/ they / day – they will play badminton the day after tomorrow.
2. /æ / man/men – a group of men were running after a man.
3. /æ/ ran / run – I went for a run and ran into my tutor.
4. /æ/ cat / cart – the expensive car crashed into the cart.
5. /ɒ/ not / nought – do not add a couple of noughts on the price, that’s unfair
6. /ɒ/ God / good – If God is good, why is there so much starvation?
7. /ʊː/ fool / full – I made a fool of myself in a pub full of people.
8. /ʌ/ cup / cap – the man wearing the cap with the cup in his hand.
9. /b/ bill / pill – the bill for the pills was incredibly expensive.
10. /v/ van / fan – our new van has broken down. I think it’s the fan.
11. /v/ vet / wet – after treating the cows in the field the vet was really wet.
12. /i:/ seat / sit – can you take a seat there and sit down for a while.
13. /θ/ thin / sin – I think it’s a sin to be too thin.
14. /h/ hot / lock – it’s too hot in here. Can you unlock the window?
15. /ð/ clothe / close – can you close the curtains? I’m not wearing enough clothes.
16. /d/ made / mate – I made a new mate in the pub last night.
17. /z/ rise / rice – I was eating rice while watching the sunrise this morning.
18. /tʃ/ cherry / sherry – have you ever tried cherry-flavoured sherry?
19. /ŋ/ thing / think – Here is a thing to think about. Can tortoises swim?
20. /l/ light / right – I don’t think that light is right for this room.
21. /θ/ thin / tin – That tin is much too thin for that roof.
22. /ʒ/ usually – this usually happens two to three times a week.
23. /ʒi:/ technology – advances in technology have created many benefits for society.
24. /s/ advantages / positives – there are many advantages and positives to studying at university

Basic pronunciation [Arabic Speakers]

1. /ʌ/ cup / cap – the man wearing the cap with the cup in his hand.
2. /ɪ/ sit / set – if you sit there, I’ll set you up with a test.
3. /əʊ/ note / not – I did not get the note you sent me.
4. /ɔɪ/ boy / ball – Did you see the handsome ball boy in the tennis match?
5. /ɔɪ/ buy / boy – I’d like to buy a ball for my boy.
6. /eɪ/ late / let – I’ll let you off for being late this time only.
7. /ɪə/ beer / bear – I went to the circus and saw a bear drinking beer.
8. /ɜ:/ bird / bored – Have you ever seen a bored bird?
9. /ʌ/ but / bet – The horse won the race but I didn’t bet on it.
10. /ɔ:/ bought / boat – My nephew has just bought a luxurious boat.
11. /ɔ:/ nought / note – she’s written a cheque to you with four noughts on it.
12. /e/ set / sat – after I sat down, I set to work on my essay.
13. /e/ clothe / close – can you close the curtains? I’m not wearing enough clothes.
14. /ŋ/ thing / think – Here is a thing to think about. Can tortoises swim?
15. /dʒ/ jerry / sherry – did you see Jerry drinking the sherry at the party last night?
16. /dʒ/ age / Asia – what is the legal age to drink alcohol in Asia?
17. /əʊ/ bone / born – I was bone with a broken bone in my arm
18. /θ/ thin/ sin – I think it’s a sin to be too thin.
19. /θ/ pit/ bit – I fell into a pit and lost a bit of my bag.
20. /v/ van / fan– our new van has broken down. I think it’s the fan.
21. /θ/ flour / phone – I need to phone up the baker to order some flour.
22. /əʊ/ fire / liar – the fire was caused by a liar.
23. /ʊə/ tour – I’d love to take a tour of London on an open-top double decker.
24. /tʃ/ watch / what – you should watch what you eat.
25. /b/ benefits– the potential benefits are particularly beneficial for all.

Conversation Practice [Chinese & Arabic Speakers]

/L/ A guided tour commentary

Ladies and gentlemen, on your left you will see Lumley Castle. This belongs to Lord and Lady Lumley, who live here with their family. All the land on the left of the road belongs to the Lumley’s. They have a famous collection of wild animals, including lions, so please do not leave the coach until we are safely inside the carpark. We are lucky; Lord Lumley is allowing us to leave the grounds and go inside this beautiful stately home. Most people can only look at the castle from the outside.

/L/ + /R/+ /n/ Opera

The Leeds Opera company has just produced an opera by the Italian composer Carino. Carino wrote the opera in 1803, and it was performed in Rome and London. Then it was lost. It has only recently been found, last year, locked in drawer in an old London library.

/R/ PronunciationThe Regency Restaurant / The Royal Free Hotel / The Electricity Company / The Technological Technology Group / Radio rentals / Refrigerator Retailers

/B/ + /P/ + /V/ Bob’s Worried

Bob is very worried about his friends. Barbara weighs 70 kilos and is very unfit. Ben has a violent temper and he’s always in trouble. Vera’s job is boring, and she always feels tired. And he never sees Wendy because she is so busy.

/B/ + /P/ + /V/ Birthday

A: What can I give my brother for his birthday?

B: What does he do for a living?

A: He’s a van driver.

B: Give him some driving gloves.

A: He doesn’t wear gloves when he drives, not even in the winter.

B: What’s his hobby?

A: When it’s warm, he swims. When it’s colder he plays golf.

B: Give him a set of golf clubs.

A: He’s already got a bag of full clubs. His bag is so heavy he can hardly lift it.

Consonant Clusters

Last Sunday, I had a strange dream. I was out walking along the street when I came across a small square, with a fountain. There was a big church and a bride was standing outside in a beautiful wedding dress. Suddenly there was a loud cry from the building opposite and I saw the bridegroom jump from the fifth floor into the fountain. Then I woke up.

She was walking over the bridge which came into a small street. A police officer was standing outside a large cottage next to a hair salon called ‘Hair care by Claire’. On the roof of the smaller building opposite there was a variety of chimneys that were smoking.

Source: http://www.shiporsheep.com/

Pronunciation Phonemic Chart [English Sounds]

Pronunciation Practice [fun]

1. Pronunciation /prəˌnʌn .siˈeɪ.ʃən/   Pronounce /prəˈnaʊns/
   • Pronunciation /prəˌnʌnt .siˈeɪ.ʃən/
   • Comfortable /ˈkʌmp .fə.tə.bl ̩/
   • Recipe /ˈres.ɪ.pi/
   • Analysis /əˈnæl.ə.sɪs/
   • Aisle /aɪl/
   • Ballet /ˈbæl.eɪ/
   • Catastrophe / Catastrophic /kəˈtæs.trə.fi/ & /ˌkæt.əˈstrɒf.ɪk/
   • Edinburgh /ˈɛdnˌbɜrə/
   • Coalition /kəʊ.əˈlɪʃ.ən/
   • Facetious /fəˈsiː.ʃəs/
   • Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (from Disney’s Mary Poppins) /ˌsupərˌkæləˌfrædʒəˌlɪstɪkˌɛkspiˌælɪˈdoʊʃəs/

    

   Pronunciation in context

   1. English pronunciation is notoriously difficult.
   2. A comfortable sofa. / They’re not fabulously rich or anything, but they’re quite comfortable.
   3. You’ll need a can of tuna for this recipe. / All those children unsupervised sounds to me like a recipe for disaster.
   4. Sophisticated statistical analysis was employed to obtain these results.
   5. Would you like an aisle seat or would you prefer to be by the window? / You’ll find the shampoo and the soap in the fourth aisle from the entrance.
   6. Does she study classical ballet or modern ballet?
   7. They were warned of the ecological catastrophe to come.
   8. The capital city of Scotland, is the cosmopolitan city of Edinburgh
   9. By forming a coalition, the rebels and the opposition parties defeated the government.
   10. His facetious comment was considered as inappropriate.

Pronunciation Practice [Academic]

1. Critically examine /ˈkrɪt.ɪ.kəl.i/ /ɪgˈzæm.ɪn/
2. Assumptions /əˈsʌmp .ʃən/
3. Primary, secondary and tertiary level /ˈtɜrʃəri/
4. Faculties /ˈfæk.əl.ti/
5. Modules /ˈmɒd.juːl/
6. Literature /ˈlɪt.ər.ɪ.tʃər/
7. Opportunity /ɒp.əˈtjuː.nə.ti/
8. Synthesise /ˈsɪn.θə.saɪz/
9. Applied Linguistics /lɪŋˈgwɪs.tɪks/
10. Constituted /ˈkɒn.stɪ.tjuːt/
11. Evidence /ˈev.ɪ.dənt s/
12. Ironic /aɪ ˈrɒn.ɪk/
13. Envy /ˈen.vi/
14. Scientific method /saɪənˈtɪf.ɪk/
15. Necessity /nəˈses.ɪ.ti/
16. Audience /ˈɔː.di.ənt s/
17. Essential /ɪˈsen.t ʃəl/
18. Discipline /ˈdɪs.ə.plɪn/

Pronunciation in context

1. The report critically examines the safety standards at the factory
2. These calculations are based on the assumption that prices will continue to rise.
3. Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education.
4. Take you finished dissertation to the faculty of Science.
5. The full computer program consists of several modules which should be individually tested before being integrated into the literature.
6. The exhibition is a unique opportunity to study her later work.
7. Synthesise your information research and include reliable sources as evidence.
8. Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems.
9. Many UK science academics envy the research grants given to NASA.
10. This latest defeat constitutes a major setback for the government.
11. It is ironic that although many products are now cheaper to make, fewer people can afford to buy them.
12. It is imperative to adopt a more scientific method in the future.
13. The institution will employ extra staff to meet demand as the necessity arises.
14. The lectures are translated for international audiences all over the world.
15. It is essential (that) our prices remain competitive in this particular discipline.

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