CICLO DE NIVELACIÓN

ENGLISH
PRONUNCIATION

Gimenez, Florencia
Aguirre Sotelo, Evangelina
Bombelli, Griselda
Canavosio, Andrea
Capell, Martín
Díaz, Josefina
Girardotto, Verónica
Soler, Lidia
Benditkis, Luciana

Facultad de Lenguas, UNC.

 2019
 INDEX

A word from the authors ..................................................................................... iii

SBE and IPA ...................................................................................................... iv
Chapter 1: Basic Concepts .............................................................................. 1
I. Phonemes and Phonemic Symbols .................................................. 1
II. Perception and Production Skills ..................................................... 2
Chapter 2: The Speech Production Mechanism ............................................ 4
Chapter 3: The English Vowels ....................................................................... 5
I. Pure vowels ...................................................................................... 5
 ........................................................................................................ 7

vs.  .............................................................................................. 9

vs.  ........................................................................................... 12

vs.  ........................................................................................... 15

vs.  .......................................................................................... 17

vs.  ........................................................................................... 19

vs.  .......................................................................................... 22

II. Diphthongs .................................................................................... 24

Vowels: Integration Exercises............................................................ 26
Chapter 4: The English Consonants ............................................................. 28
Plosives () ....................................................... 29

Fricatives ( ......................................... 31

Fricative: glottal () .......................................................................... 34

Integration: Plosives and Fricatives ................................................... 36

Affricates () ........................................................................... 37

Nasals () .......................................................................... 39

Approximant () ............................................................................... 40

Lateral )......................................................................................... 40

The English Semivowels ()...................................................... 41

i
Integration ....................................................................................................... 43
Appendix: Mock Tests ................................................................................... 45
References ...................................................................................................... 48
Answer key ..................................................................................................... 50

ii
 A Word from the Authors
This material has been designed for the pronunciation lessons given at the
Introductory Course of the English programs at the School of Languages. Its
purpose is to help students develop the basic skills and knowledge they need in
order to be successful first-year students. Thus, the book will provide the beginner
with brief theory and explanations, practice exercises, and a handy reference
when it comes to reviewing basic information about phonemes, as well as
examples of words where phonemes appear.

We must also clarify that, although theoretical explanations are provided in this
book, they are here simply to help students understand the basics of
pronunciation and to serve as reference for more advanced courses. However,
they are not the essence or main purpose of this book, which is of a more practical
nature.

The course aims at developing your perception, recognition, and controlled

production skills. You are also expected to learn the phonemic symbols that
represent the English sounds. It is with these objectives in mind that this book
offers different types of challenging exercises that provide training, variety and,
hopefully, even fun.

Finally, students are strongly encouraged to become familiar with, and

develop, the following strategies1:

 Using a monolingual dictionary

 Resorting to the visual representation of sounds
 Associating symbol and sound
 Giving and receiving feedback from peers
 Pronunciation self-awareness
 Pronunciation self-assessment
 Self-confidence
 Self-monitoring

1 This list has been taken from Giménez et al. (2013).

iii
 SBE and IPA
The accent taken as a model in this course is Standard British English
(SBE). Standard British English2 is by no means the most common accent
produced by native English speakers. However, as Cruttenden (2008) notes3, it
is a most appropriate variety to aim at because it is geographically neutral, and
“bearing in mind that any target model aimed at by foreign learners is almost
certain to be diluted by their own regional characteristics, it seems appropriate
that at least the initial target should be regionally largely neutral” (p. 298).

The symbols used to represent the pronunciation of words in this book are
those of the International Phonetic Alphabet, commonly known as “IPA”. As
noted by Underhill (1994 [2005]), “These are the symbols used by most learner
dictionaries, so working with them will also help learners develop the skills of
finding for themselves the pronunciation and stress of any word in a learner
dictionary” ([Link]).

2Also called “BBC Pronunciation” (Roach, 1983 [2009], p. 3), “BBC English” (Cruttenden, 2008,
p. 77), or “British English” (Hancock, 1995, p. 5).
3 Cruttenden talks about RP (General Received Pronunciation), but his ideas are useful to

describe Standard British English.

iv
 Chapter 1
Basic Concepts

I. Phonemes and Phonemic Symbols

A phoneme is defined as “the smallest contrastive phonological unit that can

produce a difference in meaning” (Finch and Ortiz Lira, 1982, p.187). But what
does that mean?
Before further explanation, consider the following series of words:

a. bid – bead – bed – bad – bird – booed

b. trick – trek – track – truck
c. bet – pet – set – met – let – net – debt – get

Now, look up the words in each series in the dictionary and listen to their
pronunciation. What makes the words in each series different from one another
(apart from spelling)?

Now, let’s break down the definition provided above.

smallest
contrastive
phonological unit

Because there is Because Because the unit

nothing smaller phonemes can belongs to the
than a sound, but produce a sound system of
there are bigger difference in a particular
units, like syllables meaning. language or
or words. language variety.

1
 Phonemes, as you will see, are represented by means of phonemic symbols,
which the student must learn in this course. By using these symbols between
slanted bars (), we can provide the phonemic transcription of words.

Classification of Phonemes4
From the point of view of distribution, i.e. considering their place in a syllable,
we can divide the sounds of the English phonological system into two groups:
Vowel sounds (they are central in a syllable) and consonant sounds (they occur
on the edge of syllables).

Pure vowels (or monophthongs)

Vowels
Diphthongs
Phonemes

Consonants

Further explanation will be provided in the following chapters.

II. Perception and Production Skills

All the phonological training you receive as an undergraduate student will be

aimed at developing both your perception and production skills. In truth, these
two skills are not independent of one another: you need to perceive and recognize
differences between sounds before you can produce them, and practice at
producing them will help you to perceive them correctly. That is why you are very
strongly encouraged to practice pronunciation. However, due to time constraints,
the focus of this introductory course will be on the development of your
perception, recognition and controlled production skills.

4 Based on Finch & Ortiz Lira (1982).

2
 Chapter 2
The Speech Production Mechanism

Below you have a representation of the different parts of the body that are
involved in the production of sounds. The accompanying text provides a detailed
description of the speech production mechanism, which your teacher will explain
so that you can understand the basic workings of sound production.
Paint the parts in the drawing below in different colours. At home, try to see
the parts in the mirror, or even touch them.

Adapted from [Link]

plosive. Date: May 21, 2018

3
 As a general rule, the production of any sound begins with air that comes up
from the lungs through the respiratory tract. The air first passes through the
trachea or windpipe and reaches the larynx. This organ is located at the top of
the trachea. It is commonly called “Adam’s apple”. Within the larynx, we find the
vocal folds. The space between the vocal folds is called the glottis. When the
vocal folds vibrate, they produce phonation or “voice.” If you put your fingers on
your throat (where the larynx is) and pronounce a continuous  you will feel
the vibration. If you pronounce a continuous , you will feel that no vibration is
involved.
Next, the air goes through the resonators: the pharynx, the nasal cavity, and
the oral cavity.
The pharynx is the passage or chamber located at the top of the larynx. It
communicates with the oral and nasal cavities. At the front of the pharynx, we
find the root of the tongue.
The oral cavity (which roughly coincides with what we call the mouth) includes
or is surrounded by the articulators: the tongue, the palate, the teeth, and the
lips.
The palate is the roof of the mouth, and it can be divided, for the sake of
speech sound descriptions, into three sections: the alveolar ridge (right behind
the upper teeth), the hard palate (in the middle), and the soft palate or velum
(towards the back), whose tip is called the uvula. When the velum is raised, the
air cannot reach the nasal cavity and it goes out through the oral cavity. When it
is lowered, the air escapes through the nasal cavity.
As regards the tongue, it is also a good idea to subdivide it into parts. Thus,
we have the tip, the blade (right below the alveolar ridge), the front (immediately
under the hard palate), and the back (right under the velum).
As regards the teeth and lips, we have the upper and lower teeth, and the
upper and lower lips.
Finally, note that the nasal cavity goes from the pharynx to the nostrils, and it
is separated from the oral cavity by the palate.
This text is based on Ortiz and Finch Lira’s (1982) and Cruttenden’s (2008)
descriptions.

4
 Chapter 3
The English Vowels

All vowel sounds share some characteristics: they are voiced (which means
that they involve vibration of the vocal folds), they are the core of syllables, and
they are produced with no obstruction to the airflow. Roach (1983 [2009])
provides a very useful explanation about this last property:

…vowels are sounds in which there is no obstruction to the flow of air as it passes from the
larynx to the lips. A doctor who wants to look at the back of a patient’s mouth often asks
them to say “ah”; making this vowel sound is the best way of presenting an unobstructed
view. But if we make a sound like s, d it can be clearly felt that we are making it difficult or
impossible for the air to pass through the mouth. (p. 10)

Vowels differentiate from one another in terms of quality and quantity. The
quality of the sounds varies according to the position of the tongue and lips. The
quantity is related to the length or duration of the sound (some vowel sounds last
longer than others).

Considering quality, vowels are classified into pure vowels (or

monophthongs) and diphthongs.

I. Pure vowels

1  eat, seat, breathe, steal, meal, beak, peak, teen, bee, see
2  it, sit, bill, still, win, lip, quit, pitch, witch
3  bed, sell, said, let, wet, melt, pet
4  add, cat, dad, mat, lad, bad, man
5  ask, aunt, fast, last, task, grass, park
6  box, pot, lots, socks, plot, what
7  all, mall, fork, caught, taught, storm, talk, walk
8  look, put, pull, book, took
9  zoom, suit, zoo, pool, tool
10  cut, duck, love, ton, thumb
11  earn, bird, first, learn, burn, turf, curve
12  advice, achieve, mother, sister, explanation
schwa

5
 Look at the following chart of the oral cavity and complete it with your teacher
to analyse pure vowel sounds:

6
 
No.___ / Name_______

Look at the phonemic symbol above. What is the phoneme called?

Interesting facts!
✓ You may find in
unstressed syllables;
however, not all unstressed
syllables are produced with


✓isthe most frequent

sound in the English
language.

✓ The production of will

help you sound natural and
fluent in English

Open your mouth

slightly, separate your
teeth just a little.

Relax your tongue so

that it stands in
mid-position.

1. 🔊 Look at the following words, and listen to their pronunciation.

opinion husband woman interest business

afraid about director better officer

7
2. 🔊 Complete the phonemic transcription of the word you hear by

using the corresponding symbol.

ago 
common 
forget 
success 

3. 🔊 Listen to the following sentences, and underline the instances

where occurs.
a. Leather is the new fashion this winter.
b. Teachers and doctors have joined the strike.
c. Everyone was curious about who had bought flowers for her.
d. Sam is eating better since her operation.
e. They have brought all these pencils for you.
f. Tomorrow we are going to the leisure centre.

Resources for autonomous learning

[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

8
  vs. 
No.____ No.____

Look at the two phonemic symbols above. Below each of them, indicate the
number of the phoneme they represent.

 Open your mouth slightly

and position your tongue
close to the roof.

Spread your lips in a rather

wide smile.

Remember this is a long

and tense sound.

Drop your jaw slightly, 

separating your teeth a
little.

Position your tongue

towards the middle,
raised to mid-high
position.

4. 🔊 Look at the following minimal pairs, and listen to the difference in

pronunciation.

chip cheap
sick seek
it eat
fill feel

5. 🔊 Now, listen to your teacher saying one word in each of the pairs
above. Circle the word you hear.

9
6. 🔊 Listen and complete the phonemic transcription of the word you
hear by using the corresponding symbol.

 

 

7. 🔊 Listen to the following words and indicate if your teacher has read
the same word twice, or two different words, by ticking the
appropriate column.

Same Different
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

8. 🔊 Circle the word you hear.

 
each itch
ease is
feet fit
green grin
heat hit

10
 9. 🔊 Listen to the following words. Write the correct phonemic
symbol next to each of them.

litre  litter 

bead  bid 
bleep  blip 
cheeks  chicks 
creak  crick 

10. 🔊 Listen to the following sentences. Circle the word you hear and
complete the phonemic transcription of the word with the
corresponding symbol.

a. He can fill / feel all that.


b. Is that a pitch / peach?

c. I saw a sheep / ship.

d. Do you have any bins / beans?

e. She’s always slipping / sleeping.

f. What a wonderful grin / green.



11
  vs. 
No.____ No.____

Look at the two phonemic symbols above. Below each of them, indicate the
number of the phoneme they represent.

 Drop your jaw slightly and

spread your lips half-way
(in an open smile-like
shape).

Push your tongue forward

in mid-position, so that it
nearly touches your front
teeth.

Pull your mouth wide open,


separating your lips and
teeth to form a wide, very
open oval. This is a tense
sound.

Push your tongue forwards

and downwards, near your
lower front teeth.

11. 🔊 Look at the following minimal pairs, and listen to the difference in
pronunciation.

bad bed
fanatic phonetic
marry merry
sand send
track trek

12
12. 🔊 Now, you will hear some of the words from the previous list.
Complete the phonemic transcription of the word you hear by using
the corresponding symbol.







13. 🔊 You will now hear pairs of words. Indicate if the two words are the
same, or if they are different, by ticking the appropriate column.

Same Different
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

14. 🔊 Circle the word you hear.

 
effluent affluent
end and
beck back
bend band
bread Brad
men man

13
 15. 🔊 Listen to the following sentences. Circle the word you hear and
complete the phonemic transcription of the word with the
corresponding symbol.

a. Can you believe they spent all their money on jams / gems?

b. Allison went to the supermarket because there was an offer on
pans / pens.

c. The mother sat / set the baby on the car seat and got the bags.

d. Your grandfather has always loved his cattle / kettle.


14
  vs. 
No.____ No.____

Look at the two phonemic symbols above. Below each of them, indicate the
number of the phoneme they represent.

Drop your jaw. Do not


tense your cheeks.

Separate your teeth

without rounding them,
in an open oval shape.

Your tongue should be

placed in mid-low
position.

16. 🔊 Look at the following minimal pairs, and listen to the difference in
pronunciation.

ankle uncle
cap cup
cat cut
fan fun
lack luck

17. 🔊 You will now hear pairs of words. Indicate if the two words are the
same, or if they are different, by ticking the appropriate column.

Same Different
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

15
18. 🔊 Circle the word you hear.

 
app up
bad bud
drag drug
flash flush
lamp lump
match much

19. 🔊 The following verbs have something in common: their past forms
are pronounced with one sound, whereas their past participle forms
are pronounced with another. Listen to the pronunciation of the
verbs and write the correct phonemic symbol next to each past and
past participle form.

Infinitive
Past form Past participle
form
begin began  begun 

drink drank  drunk 

ring rang  rung 

run ran  run 

shrink shrank  shrunk 

sing sang  sung 

spring sprang  sprung 

swim swam  swum 

16
  vs. 
No.____ No.____

Look at the two phonemic symbols above. Below each of them, indicate the
number of the phoneme they represent.

 Open your mouth widely,

separating your teeth.

Round your lips.

Pull your tongue back and

in a very low position.

Open your mouth and


separate your teeth slightly.

Protrude your lips in an oval

shape and place your
tongue in the middle of the
oral cavity.

20. 🔊 Look at the following minimal pairs, and listen to the difference in
pronunciation.

first fast
bird bard
curt cart
hurt heart

17
 21. 🔊 Circle the word you hear.

 
birth bath
cursed cast
fur far
further father
heard hard
purse pass

22. 🔊 Listen to the following sentences. Circle the word you hear and
complete the phonemic transcription of the word with the
corresponding symbol.

a. The firm / farm is not doing so well since his father passed away.

b. There were some teenagers lurking / larking around yesterday.

c. Please, show me your purses / passes.

d. These things have been hard / heard in the past.

e. If you have any further / father issues, let us know.


23. 🔊 Now, choose the word you hear in each series. The following
vowel sounds might be used: 

a. passed – pursed – pissed

b. flirt – fleet – flat

c. bird – bard – bead – bad

d. first – fast – fist

e. curt – cart – cat – cut – KET (Key English Test)

18
  vs. 
No.____ No.____

Look at the two phonemic symbols above. Below each of them, indicate the
number of the phoneme they represent.

 Set your mouth half-open

and separate your teeth.

Set your lips in an open

round shape covering your
teeth.

Push your tongue to the very

back of the oral cavity in mid
position.


Open your mouth widely
and separate your teeth.

Place your lips in an open

oval shape.

Move your tongue to the

back of the oral cavity in low
position.

24. 🔊 Look at the following minimal pairs, and listen to the difference in
pronunciation.

fox forks
pot port
shot short
spot sport
wok walk

19
 25. 🔊 Now, listen to some of the words above. Complete the phonemic
transcription of the word you hear by using the corresponding
symbol.






26. 🔊 Listen to the following sentences and circle the word you hear.
Then, complete the phonemic transcription of the word with the
corresponding symbol.

a. Sarah’s husband was a potter / porter from Darlington.


b. Alan spotted / sported a shiny black leather jacket at the party last night.

c. Did you see the fox / forks in the back garden?

d. The cot / court is rather big.

e. I think the pot / port needs a lot of improvement.


27. The following irregular verbs are similar in their past simple and past
participle forms. Provide the past and past participle forms of these
verbs.
Infinitive Past form/Past participle
bring __________ 
buy __________ 
catch __________ 
fight __________ 
seek __________ 
teach __________ 
think __________ 

20
28. 🔊 Circle the word that is pronounced with a different vowel sound.

short – court – hawk – clock hop – horn – cop – rod

was – posh – walk – what horse – corn – call – cock
wand – yawn – stalk – warn chord – chore – jaw – rob

21
  vs. 
No.____ No.____

Look at the two phonemic symbols above. Below each of them, indicate the
number of the phoneme they represent.


Open your jaws slightly.

Round your lips in an oval

shape.

Place your tongue toward

the mid-top, mid-back part
of the oral cavity.

Protrude your lips forming a


small circle and covering
your teeth.

Retract your tongue toward

the back of your mouth and
upwards.

29. 🔊 Look at the following minimal pairs of words and pay attention to
their pronunciation.

 
full fool
pull pool
look Luke
soot suit

30. 🔊 Now, your teacher will read/play one word in each of the pairs
above. Circle the word you hear.

22
 31. 🔊 Look at the following words. Listen to their pronunciation and
place them in the correct bubble.

food, good, tool, wool, boot, foot, room,

bull, smooth, cool, took, boom,
blue, new, moon, cook

 

32. 🔊 Listen and write the missing phonemic symbol.











33. Read the following sentences and underline the words that
contain and . Then, add the corresponding symbol.

a. This book is too good to be true. Buy it soon.


 
b. I’d choose a good cooking book,


full of beautiful and useful recipes.



23
 II. Diphthongs5
Diphthongs form a glide within one syllable, i.e. the articulators are placed in
one position at the beginning of the sound and they change towards the end of
it. For example, if you pronounce the words eye, buy or high very slowly, you will
perceive that, at the beginning, your tongue is lowered but, towards the end, it is
raised.

 say, pay, fame  go, low, so  fair, bear, chair

 bye, lie, try, admire  cow, loud, wow  fear, beer, ear

 boy, destroy, soy -----------------------------  poor, tour

34. 🔊 Now, read the following words containing pure vowels and
diphthongs, and circle the one you hear.

rose – raise - rouse soil – sail – sell beer – bear – bore

called – cold – killed buy – boy – bay farm – firm – fame
sold – sole – sale bail – boil – ball call – coal – coil

5 Based on Cruttenden (2008, p. 134); Underhill (1994 [2005], p. 4), and Roach (1983 [2009],
p. 17)

24
 35. Get together in pairs and read the following text in a loud voice. As
you read, find examples of words that are pronounced with any of the
eight diphthongs you have learned.

Models under the age of 16 will be banned from London’s Fashion Week. In
addition, all models may soon have to show a health certificate before they are
allowed to walk down the catwalk. These are the decisions of the Model Health
Inquiry that was set up in March by the British Fashion Council to ensure models
eat healthily. One major concern was how skinny models have become. Super-
thin is in and experts fear that models are risking their health due to a variety of
eating disorders. An unwanted side effect is that teenagers and young women in
their twenties and thirties copy the looks and shape of size-zero models and put
their health at risk. The inquiry is in response to the deaths of two Uruguayan
models Luisel Ramos, 22, and her sister, Eliana, 18, who died last year because
of poor diets.
The Model Health Inquiry did not recommend barring models based on their body
mass index (BMI). It said that the BMI - the ratio of weight to height - was "not an
accurate method of determining health". The inquiry said models could easily
make themselves vomit to try and beat the tests and get on the catwalk. Other
countries have barred models with a BMI of less than 18. The World Health
Organization says a BMI of 18.5 is a minimum healthy standard. The report made
14 recommendations, which include random drug tests and a "rigorous scientific
study" into the extent of eating disorders within the industry. The report also said
that from September 2008, models "should provide a medical certificate attesting
their good health from doctors with expertise in recognizing eating disorders".
Taken from Oliva et al. (2018)

36. Now, provide the missing symbol for each of the following words
near 

say 

mine 

stone 

25
 Vowels: Integration Exercises

37. Move from cell to cell to get to the finish line. To move to a new cell,
you need to choose a word with the pure vowel sounds in order (from
1 to 12). You can only make vertical and horizontal moves6.

Start skirt man short zoo pill

sheep pit friend mark glue fix

pet charge cat heart check trip

loop stack taught plot cork well

hat port book boot clerk gap

bug ill yell blood shirt wizard

Finish
log shot free church west
Line

38. For each word below, write down one or more words to complete
the minimal pair.

eat __________ __________ least __________ __________

bit __________ __________ peck __________ __________
bat __________ __________ tall __________ __________
rash __________ __________ fold __________ __________
set __________ __________ pear __________ __________
bad __________ __________ bye __________ __________
fill __________ __________ tour __________ __________

6 Adapted from Hancock (1995).

26
39. 🔊 Listen to the teacher and move along the chart according to the
words you hear. Check that you have started and finished in the
correct spots.

40. Circle the word in each series that does not belong there.

a. poor – tour – sour

b. ones – won – win
c. eye – buy – yet
d. fork – knife – taught
e. row – cow – bow – loud
f. meat – seed – sit

27
 Chapter 4
The English Consonants7
Unlike vowels, consonants tend to occur at the margins of syllables, not at the
core. Unlike vowels, consonants can be voiced or voiceless. Unlike vowels,
consonants can be produced with different levels of restrictions to the airflow.
Consonants are characterized by a set of features:
1. Manner of articulation. How does the air come out? What is the type of
restriction to the airflow?
2. Place of articulation. At which point do the articulators come into contact
or near contact and restrict the airflow?
3. Voicing. Is there vibration of the vocal folds or not?

The following chart shows the English consonants arranged according to place
of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing. Being aware of how sounds
are produced will definitely help you learn them.
Labio- Post-
Bilabial Alveolar Velar Dental Alveolar Palato-alveolar Palatal Glottal
dental alveolar

Voice-
       
less

Plosives Fricatives  Fricatives Affricates 

Voiced         Fricative

    

Approxi- Semi-
Nasals
mant vowel
Voiced   
 
  
Semi-
Lateral
vowel

This chart has been adapted from Getting Pronunciation Straight (Capell et al., 2010)

7 Based on Celce-Murcia (1996 [2008], p. 42-43); Underhill (1994 [2005], p. 4) and Cruttenden
(2008, p. 27-28)

28
 PLOSIVES
Bilabial Alveolar Velar

Voiceless
  
Voiced
  
41. 🔊 Listen to the following pairs of words and repeat them.

pair bare tear dare Kate gate

park bark tennis Dennis cold gold
maple Mabel writing riding anchor anger
lap lab mat mad duck dug

42. 🔊 Now, your teacher will read/play some of the words above. Circle
the ones you hear.

43. 🔊 Listen to the sentences and circle the word you hear.

a. Can you see that cute little cup / cub?

b. I saw something on the floor. It was just a small bill / pill.

c. The crook hurt his pride / bride and he got mad.

d. Look! That cloud has the shape of a pear / bear!

44. 🔊 Listen to these pairs of words twice. Decide whether they are the
same or different. Then, tick the appropriate column.

Same Different
a.
b.
c.
d.

29
45. 🔊 Listen and circle the word you hear.

a. You need to tye / dye your hair if you want to make a good impression.

b. I can’t see this clearly. Is it a “t” / “d”?

c. We’re late! Can you write / ride faster?

d. I couldn’t solve the problem with the drains / trains. Can you try?

46. 🔊 Now, your teacher will read/play some of the words from
exercise 41. Complete the phonemic transcription of the word you
hear by using the corresponding symbol.










47. 🔊 Listen and circle the word you hear.

a. Your curls / girls are so beautiful!

b. You broke my game! These guards / cards are ruined!

c. I love these wooden clogs / clocks! How much are they?

d. These glasses / classes are top-notch.

30
 FRICATIVES
Labio-dental Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar

Voiceless
Voiced
   

   

48. 🔊 Listen to the following minimal pairs and repeat them.

 
very ferry
leave leaf
van fan
divine define
view few

49. 🔊 Listen and complete the transcriptions with the missing symbol.







_

_

50. 🔊 Repeat the following words after your teacher. Find 10 minimal
pairs and write them in the empty chart below.

vast fault proof starve

vine gif safe serve

save fail staff surf

veil live prove give

vault fine fast life

31
  

51. 🔊 Read the following sentences aloud. Circle the words which have
the combination “th” in spelling, and say if that combination is
pronounced in the same way in sentence A and in sentence B.8

a. As my eyes are rather small, I wear make-up so that they look bigger.

b. Do you think a model’s job is an unhealthy one? Why do you think super-
thin is in?

52. 🔊 Group the following words according to the pronunciation of “th”.

thirty, then, although, this,

birth, clothes, think, enthusiasm, they

 

8 The sentences were taken from Oliva et al. (2018).

32
53. 🔊 Listen to the following words and repeat them.

 
sunny zoo
sausage music
kiss cheese
mice advise
ice nose

54. 🔊 It’s also a good idea to practise minimal pairs!

 
sue zoo
sing zing
rice rise
ice eyes
pence pens
bus buzz

55. 🔊 Listen to the following sentences. Write the corresponding

symbol for the sounds in bold. Then, practice reading the sentences
aloud.

a. Mark’s hobbies include swimming in the summer,



on Sundays and days off.


b. The science class is usually full of students.



33
56. 🔊 Listen to the following tongue twisters and detect the sounds
and 

She sells seashells

She saw Sheriff's
by the seashore.
shoes on the sofa.
But was she so sure
those were Sheriff's
They usually make
shoes she saw?
unusual confusions.

57. 🔊 Listen to the following words and repeat them.

 
sugar television
should casual
cash treasure

58. Listen to the tongue twisters in exercise 56. Circle the words which
contain the sounds  and . Then add those words in the
corresponding chart in exercise 57. Finally, practice reading the
words aloud.

59. 🔊 Practice at home! Read the following quote by Richard Marcel I,

and identify the words which are pronounced with  and . Record
yourself with your phone and share it with a classmate. Did you read
it producing the same sounds?

Vision without mission is lame. Mission without vision is blind.

34
 FRICATIVE
Glottal


This sound is very easy to
produce, but you must be sure
to pronounce it correctly. To do
so, simply force air from the
back of the throat.

You need to make sure that you

do not pronounce it as the
sound we have at the
beginning of Spanish words
like Jota, Jazmín, Julio.

60. 🔊 Listen and repeat.

all hall
eat heat
at hat
air hair
Elle hell

Notice that in some

words, the h is silent:
herbs, heir, honest,
honour, hour, vehicle

35
 Integration: Plosives and Fricatives

61. 🔊 Listen to the following sentences, circle the word you hear and
complete the phonemic transcription of the word with the
corresponding symbol.

a. We need to replace that covered / cupboard door.


b. You must carefully read the boating / voting regulations before next
meeting. 
c. I’m sorry. I didn’t get your last name. Corden / Gordon, was it?

d. The path he chose led him to his tomb / doom.

e. Diplomatic talks have failed. So much for the truth / truce!

f. Look at those animals! Are they breeding / breathing?


36
 AFFRICATES
Post-alveolar

Voiceless


Voiced


62. 🔊 Listen to the following pairs of words and repeat them.

batch badge
chain Jane
cherry Jerry
choke joke
chew jew

63. 🔊 Now, your teacher will read/play one word in each of the pairs
above. Circle the word you hear.

64. 🔊 Now, listen and complete the transcriptions with the missing
symbol for the corresponding affricate sound.











37
 65. 🔊 Listen to the following sentences, circle the word you hear and
complete the phonemic transcription of the word with the
corresponding symbol.

a. I thought he was joking / choking!


b. She’s Chilean / Gillian.

c. Joyce / Choice is so good.

d. The surge / search was terrible!


38
 NASALS
Bilabial Alveolar Velar

Voiced
  

66. 🔊 Look at the following words, and listen to the difference in

pronunciation.

       

same sane stun stung simmer singer

term turn ton tongue Sam sang

maples Naples thin thing swim swing

67. 🔊 Listen to the following sentences. Circle the word you hear and
complete the phonemic transcription of the word with the
corresponding symbol.

a. Those fans / fangs are really dangerous!


b. I love Christmas! Michael gets so happy. And Carolyn / carolling is the best!

c. That robin / robbing looks quite peculiar to me; I haven’t seen anything like it
before. 
d. I hate to interrupt, but this is Ron / wrong.


39
 APPROXIMANT
Post-alveolar

 Voiced


68. 🔊 Read and listen to the following words.

ring, wrong, car, worst, arrive, room,

wrap, smart, nearly, favourite, reservation, surprising

In which of the words above is the r not pronounced? In Standard British

English, the /r/ is pronounced only when followed by a vowel sound.

69. 🔊 Read these words aloud and underline the cases of “r” which
should be pronounced. Then listen and check. Finally, listen and
repeat.

rare roses
wear room
ruler afternoon
carry teacher
Mary arrange

LATERAL
Alveolar
 Voiced



70. 🔊 Listen and repeat.

low, school, lazy, always, early, impossible, last, let, like, loving, lesson,
only, usual, smile, leg, almost, little, lamp, library, living-room, life, Italy

40
 The English Semivowels

There are two semivowels or semi-consonants in English:  and . They
are called like this because they share characteristics of both vowels and
consonants. On the one hand, they are always voiced and they are produced
without any obstructions to the airflow, just like vowels. On the other hand, they
occur at the beginning of syllables, just like consonants.

 year, yes, yoke, Yule, view, new, unit, Europe, student
 would, will, was, what, once, quick

71. 🔊 Listen and repeat.

 
wet get
would good
what got
while guile
one gun

72. 🔊 Listen to the following minimal pairs and repeat them.

ear year
ate yet
poor pure
or your
ooze use
ford fjord

41
73. 🔊 Listen to these pairs of words twice. Decide whether they are the
same or different. Then, tick the appropriate column.

Same Different
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

42
 Integration

74. Circle the odd one out

frogs – dogs – bats speak – read – bit

thumb – father – though television – pleasure – passion

special – usually – treasure eyes – ice – rice

about – accident – away friend – bet – bat

75. Talking about the weather

a. Watch the following video9 (1.00-2.36), listen to the pronunciation

of these words and then match them to their corresponding
sound.

[Link]

It’s chilly.
It’s freezing.

It’s drizzling.
It’s only spitting.


b. Listen to the rest of the video and write other examples of words
pronounced with vowels  and .

c. Can you find examples of words that contain ?

d. What about examples of words that carry the diphthong ?

9English, O. O. (March 16, 2017). Talking About the Weather in English - Spoken English Lesson.
Retrieved from [Link]

43
 76. Describing People
a. Watch the following video10 (4.45-7.25), listen to how words are
pronounced and circle the correct phoneme for the section in bold
type.
[Link]

kind reliable
 

considerate honest
 

warm straightforward
 

funny cheerful
 

fun sensitive
 

entertaining optimistic
 

b. Can you use any of these adjectives to describe a person you

know?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

10English, O. O. (February 22, 2017). How to Describe a Person in English - Spoken English
Lesson. Retrieved from [Link]

44
 APPENDIX

Mock test 1

Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

Facultad de Lenguas
Ciclo de Nivelación
Sección: FONÉTICA

1. 🔊 In each group, circle the word that is pronounced with a different

sound. Focus on the underlined parts. (5)

a. television – information – usual – casual

b. jam – pleasure – age – joy
c. other – thing – north – health
d. wise – size – eyes – price
e. sign – going – bank – sung

2. 🔊 Listen and CIRCLE the word you hear. (10)

a. Maria painted a view / few.

b. The ghost / coast was nice.
c. I have to watch / wash the cat.
d. The apples I had were three / free.
e. What’s the price / prize?
f. I need to try / dry the vegetables.
g. Bart / Bert didn’t call me.
h. I think he’s joking / choking.
i. It was in the vest / west.
j. The port / pot is quite old.

3. Circle all the words pronounced with  (5)

book – rule – smooth – butch – duke – loose – hook – bull – good – moon

45
 Mock test 2

Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

Facultad de Lenguas
Ciclo de Nivelación
Sección: FONÉTICA

1. 🔊 In the following sentences, CIRCLE the word you hear.

1. Where are you leaving / living?

2. I think the artist painted a big mouth / mouse there.

3. Have you seen my coat / goat?

4. Who told you about the ban / bang yesterday?

5. Eating bags / bugs is definitely not a good idea!

2. 🔊 Listen to these pairs of words twice. Decide whether they are the same
or different. Then, tick the appropriate column.

SAME DIFFERENT

1 sung / sang

2 short / shot

3 but / bat

4 vet / bet

5 cot / caught

6 farm / firm

7 man / men

8 eat / it

9 chip / tip

10 rice / rise

46
3. 🔊 Read the following lists of words. Try to remember how they are
pronounced and CIRCLE the odd one out.

Example:

work – York – awake

1. jam – joke – chop

2. other – bath – those

3. joke – yet – young

4. like – pit – try

5. pen – charming – John

47
References

Giménez, F., Aguirre Sotelo, E., Bombelli, G., Canavosio, A., Capell, M., Díaz, J.,
Ghirardotto, M.V., & Soler, L (2013). English Pronunciation: Basics (Second
edition). Giménez, F. (Compiladora y Editora). Córdoba: Cooperadora Facultad
de Lenguas, UNC.

Capell, M., Giménez, F., Orta González, M. D., Ferreras, C. R., Bombelli, G. E.,
Canavosio, A., Díaz, J., & Aguirre Sotelo, E. (2010). Getting Pronunciation
Straight: A theory and practice handbook. Córdoba: Todo en Copias.

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D., & Goodwin, J. (1996 [2010]). Teaching Pronunciation. A
Reference for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cruttenden, A. (2008). Gimson’s Pronunciation of English (Seventh edition). London:

Hodder Education.

Finch, D., & Ortiz Lira, H. (1982). A Course in English Phonetics for Spanish Speakers.
London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd.

Hancock, M. (1995). Pronunciation Games. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

O'Connor, J. D., & Fletcher, C. (1999). Sounds English. A Pronunciation Practice Book.
London: Longman.

Oliva, M. B., Mora, M., Jofré, C., & Srur, P. (2018). Introducing English Language (Third
edition). Córdoba: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba.

Roach, P. (1983 [2009]). English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course (Fourth
edition). UK: Cambridge University Press.

Underhill, A. (1994 [2005]). Sound Foundations. Oxford: Macmillan Heinemann English

Language Teaching.

Images:

The image on page 4 was adapted from [Link]

t-voiceless-alveolar-plosive. Date: May 21, 2018

The notepad image was retrieved from [Link]

on May 28th, 2018.

The image of the man wearing a tie was retrieved from

[Link] on May
25th, 2018.

48
Videos:

English, O. O. (2017, March 16). Talking About the Weather in English - Spoken English
Lesson. Retrieved from [Link]

English, O. O. (2017, February 22). How to Describe a Person in English - Spoken

English Lesson. Retrieved from
[Link]

49
 Answer key

2 ago /əgəʊ/ – common /kɒmən/ – forget /fəget/ – success /səkses/

3 a. Leather is the new fashion this winter.

b. Teachers and doctors have joined the strike.

c. Everyone was curious about who had bought flowers for her.

d. Sam is eating better since her operation.

e. They have brought all these pencils for you.

f. Tomorrow we are going to the leisure centre.

5 cheap – sick – eat – feel

6 /tʃɪp/ – /ɪt/ – /fi:l/ – /sɪk/

7 a. Same: seek

b. Same: each

c. Different: fill – feel

d. Different: green – grin

e. Same: Sheep

f. Same: heal

g. Different: cheap - chip

8 each – ease – fit – green – hit

9 litre /i:/ litter /ɪ/

bead /i:/ bid /ɪ/

bleep /i:/ blip /ɪ/

cheeks /i:/ chicks /ɪ/

creak /i:/ crick /ɪ/

10 a. He can fill/feel all that. /fi:l/

50
 b. Is that a pitch/peach? /pɪtʃ/

c. I saw a sheep/ship. /ʃɪp/

d. Do you have any bins/beans? /bi:nz/

e. She’s always slipping/sleeping. /sliːpɪŋ/

f. What a wonderful grin/green. /grɪn/

12 /bed/ – /træk/ – /fәnætIk/ – /send/ – /meri/

13 a. Different: set - sat

b. Same: dad

c. Different: lag - leg

d. Same: lad

e. Same: pet

f. Different: bet - bat

14 affluent – end – beck – band – Brad – men

15 1. Can you believe they spent all their money on jams/gems?

/dʒз:mz/

2. Allison went to the supermarket because there was an offer on

pans/pens. /pænz/

3. The mother sat/set the baby on the car seat and got the
bags./sæt/

4. Your grandfather has always loved his cattle/kettle. /ketl/

17 a. Same: ran

b. Different: flunk - flank

c. Different: puck - pack

d. Same: much

e. Different: pan - pun

51
18 up – bad – drag – flush – lump – much

21 birth – cursed – far – father – heard – pass

22 1. The firm/farm is not doing so well since his father passed away.
/fз:m/

2. There were some teenagers lurking/larking around yesterday.

/lз:kɪŋ/

3. Please, show me your purses/passes. /pα:sɪz/

4. These things have been hard/heard in the past. /hα:d/

5. If you have any further/father issues, let us know. /fз:/

23 passed – flirt – bead – fist – cut

25 shot – pot – forks – walk

26 porter – spotted – fox – court – port

27 brought /brɔ:t/ – bought /bɔ:t/ – caught /kɔ:t/ – fought /fɔ:t/ – sought

/sɔ:t/ – taught /tɔ:t/ – thought /ɔ:t/

28 clock – walk – wand – horn – cock – rob

30 fool – pull – look – suit

31 //: good – wool – bull – took - cook

/u:/: food – tool – boot – room* – smooth – cool – boom – blue – new –
moon

*The word room can be pronounced with any of the two vowels;
however, there’s a preference for /u:/.

32 /fu:l/ – /fu:d/ – /wl/ – /gd/ – /lk/

33 book // – too /u:/ – good // – true /u:/ – soon /u:/ – choose /u:/ –
cooking // – full // – beautiful /u:/ – useful /u:/

34 rose – killed – sale – soil – bay – boil – bear – firm – coal

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 36 /nə/ - /se/ - /man/ - /stən/

37 sheep – pit – friend – cat – heart – plot – taught – book – boot – blood –
shirt – wizard

39 chick – led – luck – leap – pull – pat

42 pair – bark – Mabel – lap – dare – tennis – writing – mat – gate – gold –
anchor – dug

43 cub – pill – bride – pear

44 a. Different: mat - mad

b. Same: park

c. Same: gate

d. Different: lab - lap

45 dye – “t” – ride – drains

46 Kate – anger – duck – cold

47 girls – cards – clogs – classes

49 ferry – leaf – van – divine – few

51 a. rather, that, they //

b. think, unhealthy, thin //

52 /thirty – birth – think – enthusiasm

// then – although – this – clothes – they

55 Mark’s /s/ – hobbies /z/ – swimming /s/ – summer /s/ – Sundays /s/ /z/ -
days /z/

science /s/ /s/ – class /s/ – is /z/ – students /s/ /s/

56, 58 /ʃ/: she – sheriff’s – shoes – sure – seashells – seashore

//: usually – unusual – confusions

59 /ʃ/: mission

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 //: vision

61 cupboard – voting – Gordon – doom – truth – breeding

63 batch – Jane – Jerry – choke – chew

64 /bætʃ/ – /tʃeɪn/ – /tʃerɪ/ – /dʒəʊk/ – /dʒu:/

65 a. joking //

b. Chilean /t/

c. choice /t/

d. surge //

67 a. fans /fænz/

b. carolling /kærəlɪŋ/

c. robin /rɒbɪn/

d. wrong /rɒŋ/

68 The r is not pronounced in: car, worst, smart, nearly, reservation,

surprising

69 rare – roses – wear – room – ruler – afternoon – carry – teacher – Mary –

arrange

73 a. Different: would - good

b. Same: ear

c. Different: yet - ate

d. Same: got

e. Different: use - ooze

74 bats – thumb – special – accident – bit – passion – eyes – bat

75 a. //: chilly // /i/ – drizzling // // – spitting // // – freezing /i:/ //

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 76 a. kind /aɪ/ – reliable /aɪ/ – considerate /ə/ – honest /ə/ – warm /ɔ:/ –
straightforward /ɔ:/ – funny /ʌ/ – cheerful /ə/ – fun /ʌ/ – sensitive // –
entertaining /e/ – optimistic /ɒ/

Mock 1 a. information /ʃ/

Ex 1 b. pleasure /ʒ/

c. other /ð/

d. price /s/

e. sign /n/

Mock 1 a. few.

Ex 2 b. coast

c. wash

d. three

e .prize

f. dry

g. Bert

h. joking

i. vest

j. pot

Mock 1 book – butch – hook – bull – good

Ex 3

Mock 2 1. living

Ex 1 2. mouse

3. goat

4. bang

5. bags

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Mock 2 1. Same: sang
2. Different: short - shot
Ex 2
3. Different: but - bat
4. Same: vet
5. Same: caught
6. Different: farm – firm
7. Same: men
8. Same: it
9. Different: chip – tip
10. Same: rise

Mock 2 1. chop

Ex 3 2. bath

3. joke

4. pit

5. charming

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