Ashley Howard

Copyright © 2015 Ashley Howard

Ashley Howard has asserted his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
All right reserved. No part of this publication, including the accompanying audio, may be reproduced in any form of
binding or cover or circulated electronically without prior permission of Edwin Publishing and Media Ltd.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-0-9933602-0-6

Edwin Publishing and Media Ltd

First published in 2015 by Edwin Publishing and Media Ltd

57 London Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP11 1BS
www.edwinpublishing.co.uk
British English Pronunciation Roadmap:
A Clear Path To Clear Speech

written and illustrated by

Ashley Howard
 Contents

Chapter Page

Before You Explore... 1

My Pronunciation Roadmap 6

How to Navigate Each Page 8

How to Download the Audio Examples 9

Speech Anatomy 10

Consonant Sounds 12

Vowel Sounds 87

Syllables and Word Stress 173

Relationships Between Words – Connected Speech 194

Intonation - Rhythm and Pitch 206

Cheat Sheet: Creating Meaning – Stressing the Right Word 233

How do I Integrate these New Habits into Live Speech? 237

Bonus Section: Practice Pages 238

Bonus Section: Practice Pages - Answers 295

Additional Resources 313

Bibliography and Recommended Reading 319

 before you explore...

> What is an accent?

Everyone has an accent – even if it is considered neutral or region-less. And there are too many
to count, partly because accents constantly evolve. An accent is heard primarily in the way we
pronounce our words, how we stress them, and the intonation we use to convey emotion, attitude
and intention. It reveals something about us and we all make associations, rightly or wrongly. More
importantly, everybody modifies his or her accent – it’s true. Even in our mother tongue and native
language we make slight adjustments depending on whom we’re with and what we’re talking about.
For example, talking to friends and family makes most people talk in a more relaxed and casual way
whilst when talking to certain colleagues or addressing people in authority, most people talk in a
slower, more articulate way – this is, in a way, modifying one’s accent.

> Why change an accent?

Accents are wonderful! They are as unique as the lives we live. They are part of our identity and
represent our cultural diversity and heritage. But some people, for practical, personal or professional
reasons, want to change or modify their accent. As one client said, “my accent speaks louder than my
words…”. During our lives we reinvent ourselves all the time, by dressing differently, changing our
hairstyle, moving house or country, learning a new skill, changing behaviours, profession or lifestyle,
and so changing one’s accent is within our transformational capacity. Learning another accent doesn’t
have to be so much about eliminating your current accent – unless that’s what you want – but simply
having choice, which takes time and practice, but it means that you are more sophisticated about
adapting your speech to suit your circumstances.

> Is it even possible?

Yes! I have worked with countless clients over many years and they have all achieved great success,
but it’s true that some people find it really easy and straightforward and some find it challenging.
Whilst accent is very much part of who we are and how we interact with the world around us, it
is also just a physical habit – you don’t think about how to speak, you just think about what you
want to say – it’s part of your muscle memory. Think of this roadmap process in two stages. Firstly, it
involves getting the new sounds into your muscle memory. This includes various aspects of learning
a conscious mindset to build on your habits in comparison to the new habits that you’re learning;
imitation; daily repetitive practice; and understanding patterns. The second stage is integrating these
new habits in live speech. This aspect is the real moment of transformation, which takes courage,
commitment and a willingness to change.

> How long is it going to take?

It’s a necessary and relevant question, but an impossible one to answer. Learning or softening an
accent as I said is about acquiring a new habit and building muscle memory. This takes as long as
it takes. Learning to drive is as much to do with comprehension and exposure, as it is to do with
muscle memory. Some people can pass their driving test within an intensive week of fifteen lessons,
and some people take a year with thirty sessions, or more.You can control your level of commitment
and practice – and this can make a huge difference. And also, successfully changing just one word is
success and progress! So it’s a bit like a jigsaw – celebrate every new piece that fits together, take
your time and enjoy the process.

1
 before you explore...

> Who is this book for?

This book is designed to help anyone, for whatever reason, who wants to learn a ‘standard’ British
English accent – also known as RP (see below). You might speak English as a second language and
simply want to be clearer and better understood.You might teach English as a second language or be
a fellow voice coach seeking a resource for how to help your students with their pronunciation and
intonation. You might be a native English speaker with a regional accent who wants it softened. You
might even be an actor who needs to learn a standard British accent for an audition or part.

> What is an RP accent?

RP stands for Received Pronunciation. Today, it refers to a standard British English accent associated
with the south of England. The word ‘received’ used to mean something being accepted or approved,
and so this accent was considered the most well-received or the most ‘standard’ pronunciation of
British English. It was therefore set apart from regional accents.

Every language has their own version of RP – their own standard accent – as well as their regional
accents. All accents have their positive and negative stereotypes and associations. Amongst native
English speakers, RP is most typically associated with privilege, wealth, power and intellect – in the
early twentieth century some described it as ‘Public School Pronunciation’ (Daniel Jones English
Pronouncing Dictionary CUP 1917). It is an accent often associated with the current monarchy, those
in certain professions and positions of authority and some British actors.

Thankfully, every accent evolves and adapts to the changing socio-cultural-political landscape, which
is influenced by many factors. So the accent that you can learn through this book is more of a typical
modern RP – it is a neutral, region-less, standard southern British accent.

> Fearless, playful imitation is essential

We learn our first language, our mother tongue, through imitation. We listen to and watch those
around us and mimic their sounds, exploring with fearless playfulness the ways in which our tongue,
lips and soft palate move in order to accurately reproduce their sounds. In contrast, learning a second
language is primarily through spelling. Some written languages are more phonetic, so what’s written
is more reliable in terms of pronunciation. British English is not one of these languages, so the first
way to engage with this process of reducing your accent towards RP is to develop a reliance on your
ears by listening to the audio in each section, imitating the sounds with fearlessness and playfulness,
and paying attention to the sensation of the way each sound feels in your mouth.

> Deprogramming the spelling

When exploring a new vowel sound, a client once said, “my eyes are controlling my mouth”, which
is to say that the spelling is trying to dictate the way to say the word. This is part of the challenge
with the British English language. What you see is not necessarily what you should say. For examples,
you’re probably quite aware that in the English language there are five LETTERS that we call vowels:
‘a’, ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘o’ and ‘u’. However, in an RP accent there are actually nineteen vowel SOUNDS (excluding
the schwa and five triphthongs), which are represented by various combinations of the vowel letters.
This can be confusing, for example ‘poor’, ‘pour’, ‘paw’ and ‘pore’ are spelt differently but in RP they
are actually pronounced with the same vowel sound – THOUGHT. Equally the same spelling can be
pronounced with different vowel sound. For example the ‘ear’ in words like ‘wear’, ‘earth’, ‘hear’ and

2
 before you explore...

‘heart’ are pronounced with different vowels. The same is true for some consonants, for example,
the ‘ph’ in ‘physical’ should sound exactly the same as the ‘f’ in ‘fizz’, and the ‘l’ in ‘silk’ is pronounced,
whereas the ‘l’ in ‘calm’ is silent. So, exploring vowel and consonant sounds is a lot to do with
deprogramming the spelling and focusing on the sounds instead of the letters.

> Using phonetic symbols to check the pronunciation

Some people are familiar with phonetics, which is a symbol system for writing sounds. If you’ve ever
been confused by the strange symbols next to a word in a dictionary, they’re phonetic symbols. So
every sound has a single symbol. There is a symbol for the SH sound in ‘shoe’ and the THOUGHT
vowel sound in ‘shore’. Each vowel and consonant page has the relevant phonetic symbol and you can
also use the Phonetic Symbols (p.313) as a reference.This makes it possible for you to consult a reliable
dictionary and actually see how to pronounce the word. There are also specialised pronunciation
dictionaries. In fact, the online Oxford Dictionary not only has phonetic transcriptions but also
audio examples of words – so you can see and hear how to pronounce them in RP. They also have
an app called The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, which offers the phonetic transcription and
audio examples without needing to connect to the internet – which might be useful for on-the-go,
‘location-less’ reference.

> Do I need to know the phonetic symbols to use this book?

Thankfully you do not need to know phonetics in order to successfully use this book. As I said, I have
given the relevant phonetic symbols in the top right hand corner of each of the vowel and consonant
sound page, so that you are able to cross-reference and clarify the pronunciation of other words
with the words and examples given for each vowel sound. However, in this book, I have focused on
comprehension, listening and imitation: there are detailed descriptions of each sound and pattern,
with audio examples of every word and phrase. With imitation and daily practice, you will be able
to understand, develop your ear and experience the sensation of what it’s like to pronounce words
differently.

> 20 minute coaching sessions

I have attempted to make this book feel as if I am there with you, coaching you through every section.
So it is very thorough, albeit a bit wordy at times. One suggestion is that you treat each new vowel
sound, each new consonant sound, and each part of the section on intonation like a twenty minute
coaching session. Set aside this time to explore the pages that focus on the new sound, discover
your habits and follow the guidance on each page.This means that it can fit in with your life style and
commitments and you can pick it up and put it down accordingly.

> ‘I’ll put a thought on it’

Whilst discussing the process of integrating new pronunciations into live speech, another client I was
coaching said to me, ‘I’ll put a thought on it’, referring to a new sound he had learnt for a particular
word. He explained that when speaking, he would be actively ‘thinking’ about what he might say, in
order to catch the word with the new sound in it, hoping to change it in the moment. Of course, at
the beginning, it tends to be that you catch the word after it is spoken, but the more he caught it, the
more able he felt to catch it before speaking.

3
 before you explore...

> Creating a word bank

Another client created a folder of notes on their phone, so that throughout the day they could
identify what the sort of language and common phrases they used frequently.They would then check
these words in a pronunciation dictionary, notice whether or not any of these words contained
vowels or consonant sounds that they had been working on with me, and then changed them where
necessary. This enabled them to make the integration of their new habits immediately into live
speech, without having to play the guessing game of when the new habits would be needed.

Whilst I have offered you many everyday words and phrases and many practice sentences to help you
get started, creating a word bank of words that you tend to use is invaluable. Moreover, these words
could be grouped into words that contain the same vowel sounds, or into what are known as lexical
sets – which is to say that if the vowel in the primary stressed syllable of a word rhymes with another
word, they belong in the same group. For example, ‘saw’, ‘bored’ and ‘enormous’ would be in the
same lexical group because the main vowel sound rhymes.You can do the same for consonants: find
words that have the same initial consonants (‘do’, ‘does’, ‘don’t’), the same medial consonant (‘ladder’,
‘bolder’, ‘hiding’) and the same final consonants (‘side’, ‘called’, ‘had’) and group them together. This
way, you can focus your practice on words that feature whatever new sound you are learning.

> Make your intentions known

It can feel easier to reinvent yourself in front of new people, but when in front of your friends, family
or colleagues, it might feel more challenging. Many people that I have coached express an anxiety
about what people will think of them if they change their pronunciation. We all tend to pigeonhole
each another based on the clothes that we wear, the music that we like, where we live, where we
were educated, what profession we are in etc… When we change anything about ourselves, there is
a very natural fear about acceptance. Making those around you aware of your intention to work on
your speech and accent may dissolve some of this anxiety and help to create a conversation about
why and how you intend to do it, which makes them part of your process rather than obstacles to
your progress.

> Proprioception

In the sections of vowels and consonants, you will be asked to notice what your lips, tongue, jaw and
soft palate are doing. Arguably, you may never have considered the position and movement of your
tongue or lips unless you have accidentally bitten them, or your jaw, unless it aches or is painful - and
you may never have even heard of your soft palate, let alone considered what it’s doing in speech.
You will slowly become more and more conscious of what these parts of your speaking anatomy are
doing, but there is still a heavy reliance on what it called proprioception: your body’s ability to sense,
feel and notice what it is doing. This is where recording yourself and using a mirror become almost
vital to practicing and exploring effectively. Your body’s internal sense of these parts will strengthen
but may take time, so be patient.

4
 before you explore...

> ‘…it’s percolating’

I had a client once whose response to the question ‘how has it been going this week?’ (which I tend
to ask at the beginning of most coaching sessions), was ‘it’s percolating’. He seemed quite happy with
this idea: that just like coffee, his new skills and habits were slowly permeating into his everyday
speech. Some aspects of the learning might be really immediate and transformative, and some may
take time to percolate. Set goals, but be generous to yourself.

> Your pronunciation ‘roadmap’

Once you know your habits and how to change them, you no longer need to look at each section.
It’s a bit like navigating around a new place. Once you’ve discovered where each new road or path
or corridor leads to, the more you travel along them, the more familiar they become until you can
navigate without thinking. So think of the process of exploring this book, like exploring the roadmap
of pronunciation.You are where it all starts, and the destination is clearer and more confident British
English pronunciation. Go to the My Pronunciation Roadmap (p.6) and tick the relevant sections as you
travel through the book. I hope you enjoy your journey!

> Facebook Community - Private Group:

Remember, you’re not on your own. You now have access to the English Prounciation Roadmap
Community via a private Facebook group, where you can ask me questions directly, speak to others
who are on the same journey and get helpful tips and advice. I’m looking forward to helping you.

Send a request to join the group (URL below) and so long as your customer details match, you’ll be
accepted:

Available in the Complete Roadmap Training. Click here to invest in your speech.

> Who is the Author?

Ashley Howard is an experienced British Voice Coach trained at the Royal Central School of Speech
and Drama in MA Voice Studies. He did a further two years of training with Kristin Linklater author
of Freeing the Natural Voice 2007. British English Pronunciation Roadmap: A Clear Path To Clear Speech is a
distillation of thousands and thousands of hours of coaching, with hundreds and hundreds of clients
and students from almost every country and every language. For more info on Ashley, visit www.
englishpronunciationroadmap.com or www.ashleyhoward.me.

Disclaimer:

The information in this book has been compiled by way of general guidance in relation to the specific subjects addressed,
but is not a substitute for individual professional guidance on specific circumstances. Please consult a medical professional
before beginning any physical exercises or speech related exercises, particularly if you have known specific issues that
may influence their general safety and efficacy. If you engage in the exercises in this book, you agree that you do so at
your own risk, are voluntarily participating in these activities, assume all risk of injury to yourself, and agree to release
and discharge the author and publisher from any and all claims or causes of action, known or unknown, arising out of
the author or publisher’s negligence.

5
 My Pronunciation Roadmap

The inspiration for the name of this book came from a session I had a long time ago when a client
of mine was talking about navigating around a new city to which he had recently moved. At the end
of the session he said, ‘knowing which sound to use in which word is becoming a little easier’, to
which I replied, ‘yea, it’s a bit like navigating around the new city in which you’re now living - without
a roadmap it can feel a bit overwhelming. So think of this process a bit like getting a roadmap to your
new pronunciation’. It seemed to be a perfect comparrison.

It’s also true that when learning anything new, there is a sort re-mapping of the roadmap inside the
brain - where new synaptic connections are made. These synaptic connections take time to estab-
lish. In the same way that learning a new route or journey takes repetition and repetition before it
becomes something that you can do without thinking, so these new pronunciations take time and
practice before they become second nature.

So, over the page is your very own pronunciation roadmap. If you’ve already had a personalised
assessment from me, then your journey is all mapped-out and you just need to follow the path to
clearer and more confident speech. If you chose to work alone, you’ll discover, sound by sound,
which ones apply to you and you can tick each one accordingly. and your roadmap will emerge. This
way, you’ll be able to navigate the book and practice more specifically on the things that will deliver
the most change for you.

If you’d like to have a personalised assessment from me, just visit:

It’s our Premium option. Click here to invest in your speech.

Remember, you’re not on your own. You now have access to the English Prounciation Roadmap
Community via a private Facebook group, where you can ask me questions directly, speak to others
who are on the same journey and get helpful tips and advice. I’m looking forward to helping you.

Send a request to join the group (URL below) and so long as your customer details match, you’ll be
accepted:

Available to all Complete Roadmap Training members.

6
 My Pronunciation Roadmap

Consonants

R p.15 S and Z p.41 K and G p.70

Rhotic / Non-Rhotic p.19 TH p.45 SH and ZH p.74

M p.22 NG p.49 DG and CH p.77

P and B p.24 N p.54 H p.82

W p.28 L p.57 Consonant Clusters p.84

F and V p.31 T and D p.61

Yod p.35 Syllabic Consonants p.66

Vowels

SCHWA p.92 THOUGHT, NORTH, NEAR p.145

NURSE p.96 FORCE p.120 DRESS p.149

GOAT p.100 CHOICE p.125 FACE p.153

BATH, PALM, START p.104 TRAP p.129 SQUARE p.157

STRUT p.108 MOUTH p.133 GOOSE p.161

PRICE p.112 FLEECE p.137 FOOT p.165

LOT, CLOTH p.116 KIT p.141 CURE p.169

Word Stress, Relationships between Words and Intonation

Syllable stress p.174 Syllable/stress timed p.208 Apologising p.224

Compound words p.177 Resting rhythm p.208 Ongoing thought p.225

Dates, times, money p.180 Mono/polysyllabic words p.210 Listing p.225

Primary/secondary stress p.182 Short/long vowels p.211 Naming places, people... p.226

Unstressed syllables p.183 Phrasing/pausing p.211 Parenthesis p.227

Prefixes & Suffixes p.186 Asking a question p.221 Quoting/paraphrasing p.227

Linking/intrusive sounds p.195 Rhetorical questions p.222 Irony/sarcasm/satire p.229

Elision & contractions p.198 High Rise Tone p.222 Expanding a statement p.229

Assimilation p.199 Responding to questions p.222 Antithesis p.230

Weak forms p.202 Statements, commands... p.224 but... or... so... p.231

7
 How to Navigate Each Page

How much time to set The colour in the

aside for each sound corner indicates the
section that you’re in
The red icon of a mic The target sound
suggests that you could under which is its
record yourself saying phonetic symbol for
the words before reference
exploring the sound.
This will enable you to Words that contain the
compare yourself to target sound
the audio example and
discover your habit
A drawing of the posi-
Explanation of how tion of the tongue, soft
and where the sound palate and also the lips
is made and whether it (when relevant)
is voiced or voiceless
At the end of each
Identify your habit by What do I do habitu-
reading aloud the ex- ally? section, there is
amples, listening to the a coloured icon of a
audio examples and spanner. It suggests that
comparing to your you go straight to the
recording same coloured icon in
the How do I change my
Use the relevant sub- habit? section to help
section to help change you ‘fix’ your habit
your specific habit

The grey icon of a

speaker indicates an
audio example along
with its track number

There is a list of words

and the most typi-
cal spellings for each
sound. Record yourself
saying the words then
imitate and practice
with the audio
examples to help guide
you to the new
pronunciation

There are also practice

sentences for each
sound. Again, record
yourself saying the
sentences then imitate This green icon of a
and practice with the pencil indicates that
audio examples to help there is further
guide you to the new practice material for
pronunciation this sound

8
 Speech Anatomy

This is just a reference page, so refer to it when prompted.

top lip

soft palate**

top front teeth

tongue
bottom front teeth

bottom lip
alveolar ridge*
larnyx

* Alveolar ridge – The shape and prominence of the alveolar ridge can vary from person to person.
To find this ridge, put the tip of your tongue on the back of your upper front teeth and then very slowly
slide the tongue tip up and backwards along the roof of your mouth and you should feel a little bumpy
ridge less than a centimetre away from your upper teeth. If you went further back, you would then
feel the main curve of the roof of your mouth. The tongue tip should NOT touch the ridge, but simply
be curling up towards it.
middle

front
back
blade

root
tip

Tongue Divisions – As you can see, for the purpose of speech and articulation the tongue can
be divided into different sections and each part can be used to make contact with different parts
to make different sounds. Familiarise yourself with the following sections, which will be referred to,
especially in the consonant section: tip, blade, front, middle and back.

10
 Speech Anatomy

uvular ***
soft palate**

** Soft Palate – The soft palate is the part of the roof of the mouth towards the back that is soft.
When you look into the back of your mouth you might see the uvular (the dangly thing in the middle
at the back) which comes out of the soft palate but is not the soft palate. The soft palate is behind the
uvular. One of its jobs in speech is to direct the vibrations of your voice into the mouth or nose. In
speech there are four positions that it tends to be in:

1. When it is lifted high it blocks the entrance to the nose, and all the vibrations exit through the
mouth.

2. When it is dropped low and the back of the tongue is raised so that they touch, all the vibrations
travel through the nose.

3. When it is lifted high and the back of the tongue is raised so that they touch, the vibrations
gather behind the back of the tongue and can only release once either the tongue or soft palate
releases down.

4. When it is dropped low and the back of the tongue is also low the vibrations travel through the
nose and the mouth (which produces a nasal quality to speech – some languages like French
have certain vowel sounds that are nasal).

*** Uvular – the uvular is the dangly thing in the middle at the back that we often see when
cartoon characters scream. It has no real function in speech. It seems to stimulate the gag reflex.

11
 Consonants

My Pronunciation Roadmap

R p.15 S and Z p.41 K and G p.70

Rhotic / Non-Rhotic p.19 TH p.45 SH and ZH p.74

M p.22 NG p.49 DG and CH p.77

P and B p.24 N p.54 H p.82

W p.28 L p.57 Consonant Clusters p.84

F and V p.31 T and D p.61

Yod p.35 Syllabic Consonants p.66

12
 25min R
phonetic symbol - r

This sound is pronounced in words like:

rip ran rotten railway rocket ripple crash grey from

pretty scream marry hurry carry sorry worry berries 5

> How is the R sound made in an RP accent?

The R sound is made with the tongue tip curling up towards the area just behind the alveolar ridge
(p.10) – but not touching – and the body of the tongue scooping in the middle. The jaw should remain
relaxed, the teeth parted and the lips in a very loose pouting shape. The R is a voiced sound and
belongs to the palato-alveolar and approximant consonant groups – so the R sound used in RP can be
referred to as a palato-alveolar R.

> Which R do I use habitually?

There are many types of R sounds, made in very different ways. Some are more obviously different
to the R sound in RP, but others are much subtler to hear and feel. Here is a list of the most typical
R sounds:

- Are you using a Labiodental R sound?

A labiodental R (lip and teeth R) sound is made with the lower lip lightly
touching the upper teeth and the tongue tip down behind the bottom front
teeth. It looks very similar to a V sound, but it is not a fricative. Listen to the
7
following words, firstly spoken with a labiodental R, then with the R used in
RP: ‘rip’, ‘ran’, ‘crash’, ‘grey’, ‘hurry’ and ‘carry’. If you do this, go to

- Are you using a Weak R sound?

A weak R sound is made in a similar way to a labiodental R, but the tongue

tip is very slightly curling up towards the alveolar ridge at the same time. .
Listen to the following words, firstly spoken with a weak R, then with the R
8
used in RP: ‘rip’, ‘ran’, ‘crash’, ‘grey’, ‘hurry’ and ‘carry’. If you do this,
go to

15
 R
phonetic symbol - r

- Are you using a Retroflex R sound?

A retroflex R sound is made with the tongue tip curling further up and
back towards the centre of the roof of the mouth. Listen to the following
words, firstly spoken with a retroflex R, then with the R used in RP: ‘rip’, 9
‘ran’, ‘crash’, ‘grey’, ‘hurry’ and ‘carry’. If you do this, go to

- Are you using a Molar R sound?

A molar R is made with the whole tongue retracting back in the mouth,
bunching without the tongue tip curling upward. The upper back edges of
the tongue are touching the inner edges of the upper back molars. Listen to
10
the following words, firstly spoken with a molar R, then with the R used in
RP: ‘rip’, ‘ran’, ‘crash’, ‘grey’, ‘hurry’ and ‘carry’. If you do this, go to

- Are you using a Uvular Fricative R sound?

A uvular fricative R sound is made with the back of the tongue rising up
towards the uvular – in the same way as a K sound (p.70) – but instead of
touching it, it creates a narrow space causing a friction-like sound when
vibrations pass up and out. Listen to the following words, firstly spoken 11
with a uvular fricative R, then with the R used in RP: ‘rip’, ‘ran’, ‘crash’, ‘grey’,
‘hurry’ and ‘carry’. If you do this, go to

- Are you using Tapped and Trilled R sounds?

The retroflex R and the R used in RP can be tapped. They can also be trilled as can the uvular R. For a
tapped R, instead of the tongue holding its position and the sound travelling through the space around
and over it, the tongue very quickly touches then releases from the closest point of articulation
depending on which R you make. For a trilled R the tongue touches and releases many times in rapid
12
succession. Listen to the following words, firstly spoken with a tapped and trilled retroflex R, then with
a trilled uvular R, then a tapped and trilled R used in RP, and then the R used in RP: ‘crash’, ‘grey’, ‘hurry’
and ‘carry’. If you do this, go to

- Are you replacing an R sound with an L sound?

Some speakers replace an R sound with an L sound (p.57). An L sound is made with the tongue in a
very similar shape to the R sound used in RP, except that the tongue tip actually touches the alveolar
ridge for an L sound, so ‘rag’ might sound more like ‘lag’ and ‘wrong’ sound more like ‘long’. If you do 13
this, go to

16
 R
phonetic symbol - r

> How do I change my habit?

- How do I change to the R sound used in RP?

Whilst there are some big differences in the type of R that you might be using habitual, changing your
habitual R to the R sound used in RP is all about creating a curving, scooping shape with your tongue
body and with the tongue tip pointing up towards the area just behind your alveolar ridge without
them touching. So use the following exercise to help create this curving, scooping shape. An L sound
(p.57) as in words like ‘light’, ‘lee’ and ‘lane’ is made in a very similar way to this R sound, the only
difference being that for an L sound the tongue tip touches the area just in front of the alveolar ridge.
Sustain the L sound and pay attention to the feeling of its shape inside your mouth. It’s okay if your
tongue tip doesn’t normally touch the alveolar ridge for your habitual L sound, but for the purpose of
this exercise, put the tongue tip on the alveolar ridge and compare the following pictures:

L sound R sound

14

Say the word ‘Lorraine’. Once your tongue tip releases after the L sound encourage the body of
your tongue to remain in the same shape and position as for the L sound but without the tongue
tip touching the alveolar ridge. Play the same game with ‘Loretta’, ‘larynx’, ‘lorry’ and ‘Larry’. Other
consonants that have a similar shape and position are T, D and N. Play with ‘terrain’, ‘derive’ and
15
‘narrate’. Another way to use this exercise is to play with word combinations, where the first word
ends with an ‘l’ and the second word starts with an ‘r’, for example ‘pale red’, ‘feel ridiculous’, ‘call
Robin’, ‘tall rock’ and ‘sell rockets’.

- How do I change a weak or labiodental R?

Changing a weak R or labiodental R (lip and teeth R) sound is about discouraging your lower lip from
touching your upper teeth and encouraging your tongue tip to curve up. Firstly, hold a finger vertically
over your lips, as if you were asking someone to be quiet.Then roll your lower lip down by sliding your
finger down towards your chin. Keep your lower lip held down, so that your lower front teeth are very
slightly exposed, then say the following words:

ran run write rod rang ring rack rock rag rouge
16
Now, take your finger away from your lower lip but keep your lower lip in a subtler version of that
same position with the muscles of your lips. It might feel like a subtle pout – ensure that the lower lip
is down, exposing the bottom teeth. Look in a mirror and your lower front teeth should be very slightly
exposed. Repeat the words above, encouraging your tongue tip to curve up and backwards towards
the area just behind the alveolar ridge and your lips in a very subtle pout. It’s vital that as soon as you

17
 R
phonetic symbol - r

have said the R sound you release your lips into their resting position.

Building this new habit may some take time and regular practice. The words above are useful in as
much as there are no other consonant sounds that use the lips. Once you are confident with these,
play with other words where the R sound is in between two vowel sounds, or words that have a
consonant before an R sound, for example:

hurry marry carry curry credit crisis cream grape groan

17
Many British speakers use a weak R sound, and it is actually becoming much more widely accepted in
English pronunciation. However, if you still wish to change towards the R used for RP, a weak R can be
a particularly stubborn habit to break, so whilst the suggestions above for how to change your habit
are hopefully useful and effective, they may not offer you the specific guidance that you might need,
in which case you might benefit from some one-to-one coaching. But as I said, it is a small part of a
big picture, and should only receive the attention that you choose to place on it.

> Anything else?

- Should I pronounce every written R?

Not every written ‘r’ is spoken, so we’ll look at this in the following section called Rhoticity (p19.).

- ‘pr’, ‘tr’ and ‘kr’ consonant clusters

This is a very minor detail, but in ‘pr’, ‘tr’ and ‘kr’ consonant clusters (p.84), especially when they are
at the beginning of a word on a stressed syllable, the R sound is actually pronounced as voiceless and a
bit friction-like in quality.This is in part because the P,T and K sounds are themselves voiceless sounds
(p.14). For most, this is likely to happen instinctively. Even so, whisper the following words and you
may notice this quality. Say them again, only coming onto voice on the vowels:

practice prevent pride train track trail cry crack crease

18
> Practice words and typical spellings for the R sound

R original rang ring pride broken crash RR marry worried

surround carry WR wrong write wrap wreathe RH rhubarb
rhythm diarrhoea rhetoric rhapsody rheumatic 19

> Practice Sentences for the R sound

• The road we live on is right next to Reading train station.

• Thankfully Chris is through the really problematic phase of his treatment.
• Ralph is always running late. His unpredictability is infuriating.
• I’ve been brought the wrong files. Who is responsible? 20

• Would you carry that furry grey cat and put him outside the orange basket.

p.239

18
 You can download the audio for the R Sound here: Audio Download

Everything else in included in the Complete Roadmap Training. Click here to invest in your speech.

19
 Vowels

My Pronunciation Roadmap

SCHWA p.92 THOUGHT, NORTH, NEAR p.145

NURSE p.96 FORCE p.120 DRESS p.149

GOAT p.100 CHOICE p.125 FACE p.153

BATH, PALM, START p.104 TRAP p.129 SQUARE p.157

STRUT p.108 MOUTH p.133 GOOSE p.161

PRICE p.112 FLEECE p.137 FOOT p.165

LOT, CLOTH p.116 KIT p.141 CURE p.169

87
 20min the Schwa
phonetic symbol - ə

This sound is pronounced in words like:

a about around Alan necklace o obtuse oppose purpose customer

u suppose support Autumn album e hundred sullen open
i possible or forget forsake director minor er perhaps percent
other longer ur survive surprise survey v. ure nature posture
349
ar standard custard ou fabulous scandalous iou cautious curious
ough thorough borough urgh Edinburgh our saviour colour

> How is the SCHWA vowel sound made in an RP accent?

This vowel sound can be described as the most common and the most neutral in RP. The tongue tip
is behind the bottom teeth and the middle of the tongue is in the middle of the centre of the mouth. The
lips are neutral, the jaw is loose and the teeth are apart.The SCHWA vowel sound is short in duration.

350

> Remember this!

The SCHWA is a vowel sound that has a specific role, which is to represent the vowel in a weak/
unstressed syllable(s) (p.183) of most polysyllabic words, as in ‘tuna’, ‘offend’ and ‘announce’, or the
weak form of a grammatical word (p.202), as in ‘the car’, ‘a cup of tea’ and ‘an apple’. This means that
it can spelt in many, many different ways and could be considered as one of the most frequently
used vowel sounds in RP. For example, in the word ‘abandonment’, the underlined letters are all 351
pronounced as a SCHWA vowel sound. And the same is true for the underlined ‘o’, ‘a’ and ‘er’ in
‘photographer’.

> What do I do habitually?

- Are you pronouncing every written ‘r’?

If you are a rhotic speaker (p.19), your habit is to pronounce every written ‘r’. The SCHWA vowel
sound is often spelt with a written ‘r’, especially at the end of a word, as in ‘other’, ‘weather’, ‘mirror’,
‘nature’, ‘colour’ and ‘doctor’. But RP is a non-rhotic accent so a written ‘r’ is only spoken when it is
followed by a spoken vowel sound. Listen to the words above, firstly spoken with the R sound and 352
then without, as they should be in RP. If you do this, go to

92
 the Schwa
phonetic symbol - ə

- Are you replacing the SCHWA vowel sound with the STRUT or DRESS vowel sound?

Some speakers replace the SCHWA with the STRUT vowel sound (p.108 - which is made with the
middle of the tongue low in the centre of the mouth, and the lips equally as neutral) or the DRESS vowel
sound (p.149 - which is made with the front of the tongue in the middle of the front of the mouth, and
the lips slightly spread). Listen to the following words, firstly spoken with the STRUT vowel sound, 353
then the DRESS vowel sound, and then with the SCHWA vowel sound, as they should be in RP:
‘other’, ‘weather’, ‘mirror’, ‘nature’, ‘colour’ and ‘doctor’. If you do this, go to

- Is your pronunciation guided by the spelling?

Many non-native speakers use the spelling of a word as a guide to its pronunciation. But because British
English is not written phonetically, one vowel sound can be represented by numerous spellings. For
this reason, the spelling in British English cannot be trusted for vowel pronunciation. For example, the
SCHWA vowel sound can be represented as the ‘er’ in ‘other’, the ‘or’ in ‘mirror’, the ‘ure’ in ‘nature’,
the ‘our’ in ‘colour’, the ‘a’ in ‘about’, the ‘o’ in ‘obtuse’, the ‘u’ in ‘support’, the ‘iou’ in ‘cautious’ and 354
many, many more. But all these words, despite the variation in spelling, are pronounced with the
SCHWA vowel sound.

This tendency to pronounce a word with a vowel sound that you associate with the spelling, means
that you might be pronouncing the ‘a’ in ‘about’ with the TRAP vowel sound (p.129 - as in ‘tab’), the
‘o’ in ‘oppose’ with the LOT vowel sound (p.116 - as in ‘opposite’), the ‘u’ in ‘support’ with the STRUT
vowel sound (p.108 - as in ‘supper’), and the ‘e’ in ‘open’ with the DRESS vowel sound (p.149 as in
‘pen’). But again, all these words, despite the variation in spelling, are pronounced with the SCHWA 355
vowel sound.All of this might seem a bit overwhelming, but I have some simple and effective solutions
that will help you: go to

> How do I change my habit?

- How do I avoid pronouncing a written ‘r’ that should not be pronounced?

There are some words that end with the SCHWA vowel sound that are not spelt with a written ‘r’,
so it might be helpful to compare them to words that are. In RP, the ‘a’ in ‘tuna’ and the ‘er’ in ‘tuner’
are both pronounced with a SCHWA vowel sound. When saying, ‘tuner’, encourage your tongue tip
to be behind your bottom front teeth after the ‘n’. This way, the words rhyme with one another. Say
the word ‘tuna’ before each of the following words, encouraging the tongue tip to stay down behind 356
the bottom front teeth after the final consonant. Listen to the audio to help you imitate the sound
accurately and watch your tongue in a mirror:

tuna… other weather mirror nature colour doctor paper lighter

357
- How do I find the accurate tongue position for the SCHWA vowel sound?

The SCHWA vowel sound is almost like the sound you might associate with a Neanderthal grunt
– a sort of unformed, shapeless, language-less, neutral sound. It is short in duration, without any
movement in the lips, and the middle of the tongue is in the middle of the centre of the mouth. The
position of the tongue and lips for the SCHWA vowel sound is almost identical to their positions for
the NURSE vowel sound (p.96), so it might be helpful to compare them. Look in a mirror as you say
‘her’ and ‘lover’ (angle yourself towards a light or use a very small torch). It might be helpful to say

93
 the Schwa
phonetic symbol - ə

the vowel sounds on their own after saying the words, in order to see the tongue more clearly. For
‘her’ (the NURSE vowel sound) encourage the lips to be neutral, the middle of the tongue to be in the
middle of the centre of the mouth and the sound to be long in duration. For ‘lover’ (this is the target
358
SCHWA vowel sound) encourage the middle of the tongue to be in the middle of the centre of the
mouth, but the sound to be short in duration.

NURSE SCHWA

359

The SCHWA vowel sound in the ‘ver’ of ‘lover’ should sound exactly the same as the ‘ver’ in the
word ‘veranda’. Say ‘lover’ then ‘veranda’, encouraging the ‘ver’ in both words to sound identical.
360
Say the word ‘her’ before each of the following words, encouraging your lips and the middle of your
tongue to remain in the same positions for the SCHWA vowel sounds, which have been underlined.
Encourage the sound to be short in duration. Listen to the audio to help you imitate the sound
accurately:

her… about necklace oppose customer support Autumn album

hundred open possible forget director percent longer survive
survey v. posture standard fabulous cautious thorough borough saviour 361

Here’s another game to play: say the SCHWA vowel sound on its own before saying each word, to
help you hear whether or not you are pronouncing it accurately and also to give you a reference for
how it should sound in the word. Listen to the audio to help you imitate the sound accurately:

around Alan obtuse purpose suppose album sullen open

possible forsake minor perhaps other surprise nature
custard scandalous curious thorough Edinburgh colour 362

- How do I avoid being guided by the spelling?

Once you have used the exercises above to help you achieve an accurate pronunciation of this vowel
sound, go to the Lexical Sets subsection (p.90) for advice on how to avoid being guided by the spelling.

> Anything else?

The SCHWA vowel sound can also be heard in weak forms of grammatical words, like ‘the’, ‘to’ and
‘a’, which helps to find the rhythm and intonation of RP. This is fully explained in the subsection The
SCHWA in grammatical words (p.202).

94
 the Schwa
phonetic symbol - ə

> Practice words and typical spellings for the SCHWA vowel sound

a about around ahead again ballad Alan necklace banana

roundabout India England Nottingham o obtuse oppose offend official
completely computer communicate consume conductor concern condition
melon paddock purpose customer pantomime u suppose support
suggest circus Autumn album perjury adventurer upon e hundred
sullen open present v. present n. begin commitment i possible
or doctor minor forget director forsake mirror author forbid
actor sector juror Windsor major raptor manor doctor
sailor er perhaps percent perceive heather singer other
363
sister teacher brother longer father mower power yesterday eastern
mother wonderland ur survive surprise survey v. ure nature
posture ar burglar tankard custard standard standardise jeopardy
calendar ou fabulous scandalous cautious ferrous glamorous
Bournemouth curious curvaceous vicious marvellous boisterous disastrous
gracious anxious ough thorough borough Scarborough Loughborough
Middlesbrough urgh Edinburgh our harbour saviour succour colour

95
 You can download the audio for the Schwa here: Audio Download

Everything else in included in the Complete Roadmap Training. Click here to invest in your speech.

96
 Syllables
and Word Stress

My Pronunciation Roadmap

Syllable stress p.174 Dates, times, money p.180 Unstressed syllables p.183

Compound words p.177 Primary/secondary stress p.182 Prefixes & Suffixes p.186

173
 Syllables and Word Stress

Stressing the right syllable in a word is an important part of pronunciation. Sometimes it can even
change the meaning of a word. Moreover, learning how to stress a syllable in an RP accent will also
help with intonation and inflection.

> How might I approach syllables and word stress?

Much of this section is about understanding the structure of words, the nature and number of
syllables in a word, and learning patterns. This is as much to do with the English language, as it is
to do with speech, pronunciation and communication style. For these reasons, the habits amongst
non-native and regional English speakers have not been identified. Instead, the focus is on clarifying
the typical word stress patterns in British English and the ways that an RP might stress a syllable or
word. Hence, there are lot of facts and descriptions but also a lot of examples and audio for you to
listen to and imitate.

Treat each page like an actual coaching session: each page suggests how long to set aside. Take your
time it. Read each part, record yourself when recommended and listen to the audio examples.Where
appropriate, use a mirror to see what your habit might be. Play with each exercise and by the end
you will hopefully know and feel what to aim for, what your habit is, how to change it and how to
practice the new habit.

20min

> What is a syllable?

Generally speaking, a syllable is a single unit of speech. Typically, this unit of speech is made up of a
vowel (known as the centre or nucleus of the syllable), which may have a consonant or consonant
cluster before and/or after it. For example: ‘at’, ‘to’, ‘bit’ and ‘can’.

> What is the difference between monosyllables and polysyllables?

A word that is monosyllabic simply means a word made up of only one syllable:

at to bit can bite stack thwart click our or are

693
A word that is polysyllabic is made up of two or more syllables (the dot (.) in the following words
indicate the syllable divisions):

2 3 4 5 6
a.head a.men.ded ra.di.at.or a.bbre.vi.a.ted au.tho.ri.ta.ri.an 694

> Polysyllables - Stressed and Unstressed Syllables p.276

In polysyllabic words it is important to know which syllables are stressed and which are unstressed. For
example, in a word like ‘a.HEAD’, ‘HEAD’ is the stressed syllable and ‘a’ is unstressed. In ‘a.MEN.ded’,
‘MEN’ is the stressed syllable, and so ‘a’ and ‘ded’ are unstressed. Some speakers stress too many the
syllables and some stress the wrong ones. I’ll talk more about how to identify the correct stressed and
unstressed syllables later on. The stressed syllables in the following words are written in capital letters:

RA.di.at.or a.BBRE.vi.a.ted au.tho.ri.TA.ri.an a.MA.zing WON.der.ful

695
174
 Syllables and Word Stress

> How should I stress a syllable in a polysyllabic word?

Record yourself saying the following sentence:

al.THOUGH you are a GE.ni.us you are in.CRE.dib.ly frus.TRA.ting

696
Stressing a syllable in a polysyllabic word is quite simply about making the right part of a word stand
out. For now, let’s keep it simple. There are three main ways to stress a syllable in a polysyllabic word:
pitch, loudness and pace. In my opinion, loudness is not as relevant or useful as pitch or pace, simply
because loudness tends to make people sound unclear in speech. For example, speak the sentence
above, and make yourself louder on the stressed syllables indicated in capitals and remain at your
normal volume of speaking for all other syllables and monosyllabic words in lower case letters.

The stressed syllables certainly stand out, but hopefully you also noticed how it makes your speech
sound very jumpy, almost like a thudding pulse, slightly staccato, and so there isn’t a natural flow to
your speech. The phrase ‘boom and fade’ might be a good way to describe this method of stressing
syllables, particularly because the unstressed syllables and other monosyllabic words seem to fade away
and sound unclear.

Say the sentence again, and this time let volume remain constant, and instead focus on pitch.The way
pitch is used in speech varies greatly and is influenced by a number of things, and we’ll talk more
about this in the section entitled Intonation – Pitch (p.213). Listen back to your recording and pay
attention to how you use pitch: you might be using lower pitches to make the stressed syllables stand
out; or the stressed and unstressed syllables might have the same pitch; or you might be using higher
pitches on the stressed syllables.

RP speakers tend to use a slightly higher pitch on stressed syllables and the unstressed syllables and
other monosyllabic words have a lower pitch. Picture the way a heart monitor measures the rate of the
heart - think of the vertical peak of the line on the monitor as the stressed syllables and the unstressed
syllables as the resting horizontal line in-between the strong beats. Listen to the audio to help guide
you.

al.THOUGH you are a GE.ni.us you are in.CRE.dib.ly frus.TRA.ting

697
You may have noticed how the stressed syllables stand out but also your speech flows from one word
to another. For now, the focus is just on stressing syllables in polysyllabic words, and we’ll move onto
what to do in sentences a bit later. Remember this – typically, stressed syllables have a slightly higher
pitch and unstressed syllables have a slightly lower in pitch. Have another go with these individual
polysyllabic words:

al.THOUGH GE.ni.us in.CRE.dib.ly frus.TRA.ting RA.di.at.or

a.BBRE.vi.a.ted au.tho.ri.TA.ri.an a.MA.zing WON.der.ful
698
> Which syllable should I stress?

Stressing the right syllable in a polysyllabic word can mean the difference between correct and
incorrect pronunciation in RP, even if you are pronouncing the vowels and consonants accurately.
The only conclusive way of knowing is by checking a word in a reliable dictionary – or better still a
pronunciation dictionary – which often marks the stressed syllable like this ˈ - so ‘al.THOUGH’ would

175
 Syllables and Word Stress

be written ɔɫˈðəʊ. One thing is certain, always stress the vowel and never stress the consonant(s).

However, there are some useful patterns that might be helpful to consider.The following suggestions
cannot be described as conclusive rules, as there are always exceptions, but for the most part, they
will form a useful guide. Consider recording yourself saying the words in each of the subsections
below before reading about how to stress them accurately.

- Pattern 1 - Two-syllable verbs, nouns and adjectives

Often, two-syllable verbs stress the second syllable:

a.TTACK pro.VOKE en.TICE a.TTRACT se.DUCE ex.CITE in.DULGE

699

Often, two-syllable nouns and adjectives stress the...

You can download the audio for word stress here: Audio Download

Everything else in included in the Complete Roadmap Training. Click here to invest in your speech.

176
 Intonation -
Rhythm and Pitch

My Pronunciation Roadmap

Syllable/stress timed p.208 High Rise Tone p.222 Parenthesis p.227

Resting rhythm p.208 Responding to questions p.222 Quoting/paraphrasing p.227

Mono/polysyllabic words p.210 Statements, commands... p.224 Irony/sarcasm/satire p.229

Short/long vowels p.211 Apologising p.224 Expanding a statement p.229

Phrasing/pausing p.211 Ongoing thought p.225 Antithesis p.230

Asking a question p.221 Listing p.225 but... or... so... p.231

Rhetorical questions p.222 Naming places, people... p.226

206
 Intonation - Rhythm

> What is intonation?

Intonation is essentially the way in which each one of us uses our voice to infer meaning by changing
two things – rhythm and pitch. Through intonation we turn words into opinions, stories, feelings etc…
Without intonation, speech would sound robotic. That is to say that without intonation the rhythm of
speech would be a consistent beat, and every syllable and every word would be spoken on the same
pitch. So intonation helps to bring life and colour and more complex meaning to what we say.

> How might I approach intonation?

Intonation is such a varied aspect of how we communicate and is influenced by so many different
factors. For these reasons, the many, many possible patterns and habits amongst non-native and
regional English speakers have not been identified, as has been attempted in the sections on vowels
and consonants. Instead, the focus is on clarifying the typical intonation patterns of native RP speakers
in as many of the quantifiable communication situations as possible. Hence, there are lot of facts and
descriptions but also a lot of examples and audio for you to listen to and imitate.

Treat each page like an actual coaching session: each page suggests how long to set aside. Take your
time it. Read each part, record yourself when recommended and listen to the audio examples.Where
appropriate, use a mirror to see what your habit might be. Play with each exercise and by the end
you will hopefully know and feel what to aim for, what your habit is, how to change it and how to
practice the new habit.

Remember that for most speakers, we learn our first language (their mother tongue) through
imitation, experimentation and repetition. We watch and listen to those around us and copy the
sounds they make and the way they make them in relationship to the context in which they are using
them. This is also true for intonation. Learning the rhythm and inflection patterns is done through
imitation, experimentation and repetition. And it is through intonation that accurate pronunciation
and word stress come together to complete the full picture of communication: sharing our thoughts
and feelings about ourselves and the world in which we live.

10min

> Rhythm

Rhythm in speech can be likened to rhythm in music. Some music is very constant, some erratic,
some slow, some fast – and all the variations in between. Similarly, some speakers have a very steady
and regular rhythm, some are very inconsistent, some have more of a staccato rhythm, some have
more of a flowing and wave-like rhythm, and so on.

The reasons for these variations are complex, and are influenced by many factors other than just
language. For example, rhythm of speech might be affected by: the rhythms of the lifestyle associated
with a region; the rhythms of the typical music associated with a certain culture, country, region and
language; and, it might sound abstract, but speech rhythms might even be influenced by geography
– by the topography and climate of an area. The rhythm of speech, even within one region, can vary
greatly. This is because we each have our own unique tempo that might be affected by the way we
approach life, our professional environment, and the learnt behaviour we acquire from family or
friends.

207
 Intonation - Rhythm

Aside from these complex and abstract influences, the essence of rhythm comes from language and
its pronunciation, and this will be our focus.

- Syllable-timed languages vs. stress-timed languages

Some languages can be described as syllable-timed, which means that the time it takes to say what
you say is based on the number of syllables in that phrase or sentence, which would all be spoken
with approximately equal length. For example ‘I want to go for a walk’ has seven syllables. To feel the 886
rhythm of a syllable-timed language, say each syllable with the same length.

Other languages can be described as stress-timed, which means that the time it takes to say what
you say depends on the number of stressed syllables or stressed words, simply because the words in-
between are not spoken with the same emphasis. For example, ‘I want to go for a walk’ might have
two or three stressed words, as in:

‘I WANT to go for a WALK’ or ‘I WANT to GO for a WALK’

887
Listen to the audio of these phrases and you may notice that it takes very slightly less time to say
the first than the second, and even less time compared to the syllable-timed version. Record yourself
saying this phrase and consider which best describes your habit.

The British English language spoken in an RP accent is stress-timed, so the length of what you say is
based on the number of stressed words or stressed syllables in any one given phrase or sentence. This
translates as a rhythm in speech, so the change of rhythm between the first and second examples
above is because of the differing number of words that are stressed.

Listen to the audio and then repeat the following examples spoken firstly in syllable-timed and then
stress-timed:

‘What’s the most im.POR.tant part of this training?’

‘I’m going to the shops, do you want anything?
‘I’ve never flown before – I’m quite NER.vous.’ 888
‘We all arrived on time, but Tom was three hours late!’
p.288
- The Resting Rhythm of Speech

In the section entitled How should I stress a syllable in a polysyllabic word (p.175), I said that the simplest
way to indicate the primary and secondary stressed syllables in a polysyllabic word is with a slightly higher
pitch, and unstressed syllables with a slightly lower pitch. For a moment, extend this idea to the way in
which we might stress the important, essential words in a sentence and the way in which we might
weaken grammatical words: to stress important, essential words, we might use a slightly higher pitch
and to weaken grammatical words we might use a slightly lower pitch. Listen and play with the following
sentence. The stressed words are in bold capitals:

‘I’d LOVE to GO to BED, READ a BOOK, and REST for an HOUR or TWO’
889
Whilst this is a simplistic way of looking at how to stress important, essential words, it is a useful
starting place. You might also notice that when stressing these words in this way, a natural rhythm
develops, much like the resting rhythm of the heart. Pay attention to this rhythm, especially in these
208
 Intonation - Rhythm

parts of the sentence:

‘I’d LOVE to GO to BED READ a BOOK and REST an HOUR or TWO’

890
If we use ‘tee’ for a weak syllable and weak forms of grammatical words and ‘TUM’ for a stressed syllable
and important, essential words, we might rewrite the sentence:

tee TUM tee TUM tee TUM TUM tee TUM tee TUM tee TUM tee TUM
‘I’d LOVE to GO to BED READ a BOOK and REST an HOUR or TWO’ 891

This rhythm is very much embedded in the British English language, and it is in part because of
William Shakespeare, his peers and predecessors. Essentially, Shakespeare and his peers inherited a
form of writing called verse, which was at the time a very fashionable way of writing dramatic and
poetic language.Verse, of any kind, tends to have a rhythmic structure. For example, in Shakespeare’s
Sonnet Twelve:

‘When I do COUNT the CLOCK that TELLS the TIME’

tee TUM tee TUM tee TUM tee TUM tee TUM 892

We might say that this ‘tee TUM tee TUM’ rhythm is clock-like, metronomic, like the resting rhythm
of the heart, or indeed the resting rhythm of speech. Another way of writing this might be ‘weak
STRONG weak STRONG’ – a weak syllable or word followed by a strong, stressed syllable or stressed
word. Pay particular attention to this part of the line:

‘the CLOCK that TELLS the TIME’

weak STRONG weak STRONG weak STRONG 893

Here, the grammatical words ‘the’, ‘that’ and ‘the’ are weak but they are also pronounced with the
SCHWA vowel sound (p.92), which is, as I have said, a naturally weak sounding vowel sound. So
observing the SCHWA vowel sound in grammatical words not only helps to strengthen the essential
words, but also reinforces this aspect of intonation – the resting rhythm of speech. Even in the beginning
of the line:

‘When I do COUNT’
894
Whilst the words ‘when’ and ‘do’ are not pronounced with the SCHWA vowel sound, this resting
rhythm is still present, so long as you lift the pitch of the essential words and lower the pitch of ‘when’
and ‘do’. Here are some other examples of this resting rhythm of speech. Any words pronounced with
the SCHWA vowel sound have been underlined:

‘the WAY to OX.ford CIR.cus’ ‘I’ve GOT to GO to WORK’

‘we HAVE to CATCH the BUS’ ‘I’ll CLEAN the CAR to.NIGHT’
‘WE should GO and ASK’ ‘WHO was IN the PUB’
895
‘we’re OUT of ALL the BREAD’ ‘I’m NOT as FIT as YOU’
‘but ALL the TOYS have GONE’ ‘ALL the WAY from LON.don TOWN’

Of course, just as the heartbeat changes rhythm depending on what you’re doing or feeling, the

209
 Intonation - Rhythm

rhythm of speech changes depending on the words being used, their order, the context of the
situation, the speaker’s intention and their emotional state. But we might conclude that this resting
rhythm is the inherent, typical rhythm of this accent, to which an RP speaker will always return.

p.288

You can download the audio for Syllable vs. Stress Timing and the Resting Rhythm here:
Audio Download

Everything else in included in the Complete Roadmap Training. Click here to invest in your speech.

210
 Consonants

Vowels

238
Syllables and Word Stress

Relationships between Words - Connected Speech

Practice Pages
Bonus Section:

Intonation - Pitch and Rhythm

 10min Practice Pages - R
phonetic symbol – r
- Ex. 1 - Spot the R sound (p.15)

1 I drove Robin from Rochester to Reading 2 Travelling by train can be great - mostly
3 I drew a green field with grey rain clouds 4 Is this right? This is Broad Street.
5 We’ve been approved to distribute the food 6 We trawled through last month’s report
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7 I’m protesting because he broke the rules 8 The rota is crazy – we must take control

- Ex. 2 - Everyday words

drink grip history increase industry instrument interest print religion

rhythm trick brick bridge prison ring spring military different every
very credit direction friend record regret request respect rest
secretary stretch berry dress thread umbrella electric general necessary
present ready separate crack carriage camera rat angry married
natural parallel narrow country crush current destruction discovery 1011
front rub run trouble brush rough across from tomorrow authority
profit drop orange rod probable responsible wrong strong agreement
degree reading receipt tree free

- Ex. 3 – Create phrases from the words above

Create 6 phrases that you might use containing words from Ex. 2 above.

1 ….…………….……………………………… 2 ….…………….………………………………
3 ….…………….……………………………… 4 ….…………….………………………………
5 ….…………….……………………………… 6 ….…………….………………………………

- Ex. 4 - My Word Bank

What are your 12 most frequently used words containing the R sound?

1 ………………… 2 ………………… 3 ………………… 4 …………………

5 ………………… 6 ………………… 7 ………………… 8 …………………
9 ………………… 10 ………………… 11 ………………… 12 …………………

- Ex. 5 - My Phrase Bank

What are your 6 most frequently used phrases containing R the sound?

1 ….…………….……………………………… 2 ….…………….………………………………
3 ….…………….……………………………… 4 ….…………….………………………………
5 ….…………….……………………………… 6 ….…………….………………………………

p.295

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 You can download the audio for the R Sound Practice Page here: Audio Download

Everything else in included in the Complete Roadmap Training. Click here to invest in your speech.

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 Practice Pages - Syllables and Word Stress

> What is the difference between monosyllables and polysyllables? (p.174)

- Ex. 1 – Count how many syllables there are in the words below:

amazing confront driving photograph mum rearranging sure computer

salary bag wallet purse keys shopping film dinner wonderful

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experimental jumper skirt typing shower fortunate well illness
p.304
- Ex. 2 – Count the number of syllables of each word in the sentence below:

“What time do you want me to pick you up? I can’t leave for another ten minutes. I’m just waiting

on a call. Shall I collect you from the station or near the roundabout? And do you need to go

shopping today? Do you want to do that now or this evening? I’ve got some work to do, so I
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could do that while you’re shopping and then pick you up and we could go for dinner somewhere.

Maybe, Alexander’s? What do you think?”

p.304
> Which syllable should I stress? (p.175)

- Ex. 1 – Circle the correct stressed syllable in these two-syllable verbs, nouns and adjectives (words in bold):

a) I want to upgrade my phone… is the upgrade available to me on this contract?

b) Progress is so slow… can you progress without my help?

c) It’s faulty. I’d like a refund please… it’s been over 21 days, so I can’t refund your money
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d) I suspect she feels awful about it… he’s their main suspect

e) Have you heard about this project?... They project a loss of 4.1bn
p.304

You can download the audio for the Word Stress Practice Page here: Audio Download

Everything else in included in the Complete Roadmap Training. Click here to invest in your speech.

276
 Practice Pages - Intonation - Rhythm

> Syllable-timed languages vs. stress-timed languages (p.208)

- Ex. 1 – Further practice for the stress-timed rhythm of RP.The stressed words have been written in bold.
Listen and imitate:

1) I know that you do. I don’t care anymore. Just leave it.

2) I know that you say that there isn’t a way, but we have to find a way to make this work.

3) The main thing that we need to do is to stay focused.

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4) It’s probably the most amazing place that I’ve been.

5) We were about to go, until Jack walked in. He’s always making us late.

> The Resting Rhythm of Speech (p.208)

- Ex. 1 – Further practice for the stress-timed rhythm of RP.The stressed words have been written in bold
and words pronounced with the SCHWA vowel sound have been underlined. Listen and imitate:

1) Can we go to bed at 10? I’m REA.lly tired to.DAY! I think I’ll sleep down here.

2) The shops were REA.lly BU.sy. I COUL.dn’t find that bar. Was it on the high
street?

3) I think I’m GO.ing mad. Have we met be.FORE? I swear I’ve seen your face.
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4) The beach was AWE.some. The food was great. The beer was good. A PER.fect
day.

5) It’s the ON.ly way to know. Shut it down, then clean it out, and start a.GAIN.

You can download the audio for Stress vs Stress Timing and the Resting Rhythm Practice Page here:
Audio Download

Everything else in included in the Complete Roadmap Training. Click here to invest in your speech.

288
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