Making a list: He bought a äcup and some ænuts.
He bought a ä cup, some ä nuts and some æ honey.
He bought a ä cup, some ä nuts, some ä honey and a æ brush.
Practise the game “My uncle went to London”.
E.g.:Student A: My uncle went to London and he spent a lot of money.
He bought a æ bus.
Student B: My uncle went to London and he spent a lot of money.
He bought a ä bus and a dozenæ buns.
Student C: My uncle went to London and he spent a lot of money.
He bought a ä bus, a dozenä buns and some æ honey.
Before you start practise saying the words from the list below:
a cup some butter some coloured sunglasses
a cupboard some honey some comfortable gloves
a bus one onion a lovely butterfly
a bottle of rum a brush a blood sausage
a hundred buttons a rubber duck an ugly monkey
some nuts a dozen buns a tongue
Review questions and tasks.
1. What approaches to pronunciation study exist?
2. What is implied by the terms «phonetics» and «phonology»?
3. Define a phoneme.
4. How are phonemes realized in speech?
5. Speak about the variants of the phoneme.
6. What pronunciation mistakes may occur in a foreign learner’s speech?
Unit 6
Section 1
Make a careful study of the text below and pick out the terms related to phonetics.
Static and Dynamic Aspects of English Articulatory Basis
It is necessary to remember that speaking a foreign language is always hard work. The Russian speaker must make a special effort to accommodate the speech organs to the articulation of English sounds. With some speakers the foreign accent is so strong that it makes their speech unintelligible. This is often the result of the wrong phonetic basis, i.e. the positions and movements of the organs of speech typical of the speaker’s mother tongue.
Phonetic basis suggests a number of the most typical pronunciation tendencies of the language. These tendencies are perceived by listeners as a certain “colouring” of the language under consideration.
Since phonetics deals with sounds and intonation, we distinguish between articulatory (or organic) basis and intonational (or rather prosodic) basis.
Articulatory basis has 2 aspects – static and dynamic. The static aspect is the position of the organs of speech (provided a person does not speak or is about to speak), and when an isolated sound is uttered. This position of the speech organs is usually called articulatory setting.
The dynamic aspect implies all the necessary movements of the articulating organs in connected speech.
Before studying the details of separate articulations the learners should “feel” the position their organs of speech (i.e. the articulatory setting of the language). This requires a lot of training.
The articulatory setting of English can be summed up as follows:
- the jaws are loosely closed but not clenched;
- the lips are neutral and moderately active, showing a slight smile;
- the mouth cavity is relaxed;
- the main consonant articulation is apical (i.е. the tip of the tongue is against the
teeth ridge);
- tongue anchorage – to roof laterally;
- the tip of the tongue is tapered;
- the body of the tongue is slightly concave to roof.
Learners are strongly recommended to speak slowly when they start developing and improving their pronunciation. If one speaks very fast, the English sounds will most probably be distorted or substituted for their Russian counterparts, because the articulatory skills are not yet fully automatic.
Section 2
[ α: ]
(back, open (broad variant), unrounded, long)
I. Observe the position of the lips and the tongue for the sound [α:]. Read the words in the columns. Pay attention to the positional length of [α:].
are arm art [Λ - α:] cup - carp
bar bard Bart hut - heart
car card cart cut - cart
char charge chart bun - barn
far farm farce much - march
star starve start cluck - clerk
II. Read the sentences. Follow the tonetic marks.
1. Hard bargain! Это выгодная сделка.
2. Start the car. Заведи машину.
3. I hardly like the remark, Papa. Мне не нравится это замечание, папа.
4. Are we to be a large party? Народу много будет?
5. He laughs best who laughs last. Хорошо смеётся тот, кто смеётся
последним.
6. Cars can’t be parked here after dark. Здесь запрещается стоянка машин
после наступления темноты.
7. Shan’t we dance after classes? Почему бы не потанцевать после
уроков?
8. The exam will be rather hard to pass. Этот экзамен сдать будет нелегко.
9. Barbara’s art and part of the party. Барбара – душа общества.
III. Observe the correct pronunciation of the rhythmic groups and the vowel [α:].
I shan’t.| I 'shan’t dance.| I 'shan’t 'dance at the 'garden party.| I 'shan’t 'dance at the 'garden 'party at my 'aunt’s farm.| I 'shan’t 'dance at the 'garden 'party at my 'aunt’s 'farm to`morrow.||
IV. Match the following English idioms, proverbs and sayings with their Russian
equivalents. Make up situations to illustrate their usage.
1. After a storm comes a calm. a. незыблемый, твердый
2. a nosy parker b. рискнуть
3. smart alec c. непревзойденный мастер, знаток
4. hard and fast d. нерушимый, надежный
5. chance one’s arm e. человек, всюду сующий свой нос
6. past master f. после бури наступает затишье
IV. Practise the pronunciation of the following rhyme and learn it by heart.
Heart of the Tree
by Henry Caylor Bunner
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants the friend of sun and sky,
He plants the flag of breezes free,
The shaft of beauty, towering high,
He plants a home to heaven anigh.
V. Practise saying the tongue twisters. Observe the correct articulation of [α:].
Six sharp smart sharks.
Section 3
I. Test. Tick the words you recognize in the sentences you hear:
| 1.a) hat; | b) hut | c) heart |
| 2. a) cat; | b) cut; | c) cart |
| 3. a) cap; | b) cup; | c) carp |
| 4. a) bun; | b) barn | |
| 5. a) come; | b) calm | |
| 6. a) Patty’s | b) party |
II. Listen to the dialogue and learn it by heart.
At a Party
Margaret: Where’s your glass, Barbara?
Barbara: It’s on the bar.
Martin: Barbara! Margaret! Come into the garden! Martha and Charles are
dancing in the dark.
Margaret: In the garden? What a laugh!
Barbara: So they are! They’re dancing on the grass!
Margaret: They’re dancing under the stars!
Martin: And Arnold’s playing his guitar.
Barbara: Doesn’t Martha look smart!
Margaret: Look at Charles! What a marvelous dancer!
Barbara: Ah! Let’s take a photograph of Martha and Charles.
Martin: We can’t. It’s too dark.
III. Conversational practice. (Exclamatory sentences).
A: Look at that car!
B: What a fast car!
Practise saying the sentences. Use the words below.
fantastic glass
unusual carpet
dark quitar
fast dancer
dirty car
marvelous photograph
smart scar
funny star
