Probably all of us know that the Germans burr when they pronounce the letter “R”, but how can we repeat it? And is it always necessary to burr? Let's find out!
Now let's watch the video where German It explains in great detail what types of R there are and how to pronounce them (with examples):
If you prefer a not very formal explanation, then here is another video (this time in English):
It is worth noting that there are fundamentally two variants of pronunciation of the letter R in German:
- burry R;
- vocalized R (read as a short "A").
In the first case (what we called “burry R”) there is another division into 3 subtypes:
1) Friction r (posterior lingual fricative ringing sound) (Reibe-r)
When articulating it, the position of the lips and the distance between the teeth are directed towards the pronunciation of the next sound. The posterior uvula rises to the soft palate and forms a gap in which the flow of air passing through it produces a faint rubbing sound.
2) Rear lingual r (uvular sonorant vibrant) (Zäpfchen-r)
When articulating it, the position of the lips and the distance between the teeth are directed towards the pronunciation of the next sound. The tongue rises at the back oral cavity towards the velum palatine and forms a depression in the anterior part. The air flow causes the (posterior) tongue to vibrate against the raised back of the tongue. The velum is raised. The vocal cords produce sound.
3) Forelingual r (forelingual sonorant vibrant) (Zungenspitzen-r)
When articulating it, the position of the lips and the distance between the teeth are directed towards the pronunciation of the next sound. The tip of the tongue strikes against the incisors or the area of the alveoli adjacent to the upper incisors, so that an intermittent closure occurs. The velum is raised. The vocal cords produce sound. This sound, in its method of formation, resembles the Russian sound “r”, however, the German r is pronounced with fewer strokes of the tongue at the upper teeth and their alveoli (only about one and a half strokes) and therefore sounds less rolling than the Russian “r”.
Note.
In modern German literary language all three pronunciations of r are equal. But you should know that the posterior lingual fricative r (Reiber-r) is most widespread. In second place is the velar uvular r (Zäpfchen-r). The front-lingual sonorant vibrant r (Zungenspitzen-r) has the smallest distribution and has a shade of dialectally colored speech.
4) Voiced R
When articulating it, the position of the lips and the distance between the teeth are directed towards the pronunciation of the next sound. The tip of the front tongue is in contact with the lower incisors. The middle part of the tongue rises slightly towards the hard palate. The velum is raised. And thus the indefinite vowel sound [ɐ] is formed. After the monophthong er, the vocalization r is fully realized, and for this reason is not indicated by the sign at the top, but is written like all ordinary signs on the line, that is, [ɐ].
All of these variations of the r sound are pronounced differently in different positions in the word. They can be clearly pronounced, lightly marked, or fully vocalized, that is, turned into a vowel sound.
The consonant r is clearly pronounced in the following positions:
1) at the beginning of a stressed or unstressed syllable, for example: Rand “edge”, raten ["rα:tən] “advise”, original “genuine”, Pirat “pirate”.
2) after stops and fricatives before stressed vowels, for example: Kran “crane”, Gram “sorrow, sadness, melancholy”, fragen ["frα:gən] “ask”, Drittel ["drıtəl] "third, third part", Brief "letter".
3) after short stressed vowels, for example: stark [ʃtark] “strong”, Birke ["bırkə] "birch", Zirkel ["t‿sırkəl] "compass; circle", wirken ["vırkən] "to act", Narr "fool".
The consonant r, during its articulation, is only slightly indicated, that is, it is vocalized, turning into the sound [ɐ] in the following positions:
1) after long vowels (except for the long vowel a) in stressed and unstressed syllables that are final, for example:
Faktor ["fakto:ɐ] “factor, circumstance”, Matador “matador”, wir “we”, Klavier “grand piano; piano; piano”, Natur “nature”.
However
klar “clear”, Haar “hair(s)”, Bart “beard; mustache", Arzt [α:rtst] "doctor", Quark "cottage cheese", Quarz "quartz", Harz "resin"; Harz (mountains)"
2) in unstressed prefixes: er-, her-, ver-, zer-, for example:
erfahren [ɐ"fα:rən] "to recognize; experience", erinnern [ɐ"ınɐn] "to remind", verbringen "to spend (time)", verbieten "to prohibit", zerstampfen "to trample", zerkratzen "to scratch", hervor "outside , forward".
3) in the final unstressed - er, as well as when it is followed by consonants, for example:
Vater ["fαtɐ] "father", immer ["ımɐ] "always", besser ["bεsɐ] "best",wieder ["vi:dɐ] "again, again", anders ["andɐs] "different, different" , Kindern ["kındɐn] "to children", zergliedern "to dismember".
Tasks
Read the following words aloud several times until you are fluent. Determine for yourself how long the vowels are in these words.
1) clear articulation -r at the beginning of a word
raten to advise
Rabe raven
rasch fast, fast
rand edge
Ratte rat
Rind the cattle
rinnen to flow, flow
Riemen belt, belt
Riese giant
Riff pitfall
Rinde bark
Riegel bolt
2) clear articulation -r in the middle of a word
Brief letter
brav brave
Draht wire
Drittel third part
Frieden world
Bahre stretcher
Krieg war
graben dig
Brille glasses
spritzen splash
Straße street
Frage question
3) clear pronunciation of -r after short stressed vowels
Darm intestines
Dirne girl, girl
stark strong
wirken to act
warten wait
Wirt the owner
Narr is a fool
Stirn forehead
Kirsche cherry
schwarz black
never make a mistake
wirren to confuse
4) clear pronunciation -r after a long [a:] →
klar clear, light
Haar hair(s)
Bart beard; mustache
Arzt doctor
Quark cottage cheese
Quartz quartz
Harz resin; Harz (mountains)
Star starling
Schar crowd, heap
gar at all
wahr true
bar nude
5) vocalized -r [ɐ]
Vier four
wir we
ihr you
dir to you
Beer beer
Tier animal
Maler artist
immer always
verbieten prohibit
zerfallen to disintegrate
deepen
vertilgen exterminate
hervor out, forward
Erzieher teacher
er rasiert sich he shaves
wandern
erinnern remember
klimpern strum
Pfarrer priest
zerknirschen crush
sleepy
zerkratzen scratch
disappear
versklaven enslave
Quelle der Zitate: https://www.youtube.com/
http://www.de-online.ru/
Have you ever had problems pronouncing English language? How do you usually deal with difficult sounds? As a rule, people unconsciously try to cheat and simplify their work - to pronounce a similar Russian sound. However, native speakers may not understand at all what we are trying to tell them, because for them these will be new unfamiliar words. Do you want your English to be understood not only by your compatriots? Then study our review of the most common “Russian” errors in English pronunciation and use tips on how to get rid of them.
How to correct pronunciation errors
To begin with, we will give you some tips on how you can prevent errors in pronunciation. This is easier to do than learning to pronounce sounds again.
First of all, we advise you to familiarize yourself with the reading rules. This is the foundation with which you should start learning the language. If for some reason you haven’t learned them or don’t remember them well, we strongly advise you to memorize the rules for reading vowels and consonants. This will greatly facilitate your future work on pronunciation of English sounds.
After this, study the correct position of the lips, tongue, palate, and vocal cords when pronouncing each of the English sounds. The easiest way to do this is in individual lessons with one of ours or using special training videos. For each of the errors described below, we will provide a video teaching how to pronounce the “problem sound.”
There are also special textbooks that will help you get rid of problems in English pronunciation. You can study using one of the following benefits:
- “English Pronunciation in Use”
- “Tree or Three? An Elementary Pronunciation Course” by Ann Baker
- “Ship or Sheep? An Intermediate Pronunciation Course” by Ann Baker
- “Elements of Pronunciation”
- “New Headway Pronunciation Course”
In them you will find detailed explanations and practical exercises for getting rid of the Russian accent.
Practice your pronunciation with tongue twisters that help you practice sounds that are difficult for you. You will find many wonderful phrases for practicing in the article “50 of the most difficult tongue twisters in English”. In this article we will provide one tongue twister, voiced by a native speaker, for each of the presented errors in English pronunciation.
If you decide to take your pronunciation seriously, we recommend that you read our article “”. This is a whole guide with many interesting techniques and secrets for those who want to “sound” like a native speaker.
Russian mistakes that we make most often in English speech
1. We muffle the voiced consonants at the end of the word
When speaking in Russian, we mute the voiced consonants at the end of a word, for example: frost we pronounce “maros”, mushroom we pronounce “grip”, knife we pronounce “nosh”, etc. In English such willfulness is not allowed: if you mute voiced consonant, you can get a completely different word. If pronounced incorrectly, it may happen that the adjective “bad” - bad will turn into “bat” - bat.
Solution:
As soon as you start learning English, immediately train yourself to pronounce words clearly and distinctly, pronouncing all consonants as required by the rules of reading the language.
Video on the topic:
Patter:
How many cookies could a good cook cook if a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.
2. We pronounce the sounds /w/ and /v/ like Russian /в/
Again, the inconsistency with the Russian language is to blame: we have only one variant of pronunciation of the letter “v”. However, it does not correspond to any of the sounds of the English language. So it turns out that we say vet (veterinarian) instead of wet (wet).
Solution:
Learn the correct position of the organs of articulation. You should develop a conditioned reflex: when pronouncing the sound /w/, you need to stretch out your lips with a tube; when pronouncing the sound /v/, you need to slightly bite your lower lip with your teeth.
Video on the topic:
Patter:
The very wary warrior veered violently where the violets wound very wickedly.
3. Pronounce the sound /r/ like Russian /р/
We often forget about the correct position of the speech organs when pronouncing this sound, so it turns out unclear and it becomes difficult for a foreigner to understand us. In addition, we often pronounce this sound when there is no need to pronounce it at all: when the letter r is positioned at the end of a word. And it turns out that we, for example, “croak” when pronouncing the word car (car).
Solution:
Go back to the rules of reading in English and learn by heart when the letter r is pronounced and when it is not. And also learn to correctly position the organs of speech when pronouncing the letter r: the tip of the tongue is slightly bent back and reaches for the alveoli (the tubercles between the front upper teeth and the middle part of the palate), but does not touch them. English /r/, unlike Russian, is pronounced without air vibration. You can come across two options for pronunciation of /r/ at the end of a word: it can be pronounced, or it can be omitted, the main thing is that English /r/ is different from Russian.
Video on the topic:
Patter:
Ray ran across a rough road with his red rocks, wretched ratchet wrench, and rare rubber roller.
4. We pronounce the sounds /θ/ and /ð/ like Russian /f/ and /z/
We think everyone will agree that the words “zeriz” (there is), “zera” ( there are), “free” (three) and “fenkyu-senkyu” (thank you) have already become the talk of the town. It seems to us that we pronounce similar Russian sounds and there is nothing wrong with that. However, native speakers do not understand us, because the words we pronounce lose their meaning due to the replacement of sound.
Solution:
If you train yourself to hold your tongue in the correct position when pronouncing these sounds, it will make your task much easier. When pronouncing the sounds /θ/ and /ð/, the tongue is between the teeth. When pronouncing the sound /θ/, linguists recommend placing your tongue between your teeth and pronouncing the Russian letter “t”, and for the sound /ð/ pronouncing the Russian “d”, while you should feel a slight vibration of the air in your throat. Don't worry if it's difficult at first. Speak slowly, but try to pronounce each word clearly.
Video on the topic:
Patter:
The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
5. Pronounce nasal /ŋ/ like Russian /n/
Usually, at the end of words ending in -ing, people either pronounce the ending “ing” or “in”, while forgetting that the sound in this case should be nasal - /ŋ/, and the letter g should be omitted.
Solution:
To make it easier to pronounce the sound, train yourself not to raise the tip of your tongue to the upper teeth, but to leave it near the lower teeth; the back of the tongue should be raised towards the palate. This way you will get that same nasal /ŋ/.
Video on the topic:
Patter:
The King's ring rung wrong.
6. We pronounce the sound /h/ like Russian /х/
In Russian, the sound /х/ is clear and well distinguished, in English /h/ it is rather a slight exhalation, it should not actually be heard. We pronounce it in the Russian manner - clearly and distinctly, and this is one of the most common Russian mistakes in pronunciation of the English language.
Solution:
Remember the correct position of the organs of articulation: the tongue does not rise anywhere, remains in place, as during silence, the lips are slightly parted. Sound is produced mainly by the vocal cords, but the latter should not vibrate. The sound /h/ in English is a slight exhalation, a weak sound.
Video on the topic:
Patter:
Harry Hunt hunts heavy hairy hares. Does Harry Hunt hunt heavy hairy hares? If Harry Hunt hunts heavy hairy hares, Where are the heavy hairy hares Harry Hunt hunts?
7. Pronounce the sound /l/ like Russian /l/
It would seem that the sound /l/ in English is not at all different from our /l/. Alas, only Russian speakers think so. The British hear well this Russian mistake in the pronunciation of sounds.
The fact is that in English there are two types of sound /l/: light - light or soft /l/, and dark - dark or hard /l/. Everything is aggravated by the fact that in the dictionary there are no indications in which words /l/ should be pronounced firmly and in which softly.
Solution:
There is a simple rule: before vowels we use soft sound/l/. However, there is a catch here: it should be a little harder than the Russian sound /l/ in the words “salt”, “love”. To get this sound, try lifting middle part tongue to the sky.
In all other cases we need a hard /l/. And again a challenge to our speech organs: the sound, although hard, should be a little softer than the Russian /l/ in the words “spoon”, “best”. It sounds difficult, but constant practice and listening to native speakers will help you “feel” the difference in the pronunciation of these sounds.
Video on the topic:
Patter:
Lovely little Link left limping.
8. Pronounce the sounds /p/, /t/ like Russian /p/, /t/
These are two more “tricky” sounds that seem to us so similar to Russian /p/ and /t/. In reality, they are somewhat different - noisier, more explosive. Errors in the pronunciation of these sounds will not cause misunderstanding of the interlocutor, but for those who want to speak like a native speaker, we advise you to work on these sounds, especially since they are pronounced quite simply.
Solution:
The English sounds /p/ and /t/, as we have already said, are pronounced aspirated, but at the same time quite energetic. You exhale as if you were trying to blow out a candle. In this case, when pronouncing the sound /t/, the tongue should be on the alveoli (tubercles near the front upper teeth).
Video on the topic:
Tongue Twisters:
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers;
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked;
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
Two tried and true tridents.
9. Pronounce short and long vowel sounds the same way
In the Russian language there is no such thing as the length of a vowel sound: they are all pronounced the same in any word. Therefore, when we speak English, it is difficult for us to accustom ourselves to pronounce these same sounds in different ways. However, you must definitely pay attention to them, otherwise the sheep (sheep /ʃiːp/) will turn into a ship (ship /ʃɪp/), which will confuse your English-speaking interlocutor.
Video on the topic:
*Please note that videos from the playlist have the words Short vowels and Long vowels in their titles.
Patter:
She sells sea shells on the seashore. The shells she sells are seashells I am sure.
10. Pronounce the sounds /ɔː/ and /ɜː/ the same way
This is one of the most popular Russian mistakes in English pronunciation. There are no analogues of such sounds in our native language no, so quite often work (work /wɜː(r)k/) turns into a walk (walk /wɔːk/), which, you see, may not please your English-speaking interlocutor, especially if he is your boss.
Solution:
Review the rules of reading English, and always listen to new words in an online dictionary or check the transcription in a regular dictionary. While learning a word, repeat it several times, try to feel the difference in sounds that are difficult to understand.
Patter:
First, nerds burn worst.
11. We pronounce the sound /i/ like Russian /и/
Even students with an above-average level of English make mistakes in this seemingly simple sound. They pronounce English /i/ like Russian /и/, making it too soft. Therefore, words such as sick, trick, hit sound strange and unnatural to native speakers. Of course, they will understand your words, but you want to sound beautiful?
Solution:
English /i/ is a cross between the Russian sounds /и/ and /ы/. To make it easier for you to pronounce it, try stretching your lips slightly in a smile and pronouncing the /i/ sound a little harder than usual.
Video on the topic:
Patter:
Little pills will make Jill ill.
12. We pronounce the sound /ɔ/ as /ʌ/, and /əʊ/ as /ɔ/
The English letter "o" often causes us difficulties. Firstly, in Russian we are accustomed to pronouncing the unstressed letter “o” as the sound /a/, for example: we pronounce boot “batinok”, king we pronounce “karol”, crow we pronounce “varona”. In English such liberties are not allowed. English speakers simply won't understand the words "tea-pot", "photograph", etc.
Secondly, we often forget that the letter "o" in some cases forms a diphthong (a vowel sound consisting of two components) /əʊ/. Therefore, native speakers are surprised by the “new” words from our lips: “open”, “home”, “bridge” (most).
Solution:
Train yourself to pronounce the /o/ sound clearly. This can only be done through constant training: read texts out loud, speak English and control your speech.
Repeat the reading rules; they describe in detail in which cases the letter “o” forms certain sounds. In most words, the open syllable "o" forms the diphthong sound /əʊ/, although there are exceptions.
Video on the topic:
Patter:
Hope for soap on a rope.
13. Pronounce unpronounceable letters
We are accustomed to the fact that in the Russian language all letters (except for soft and hard signs and unpronounceable consonants) that are in the letter are pronounced. In English, this rule does not work: not all letters need to be pronounced. Otherwise, knight (/naɪt/) will turn into the word “knight” or “knight”, which is incomprehensible to the speaker.
Solution:
Be sure to study the rules of reading English in the article “Silent letters. Unpronounceable letters in the English language." After this, make up a short story using words with unpronounceable letters - you can take the words from the above article. Make notes above the text: which word is read in what way. Gradually, you will remember the rules of pronunciation of these words and will speak correctly automatically.
Video on the topic:
As you can see, there are a lot of problems in pronunciation of the English language, but it is also possible to get rid of them if you constantly practice sounds. Watch another useful video on the topic and practice pronunciation of words. Apply the tips offered in our articles and everything will work out.
Of course, it is quite difficult to understand from a video or article how to pronounce certain complex sounds. Do you want to get rid of the Russian accent in English with the help of an experienced tutor? We invite you to enroll in our online school at. The teacher (native speaker or Russian speaker) will tell you in detail and show you how to work on certain sounds. Getting rid of English pronunciation problems is easier than it seems.
Transalveolar median sonant. This sound can only very conditionally be compared with Russian [R]. Russian sound [R]- vibrating, when pronounced, the spread tip of the tongue trembles, hitting the alveoli, for example, if you pronounce a word drawn out p-p aki.
1 When speaking English the tip of the tongue, slightly curved back, rises to the posterior slope of the alveolar convexity, forming a gap, and remains absolutely motionless, without touching the alveoli. The edges of the tongue are pressed against the side teeth, the lips are flat, the mouth is open. The gap should not be too narrow, as with Russian [and], but not too wide. Air is exhaled into the formed gap with the inclusion of the vocal cords (with voice): red [ r ed ] red, read [ r Jd] read, right [ r aIt] right, rain [ r eIn ] rain, road [ r oud ] road.
2 Pronunciation after a consonant has the following features. Both consonants are pronounced together, almost simultaneously, especially after a plosive consonant: brother [" b r ADq] Brother, green green.
Alveolar consonants before become postalveolar, i.e. pronounced on the posterior slope of the alveoli: dry dry, dress cloth.
After voiceless consonants the phoneme muted: true correct,cry scream, pretty [" p r ItI] pretty, friend Friend.
In combination with the previous ones or sound pronounced not behind the alveoli, but against them: throw throw.
3 Letter r pronounced only before a readable vowel letter, located both inside a word and at the beginning of a subsequent word, if there is no pause before it. Sound , pronounced at the junction of words, called binder : fo r ever ["fq" r evq ] forever, theca r is black [ Dq "kR r Iz "blxk] black car . This sound is clearly heard in the song's repeated chorus. Kylie Minogue "It"s in you r eyes." [ It's in "jL" r aIz ] – "It's in your eyes".
However, in modern English pronunciation there are also cases of omission of the connective , For example: fa r away [" fR q " weI ] far, o r else otherwise; or.
In expressions after r all["Rftq" r Ll] in the end and fo r instance For example - connecting sound usually pronounced.
See more examples of words with this sound - letter R .
Having studied the Russian alphabet, we can easily read any texts. But to read correctly in English you will have to put in more effort, because there are many discrepancies between the spelling and pronunciation of words. If you decide to learn this language on your own and cannot understand how to read words in English correctly, then this material is exactly what you need. Today we will look at the nuances of pronunciation of English letters and letter combinations, and find out how easy it is to learn to read English from scratch. A table that shows all the letters and their sounds will help you learn the rules of reading English for beginners.
First, let's get acquainted with the most important law of reading in English - the rule of open and closed syllables. There is no similar norm in the Russian language, so we will analyze in detail what it is. Please pay attention to the transcription.
An open syllable is a syllable that ends with a vowel sound. As a rule, it occurs in the following cases:
- The word ends in a vowel, so the last syllable is always open: t ake[take].*
- A vowel is followed by a consonant, followed by another vowel sound: ed uca tion [education].
- There are two vowels adjacent to the word: cr ue l [cruel].
*Final e in most cases it is considered “dumb”, that is, it is not pronounced, but appears at the base of the word precisely to form an open syllable.
In open syllables, the vowel letter is always pronounced smoothly and drawn out. Accordingly, closed syllables are all those syllables in which the vowel sound is closed by a consonant and therefore sounds short and abrupt: c ut[cat].
In addition, special reading rules in English are characteristic of syllables in which the vowel sound ends with the letter r. The fact is that in the British version of the pronunciation of such syllables, the letter r is often completely omitted, i.e. not pronounced. Therefore, there are two options for reading such letter combinations:
- In an open syllable, when r is surrounded by vowels, only both vowels are read: c are[keea]. In such cases, the last e will not be dumb.
- In a closed syllable ( voice+r+acc.), r is also unreadable, but affects the sound of the vowel sound, making it longer: start [staat]
The rule of open and closed syllables is the basic law of reading in English, although there are many exceptions to it. But it’s too early to teach exceptions without knowing the main rules. Therefore, now we will look at the sound options of all letters and letter combinations.
Other English topics: English letter combinations - English for children in simple explanations
Rules for reading English for beginners - letter and sound correspondence table
Even if you started learning English and reading it from scratch, you are probably already familiar with the spelling and sound of all the letters of the English alphabet. But, as we already learned from the previous section, when reading, the pronunciation of letters depends on the type of syllable or letter combination. Therefore, in the tables below you can find several sound options for the same letter. But don't be alarmed, there will be an accessible explanation for each case. So, let's continue to learn English for beginners and learn the rules of reading in English.
Consonants
Let's start with the easiest thing: with a table of consonants, the pronunciation of which is similar to the Russian sound.
| Letter | Transcription | Russian pronunciation |
| B | [b] | b |
| D | [d] | d* |
| F | [f] | f |
| K | [k] | To |
| L | [l] | l |
| M | [m] | m |
| N | [n] | n |
| P | [p] | P |
| R | [r] | R |
| S | [s] | With |
| [z] | z (only in special positions: after voiced consonants, between two vowels and in the suffix –ism.) | |
| T | [t] | T* |
| V | [v] | V |
| W | [w] | V** |
| Z | [z] | h |
*English d and t are pronounced with more aspiration than their Russian counterparts.
**w is pronounced with the lips extended into a tube, the result is something between the Russian sounds v and u.
Now let's look at more complex letters.
| Letter | Transcription | Pronunciation and explanations |
| C | [s] | s (before vowels i, e, y) |
| [k] | to (in other cases) | |
| G | j (before vowels i, e, y) | |
| [g] | g (in other cases) | |
| H | [h] | Very weakly pronounced Russian X (almost just a strong exhalation) |
| Q | kv | |
| X | ks (before a consonant or at the end of a word) | |
| gz (between two vowels) | ||
| [z] | z (at the beginning of a word before a vowel) |
We will also study letter combinations of consonants in English.
| Combination | Transcription | Pronunciation |
| ck | [k] | To |
| ch | h | |
| tch | ||
| ng | [ŋ] | nasal n |
| ph | [f] | f |
| sh | [ʃ] | w |
| th | [θ] | 1) sound intermediate between s and f (tongue between teeth) 2) the sound is average between z and v (tongue between teeth) |
| wr | [r] | R |
| wh | [w] | u/v x (only before o) |
| qu | kv |
In addition, it is worth considering that the English language never allows consonants at the very end of a word to be deafened. Otherwise, you may say something completely different from what you wanted. For example: back [back] – behind, behind; bag [bag] – bag, sack.
Vowels
It is much more difficult to cope with reading English vowels, but the already familiar rules of open and closed syllables will help us understand it. We take them into service and learn to read the vowels of the English language correctly.
| Closed syllable | |||
| Letter | Transcription | Pronunciation | Examples |
| A | [æ] | uh | bat, track, sad |
| E | [e] | uh | pet, red, check |
| I | [ɪ] | And | pit, fill, tin, system, myth, lynx |
| Y | |||
| O | [ɒ] | O | spot, not, cross |
| U | [ʌ] | A | spun, truck, butter |
Do not forget that in a closed syllable all letters are pronounced briefly.
| Open syllable | |||
| Letter | Transcription | Pronunciation | Examples |
| A | Hey | game, flame, lake | |
| E | And | he, be, Pete | |
| I | ah | mine, like, nine, cry, bye, type | |
| Y | |||
| O | [əʊ] | OU | bone, tone, rose |
| U | Yu | pupil, music, cube | |
And the vowels of an open syllable are always smooth and drawn out.
| Open syllable with r | |||
| Letter | Transcription | Pronunciation | Examples |
| A | ea | square | |
| E | [ɪə] | ie | here |
| I | aye | tired | |
| Y | |||
| O | [ɔː] | oo | more |
| U | Yue | cure | |
We remember that the letter r after a vowel, as a rule, is not pronounced.
| Behindcovered syllable with r | |||
| Letter | Transcription | Pronunciation | Examples |
| A | [ɑː] | ahh | dark |
| O | [ɔː] | oo | sport |
| E | [ɜː] | e | pert, bird, myrtle, burn |
| I | |||
| Y | |||
| U | |||
Now we know how to read vowels in English words. But for perfect reading in English, it is necessary to study one more point.
Diphthongs and triphthongs in English
An important aspect of English for beginners is diphthongs and triphthongs, i.e. combinations of two or three letters that have a special sound. Their pronunciation is called sliding, because. First, the main sound is pronounced intensively, and then it is smoothly transferred to the secondary sound. Diphthongs are a kind of exception and do not obey general grammatical laws, so they can only be learned by heart. The table below will help us learn the rules for reading English diphthongs for beginners.
| English diphthongs | ||
| Combinations | Transcription | Pronunciation |
| air, ear, are | uh* | |
| ye, igh, uy, ie | ah | |
| ea, ey, ay, ai, ei | Hey | |
| ere, eer, ier, ear | [ɪə] | IEE |
| oh, oh | [ɔɪ] | Ouch |
| ou, ow | awww | |
| ou, ow, oa, ol | [əu] | oooh |
| ure, ue, our, oor | wow | |
| English triphthongs | ||
| ower, our | aaue | |
| eur, ure | Yuyue | |
| iet, ire, ier, iar, yre | aaye | |
*doubling the letter indicates the length of the first sound in relation to the second.
So, we have looked at the main nuances of reading in English. Treat the stated rules responsibly: conduct reading lessons more often and be sure to learn to distinguish between types of syllables in English. Otherwise, you will make gross mistakes in pronunciation, which will lead to a complete misunderstanding of your words by the interlocutor. Good luck in learning English and see you again!
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If the letter R comes after vowels, they will be read differently than in an open or closed syllable. For example, the letter combination AR will be read as a long sound [ɑː]: park - park, car - car, star - star (Fig. 2), party - party, farm - farm, arm [ɑːm] - hand.
Pay attention to the reading of the letter combination AR in these sentences:
We are at a party. - We're at a party.
His garden is dark. - His garden is dark.
The longitude of the sound has a very great importance in English. If we drag out and pronounce Russian words briefly, only the intonation will change. And in English words, their meaning depends on the brevity and length of the sound.
In the third type of reading, after the vowels there is the letter R, which affects the length of the sound, i.e. all these sounds are read as long.
Compare, paying attention to the short sounds in the left column and the long sounds in the right column:
Fix the difference in pronunciation by practicing reading these pairs of words.
All other English vowels in combination with R are read the same: they produce a long sound [əː] (Fig. 4). Rice. 4. Combination of vowels and R
Please note that there is no such sound in Russian. It's a bit like the sound in the word "honey". Practice reading words with this sound:
purple ["pɜːpl] - violet, nurse - nurse, fur - fur, her - her, bird - bird, girl - girl, first - first.
Now pay attention to reading these words in sentences:
The fur is purple. - Fur - purple (Fig. 5).
The girl has got a bird. - The girl has a bird.
Let's look at reading some vowel combinations before the letter R.
If the letter combination AI is in front of R, then together AIR will be pronounced as: air - air, hair - hair, chair [ʧeə] - chair, fair - light. His hair is fair. - His hair is blond (Fig. 6).
My teddy bear is on the chair. - My teddy bear is on the chair.
Rice. 6. Blonde hair ()
If R is preceded by the letter combination EA, then together EAR will also be pronounced as: bear - bear, pear - pear. However, not all English words read EAR as . In some words it is read as [ɪə]: ear [ɪə] - ear, near - near, hear - to hear, tear - tear. The letter combination EER - [ɪə] will also be read: deer - deer (Fig. 7), engineer [ˌenʤɪ"nɪə] - engineer.
There are words in the English language that are read the same but are spelled differently. Moreover, they have different meanings. Compare:
|
meet - meet |
meat - meat |
| flour ["flauə] - flour | flower ["flauə] - flower |
| their [ðeə] - theirs | there [ðeə] - there |
Pay attention to these words in the sentences:
Meet me, please. - Meet me, please.
Dogs like meat. - Dogs love meat.
The flour is white. - Flour is white.
The flower is white. - The flower is white (Fig. 8).
Their teddy bear is there. - Their teddy bear is there.
When we encounter such words, we need to be especially careful to avoid mistakes.
We already know that the combination of letters OO is read as short [u], as in the word - book, or as long, as in the word spoon - spoon. However, OO before R will be read as a long sound [ɔː]: floor - floor, door - door.
The ball is on the floor. - The ball is on the floor.
You already know that in English there are stressed and unstressed syllables. The vowels are read differently. In the stressed position, all vowels are read clearly, but in the unstressed position they turn into unclear, blurry sounds. The same thing happens when reading combinations of letters in unstressed syllables.
In a stressed syllable, the letter combination OR is read as long [ɔː]: horse - horse, fork - fork, corn - corn. In an unstressed syllable, the letter combination OR will be read as the sound [ə]: doctor ["dɔktə] - doctor (Fig. 9), sailor ["seɪlə] - sailor, actor ["æktə] - actor. Look at these words in the sentences:
Jane is a doctor. - Jane is a doctor.
Mike is a sailor. - Mike is a sailor.
Tom is an actor. - Tom is an actor.
The letter combination ER in an unstressed position will also be read as short [ə]: teacher ["tiːʧə] - teacher, dancer ["dɑːnsə] - dancer, singer ["sɪŋə] - singer.
Look at these words in sentences:
Sue is a teacher. - Sue is a teacher.
Bob is a dancer. - Bob is a dancer.
John is a singer. - John is a singer.
Bibliography
- Afanasyeva O.V., Mikheeva I.V. English language. 2nd grade - M: Bustard, 2014.
- Biboletova M.Z., Denisenko O.A., Trubaneva N.N. English language. 2nd grade - Title, 2008.
- Bykova N.I., Dooley D., Pospelova M.D. and others. English language. 2nd grade - Education, 2013.
Homework
- Learn to correctly read all the words from the video lesson.
- For each one learned to read vowels correctly in combination with R, find two English example words.
- Learn words from the video lesson and new words that you find.
- Internet portal Freen.ru ().
- Internet portal English100.ru ().
- Internet portal Freen.ru ().
