HOW TO PRONOUNCE ENGLISH

1. HOW TO PRONOUNCE ENGLISH

2. A few pronunciationdifficulties He wastoo close to close the door. WepolishPolishfurniture. polish (vb) o de not / Polish (adj.) o de no A dump wasso full ithad to refuse refuse. refuse (vb) i de did / refuse (n.) e de bet I did not object to the object. object (vb) / object (n.), o de dot Theycouldn’twind the sail in the wind.

4. Hurt / heart / art it / heat / hit / eat Low / lawsleep / slip Not / note Air / hair Also / although Though / so / thought TONGUE TWISTERS Any noise annoys an oyster but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more.  Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently. Which witch wished which wicked wish? Amidst the mists and coldest frosts,with stoutest wrists and loudest boasts,he thrusts his fist against the postsand still insists he sees the ghosts. She stood on the balconyinexplicably mimicking him hiccupping,and amicably welcoming him home.

5. Exercise 1: find out the odd one(s) • Isolated – practice – ally – mine – trial – primary - survival • Protest – note – knot – code – core – Moscow – vote - ballot • Town – tone – down – about - cloud • Preacher – threat – treaty – reason • War – born – torn – carve • Egypt – Iran – Iraq – Italy – extreme – scheme – green • Declare – spread – health – wealth – debt - paper • Debate – operator – racism – favorite - banned • Near – severe – era – repeal - appear • Dirty – versus – urban – person – term – purpose – beard - world • Site – seat – means – beating – cheat - • Measure – spread – death – waste – ware - pressure

6. Exercise 2: th The Smiths wear thinclothesduring the wintermonths. Six thinthings. Three thin thieves thought a thousand thoughts.  Now if three thin thieves thought a thousand thoughts, how many thoughts did each thief think?

7. Throughout the strike, thugs threw stones throughwindows. Thoughsomethought the aftermath of the war hit throngs of workers, thankfully the country thrived. The threatstoughtenedthroughout the decade. Thinking the sinking of the shiphadthrownpassengers off board, theythoughttheycouldsinktoo. Theoretically the thought-provokingtheme of the talk wasthird world thoroughbankrupcy. This thing and that thing are better than those things. If you buy a ticket to see the thicket, you get a thorn to adorn your thicket ticket.

8. WORD STRESS Classify the followingwordsinto four differentcategoriesaccording to word stress (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th syllable stress): Journalist – monarch – politician – political – anarchy – communism - majority – organization – terrorism – explosion – parliament – election – address – attack – implementation – agreement – soldiers – impetus – voters – education – government – measure – policy – disobedience – immediately – survival - pioneer – belief – opponent – conservative - labour

9. Correction Journalist – monarch – politician – political – anarchy – communism - majority – organization – terrorism – explosion – parliament – election – address – attack – implementation – agreement – soldiers – impetus – voters – education – government – measure – policy – disobedience – develop - immediately – survival - pioneer – belief – opponent – conservative - labour

10. Intonation IT’S UP TO YOU: New electionstook place in 2008. The electionswerehistorical. Theywere not likeotherelectionsbecause the independent parties played a role. Independent parties seldomgarnermany votes but in 2008, theychanged the politicallandscape of Britianforever.

11. New elections /took place/ in 2008. The elections /werehistorical./ Theywerenot/ likeotherelections/ because/ the independent parties /played a role/. Independent parties /seldomgarnermany votes /but/ in 2008/, theychanged /the politicallandscape of Britian / forever.

12. Variation in stress patterns A: Oh! Just listen to that! A group of anti-capitalistterrorists has recentlykidnappedeightyoung French girls in a shopping mall in the city center! B: NO! Terroristscan’t have kidnappedeight girls in a shopping mall right in the city center!

13. Exercise B: After the war, Englandthrivedthroughout the 1960s. A: Yes. One of the happiestdecades in Englandwas the 1960s, don’tyouthinkso ? B: Well, I’m not so sure, yousee. Back in the 1960s, therewerestillpockets of poverty and slums. The life of working class people was not all beer and skittles! The working class claimedbetterworking conditions and higherwages. A: There werepockets of poverty but new blocks of flat werebeingbuilt and people’spurchasing power skyrocketted. It climbed up to unprecedentedlevels. B: How many flats werebuiltexactly ? A: Throughout the fifties and sixties 1 million new accomodationswerebuilt. B: 1 million! That’s a significantnumberindeed! And people will have enjoyed modern dwellingswith brand new appliances. Yet, not everyonecouldaffordthem, couldthey? A: There weresomedeprivedfamilies, families living below the poverty line and for whommodernitywasstillonly a dream. Yet, on the whole the sixitieswere happy times. The seventies weremuchdarker.