Pronunciation and Spelling in English

 

READING OF LETTER “n”

 

    The leter “n” denotes:

    [n] in prefixes – con, - non, - in, -un (income, nonsense, confident, unread)

    [ŋ] before: c, k ([k] function, tank), ck, qu ([k] conquer, ancker), xi ([k∫] anxious),  
g ([g] England, longer), the suffixes and endings –er, -est, -ed, -ing (sing, singer, singing).

 

Ex. 9.1 Read the words with letter “n”:

 

Ex. 9.2 Transcribe the following words and divide them into groups according to the reading of the combinations of consonants:

linked, wings, inkpot, jungle, anxious, mounting, singer, single, anger, anxious, nonsense, eating, finger, income, function, conquer, having, confident, eaten, English, concentration, nonplus, indirect, frank, hanger, linked, wings, jungle, anxious, mounting, condition, nonunion, invisible, tank, function, belonged, nice, can't, sing, incredible, land, giant, pane, strong, bringing, long, banker.

 

Ex. 9.3 Find the odd word:

1. jungle, nonsense, Frank, sorting, single.
2. uneasy, nonplus, convention, English, irritation.
3. ring, tongue, boring, chunk, conversion.
4. dinner, convenient, nonstop, involve, undid.
5. unclaimed, nonsense, link, inhale.
6. finger, hang, frank, stronger.
7. singer, hanger, belonged, doing.

 

Ex. 9.4 Add the word according to the rule:

1. informal, non-aggression, unable, ...
2. tank, frank, hank, ...
3. longer, stronger, younger, ...
4. sung, wing, finger, ...
5. consult, industry, indulge, ...
6. stinks, tank, inkpot, ...
7. boring, sorting, lying, ...

 

Ex. 9.5 Find the way from Start to Finish. You may pass a square only if the word  
in it has the sound [ŋ]. You can move horizontally or vertically only.

 

Start    ↓

                  ↑                                                                                                                                              Finish

 

Ex. 9.6 Explain the rules of reading in these proverbs:

1. What is done cannot be undone.
2. Wars the sport of kings.
3. He who swims in sin will sink in sorrow.
4. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
5. Better unborn than untaught.
6. Honey is sweet but the bee stings.

Ex. 9.7 Join consonant clusters with the sounds they can denote. There are 4 sounds that don’t fit here.

 
   

   Find the word with each sound:

Chandelier, worth, anger, triumph, Anthony, sandwich, cheekbone, Stephen, shrewd, bang, Frank, than, monarchy

 

Ex. 9.8 Find the odd word according to the way of the reading of consonant clusters:

1. accept, success, soccer, accede, access, accent.
2. anchor, young, conquer, conclude, function.
3. think, thunder, throne, thyme, thick, thing.
4. chaos, chord, stomach, monarchy, chaste.
5. tooth, scythe, truth, thumb, throw, thin.
6. go, gargle, gage, glove, stage, give.
7. chef, chic, champagne, charade, chick.

 

Ex. 9.9 Sort out the words into columns according to the reading of consonant clusters.

Machinery, scheme, scythe, child, Thames, weather, chef, Christmas, Thompson, chick, than, chic, chord, chalice, cliché, Chaos, neither, thyme, thrift, cheek, though, thorn, thaw, thief.

 

Ex. 9.10 Find a way from start to finish. You may pass a square only if the word in it has the sound [θ]. You can move horizontally of vertically.

 

Start

      Finish

Ex. 9.11 Complete this rhyme using words from the box. Then listen and check ( , track 13)

Arthur had a brother

And he didn’t want another.

And of the brothers, ______

Wanted sisters _____ .

The last thing on this_____

They wanted was a _____.

So Arthur’s mother _____

Got them both _____,

And told them all good _____

Should learn to share their _____.

 

Ex. 9.12 Listen and circle the word you hear( , track 14)

1. Youth or use? There’s no youth\use talking about that.
2. Thought or taught? I don’t know what she thought\taught.
3. Free or three? Free\Three refills with each packet!
4. Closed or clothed? They weren’t fully closed\clothed.
5. Breeding or breathing? They’ve stopped breeding\breathing.
6. These are or visa? These are\Visa problems we can deal with later.

 

Ex. 9.13 Practice reading the following words observing the rules of reading of consonant clusters:

a) Sheep, fish, Lewisham, mishap, ghost, rough, high, eight, daughter,  Ghana, ghastly, ghee, gherkin, ghetto, ghillie, ghoul,  Ghana, ghee, gharry, ghoulish,  shoulder, shovel, show off, shrewd,  shrink,  Zhirinovsky,  Zhukov,  Zhivago,  Zhejiang, Zhang, Zhuhai,  photograph, shepherd, Stephen,  Clapham, nephew, cheap, chair,  charm, scheme,  school, ache, cholesterol, chemistry, machinery, clef, sandwich, Charles, charter,  charka,  charivari,  chateau, chauffeur,  cheekbone, Chaucer, chauvinism, Chihuahua,  chloral, choir, cholera, cholinesterase, pharmacology, pharyngeal, phoneme,  phonetic, physiotherapy, phthisis, phylum

b) Wristband, knout, wryneck, Khachaturian, wreathe, Khan, Khyber, khanate, pneumothorax, Knox, knuckle, wrongheaded, Khrushchev, knurl, knockdown.

 

Ex. 9.14 Read the proverbs; explain the reading of consonant clusters:

The tongue is not steel, yet it cuts.

Exception proves the rule.

Where the shoe pinches.

Don’t cross the bridge till you get to it.

Physicians mend or end us.

Neither fish nor flesh.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

A watched pot never boils.

A drowning man will catch at a straw.

Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

 

Ex. 9.15 Practice reading the following homophones:

Homophones are words (or combinations of words)

• which sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings: e.g. meet and meat, seen and scene.
• There are some examples of one word sounding like a combination of words: e.g. heed and he’d.
• Sometimes three words (or combinations of words) sound exactly the same: e.g. I’ll, isle and aisle.
• scent – a distinctive smell, sent – the past tense of send
• scene – the place where an event takes place, seen – the past tense of see
• site – a piece of land, cite – to quote
• session – the meeting of a court, cession – the act of ceding
• scull – rowing motion, skull – head bone
• sic – to set upon, sick- ill
• sink – to submerge, synch – together in time
• soared – to have sailed through the air, sword – long fighting blade
• sucker – one who sucks, succor – relief
• plum – purple fruit, plumb – straight up and down
• profit – money earned, prophet – seer
• bark – outer sheath of a tree, barque – square-rigged sailing ship
• bloc – an alliance, block – square object
• bold – brave, bowled – knocked over
• boll – round seed pod, bowl – dish
• borough – township, burrow – dig into the ground
• bough – tree branch, bow – front of a ship, respectful bend
• burger – meat sandwich, burgher – merchant
• but – excepting, butt – the thick end

 

Ex. 9.16

Spot the homophones 1

isle / bard / beer / bored / caught / night / pale / cawed / chord / sly / died / dyer / cored/ dough / flawed / toed / pear / meal / floored / teas / knew / heard / soar / heal / lacks / lax / male / steer / we’ll / maize / might / slay / dead / stair / mite / breaks / knight / towed / dire / knit / weight / herd / seam / aisle / he’ll / nit / tees / new / pail / bier / board / barred / pare / doe / pair / rain court / bared / dyed / heel / reign / saw / mail / sore / I’ll / seem / maze / sleigh / stare / tease / toad / wait / wheel

Some of these words do not form pairs of homophones.

 

Ex. 9.17

Spot the homophones 2

In the following conversation a large number of words have been replaced by homophones. Spot where they have been used and decide how the words should be written.

 

- Lousy whether we’ve been having recently. (=Lousy weather…)

- We haven’t been having much son, that’s for shore. I got court in the reign this mourning and got wet threw.

- Me two. And how about that cold missed first thing? I went out bear headed to get sum fire-would and haven’t bean warm since. And my hands got quite saw as well. Really roar, they feel.

- I no watcher mean. I always get aches and panes in the winter. Anyway, weir off to get some son necks tweak. Weave booked a few daze in Singerpoor.

- Yes, I herd you had. Lucky yew! Still, I shouldn’t mown. We flue to Florida last cheer, witch was really nice, and it’s only fore weeks till we visit my sun and daughter-in lore in Roam. Haven’t scene them for rages. We only maid the booking yesterday, threw the internet. Mary’s already pact; she can’t weight.

- Well, tell her she won’t knead her fir coat any weigh.

- Rite. Oh Kay. Aisle sea you later.

- Buy. See ewe a round.

Some of the homophones show that this is fast, informal speech.

 

Ex. 9.18 Transcribe the following words:

Shop, fish, this, English, shot, three, cheese, something, thus, months, catch, through, that, child, chef, these, those, thirst, third, chop, shelf, anxious, trophy, scholarship, changes, England, machinery, gage, judge, science, echo, tongues, income, scheme.

 

Ex. 9.19 ( , track 15)

A   In each line, identify the word that has a different first consonant sound. Read them first, then listen to the recording to check.

Example:  friend  priest   physical   philosophy