Every language is made up of a system of sounds which are used for oral communication. Learning a language’s sound system is a central in successfully communicating in the language. This handout is meant to introduce basic concepts in phonology and common pronunciation problems that may arise in CP sessions.
Individual Phonemes and Sounds
The first aspect of phonology to consider are individual sounds, called phonemes. Standard American English has approximately 44 phonemes. Of these 44 sounds, 24 are consonants and 18-20 are vowel sounds and combinations of vowel sounds.
Phonemes are represented by a symbol between two slashes. Here are a few examples: /t/ as in top, tip, cat; /ɪ/ as in lid or kid; and /θ/ as in things, thoughtful and thorough. Phonemes are represented this way because they are not the same as letters. The disconnect between spelling and sounds is one of the biggest challenges in learning English. A link the the International Phonetic Alphabet is included in the resources.
Voiced and Unvoiced Consonants
One feature of consonants is whether they are voiced or unvoiced. Below are some examples. Try pronouncing the sounds and pay attention to how they are different.
/t/ and /d/
/s/ and /z/
/p/ and /b/
Think about what is different about how you make these sounds. What do you notice?
ANSWER: The difference is that the sounds on the left are unvoiced, meaning you do not use your vocal chords to make the sound. The sounds on the right are voiced. Other than whether they are voiced or not, the sounds are produced almost exactly the same way.
Here is another important pair:
| /θ/ | /ð/ |
| things
thought throughout |
that
those these |
Like the pairs above, the /θ/ sound is unvoiced and the /ð/ is voiced.
What are some other words that start with th-? Do they start with the voiced or unvoiced th?
Why is this important?: Pronouncing Regular Past tense /t/ versus /d/ versus /ɪd/
Many people learning English struggle with the past tense system. This is because past tense verbs are created using three different sounds, /t/, /d/, and /ɪd/. Look at the list below. What pattern do you notice about the final sound and the past tense sound?
| /t/ | /d/ |
/ɪd/ |
|
walk |
describe beg live move breath use close change dream hang play follow |
want |
HINT: Look at the final sounds of each of the words in the list.
ANSWER: The difference between /t/ and /d/ is a distinction of voicing (see above). The same is true for the final sound in the words in column 1 and 2 above. The rule is that the past tense is pronounced so that the voicedness is consistent between the word’s final sound and the past tense sound. So a word that ends in a voiced consonant or a vowel will have a voiced /d/ past tense sound.
RESOURCES
IPA Chart: http://www.internationalphoneticalphabet.org/ipa-sounds/ipa-chart-with-sounds/
University of Iowa Speech Sounds: http://soundsofspeech.uiowa.edu/english/english.html
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