Файл: Advanced_English_Pronunciation_in_Use.pdf

Section A Getting started

Exercises

1 . 1 Listen. You will hear speakers from Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa talking about A4 what they enjoy doing in their spare time.

Which of these accents are you most familiar with? Is there one you find easier to understand than the others?

1 .2 Here is a text read aloud first by a British English speaker and then an American English speaker. AS Listen as many times as you need and note differences in pronunciation that you observe, focusing

on the underlined words. A few are done for you. (It is not necessary to use phonemic symbols in this exercise, but a list can be found on page 1 92 if you want to refer to it.)

1.3 You will hear four more people talking about what they enjoy doing in their spare time. They are from northern England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Listen as many times as you need and write brief notes about what they say.

northern England: .................................................................................... ...........................

Scotland:

Wales: ......................................................................... ....................... .......................

Northern Ireland: .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Now read the transcripts in the Key. Are there particular features of their pronunciation that you had problems understanding? In what ways is their pronunciation different from BBC English - that is, British English spoken without a regional accent (see Unit 2)?

Follow up: Record yourself reading one of the extracts in exercise 1.1. (These are written down in the Key.) Compare your reading and the version on the recording. What are the main differences in pronunciation that you notice?

Accents (2): English as an international language

In this book...

... you will use British English as a model for pronunciation.

... you will hear a wide variety of English accents.

and Russia, have recognised the importance of English as an international language of communication,

and encouraged its teaching in schools and colleges. In each country, the English spoken is influenced by other languages widely used there, and each variety is different in features ofits grammar, vocabulary

and pronunciation.

The widespread use of English as an international language means that much of the interaction in English that now goes on around the world is between· speakers who don't have English as a first language. For example, when German and Spanish politicians meet to discuss policies of the European Union, their chosen language of communication might well be English. The same might apply when Saudi Arabian and Japanese people meet to do business.

It would be impossible, however, to learn to 'switch' your pronunciation each time you w"ere talking to a speaker with a variety of English different from your own - to use an Australian English pronunciation with an Australian, or Chinese English pronunciation with a Chinese person. Consequently, it is useful to 'model' your pronunciation on one variety - but also recognise that this is just one of many equally acceptable varieties.

2 .3 Are there any accents of English that are of particular interest or importance to you? Practise listening to people with these accents as much as possible. If you have access to the

internet, you could regularly listen to English language broadcasts where you will hear these accents. For example, for New Zealand accents, try http://www.radionz.co.nz/; for Swedish accents of English, Radio Stockholm has a weekly English news broadcast (at http://www.sr.se/rs/red/ind_eng.html) where many of the speakers are Swedish. (For more information, see Unit 4.)

Follow up: Record yourself reading the text in exercise 2.2. Practise a few times before recording. Then write out the text again, and make notes on it, highlighting differences between your pronunciation and that of the speaker of BBC English. (Alternatively, you could get a friend or teacher to make notes for you.)

Finding out about pronunciation (1): dictionaries

If you don't have time to learn phonemic symbols, 'talking dictionaries' are available which will read aloud words and definitions to you. In addition, some dictionaries come with a CD-ROM on which you can hear words spoken. For example, CALD has a CD-ROM, including the entry for 'kimono' shown here.

Pronunciation dictionaries

Pronunciation dictionaries usually include more words than general dictionaries and so can be particularly useful for finding out how to pronounce place names, family names, brand names and technical terms. They also give more information about variation in pronunciation. For example, compare the information about the pronunciation of 'kimono' from CALD given in B

with this entry from the Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 17th edition (CEPD).

Both CALD and CEPD give British and American English pronunciations. CEPD shows also that in American English the last vowel is usually

pronounced 1;)1 but can also be pronounced lou/. It also

shows that the plural '-s' is pronounced Izl.

English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)

Section A Getting started

Exercises

3.3For this exercise you need to use a dictionary CD-ROM, such as the one that comes with CAW. Write

down a list of sounds you find difficult to pronounce, and then use the dictionary CD-ROM to find words with this sound and practise them. Here is an example of what you might do.

Find ing out about pronunciation (2): online resources

http://www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archive/accents.html

1,..........."".J ,

1::'<'@ A number of sites allow you to listen to samples of particular styles of speech. For example:

at http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/ you can hear some famous political speeches;

at http://www. lsa . umich.edu/eli/micase/audio/ you can hear speech in a variety of academic contexts (lectures, seminars, meetings, student presentations, etc.) from the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE).

Some online dictionaries show the pronunciation of words using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or some other system. These include the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary and the Cambridge Dictionary ofAmerican English at http://dictionary.cambridge.orgl

The Miriam-Webster Online Dictionary also allows you to hear words pronounced in North American English, at http://www.m-w.coml.

If you have a specialist area of interest or study, you may be able to find websites to help you pronounce terminology. For example:

http://www.saltspring.comlcapewest/pron. htm gives rules on how to pronounce Biological Latin, including taxonomic names of plants and animals;

http://www.dinosauria.comldmllnames/aeto.htm has sound files with the pronunciation of the names of dinosaurs;

http://www.genome.gov/page.cfm?pageID=10002096 is a 'talking glossary' of terms from the field of Genetics. Terms are explained and you will also hear how they are pronounced.

Finally, if you have read J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books and are unsure how to pronounce names and the made-up words you find, you can hear how to pronounce them (in North American English) at http://www.scholastic.comlharrypotter/reference/.