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Learn How to Pronounce
We don’t speak English the way Englishmen do. But we should know how to. So that our language skills increase and we become able to differentiate between things. There are certain rules and symbols defined to represent the correct pronunciation for English language. In this article we are going to find out what are those rules and symbols and how do they work?
Most of us make mistakes while pronouncing words. Many people pronounce different words with same pronunciation. To eradicate those mistakes we should refer a dictionary. For instance it is a common mistake to pronounce career like carrier. In a good dictionary you will find adjacent to career and adjacent to carrier. These strange symbols are actually to reveal the correct pronunciation of these words. They are called (International Phonetic Alphabets.
What is IPA?
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of phonetic notation devised by linguists to accurately and uniquely represent each of the wide variety of sounds (phones or phonemes) used in spoken human language. It is intended as a notational standard for the phonemic and phonetic representation of all spoken languages.
The IPA symbols are divided into three main categories:
1. Consonants
2. Vowels
3. Diphthongs
1. Consonants
A consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterised by a closure or stricture sufficient to cause audible turbulence. The word consonant comes from Latin meaning "sounding with" or "sounding together", the idea being that consonants don't sound on their own, but with a nearby vowel, which is the case in Latin. This concept of consonants, however, does not reflect the modern linguistic understanding which defines consonants in terms of vocal tract constrictions.
The word consonant is also used to refer to letters of an alphabet that denote a consonant sound. Consonant letters in the English alphabet are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Z and sometimes the letter Y – the letter Y stands for the consonant [j] in "yoke" but for the vowel [j] in "myth", for example.
2. Vowels
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language that is characterised by an open configuration of the vocal tract. These are also called as “Monophthongs”. Pure vowels are said to have one target tongue position. Vowels are represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by one symbol: English "sum" as [sŒm], for example.
3. Diphthongs
In phonetics, a diphthong (literally “with two sounds”) is a vowel combination usually involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound. Diphthongs have a moving tongue. Diphthongs are represented by two symbols, for example English “same” as [sejm], where the two vowel symbols are intended to represent approximately the beginning and ending tongue positions.
Some Example Conversions into IPA :
And now some exercises for you:
Now that you have learned IPA symbols quite a lot, let us test your skills.
Following are some words written in IPA symbols. Convert them into plain English. Refer a dictionary for correct answers.
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