English Transcription CourseHave you ever been confused by the fact that the words 'though' and 'bough' are pronounced differently, or frustrated by the realisation that 'hint' and 'pint' don't rhyme? It is well known that the spelling system of English is notoriously unhelpful as an indicator of how to pronounce English words. Spoken and written representations of English are mutually inconsistent, making it difficult to interpret the 'logic' of the language. Learning to transcribe English phonetically, however, provides an accurate visual interpretation of pronunciation: it helps you to realise what you actually say, rather than what you think you say. English Transcription Course is the ideal workbook for anyone wishing to practice their transcription skills. It provides a series of eight lessons, each dealing with a particular aspect of pronunciation, and introduces and explains the most important features of connected speech in modern British English - such as assimilation, elision and weak forms, concentrating on achieving a relaxed, informal style of speech. Each lesson is followed by a set of exercises which allow for extensive practise of the skills learnt in both current and previous chapters. Students can check their progress with the 'model' answers provided in the appendix. |
Contents
1 | |
5 | |
Transcription hints | 11 |
Stress rhythm and weak forms | 17 |
Sandhi r | 33 |
Consonant syllabicity | 40 |
Elision | 47 |
Assimilation | 55 |
Glottaling | 64 |
Further practice | 71 |
Answers to exercises | 80 |
Glossary | |
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Common terms and phrases
agrees in voicing alternative pronunciation alveolar plosive answers approximant articulation assimilation auxiliary baek become bi:n Comments to transcription consonant course daun deleted diphthong elided elision example Exercise feeling friends glottaling grammatical word keim laik language Lesson look means morpheme is pronounced nasal negative contraction Notice noun possible potential pause preceded previous sound processes pronounced pronunciation Remember RP English sandhi seen sequence stop stranded stressed strong form sure syllabicity taim teik things thought Transcribe transcription unstressed usually verb voiceless voicing vowel weak forms witj