BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 14 ( Pronouncing Correctly- 1 Sounds Of English ) Reading And Speaking Skills

BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 14- Pronouncing Correctly- 1 Sounds Of English-  Reading And Speaking Skills IGNOU Subject

INTRODUCTION

• Like any other language, English has its own set of sounds which comprise its phonology.

• Understanding the English sounds is important for a speaker of the language.

• If we can't pronounce the sounds of English properly, we will fail to communicate with others.

• For example, COME and CALM. If we say "Can you come down?" and the listener hears us "Can you calm down?" then we will fail to communicate.

• Also, if we can't recognize the sounds of English, we will not understand others well.

• One of the reasons to listen to English input, such as podcasts, TV, or movies, is to learn the correct pronunciations of words.

• In this chapter, we will study how to recognize all the sounds of English to speak correctly and effectively.

ENGLISH ALPHABETS

• The English language has 26 alphabets, each having an upper case and lower- case form. 

• These alphabets are made up of consonants and vowels.

• There are five vowels (a, e, i, o and u) and 21 consonants (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, y, and z).

• English has 44 sounds. 

• Pronunciation is the way in which a word is spoken.

THE 44 SOUNDS OF ENGLISH

• English has 44 sounds - 19 vowel sounds (5 short vowels, 6 long vowels, 3 diphthongs, 2 'oo' sounds, and 3 R-controlled vowel sounds) and 25 consonant sounds.

( You might find some problems with ordinary spelling )

(1) The same sound may be represented by many letters or combination of letters: For example, 'e' in he, people, key, believe, seize, machine, seas, see and amoeba.

(2) The same letter may represent a variety of sounds: For example, 'a' in father, village, badly, made and many.

( 3 ) A single letter may represent a combination of sounds: For example, in Xerox.

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