Phonetics summary year 1

PHONETICS
Standard English: the English that with respect to spelling, grammar, pronunciation,
and vocabulary is substantially uniform though not devoid of regional differences, that
is well established by usage in the formal and informal speech and writing of the
educated, and that is widely recognized as acceptable wherever English is spoken
and understood




RP: Received Pronunciation
AN: Algemeen Nederlands



Homophones: two words that are pronounced the same, but spelled differently and
have a different meaning
 way – weigh
 I – eye
 write – right

Allophones: the different pronunciations of one and the same phoneme in different
phonological context

- Phonological interference: the natural tendency to translate the foreign sounds
into the sounds of our native language
 The boy was verrie nauwtie
 The boy was very naughty
- Grammatical interference: when the grammar of the L1 influences the L2
 I have seen him yesterday
 I SAW him yesterday
- Semantic interference: words are misplaced
 He was lying on the bank
 He was lying on the SOFA/COUCH/SETTEE

Phoneme: the smallest unit of language (the sound of a part of a word, with its own
symbol), by changing this you change the meaning
o Which then can be minimal pairs
 Cat – cot – got – God

, Vowels: klinkers
- Monophthongs: one element
o Short (lax: ongespannen, less muscular effort)
 /ɪ/ tin, biscuit, give, pig, gym, build, guilt
 Exceptional spellings:
o With ‘e’: pretty, England
o With ‘u’: busy, business
o With ‘o’: women
 /ʊ/ pull, wolf, bull, full, push, could, book
 Rules:
o The spelling ‘oo’ only represents /ʊ/ in:
 Foot, good, gooseberry, hood, soot, stood,
wood, wool
 All words spelt ‘-ook’ as: cook, took
 Except for spook and snooker which
have /uː/
 /e/ shell, left, send, empty, metal, head, many
 Exceptional spellings:
o With ‘a’: any, many, Thames
o With ‘ay’, ‘ai’: says, said
o With ‘u’: bury, burial
 /æ/ ban, land, perhaps, acting, candle, accurate
 Exceptional spellings:
o With ‘ai’: plaid, plait
 /ʌ/ fun, touch, won, sun, cut, son, done, young
 Exceptional spellings:
o With ‘oo’: blood, flood
o With ‘orr’: worry
o With ‘con-‘: conjure(r), constable
o Note: borough, thorough
 /ɒ/ dock, hospital, spot, got, box, clock, want
 Exceptional spellings:
o With ‘au’: Austin, Australia, Austria, because,
cauliflower, laurel, Maurice, quarrel, sausage,
Vauxhall
o With ‘-other’: bother
o Long (tense: gespannen, more muscular effort)
 /iː/ bean, guarantee, heat, three, tea, believe, scene
 Rules:
o Never occurs before ‘r’
 Hearing, near, etc. have /ɪə/
 /uː/ spoon, school, flute, cartoon, rude, threw, lose, glue
 Rules:
o Never occurs before ‘r’
 Touring, moor, etc have /ʊə/ or /ɔː/