Part FEATURES OF SPOKEN ENGLISH

Natianal School Leaving Exam ot English

tests the skill of
spoken Fnol:
Spoken language differs from written language in many ways.' Speakers usually do not have glish.
think before speaking
(unless it is a prepared beforehand speech) which makes sDeechmuch
time to
are the main features of spoken lano
Spontaneous
and immediate. Following

Spoken language is
less structured than written language: contains incomplete sentences, false starts, repetition or
n or
untinished questions
fewer dependent clauses, more active verbs than written languaoe
less complex: uses
more flexible in the use of grammar rules: may use conversational historical present The speaker

the present tense while speaking about past events to make the talk more livelu
may use
more fragmented: more simple sentences joined with the help of coordinating conjunctions and

but, so, because

lexically less dense than written language: more grammatical words than lexical words; e
few er
complex words and phrases
mean, I mean...
repetitive: e.g. Well, I
Spoken language uses
backchannels (or minimal responses). By using such backchannels (or minimal responses) as
mmn or yeah the listener shows the speaker that he or she is listening and understands what is

being said
I
personal pronouns, especially first person pronoun
discourse markers or speech transitions. A discourse marker or speech transition "is a word or
expression which shows the structure of a piece of discourse, whether spoken or written". The
most common discourse markers in spoken language are the following:
like right you know
anyway
fine now so I mean
good oh well as I say
great okay mind you for a starts
Discourse markers signal when a speaker
starts and ends a conversation: O.K., right
changes the topic: um, erm, anyway"
shows interest:yeah, right"
shows attitude: actually,frankly, I think, (I'm) sorry, to tell you the truth, really?2
shows a positive or negative emotional response: Oh! Hooray! Oops! Ouch!"
hedging in order not to give strong opinions: may, might, could, quite, a bit, suppose, sort of, I guess
uhesitation strategies that give the speaker time to think:
Dpauses: Wel.. Um..E.. (delaying noises)
hesitation: Pardon? Sorry? Eh? (to pretend not having heard)
fillers: Don't tell me, Wow, Well, You se, To be honest, By the way, Exactly! No way, Basically,
Certainlys
repeating the question'
variation in speed, tone, loudness or quietness, stress and intonation to add emotionai ntext."

Lougn spoken language differs from written language in many ways, Speaking o hle
s one point at a time), explicit (clear and easy to understand), hedged and respou
and uses standard language.
Units I and 2 of Part I will help you build
language as pronunciation, stress and fluency in speaking and improve such aspects o o
intonation.
8
 Unit 1 Pronunciation
Key p o i n t s . .

Pronunciation focus

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

Silent letters

Wordstress
Word-classpairs
Evaluation focus

Self-analysis: correcting commonly mispronounced words

Progress evaluation

Pronunciation focus.
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)..
pronounce the words
To make a good impression during the exam, you need to Listen and repeat the
there is no one-to-one correspondence between the
letters
sounds of English at:
correctly. In English,
and sounds that represent
them in
speech. The
English alphabet has 26 letters Interactive Phonetic
sounds. A set Chart for English
there are approximately 44 speech
but in (Standard British) English Pronunciation (3:08),
is used
of phonetic called the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
symbols https://www.
youtube.com/
to represent the basic
sounds of spoken languages.19 watch?v=OHeujz450ZE;
Phonemic Chart,
of the Inter-
Read the provided examples containing the symbols http://www.
Activity 1 the International teachingenglish.org.uk/

national Alphabet
Phonetic (IPA). Pronounce the symbols of article/phonemic-chart

Phonetic Alphabet correctly.

own to each of the symbols. The first
Add at least three more examples of your
is done for you.

Short Vowels:
The Schwa /a/ | British
Student's examples
IPA Examples English Pronunciation|
Learn English (7:45),
rug, son, luck
cup, love, fun https://www.
youtube.com/
cat, black, hat watch?v=CKKPVGO9vxU

met, bed, pen

away, cinema, under

hit, hymn, in

D rock, dog, wash

U put, could, foot

Li happy, lucky, money

Long Vowels

Examples
Student's examples
IPA E SL Videos,
onunclation (Engl
arm, car, start
7:30),
http://Iwww.eslgold.
turn, learn, girl
3

see, heat, key

com/ speakiion.nhg/trmlasking.
informat
call, four, bought
blue, food, cool

Note: The colon /:/ represents longer duration in pronunciation and is found in the

transeription of long vowels.

Diphthongs:
IPA Examples Student's examples
five, eye, buy
say, eight, cake

boy, join, toy

au now, out, loud

go, home, low

ea where, air, share

near, here, ear

pure, cure, tourist

Consonants:

IPA Examples Student's examples

b bad, lab, job
did, lady, dog

find, if, off

give, tlag go
h how, hello, head
yes, yellow, year
k cat, back, pick
leg, little, like
m
man, lemon, miss

no, ten, need

sing, finger, long

pet, map, top
red, try, right
sun, miss, police

she, crash, station

10
 Part
Featuress of Spoken English

IPA Examples
Student's examples
tea, getting, bit
check, church, pitch
think, both, bath
this, mother, with

voice, five, view

W wet, window, queen

Z z0o, lazy, please

3 pleasure, vision, television

ds just, large, age"

Activity 2Answer the following questions.

What is IPA?
2 How many letters are there in the English alphabet?
3 How many speech sounds are there in the IPA?
4 What symbols do we use to represent speech sounds?
5 How do we pronounce the following speech sounds?
A, a, 3, U, D, 3:

6 How do we pronounce the following speech sounds?

f S.3,0, ð, dz
7 In transcription, what is used to indicate that a vowel is long?
8 What sounds occur in English but do not occur in Lithuanian?

Silent letters
Many words in English have letters that are not pronounced but exist in spelling.
Such letters are called silent.21 The table below provides examples of letters VA list of words
containing silent letters
being silent. and their pronunciation at
Silent Letter Words,
Examples of letters being silent http://mws.ust.hk/sir/
silent_words.php
Silent letters Explanation Examples

A is not pronounced in words

artistically, dramatically,
ending in suffix "-ally" stoically, musically,- Silent Letters in
A
romantically, logically English (4:55), https://
climb, crumb, dumb, comb, www.youtube.com/
when watch?v=7KToASYNb6Q
Bis not pronounced debt, doubt
following "m" at the end
of a
B
word and before "t"
the muscle, arbuscle, corpuscle,
Cis not pronounced in scissors, scientist
C after "s"
ending "scle" and
handkerchief, sandwich,
the
Dis not pronounced in
D following common words: Wednesday
/meid/
mad made /mæd/
When E is not pronounced at /pi:t/
pet Pete /pet/
the end of words, the preceding bite /brt/ /bait/2
bit
E vowel becomes long o r turns cod code /kdd/ /koud/
into a diphthong. run rune /ran/ /ru:n/

11
 Examples of letters being silent

Explanation Examples
Silent letters

none
F

G is not often
pronounced when followed by champagne, foreign, sign, feign
G an "n"

GH is not pronounced hefore "t and at the end| thought, daughter, light, might, right, fight.
GH of many words weigh, night, sigh, high, through
His not pronounced when following "w" what, when, where, whether, why

H H is not pronounced at
the beginning of many hour, honest, honour, heir
words.

I is not pronounced in some words business, parliament

J none

Kis not pronounced when followed by "n" at knife, knee, know, knock,
K the beginning of a word. knowledge
L is often not pronounced before "d"',"f, K', would, should, half, talk, chalk, salmon, calm,
"m", psalm, almond

M M is not pronounced when followed by "n" mnemonic

Nis not pronounced following "m" at the end autumn, hymn, solemn, condemn, damn,
N
of a word. column, chimney
Ois not pronounced in some words chocolate, subpoena, leopard, country
P is not pronounced when followed by "n", "s" pneumonia, psychology. psychiatrist,
P and "t"
psychotherapy, psychotic, Thompson, receipt
Q none

R's in British English are 'silent' before world, garden, butter, finger
R consonants as in card or before silence (at the
end of the word) as in car

S S is not pronounced before "T island, isle, aisle

T is not pronounced after "s" and at the end of castle, Christmas, fasten, listen,
T
some words of French origin whistle, thistle, ballet, bouquet
U is not pronounced after "c","g" and "q". biscuit, circuit, catalogue, dialogue, guess,
U
guide, guidance, guitar, guest, tongue, colleague,
acquit, quit
V none

W is not
pronounced at the beginning of a Wrap, write, wrong
word followed by an "r.

W is not
W pronounced
at the
beginning of a who, whose, whom, whole
word followed by an "h".

Wis not
pronounced after "s","n" and "r" sword, greensward, answer,
Greenwich, Norwich
Pronunciation
X is not
pronounced in words of French origin Sioux, faux Poem (3:06)
https://www.youtube.
Y is not
pronounced in some words key, mayor, prayer
com/watch?v=Y

Z Zis not GDoVBIVeA

pronounced in words of French
origin rendezvous

12
 Features of Spoken English

Activity 3 Read the poem "silent E" aloud paying a special attention to the pronunciation of the words
containing silent E.
00
Silent E
Who can turn a can into a cane?
Who can turn a
pan into a
pane?
It's not too hard to see,
It's Silent E.
Who can cub into a cube?
turn a

Who can turn a tub into a tube?

It's elementary
For Silent E.
He took a pin and turned it into a
pine.
He took a twin and turned him into twine.

Who can turn a cap into a cape?

Who can turn a tap into
tape a

A little glob becomes a globe instantly,

If you just add Silent E.
He turned a dam - Alikazam! - into a dame.
But my friend Sam stayed just the same.

Who can turn a man into a mane

Who can turn a van into a vane?
A little hug becomes huge instantly.
Don't add W, Don't add X, And don't add Y or Z,
Just add Silent E.25

Activity 4 Read the following words. Which letters are silent? Cross them out.

1 Debt 1 Naughty
2 Doubt 12 Knowledge
3 Subtle 13 Kneel
4 Benign 14 Calf
5 Foreign 15 Balm
6 Reign 16 Column
7Whisper 17 Solemn
8 Honest 1E Psychologist
9 Technically 19 Cupboard
10 Neighbour 20 Wrist2

Word stress
lo speak clearly, it is important to stress words correctly." The strongest syllable in a word is called the

stressed syllable.2 The stressed syllable

Is pronounced louder and longer than the other syllables
1S marked by the sign ('). The stress sign comes before the stressed syllable. For example:

bus/ bas/
funy 'fani
banana /ba na:na/
Canada/'kænada/

13
 Rules to remember:

One-syllable and two-syllable words carry the primary stress (').

Multi-syllable and compound words carry the primary () and the secondary (,) stress,For
For example:
kindergarten / 'kndo, ga:ton/
sunflower/'san,flavo/
The secondary stress is weaker than the primary (main) stress.
Stressed syllables have the so-called 'clear vowels (clearly pronounced) while in unstressed
vowels are usually unclear." For example:
sullL les
banana /ba na:na/
Canada/kænada/

Inword families the stress pattern in a word often changes if a suftix is added to a word.30 For examal..
le:
Noun Verb
Adjective
analysis /s'nælas1s/ analyse /'aænala1z/ analytical 1,æna'lit1kal/
authority /s: Ovr1ti/ authorise l'o:0sra1z/ authoritative />:'Gvrrtatrv/
competition /,kvmpa'tufn/ compete /kom pi:t/ competitive /kam'pet1trv/31
nation /'nefn/
nationalise/'næfnala1z/ nationalistic/, nafna'l1st1k/
politics/plat1ks/ politicise /pa'l1t1saiz/ political /pa' lit1kl/

Stressing a word incorrectly can change the meaning or word-class (grammatical category)
For example: of the word."
Archeologists will de sert the desert by the end of the month.

Word stress rules are presented in the table below.

Word class Rule
Examples
Two-syllable nouns, adjectives Stress the first syllable
and adverbs mother, father, teacher, student, Monday

Two-syllable verbs Stress the second

syllable to complain, to admit,
to survive, to relax
Compound nounsS Stress the first word
policeman, Iceland, classroom,
software, homework, seafood, boyfriend
Compound adjectives Stress the second element/word
bad-tempered, old-fashioned, hot-headed,
heavy-handed, overweight
Compound verbs Stress the second word
to understand, to outgrow, to downgrade,
to pretend, to double-click
Phrasal verbs
Stress the second word
to check out, to come across,
(preposition) to break down, to dress up, to drop in
Two-word proper nouns
Stress the second word
New York, South Dakota, Los Angeles,
Las Vegas
Two-, three- and four-letter Stress the last letter
abbreviations EU, DNA, FBI, CIA35, BBC, VIR LAMS*"

14
 Part
Features of Spoken English

Word-class pairs **** ***** *

Some
Some words have the same spelling but are stressed differently depending on the word class they belong to.
word-class pairs. Nouns and
Such word forms are called
Su adjectives have the stress on the first syllable while
verbs on the second." Below are some common examples (N = noun, A = adjective, V = verb):

conduct /'kondakt/ (N) /kan'dakt/ (V)

contract 'kontrekt/ (N) /kan'trækt/ (V)

desert dezat/ (N) di'z3:t/ (VV)

export 'ekspo:t/ (N) /hk 'spo:t/ (V)

import mp:t/ (N) /1m po:t/ (V)

insult /'nsalt/ (N) /In'salt/ (V)

object /'Dbd'zikt/ (N) lab'dzekt/ (V)

p3:mit/ (N) pa' mit/ (V)

permit
present preznt (N, A) pri' zent/ (V)

protest prautest/ (N) pra test/ (V)

record l'reko:d/ (N) /r'ko:d/s (V)

Activity5 Mark the primary and secondary stress on the following words.

1Armchair 6 Bad-tempered
2 Handwriting 7 Suitcase
3 Ladybird Teapot
4 Shopkeeper 9Overweight
5 Sunglasses 10 Waiting-room

Activity 6 Put the stress marks on the following words.

1Abstract (A) 6 Perfect (A)
2 Convict (V) ZProduce(N)
3 Contrast (V) 8 Rebel (N)
4 Escort (N) 9Subject(V)
5 Increase (V) 10) Suspect (N)

Helpful tips for pronunciation Want to speak better

There are no upper-case symbols in IPA. For example: than 90% of native
English speakers? Then
Canada /'kænada/ learn to pronounce every
word here! (7:57)
Tom /tom/ https://www.
and stress of a word. youtube.com/
Check a dictionary for the correct pronunciation
watch?v=z5my19TDFDw
For a quick reference, you can use
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
DCambridge Online Dictionary at
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at Pronunciation Tips-
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/about/ ShortVowel- Programme
5 from BBC Learning
pronunciation_english.html English (4:08),
common English vowel, correctly. https://www.
Pronounce the vowel schwa /a/, the most youtube.com/
unstressed.
Kemember that the vowel schwa /a/ is always watch?v=wgOP0oYkniE

15
 Evaluation focus
********* ****.

Self-analysis ** *****'*****
Activity 7 Below is a list of words that students tend to mispronounc

list. Oxford Advanced Learner's

Record your reading of the words on the Dictionary, http://oald8.
Play back the recording and compare your pronunciation to the
pronunciation of the words in an online dictionary! oxfCambridge
ordlearnerDictionaries
sdictionaries.Online,
pronunciation.htmi; com/
pronunciation of the words.
Repeat the correct
Rewrite the transeription of the words in the column Students hthelp/phonetics.html
tp:/ dictionary.cambridge.org/
A Free
transcription.
Online Talking Dictionary
of English Pronunciation,

http:/ www.howijsay.com/
The word (orthographical form/spelling) Transcription Student's transcription
abroad /a'bro:d/
although /:1'ö3u/
area 'earial
association
sousi efn/ la,sau fi'efn/
axis
/'æksis/
biscuit /'bisk1t/
chaos /'keiws/
chemistry /kemistri/
data ' deita/ /' da:ta/

ecology ' kpladzi/

economy /' konami/

encourage /in'karidz/
event
'vent
idea
/ar'dia
innovative
inavativ/inovet1v/
issue
/ifu:/ '1sju:/
figure
figol
foreign
foren/
fruit
fru:t/
furniture
fs:nitsal
8enerate
'dzenoreit/
language
launch
længwidz
muscle
'lo:ntf
niche 'mAs/
'ni

16
 Part
Features of Spoken English

The word (orthographical form/spelling)

Transcription Student's transcription
parent
peoront/
per cent

pa' sent/
percentage
/pa' sentidg3/
practically
praæktukli
pronunciation
pra, nansi' elfn/
psychologY /sar' kolodzi/

queue kju:/
recipe
resipi
series
's1ori:z/
iety /sa saioti
subtle 'sAtl/ 37

survey 's3:ve
technically l'tekn1kli/
through /Oru:/
university Ju.ni' v3:siti/

wage weidg/
whole haul

Activity 8 Answer the questions about your performance3" in Activities 1 and 7.

Which individual sounds difficult to pronounce?
1 were

Which combination of sounds were difficult to pronounce?

2

vowels A, æ, o, u, D, 3:?
3Did you have any difficulties in pronouncing English

uo?
Did you have any difficulties in pronouncing
English diphthongs ou, ea,
4

0, ð, dz?
5 difficulties in pronouncing English consonants t. J. D, 3.
Did you have any

7 were difficult to pronounce?

OWhich words from Activity

17
Progress evaluation

box
Forself-evaluation,
tick Vthe appropriate
able to:
studied the Unit, I
am
After having
Phonetic
pronounce
the synmbols of International
Alphabet (1PA) very well well
write the symbols of International Phonetic needpractice
Alphabet (1PA) very well well
recognise silent
letters in words very wellI well need practice
pronounce the
words containing silent letters need revision
correctly |very well1 well
stress words correctly need practice
stress the first syllable of two-syllable nouns,
adjectives and adverbs Lvery well well
stress the second syllable of two-syllable verbs very wel well
need practice
stress the first word in compound nouns very wel well
Lneed practice
astress the second word in compound adjectives very well need practice
well need practice
stress the second word in compound verbs Lvery well well Lneed practice
stress the second word (preposition) in
phrasal verbs very well well need practice
stress the second word in two-word proper nouns Lvery well Lwell need practice
stress the last letter in two-, three- and four-letter
abbreviations very well
identify the stress in word-class pairs well need practice
very well well
Correctly pronounce the words on the commonly need revision
mispronounced word list very well well need practice
Useful Online Sources
The IPA Chart | Learn
English | British English Pronunciation.
Linguaspectrum (4:42)
https://www.
Pronunciationyoutube.
tips. com/watch?v=0LzpH3AHX5g&list=PL67CF2C29C5D476A3
BBC
Learning English
htKing.tp:/ www.bbc.co.uk/worldservi
J. Schwa & Weak Forms
(Partce/1)le(9:10)
arningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhKOudN3nzl
Vowels& Diphthongs -

English Listening & Pronunciation Practice

(Part 1)
https:/ www.
Hales, H. youtube.com/watch?v=Di6h9rlpQbs&feat
English ure=yout
Grammar Lesson Silent Letters in u.be
English Pronunciation (3:54)
htSpelling&
tps:/ www.Pronunciation
youtube.com/wWords
atch?v=GT9zx3J2xps
-

Silent with Letters, engVid (11:55)

https:/ www.youtube.com/tefltalk.net
Haase, B. Word Stress. watch?v=Uj YKiRqFRss
(13:42)
htEnglish
tps:/ wPronunciation
ww.youtube.com/Syllables
watch?v=bX-_YSDM7ic
-

and Word Stress

https:/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN-iBGNc6WM
English Pronunciation in
British accent/ received
(7:44)

htEnglish
tps:/ wPronunciation
ww.youtube.com/watch?v=kur 9zAMOkKc
Secrets
of English
pronunciation (1:23:28)

https:/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4zGSKEef7c
Pronunciation (8:00)

18