A Handbook in Per Otterstedt English Pronunciation FOR SWEDISH LEARNERS AND TEACHERS
Author Per Otterstedt is a lecturer at Uppsala University’s Department of ÂEnglish. He has long experience of teaching English pronunciation and oral proficiency to Swedish learners and trainee teachers.
Preface Before writing this book I taught English pronunciation and oral proficiency at university for quite a few years. All that time, I felt a need for an accessible handbook in English pronunciation for Swedish learners. I hope that this book will fill that gap and that it will help learners become more aware of the role and importance of pronunciation. It is aimed at those learning English at undergraduate level, and more advanced learners at upper secondary school level. It will be especially useful for trainee English teachers, but also for those taking more general courses in English pronunciation and phonetics, and even experienced teachers in secondary and upper secondary school. As the book uses relatively few technical terms and does not require any previous knowledge of pronunciation and phonetics, it can also be used as a self-study book. As I have primarily catered for the specific needs of trainee teachers of English in Swedish compulsory school, I have taken a contrastive approach, with a clear focus on areas of pronunciation where Swedish learners tend to have difficulties and need to pay special attention. I outline the role of spoken English in a Swedish context, and give the reader an overview of the English sound system and the phonetic alphabet. In addition, I have included chapters on word stress, sounds in context, and the main differences between British and American pronunciation. A number of people have helped me in in the course of completing this book. I would like to thank: • Pia Norell for giving me valuable feedback on the initial drafts of the book
• Cecilia Kraitiss at Gleerups for her helpful suggestions and advice while preparing the manuscript • Sarah Schwartz and Stephen Donovan for kindly recording the oral exercises in American and British English • Ashleigh Harris, Niamh Ní Shiadhail, Ryan Palmer, and Stuart Robertson for recording the samples of South African, Irish, Austra lian, and Scottish accents • All my former students at Uppsala University for providing valuable feedback and comments on my course there over the years. Finally, I want to thank my family for their support and encouragement throughout this project. This book is for Anna, Olivia, Hugo, and Stella. Per Otterstedt Uppsala July 2016
Contents
1. Introduction
11
2. The phonetic alphabet
15
The phonetic symbols of English
3. Vowels Vowels that are similar in English and Swedish Vowels that are somewhat different Vowels that need special attention
4. Consonants Consonants that are similar in English and Swedish Important spelling–sound differences Four consonants that are somewhat different Consonants that need special attention
16
19 20 21 26
31 32 32 33 35
5. British and American English—some major differences 45 Vowels Consonants
45 47
6. Other characteristic English accents Irish English Scottish English South African English Australian English Northern England Southern United States
51 51 52 53 53 54 54
7. Audio samples of four English accents
57
8. Homophones
59
9. Pronunciation of the English letters
61
10. Word Stress
63
Main word stress rules Stress and word endings Stress that changes word class Stress in related words Stress in British and American English Strong and weak forms
11. Intonation Falling intonation Rising intonation Advice for Swedish speakers British and American intonation
12. Pronunciation in the classroom Classroom activities
64 67 67 68 68 69
73 74 75 76 76
79 84
13. Exercises Vowels Consonants Mixed exercises Word stress Transcription exercises
14. Recorded exercises Vowels Consonants Word stress
15. Key to exercises
97 97 100 103 104 106
109 109 111 116
119
References 127
1. Introduction English is the most widespread language the world has ever known. It is by far the most commonly used language between speakers who do not have English as their mother tongue (a so-called lingua franca). Although the number of native English speakers is ‘only’ around 400 million people, it is estimated that some 3 billion people globally use English in some form on a daily basis. As Swedish is a small language spoken only in northern Europe, it has always been crucial for Swedes to learn foreign languages. Since the Second World War, English has been the most popular language to study, and in 1946 became a compulsory subject in Swedish upper secondary school (gymnasieskolan, or in those days läroverket). In primary and secondary school (from year 5), English has been a compulsory subject since 1952. In the last three or four decades, the role of English has expanded dramatically, and Swedish pupils and students today are increasingly expected to have well-developed overall communicative skills in English, not least when it comes to speaking.
Why is pronunciation important? One of the cornerstones in developing one’s speaking skills in any language is of course the pronunciation of sounds and words. Without the ability to use the sounds of a language properly, we would not be able to make ourselves understood when we speak. From a Swedish perspective, we are fortunate, since the input of English in Swedish society is massive, and most Swedes hear or use English 11
a handbook in English pronunciation regularly in their everyday lives. This also makes pronunciation easier, as we quite easily pick up and imitate English sounds and words from a very early age. One could reasonably claim that for many Swedish learners, a great deal of English pronunciation is acquired unconsciously, rather than studied deliberately. Swedes are generally seen as having good English pronunciation. This is partly due to the influence of the language and its role in the Swedish education system, but also because English and Swedish are fairly closely related historically. There are quite a few sounds that are similar in the two languages, and we usually do not have to struggle with pronunciation in the same way that for example many Asian or southern European speakers do. The Swedish curriculum for English in compulsory school stresses the importance of an overall communicative competence, and speaking skills are highlighted. However, the role of pronunciation as a separate skill is toned down—the focus is on effective and successful communication at a more general level. Does this mean that pronunciation is unimportant for Swedish learners? No, certainly not. There are a number of features of English pronunciation that require close attention and extensive practice, some of which many Swedish speakers are not even aware of. If you are aiming at becoming an English teacher, it is of course even more important to master pronunciation, since it will fall to you to teach it to pupils and to be a good role model in the classroom.
Which pronunciation model should be learnt and taught? There are two models of English pronunciation that have been, and still are, the most influential. Not very surprisingly, one of them is British and the other one American. The British model is usually called Received Pronunciation, or RP; the American model is called General American, or GA. One or both of these models are found in most major dictionaries and course books for English as a foreign language. 12
1. Introduction For quite some time, RP dominated in the Swedish school system (as in many other countries). The word ‘received’ here means ‘generally accepted’, and it was seen as the ‘correct’ model for pronunciation, while GA was considered less appropriate by many teachers and educators. A majority of teachers had been taught RP themselves and continued to use it, and there were even examples of pupils who were corrected for having an American accent. In recent decades, however, American English has gained more acceptance, and today both models are seen as equally ‘proper’. More and more teachers are also using American English in their classrooms, and it would be a fair guess that a majority of Swedish pupils today use pronunciation features that are American rather than British (probably due to the huge input of American media, popular culture, and IT). Yet one can still find course books and teaching materials that only use the British model. Sometimes questions like the following may be heard from worried university students: ‘Do we need to use British pronunciation to pass the course?’ and ‘I think I have an American accent, should I abandon it and learn to speak British English instead?’ The simple answer is no. It should also be pointed out that there is nothing in the Swedish curriculum (kursplan) that mentions one accent as being better or more accurate than the other. Finally, there are of course numerous other English accents used by millions of speakers worldwide, each with their own characteristics and typical sounds—Scottish, Irish, Australian, South African, West Indian, to mention only a few. Some of these accents will be briefly discussed later (see pp. 51–55).
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4. Consonants In this chapter we will look at the second main group of speech sounds, namely consonants. In English, as in Swedish, there are more consonants than vowels. Because English and Swedish are quite closely related historically, many of the consonants are similar, and English consonants are generally unproblematic for Swedish learners; however, there are a number of English consonant sounds that do not exist in Swedish, and which therefore need special attention. We will look at these in detail later on in this chapter. RP and GA consonants are all generally the same, with the exception of a few variants (see Ch. 5). Before we turn to the actual sounds, we need to make an important distinction—the one between voiced and voiceless consonants. (Vowels, in comparison, are always voiced.) A voiced consonant includes vibration of the vocal cords (making a short ‘buzzing’ sound), while a voiceless consonant has no such vibration. One way of telling the difference is to cover your ears with both hands (or place your fingers on your Adam’s apple to feel the vibration): if there is a buzzing sound inside your head when pronouncing the consonant, this means that it is voiced. The distinction between voiced and voiceless is a crucial one, both in English and in Swedish, as it can be used to create a difference in meaning. Compare and pronounce these word pairs: English: bill–pill van–fan Swedish: bil–pil vann–fann
31
a handbook in English pronunciation The only difference in these pairs is that the first word has a voiced consonant at the beginning, whereas the second word has a voiceless one. We will return to this important distinction later on in this chapter. If you are uncertain how to pronounce the sounds and words discussed in this chapter, please consult one of these online dictionaries: www.oxforddictionaries.com/ (British English and American English) www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary (American English)
In addition to the phonetic symbols, these two websites also have a speaker button which allows you to hear the actual pronunciation of the word. Note that the American dictionary uses slightly different phonetic symbols than those presented in this book. You may find it useful to consult the following sound chart, which gives the pronunciation of each sound as well as examples of words where the sound appears: www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/phonemic-chart (British English)
Consonants that are similar in English and Swedish The following sounds are more or less identical in English and Swedish and do not call for a great deal of attention. You will also notice that the phonetic symbols used for them are the same as the letters in most cases (see p. 17 for a complete chart of all English consonants): Voiced: b, d, g, v, l, m, n, j, ŋ Voiceless: p, t, k, f, h, s, ʃ
Important spelling–sound differences English sounds do not always match the way words are spelt, and this also goes for some of the consonants above. These are the most import ant differences regarding spelling and consonant sounds:
32
4. Consonants • The letter b is mute (not pronounced) in words ending in –mb: climb comb bomb lamb dumb crumb (brödsmula) • The letter g is mute in words beginning or ending in –gn: gnaw (gnaga) gnome (troll) gnat (knott) foreign resign • The letter p is mute in words beginning with ps– and pn–: psychology pseudonym psalm pneumonia (lunginflammation) • The letter l is mute in the letter combinations –lk and –lm: walk chalk stalk folk calm palm Stockholm (also in some words spelt –lf, like half, calf) • The letter t is mute in some common words with –st–: Christmas christen (döpa) fasten whistle wrestle castle • The letter k is mute in words beginning with kn–: knock knife knee knowledge /nɒlɪdʒ ǁ nɑːlɪdʒ/ • The letters ph are pronounced /f/: phantom physics dolphin phrase
Four consonants that are somewhat different Even though the consonants mentioned at the beginning of this chapter are all fairly similar to Swedish, there are a few of them which deserve some attention.
/d/ as in dish and bend /t/ as in ten and wet These two sound roughly like Swedish /d/ and /t/, with one import ant difference. In Swedish, these consonants are usually produced by placing the tongue against or close to the upper teeth. In English this is normally avoided, and instead you should try to move the tongue 33
a handbook in English pronunciation slightly backwards towards the palate (gommen). Compare and pronounce these word pairs, trying to make this difference:
Swedish
English
tänt
tent
bett
bet
den
den (lya)
hand
hand
The –ed verb ending is pronounced differently depending on the sound before it. The pronunciation is: • /d/ after words ending in vowels and voiced consonants, except /d/: loved closed played borrowed • /t/ after words ending in voiceless consonants, except /t/: wished asked laughed kissed • /ɪd/ after words ending in /t/ and /d/: tasted wanted landed sounded
/ŋg/ as in finger and stronger This combination of two consonants, and where the spelling is –ng–, is unfamiliar to Swedes. This pronunciation occurs in the comparison of adjectives ending in /ŋ/, where Swedish only has the pronunciation /ŋ/ in similar cases (as in lång, längre, längst). Compare:
34
/ ŋ /
/ ŋg /
/ ŋg /
long
longer
longest
strong
stronger
strongest
young
younger
youngest
4. Consonants The pronunciation /ŋg/ also appears in some other frequent words: finger anger hungry single jungle triangle
/l/ as in apple and people This voiced consonant is often ‘dark’ in English, whereas in Swedish it is normally ‘clear’. A ‘dark’ /l/ means that the sound is pronounced at the back of the mouth with the tongue raised towards the palate (gommen), making a ‘thick’ sound. In Swedish the /l/ is typically made at the front of the mouth with a less raised tongue (even if some local accents in the north of Sweden also have the dark version). Compare the examples below and pay attention to the dark /l/ at the end of the English words: Swedish
English
äpple
apple
fil
feel
pol
pool
kål
call
In British English, the /l/ is sometimes clear, as in Swedish. For example, this occurs at the beginning of words, as in love and live. The different pronunciations of /l/ will be discussed further in the chapter about differences in British and American English.
Consonants that need special attention Let us now look more closely at some consonant sounds that do not occur in Swedish, and to which Swedish learners therefore must pay close attention. There are eight sounds in this group and we will exam ine them in detail, and in a few cases compare them with sounds more familiar to speakers of Swedish.
35
5. British and American English— some major differences The two major models of English pronunciation, British (RP) and American (GA), actually have the same sounds in most cases, but there are some important differences which we will look at here. However, RP and GA also differ a good deal in other aspects, such as intonation, tone, and pitch.
Vowels /ɑː/ – /æ/ One of the most noticeable vowel differences between RP and GA is between the British long open /ɑː/ and the shorter and more close American /æ/ in some common words:
dance
British
American
/dɑːns/
/dæns/
45
a handbook in English pronunciation There are a number of frequent words that follow the same pattern:1
after
castle
laugh
answer
chance
nasty
ask
fast
pass
bath
grass
path
can’t
half
rather
Note! This difference does not apply for all words that have the /ɑː/ sound in RP of course. In, for example, father, car, star, heart, part (and many others) the vowel would be the same in both accents (and this would always be the case in GA if there is an /r/ following). /əʊ/ – /oʊ/ In all cases where British English has the diphthong /əʊ/, as in know and boat, American English has a much more open vowel sound at the beginning:
British
American
toe
/təʊ/
/toʊ/
goat
/gəʊt/
/goʊt/
More examples of the same difference are no, note, so, vote, coat.
1 One unusual example of the opposite pattern is the word pasta, which in British English would be pronounced /pæstə/, but is normally /pɑːstə/ in American English.
46
5. British and American English—some major differences
/ɒ/ – /ɑː/, /ɔː/ In words where RP has a short /ɒ/, GA uses a longer and more open sound, /ɑː/ or /ɔː/ (in fact, the short British vowel does not exist in American English). Some common examples of this difference:
British
American
soft
/sɒft/
/sɑːft/
long
/lɒŋ/
/lɔː ŋ/
coffee
/kɒfɪ/
/kɔːfɪ/
bomb
/ bɒm/
/ bɑːm/
want
/wɒnt/
/wɑːnt/
Consonants British and American English have the same consonant sounds, but they are used slightly differently. Below we will examine some of the more important ones.
/r/ One of the most noticeable consonant differences between RP and GA is the use of the voiced /r/ sound. This is a feature that many learners will recognise when asked to exemplify American pronunciation. In American English, /r/ is pronounced in all positions, as in car, more, better, later. In British English, /r/ is only pronounced when it comes before a vowel sound, but in other cases it is mute (silent). The vowel sound may be in the same word (as in tree), or first in the following word (as in far away). So, the /r/ would be pronounced in these examples (because the sound after /r/ is a vowel): brick afraid crazy four o’clock a pair of shoes
47
a handbook in English pronunciation But not in these examples (because the sound after r is a consonant): cart park worth four books more food In the sentence below, GA would have five cases of /r/, whereas in RP /r/ would only be pronounced once (in three): There were three words on the paper.
/t/ Another consonant feature that many Swedish learners are able to identify as part of an American accent is a variant of the voiceless /t/ sound. In RP, this consonant is always voiceless (as in butter, letter, better). In GA, however, this sound is sometimes voiced, sounding more like a /d/, but also involves ‘flapping’ your tongue back in the mouth (which is why this sound is sometimes called a flap). So, in the three words exemplified above, GA would have a voiced sound. Some more examples of this are later, Saturday, sweeter, bottle, bitter. One result of the voiced /t/ is that word pairs like the ones below in fact would sound very similar in GA: writer—rider metal—medal center—sender
Note! The /t/ sound is only voiced when it occurs in an unstressed syllable or at the end of a word. For example, there would be a regular voiceless /t/ in the following words (because it appears in a stressed syllable or at the beginning of a word): mistake pretend between teacher tool
Note! The voiced American variant of /t/ is not normally marked in dictionaries (except in more specialised ones), and it usually has the phonetic symbol /t/.
48
5. British and American English—some major differences
/j/ American English normally lacks the /j/ sound in some words, whereas British English typically has /juː/ (especially after n, s and t):
British
American
news
/njuːz/
/nuːz/
tune
/tjuːn/
/tuːn/
Some more common words that follow the same pattern are student, due, Tuesday, new, assume, suit, tutor, nuclear.
/l/ In American English, this voiced sound is more or less dark in all positions. This means that the sound is pronounced at the back of the mouth with the tongue raised, making a ‘thick’ sound. Examples: love live apple people In British English, the /l/ is sometimes dark too, but mostly at the end of words (as in apple, people) or before a consonant (as in milk). At the beginning of words, as in love and live, there tends to be a clear /l/, much like the Swedish pronunciation of the sound.
49
11. Intonation Intonation describes how the voice rises and falls and how we use the pitch of our voice when speaking. It can also be described as the ‘music’ of spoken language. Intonation is probably the most elusive and difficult area of pronunciation, and in order to master intonation one needs to listen to a great amount of the language and try to repeat and imitate the most distinctive intonation patterns. English intonation differs somewhat from Swedish, and as a Swedish learner it is important to be aware of the most common differences. Intonation in Swedish typically has a lot of rising and falling, creating a ‘singing’ characteristic; this is something that people who do not know any Swedish will often notice. Someone once said that a Swede speaking English with Swedish intonation sounds a bit like ‘a stupid aunt talking to a young child’. True or not, it is plain that Swedish and English have rather different intonation patterns. In this section we will focus on the main characteristics of English intonation, particularly at the beginning and end of sentences and phrases. In addition, we will look at some cases where British and American intonation differ. It is worth noticing that for a native speaker of English, intonation may vary greatly depending on emotional state of mind (for example, if the speaker is happy, sad, annoyed, excited) and the speaker’s regional accent. However, there are still two main patterns of intonation in English which will be examined below: falling intonation and rising intonation.
73
a handbook in English pronunciation
Falling intonation Falling intonation means that the voice falls in pitch on the final stressed syllable of a sentences or phrase. This is the most common type of intonation in English. A falling intonation is typically used in: • Normal statements It was raining yesterday. Fiona likes playing football. Her brother works in a hospital. • Wh– questions
Where do you live? What time is it? Who did you talk to?
• Exclamations Oh no! That’s brilliant! Thank you!
Note! ‘Thank you’, when used as a routine phrase without expressing real gratitude, for example by a bus conductor checking tickets, usually has a rising tone: Thank you! • Commands Come here! Sit down! Stop it! 74
11. Intonation • Tag questions asking for confirmation (when the speaker already knows the answer, and expects the listener to agree) He’s very nice, isn’t he? They played really well, didn’t they? It’s very cold outside, isn’t it?
Rising intonation This describes how the voice rises on the final stressed syllable of a phrase or group of words. A rising intonation is very common in: • Yes/no questions
Do you play the guitar? Have you seen Jessica? Are the pupils in the classroom?
• Tag questions asking for information (when the speaker is uncertain and is asking a real question) You agree with me, don’t you? She’s at home, isn’t she? It’s not raining, is it? • Greetings Hello Good morning Goodbye
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A Handbook in English Pronunciation For Swedish Learners and Teachers Per Otterstedt It is becoming increasingly important for Swedish learners to master the English language, and the key to proficiency in spoken English is pronunciation. A HANDBOOK IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION provides an overview of the English sound system, and focuses on the areas of pronunciation where Swedish learners tend to have difficulties. Using an example-based approach, it covers all the essentials of spoken English, including word stress, sounds in context, and the principal differences between British and American pronunciation. The book has been designed with advanced learners, undergraduates, and trainee teachers in mind, and with its range of written and oral exercises has much to offer experienced schoolteachers. It is also ideal as a self-study aid, as it uses relatively few technical terms and does not require any prior knowledge of pronunciation and phonetics.
Per Otterstedt is a lecturer at Uppsala University’s Department of English. He has long experience of teaching English pronunciation and oral proficiency to Swedish learners and trainee teachers.
ISBN 978-91-40-69242-9
9 789140 692429