45 Sounds Pronunciation Studio1

the 45 sounds
of GB English
19 Vowel Sounds
26 Consonant Sounds
Schwa
3 Tones
1. Introduction
2. 19 Vowel Sounds
3. Vowel Diagrams
4. 26 Consonant Sounds
5. Consonant Diagrams
6. The Schwa
7. Intonation
8. What Next?
Introduction
This ebook is an introduction to GB English pronunciation. It contains
the 45 sounds of English (19 vowels and 26 consonants) with their IPA
symbols. Also included is a focus on the most common sound in
English - the Schwa, and finally three English intonation patterns.
Every activity contains audio - if you read this pdf with Adobe reader,
the audio is embedded, if not, you can listen to/download the audio on
the 45 sounds audio page of the website.
The materials in this ebook are taken from Pronunciation Studios
course book The Sound of English, the full version contains 140 pages
and is available as a book, ebook and iBook - view here.
Information on taught courses in London and online are available on
the Pronunciation Studio website, along with lots of useful articles and
materials to help improve your pronunciation skills.
19 Vowel Sounds
Front Single Vowels (tongue towards front of mouth)
1
ee, ea
need beat team
thin sit rich
e, ea, ie
went bread friend
cat, hand, fan
Centre Single Vowels (tongue relatively flat)

5
a, e, o, u
alive the today supply
ir, ur, wor
third turn worse
u, o
fun love money
a, al, ar
glass half car
Back Single Vowels (tongue pulled back)

9
ew, oo, o_e
few boot lose
10
u, oo, ou
put look should
11
al, aw, or, our, oor
talk law port
12
o, a
rob top watch
Double (Diphthong) Vowels (2 positions)

13
ay, ea, ae, ai
pay great maid
14
oi, oy
noise toy choice
15
ie, i_e, i, y
fine like might
16
o, o_e, oa
no stone road
17
ou, ow
round how brown
18
eer, ear
beer hear steer
19
are, ere, ea, ai
care there bear
The audio for this Ebook is available online www.pronunciationstudio.com/45-sounds-audio/

www.pronunciationstudio.com
Vowel Sound Diagrams
A vowel sound is made by shaping air as it leaves the mouth.

We use the articulators to shape the air - lips, jaw, tongue.
GB English uses 12 positions of the mouth.
Monophthongs (1-12) are single positions, Diphthongs (13-19) are 2 positions.
Chart
45IPA
Sounds
Chart
45 Sounds Chart
1
i
#
u
alive
10
p b
pin
27
11
22
23
time
29
16
24
38
vest
30
18
39
40
m n
mood
now
bang
those
girl
32
i41
33
h
34
shirt pleasure
j r
w
e

yellow
voiceless
voiced
football
zoo
42
wall
care
26
cash
sight
fine
19
beer
25
31
round
dMouth
k Positions
g
door
think
noise
no
rob
15
17
glass
12
e
# a
# e#
pay
f v s z
full
14
13
cat
talk
bag
28
fun
put
21
went
third
few
20
thin
need
5
43
room
u
44
l
law
35
high
45
pill
36
37
t d
chose
joy
26 Consonant Sounds
20
pin cap
21
bag rob
22
time late
23
door feed
24
cash sock
25
girl flag
26
football
27
full knife
28
vest cave
29
think earth
30
those bathe
31
sight kiss
32
zoo nose
33
shirt crash
34
pleasure
35
high
36
chose catch
37
joy stage
38
mood calm
39
now turn
40
bang
41
wall
42
yellow
43
room
44
law
45
pill
PLOSIVE
a full block of air followed by a
sudden release.
FRICATIVE
a constant squeeze of air.
AFFRICATE
plosive + fricative.
NASAL
air released through the nose.
APPROXIMANT
partial block of air - vowel-like.
Consonant Sound Diagrams

45 Sounds Chart
45
Sounds
Chart
by blocking the
air as it leaves the mouth.
A consonant sound is made
1
types of consonant sound block the air in different ways (see pg 3).
Different
15
14
2
3
4
13
We use the tongue, lips, teeth, mouth and throat to block air.
noise
pay
fine
wentvoice (voiced),
cat
thin
Some sounds
use the
others only
air (voiceless).
need
i
#
u
alive
10
21
11
12
23
round
no
19
18
care
beer
rob
24
26
25
p b t d k g
bag
time
29
door
w j
39
think
40
m n
mood
now
bang
those
32
sight
wall
h
34
35
shirt pleasure
zoo
42
41
voiceless
voiced
football
43
38
vest
31
girl
f v s z
full
30
cash
33
28
17
glass
talk
22
e
# a
# e#
IPA Chart
16
fun
put
pin
27
third
few
20
44
room
yellow
law
high
45
36
37
t d
chose
joy
pill
Mouth Positions
12 3
45
Position
Sounds
1 Lips (bilabial)
2 Lip + Teeth (labiodental)
3 Tongue (dental)
4 Tongue (alveolar)
5 Tongue (post alveolar)
6 Tongue (palatal)
7 Tongue (velar)
8 Throat (glottal)
p b m w
fv

t d l n r s z
t d
j
k g w
h

The Schwa
- The underlined sound in each word below is the schwa //, listen:
sailor manner cactus around
The Schwa // is the most common vowel sound in English (about 1 in 3).
It can appear as any vowel in written English (A,E,I,O,U).
It is pronounced with a neutral, relaxed position of the mouth.
Schwa is never stressed, it only appears on weak syllable.
- There are 25 schwa sounds in the following paragraph - practise reading it aloud:
Id like t go shopping fr pair f shoes,

bt th shops closed becse ths weathr
lert. parrntly lots f snow is coming in
frm th Highlnds so th govrnmnt hv
dvised peopl t stay t home.
Intonation
- The word yes is said in three different ways, listen:
yes
Intonation shows the speakers attitude to their words.

English uses three intonation patterns: fall \ fall-rise \/ rise /.
Every phrase (speech unit) contains a main stress (tonic syllable).
- Practise the sentences with the tone indicated, the main stress is in bold:
1. I havent seen you for ages!

2. Why cant you come?
3. They were so noisy, werent they?
4. Why cant you come?
5. Will there be anyone I know there?
6. Id certainly like you to.
7. Shes a good teacher.
What Next?
Courses
Pronunciation Studio provide tuition in English pronunciation in
Central London and online. We run a specialist program for advanced
learners of English called Accent Reduction.
The best place to start is with a free group taster class, or an individual
assessment to see how well you can produce the sounds of English.
For full details and the next start dates, visit the website.
Course Book
Pronunciation Studios course book The Sound of English is a
comprehensive course in English pronunciation, connected speech and
intonation.
It is available as a book with CDs, a pdf with mp3s, and as a fully
interactive iBook for Apple devices - view all the formats here.
Follow us
Our fortnightly newsletter always has the latest articles from the blog,
pronunciation activities, and a competition to win course vouchers. Sign
up here - you can unsubscribe at any time.
For the latest news and IPA activities, follow us on Facebook, and on
Twitter @45sounds.

Speak Soon

45 Sounds Pronunciation Studio1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

45 Sounds Pronunciation Studio1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

45 Sounds Pronunciation Studio1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

the 45 sounds

need beat team

thin sit rich

went bread friend

cat, hand, fan

Centre Single Vowels (tongue relatively flat)

alive the today supply

ir, ur, wor

third turn worse

fun love money

glass half car

Back Single Vowels (tongue pulled back)

ew, oo, o_e

few boot lose

put look should

al, aw, or, our, oor

talk law port

rob top watch

Double (Diphthong) Vowels (2 positions)

ay, ea, ae, ai

pay great maid

noise toy choice

fine like might

round how brown

beer hear steer

are, ere, ea, ai

care there bear

The audio for this Ebook is available online www.pronunciationstudio.com/45-sounds-audio/

Vowel Sound Diagrams

A vowel sound is made by shaping air as it leaves the mouth.

Consonant Sound Diagrams

sailor manner cactus around

Id like t go shopping fr pair f shoes,

- The word yes is said in three different ways, listen:

Intonation shows the speakers attitude to their words.

1. I havent seen you for ages!

You might also like