English sounds with examples of words for children. English letters and sounds. Correct pronunciation of vowels
Dear site visitors site! On this page you will find materials on the following topics: Early Development: English (manual). Early development: English (a manual for preschoolers). English transcription for children ( visual material for children). English: transcription for children (allowance). English sounds transcription for children (visual aid). Studying in English for children with transcription (a visual aid for preschoolers). Sounds in English transcription for children (a visual aid for preschoolers). How to explain transcription to a child (visual aid). English lessons in kindergarten(allowance). English sounds for children. How to teach a child English sounds. Early development: English. Early development: English. Explaining English sounds to children. English sounds for kids video. English sounds transcription for children. Table of English sounds for children. Sounds of English for children. Sounds of the English alphabet for children. Sounds of English letters for children. English sound cards for kids. Pronunciation of English sounds for children. Learning the sounds of the English language in a playful way. An interesting approach to teaching children the sounds of English.
Which comes first, reading or speaking?
How to teach a child English sounds
For some reason, very often, when English teachers decide to dedicate one or another stage of the lesson in a preschool institution to teaching children the phonetic structure of the English language (at an elementary level, of course), many of them consider it their duty to teach children the English alphabet. The knowledge that the child has mastered the English alphabet gives the teacher confidence that he has done a very important part of the work of teaching the basics of phonetics. But let's think about whether children really need the alphabet at a very early stage of learning. foreign language? Is it of paramount importance for children to learn the letters of the English alphabet and their corresponding sounds? My answer to this question is no.
Why? Yes, everything is very simple. To begin with, remember yourself in early childhood (as far as your memory will allow). What did you learn earlier, being in the mind of a two-three-four-five-year-old baby - letters or sounds? That's right, sounds (meaning mainly the sounds made by people). Go ahead. What kind of sounds did you learn in natural conditions during your development before your parents began to buy you alphabets in pictures? Were these only the sounds of the letters of the Russian alphabet? Not really. You unconsciously memorized ALL SOUNDS of the Russian language, and, of course, there are more of them than the sounds corresponding to the letters of the Russian alphabet. Russian has 33 letters and 42 sounds. Six vowels - [a], [i], [o], [y], [s], [e] and thirty-six consonants - [b], [b], [c], [v], [g ], [g], [d], [d], [g], [d], [s], [s], [k], [k], [l], [l], [m], [m], [n], [n], [n], [p], [p], [p], [s], [s], [t], [t], [f], [f ], [x], [xh], [c], [ch], [w], [u]. (Note that if Russian sounds often differ only in hardness-softness, and memorizing such paired sounds does not present any particular problems, then in English there are 23 sounds that are not even close in the English alphabet - [θ], [ð], [ʃ], [ʒ], [ɪə], [ʊə], [ɪ], [ə], [ʊ], [g], [ɔɪ], [ɜ:], [ɔ], [ŋ], [ r], [j], [h], , , [ɒ], [ɑ:], [ʌ], [æ].) As many as twenty-three (!) Sounds that you DO NOT TEACH children if you just teach them the alphabet !
Without a doubt, a child unconsciously learns to pronounce all the sounds of any language long before he learns about the existence of the alphabet, that is, letters (we will consider the cases of very early learning of the alphabet from the cradle as an exception). So, the child, before moving on to the study of the Russian alphabet, FIRST learns SOUNDS, not letters. Why is he doing this? He is learning to SPEAK! Therefore, it would be more logical to start teaching children to SPEAK in a foreign language from SOUNDS.
On issues related to the acquisition of cards of “men-sounds”, color book “Man-Svuki” and abstracts of English lessons for preschoolers Irina Murzinova, contact the author of the manuals and this site through the form
And why, then, you ask, are children generally taught the alphabet, the alphabet? Perhaps so that they can learn to READ in a foreign language? “Well, yes, when we teach children to speak, we introduce them to sounds, but when teaching children to read, we teach them letters, not sounds,” you say and you will not be entirely right. Remember the problem that often arises among your acquaintances and familiar acquaintances (“The child knows all the letters, but cannot read, cannot combine letters into words!”). This problem is precisely connected with an attempt to teach letters without sounds. How will the baby read the word "squirrel" knowing only the names of the letters? That's right - "be-e-el-ka-a".) You yourself teach him this, forcing him to remember how the letters are pronounced. And what needs to be done so that the baby correctly reads the word "squirrel"? Someone already guessed - read this word aloud to him and ask him to repeat it, looking at letter designation this word. You will teach him to read the word the way it “sounds”, hard [l] is noticeably different from the “alphabetic” version of this sound ([el]), soft [b '] is also a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT sound, not at all [be], even though they are similar. You will not remind your child about the letter “beee” (which actually contains a solid sound [b] that you do not need in this situation), if you do not want to confuse him and slow down the process of learning to read in his native language. In other words, reading also needs to be taught from sounds. Without sounds - nowhere. Why then do many (including authors teaching aids for preschoolers) believe that in order to teach a child to read in a foreign language, it is so necessary first of all to know the names and sequence of letters in the alphabet? My answer is that it's all about the stereotype that they follow: "Everyone has been doing this all their lives, and I will."
Indeed, at the later stages of teaching children a native or foreign language, the development of conversational skills will already be based on the ability to read, but do we really need the alphabet, the letters themselves, their names for this? As you can see, my answer is again no. Well, what's the use of a child to know that a letter is called a "double" if he cannot read it correctly in a word? The alphabet (the alphabet means the names of the letters in the language, arranged in a certain sequence), of course, can be learned, but the successful teaching of the child to read, knowledge of the names of the letters does not primarily affect, especially when teaching Russian-speaking children the English language (only when teaching reading consonants in a word, this knowledge is useful if their pronunciation is close to alphabetic). Watch a video from Youtube about how English-speaking children are taught to read in kindergarten and find where the names of the letters of the English alphabet are needed:
These kids may not know correct names letters of the English alphabet, but they will soon be able to read perfectly even without this “valuable” knowledge. They are still learning to read words, studying the correspondence of the sounds of the language and letters as signs in the word, and they can learn the names of the letters themselves later, even if they already know how to read perfectly. By the way, they can easily learn the names of the letters of the alphabet, already knowing how to read and knowing the letter-sound correspondences.
Thus, until children have learned to SPEAK English, there is no point in teaching them to READ in this language. So, at the very early stage of learning English, it makes no sense to study the English alphabet. True, when teaching children to read in English at school, nothing prevents the teacher from teaching children letters and sounds at the same time, because school program provides for the simultaneous mastery of the sound system and the letter system. But it's still a school...
In preschool institutions, teaching English, in my opinion, should be a simulation of the simplest situations of COMMUNICATION, allowing children to learn to SAY simple communicative phrases in English. Before moving on to learning to read, it is important that children in an abbreviated form go through the same stage of development. sound system the language they learned through intuitive learning mother tongue. We all understand that these simulated situations are “not real”, that half an hour of classes two or three times a week is very little for a child to be able to “speak” English as if it were their native language. But, understanding this, we also recognize that learning a foreign language is useful for training brain activity, that it will make it easier for a child to master not only a foreign language at school, but also other subjects, and, finally, it is simply INTERESTING. Perhaps knowledge of the language will be useful to the child in the future, but I would not advise parents of preschoolers to emphasize this pragmatic component, all practical skills that are useful for life develop most effectively, first of all, from interest in any activity, therefore, it is interest in the language and must be cultivated in the little man.
But we digress a little. What have we come to in our reasoning? Oh yes, in addition to the fact that you need to start introducing children to the English language with SOUNDS, and not letters, learning a foreign language should start with oral speech rather than reading. How to start teaching children the sounds of English?
As you know, the English language, based on the Latin alphabet, has 26 letters, which correspond to 44 sounds (not counting more three-element vowel combinations). We know that hallmark English is the availability a large number sounds that do not match the number of letters in the English alphabet. But this information is not interesting for children, so I strongly do not recommend starting learning sounds from it. What to do? This is where the funny little men Englishsound come to our aid. Englishsound is the surname of forty-four little men-sounds of the English language, and their names are the sounds of the English language themselves. Each little man has his own character, his own habits that make him (or her, since there are girls among the little men) unique. Children love to delve into the details, this feature can be used when teaching English sounds.
On issues related to the acquisition of cards of “men-sounds”, color book “Man-Svuki” and abstracts of English lessons for preschoolers Irina Murzinova, contact the author of the manuals and this site through the form
We created funny little people together with a talented Ukrainian artist Irina Kondrashova. I had an idea a long time ago (in one of Bonk's manuals there is a fairy tale about a tongue and seven diphthong gnomes, so I thought, why shouldn't all sounds, not only diphthongs, become funny little men), but it was not possible for me to realize it - where to get so much money to pay for the work of the artist to create 44 (!) Illustrations?. She wrote that she actively uses the idea with little men, but she has to invent and draw them herself, while they all turn out to be of the same type, similar to koloboks. That's when I made up my mind, I began to write letters to the websites of freelance artists, offering my price for 44 pictures with little men. They didn’t just ridicule me there, but they even answered quite angrily that nothing would work out for me, that for such “penny” (and for me with my “state” salary it was by no means “penny”) no one would draw anything for me . But I believed that I would find an artist who would be inspired by the very idea, and he, or rather, she, responded. Irina and I spent several months in correspondence - she sent me sketches, and I wrote her my opinion about them and what it is desirable to correct in the image. When the first little men were already ready, I realized that they definitely needed poems. Why are the poems in Russian? To create motivation, because to encourage children to learn the language in early age you have to spend many times more time and effort, and you won’t be able to motivate them in English (dreams to speak only in English and interest children in gestures and facial expressions against the background of “abracadabra” unfamiliar to children remain only dreams). However, it is not at all necessary to study poetry in the classroom, since time is really not enough. You can use English to describe pictures with little people-sounds and other work with them, and children can read poetry at home with their parents, while they will again and again return to your English lessons in memory, remembering those English sounds , words and structures that were heard in the lesson.
"So it was a promotional article?" You ask, and you might not be entirely right. It was an OPINION ARTICLE, and little people-sounds do not need advertising. :-) It's just that now you have learned about the existence of a set of didactic materials for teaching English to preschoolers "MAN-SOUNDS" and didactic cards "Man-sounds" (they can only be purchased from me as the author so far) and you can use these materials in your classes on English in educational institutions preschool education.
Candidate of Philological Sciences I. A. Murzinova
You can contact the author of this article, the website site and the set of didactic aids for preschoolers “Sounds People” to purchase “Sound People” cards and for other questions (see the top menu of the site).
On issues related to the acquisition of cards of “men-sounds”, color book “Man-Svuki” and abstracts of English lessons for preschoolers Irina Murzinova, contact the author of the manuals and this site through the form
English transcription marks denoting the sounds of the English language | Description of human sounds |
Consonants | |
1[f] | When the Englishsound people are having fun, this little man puts on a hedgehog mask and runs around, snorting [f]–[f]–[f]. |
2[v] | This sound is very diffuse. His name is Voldemar, but sometimes he even forgets his name. When asked what his name is, he tries to remember his name, while saying [v] - [v] - [v] and everyone thinks that this is his name. |
3[θ] | This little man has got himself a pet - a dragonfly, walks with her, and when it's time to go home, he calls her [θ] - [θ] - [θ] So he was nicknamed - [θ]. |
4 [ð] | This little man loves ... bees, for a holiday he always puts on a bee costume and buzzes like a bee - [ð] - [ð] - [ð] So he was nicknamed - [ð]. |
5[s] | This little man is very quiet, does not like noise when other little men play around, he walks quietly and quietly - [s] - [s] - [s]. |
6[z] | This little man is buzzing like a fly. |
7[ʃ] | This little man loves snakes, even hisses like them. |
8[ʒ] | This little man buzzes like a bumblebee. |
9[h] | This little man in winter often breathes on the window glass [h] - [h] - [h] and draws letters on it with his finger. He was nicknamed [h], his name is just a light exhalation. |
10[p] | This little man is called [p] because he puffs all the time [p]–[p]–[p], all the time he is dissatisfied with something. |
11[b] | This little man is freezing all the time - [b] - [b] - [b]. |
12[t] | This little man's name is [t], he likes to indulge in the morning (still in his pajamas), jump on the bed [t]–t]–[t]. |
13[d] | The name of this little man is [d], because he often plays with a toy car and says [d] - [d] - [d]. |
14[k] | This Englishsound often catches colds and coughs [k]–[k]–[k], which is how it was called – [k]. |
15[g] | This little man has a white dove, the little man coos[g]–[g]–[g] when talking to his pet. |
16 | This Englishsound is strict, tells everyone not to make noise, be quieter ––. |
17 | This man loves to play with toy airplanes. |
18[m] | This little man loves the sound [m], he even eats only food that starts with this sound and says with pleasure. |
19[n] | This little man loves to dance, often dances and sings [n] - [n] - [n] - [n]. |
20[ŋ] | This little man loves to have fun, but does not always like to make his bed in the morning. His mother asks him about it, and he: “nope”, [ ŋ ] - [ ŋ ]. |
22[r] | And this Englishsound likes to scare everyone. He dresses up as a tiger and roars – [ r ] – [ r ] – [ r ]. |
21[l] | A friend of the little man [r], dresses up as a lion and tries to roar like [r] too, but can't pronounce the sound [r], instead he gets [l]. |
23[w] | When Englishsound people are having fun, this one jumps and croaks like a frog [w]–[w]–[w]. |
24[j] | This man jumps like a monkey and makes friends with the monkeys. |
Vowels | |
25 | This little man loves to squeal merrily -–. |
26[ɪ] | This one often hiccups [ɪ] - [ɪ] - [ɪ], so they called him - [ɪ]. |
27[e] | This little man is a little mischievous and mocking, he laughs like this: [e] - [e] - [e]. |
28[æ] | Does this little man keep asking everyone [æ]? [æ]? (especially when he doesn't feel like doing what he was asked to do). |
29 [ɑ:] | This little man is inquisitive, asks a lot of questions, and when he gets an answer, he says [ɑ:]. |
30 [ɒ] | This little man constantly teases everyone [ɒ] - [ɒ] - [ɒ]. |
31 [ʌ] | This is the funniest English sound, he laughs like this: [ʌ] - [ʌ] - [ʌ]. |
32 [ʊ] | This little man is an athlete, loves to run, jump. |
33 | This little man often puts on a mask and depicts a wolf. |
34 [ə:] | This man is small, but he wants to appear big and strong, so he roars like a bear in the forest. |
35 [ə] | This little man often groans like an old man, [ə] - [ə] - [ə] - [ə]. |
36 [ɔ:] | This little man is often dissatisfied, it seems to him that everything around is bad, often groans [ɔ:] - [ɔ:] - [ɔ:]. |
Diphthongs and triphthongs | |
37 | This little man constantly comes up with new games and convenes other little men, so he was called -. |
38 | This Englishsound is afraid of everything. The door creaks or the dog barks, the man screams -–. |
39 | This man loves dogs (and puppies). |
40 [ɔɪ] | This man is ticklish. |
41 [ɜʊ] | This little man is surprised all the time, everything seems interesting to him: [ɜʊ] - [ɜʊ] - [ɜʊ]. |
42 [ɪə] | When Englishsound people are having fun, this one crawls under the table and shouts [ɪə]. |
43 [ɛə] | When Englishsound people are having fun, this one swings and shouts [ɛə]–[ɛə]–[ɛə]–[ɛə]. |
44 [ʊə] | This one loves to jump rope. |
When little men and [ə] play together, they shout in unison. | |
When little men and [ə] play together, they shout in unison. | |
[ɔɪə] | When the little men [ɔɪ] and [ə] play together, they shout [ɔɪə] in unison. |
Did you know that the English alphabet consists of 26 letters and 46 different sounds? The same letter can convey several sounds at the same time. Just don't panic! We will tell you how easy it is to remember English sounds without boring tables and cramming.
Usually in class English child maintains a separate dictionary, in which the pages are divided into three columns: "word", "transcription", "translation". New words are written there, which then need to be learned. And if everything is clear with the columns "word" and "translation", then with "transcription" there are often difficulties.
What is transcription? This is a kind of instruction on how to read the word. Usually it is written in square brackets. For example: . The characters that are inside square brackets are the sounds of the English language. One character = one sound. Only these characters are not always similar to the letters of the alphabet. . Let's look at the English sounds that are most difficult for a child and how to learn them:
We select associations
It's no secret that complex things are easier to remember by association. This rule works especially well for children.
ʊ
- short [y] - very similar to the icon "horseshoe"
æ
- wide [e] - open your mouth wide and say "e". We call this symbol "bug icon" 🐞
ŋ
- [n] - a funny sound that is similar to how the Baby Elephant spoke in the cartoon "38 Parrots" 🐘. You need to say "n", but a little "on the nose", like you have a runny nose. Try pinching your nose with your fingers, open your mouth and say "n". Happened?
ð
- interdental [z]
θ
- interdental [s]
To remember this pair of sounds, the child can be told a whole fairy tale: “There was a little bunny (our tongue). But he was very shy, so he sat in a mink (in his mouth) all the time. But one day he dared to stick the very tip of his nose out of the mink (we put the tip of the tongue between the teeth). At first he said softly [θ], and then loudly [ð].
s, d, n, t- [s], [d], [n], [t] - remember the Yeralash series about English pronunciation? “You need to talk like you have a hot potato in your mouth,” is the best explanation for the baby. When you make these sounds the tongue touches the hard palate and alveoli, a little further than in Russian.
r- [r] - the English "r" is not like ours. In Russian, the tongue seems to tremble in the mouth. In English, language "wraps up" tip back to the soft palate.
w- [y] / [v] - there is no such sound in Russian either. First, we stretch our lips, trying to say "y", but then the lips should, as it were, "spring" without closing and returning to a smile. Remember how you say "Wow!".
e- narrow [e] - similar to the Russian "e" without "th". When pronunciation, open your mouth quite a bit.
ə
- deaf [e] - a deaf, slightly "stifled" sound, very short and almost indistinguishable. When you say the word "m O loco", then you pronounce this sound in place of the first "o". The symbol is called funny– "seam".
ɜ
- middle [e] - reads like the letter ё in the word "ice".
j- [th] - very important not to be confused with the letter Jj ("jay")! In transcription, this symbol does not mean at all what the letter means.
To make things even easier, we have drawn the main characters of the English transcription with the appropriate sounds of the Russian language.
Tip site: tell your child that he can handle sounds brilliantly. Indeed, at this stage, the baby should feel relaxed and not be shy to experiment. Otherwise, the child will think it looks funny and will refuse to continue.
If lessons at home do not bring the desired results, come to us. Teachers of the site will always find an easy way to even the most difficult knowledge 📚 Trial lesson is free!
Learn more about what dash, colon, parentheses, and other symbols mean.
You can see another version of the English transcription and, if necessary, print or copy for editing in Microsoft Word
English transcription
Pronunciation of English sounds.
Pronunciation of English vowels.
The pronunciation of English sounds is represented by Russian letters, you should understand that it is not possible to convey the correct English pronunciation using the Russian alphabet.
- ɑː long, deep a
- ʌ short vowel a, as in the Russian word to run.
- ɒ = ɔ - short, open about
- ɔː - long o
- зː - long vowel ё, as in the Russian word hedgehog.
- æ - open e
- e - like e in the word these
- ə - unclear unstressed sound, similar to e
- iː - long and
- ɪ - short, open and
- ʊ \u003d u - short u, pronounced with a slight rounding of the lips.
- uː - long y pronounced without much rounding of the lips.
Two-vowel sounds
Pronunciation of English consonants.
- p - p
- b - b
- m - m
- f - f
- v - in
- s - with
- z - z
- t - resembles a Russian sound tpronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
- d - resembles a Russian sound dpronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
- n - resembles a Russian sound npronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
- l - resembles a Russian sound l, pronounced with the tongue positioned at the gums.
- r is a very hard sound pronounced without vibration of the tongue. Corresponds to the sound p in the word lot
- ʃ - soft Russian sh
- ʒ - soft Russian zh, as in the word yeast.
- tʃ- h
- ʤ - similar to the Russian sound j (voiced h)
- k - k
- h - breath, reminiscent of a weakly pronounced sound x
- ju - long yu in the word southern
- je - the sound e in the word spruce
- jɔ - sound ё in the word Christmas tree
- jʌ - sound i in the word pit
- j - resembles the Russian sound й before vowels. Occurs in combination with vowels.
English consonants that do not have approximate equivalents in Russianː
- w - formed with rounded lips (as in a whistle). It looks like a sound delivered with only lips. In translation, it is denoted by letters in or y ː W illiams - Williams, Williams.
- ƞ - Open your mouth and say n without closing your mouth.
- ɵ - Move the slightly flattened tip of the tongue between the teeth and pronounce Russian with
- ð - Push the slightly flattened tip of the tongue between the teeth and say Russian
It seemed like an impenetrable jungle with 26 dangerous predators hiding in the wilds. However, now you will probably easily name and arrange all the letters in the correct order, and even flash a few facts that are far from known to every philologist.
After reading this article, the topic of English transcription and pronunciation will be transferred from the room of fear to the room of laughter. Today's program:
Getting rid of the fear of reading and the study of graphic symbols
. acquaintance, memorization and memorization of diphthongs, vowels and consonants (classification of sounds), arranged in unique tables
. pause for downloading and printing English transcriptions in pictures
. a clear and concise explanation of the use of English sounds by comparing them with Russian relatives
. consolidation of the material covered with a 10-minute video about English transcription
Are you still afraid? Then we are coming to you!
Graphic symbols of transcription in English
Before you plunge into the pool English reading with your head, we strongly recommend that you heed the advice of experienced divers. Naturally, the child learns to sit first, and then to walk, and not vice versa - the same thing will happen to us: first learn to read the transcription, and then pronounce it (in the head or out loud). You should not get carried away only by reading, otherwise you risk digging into the jungle of theory and breaking away from practice.
First you need to learn and clarify all the questions regarding each transcription symbol. Then listen online as many examples as needed for a clear and precise idea of how this symbol sounds in live speech. Learn strictly from examples of sounds not taken out of context (like Rian's "uh-uh" in the hit "Umbrella"), but in a specific combination of letters found in words. Then, first listen to each new word and only then check what you catch with your ears with the alphabetic dictionary transcription enclosed in square brackets. By the way, about them and other essential companions of transcription:
Square brackets. They signal that inside is exactly transcription.
For example, English is a word, and ["ɪŋglɪʃ] is its transcription;
‘ - main emphasis. Placed BEFORE the stressed vowel: around [əˈraʊnd];
, - secondary accent. Placed BEFORE the vowel: ["hæmˌbɜːgə];
: - vowel length.
The proposed option will seem at first glance not the fastest, but the wise one will not go uphill - the wise one will bypass the mountain. As a result, the time spent is converted into the comfort of speech perception: you no longer need to painfully strain your ears, trying to recognize unfamiliar sounds. And soon unfamiliar "squiggles" will acquire a meaningful sound. Isn't it magical? This is the secret of not only the correct pronunciation, but also the ease of listening to speech.
Foundation of English transcription
Since “it’s great that we are all here today” about the study of transcription, let's get to know it better. There are two types of transcription: phonetic and phonemic. You are mistaken if you think that you have taught/will learn phonetic transcription to a more familiar ear. She, as a rule, is of interest to serious uncles and aunts of linguists, our choice is the study of phonemes (sound language units). Simply put, if two sounds are very similar, but the difference between them can change the meaning of the word, then they form two different phonemes. In Russian, this is not so noticeable, because if you call a cat at least “cat”, even “koooooot”, he will still come, but the meaning of the word will not change. One phoneme for two different sounds. In English, the number will not work: "cot", "caught" and "coat" contain different phonemes. Why so many "smart letters"? In addition to the fact that dictionaries contain phonemic transcriptions, remember this and do not let yourself be confused:
Pope(dad, papal):
1) is a phonetic transcription, it is emphasized here that the first [p], unlike the second, is pronounced with aspiration (aspiration after consonants sounds p,t,k before vowels)
2) is a dictionary (phonemic) transcription.
What else do you need to know about transcription? That there is a different syllable in it:
- open(there is no consonant after the vowel) - New
- closed(after the vowel there is a consonant) - York
- vowel: single - [e], diphthong - [ɔʊ], triphthong - [ɑiə]
- consonant:[d]
English vowel sounds (with online pronunciation)
There are fewer vowels in English than consonants, but more than diphthongs. This picture clearly shows the difference, for example, between the sounds [I] and. Anyone who has even heard of the existence of the imagination will distinguish between the words "fish" and "tree", which, like rebuses, contain the sounds mentioned. You can reread the rules as much as you like, or you can study the transcription in pictures in detail once, which visualizes examples of the use of sounds. For memory training, you can download and even print a picture, this option is provided. For audials, it is possible to hear every sound online in a word after clicking on the speaker icon.
English consonants
Consonant sounds in English are not twin brothers in Russian at all. The articulation of their creation is seriously different. However, we are here not to intimidate with smart words, but rather to make life easier for beginners in English, so we painted the voiced consonants in purple, and the deaf ones in blue. When forming the same plural of nouns, it is very important to feel and know the difference. 24 new words serve as a bonus to the learned sounds. We train visual memory and save English transcription in pictures for re-use when needed! Audials still click on the speaker icon under each letter to pronounce sounds in online transcription.
Diphthongs (double vowels) of English
And it would be scary from the presence of 8 diphthongs in English, if not for the wonderful pictures, thanks to which the study turns into an entertaining charade. It is enough to look at the picture, hold your eyes, voice the diphthong by pressing the speaker icon under the letter and practice correct pronunciation. Anyone who appreciates the creative approach to business is allowed to download a picture for a long memory!
From theory to practice
Some time will pass, the dictionary will be covered with a thick layer of dust or removed from bookmarks (in electronic version), because the translation of the necessary words is known, the sound is familiar - what other America can you discover there? Do not believe it, it is precisely the clarification of the transcription of what seems to you well-known words that is the very unplowed field that is worth crossing in order to improve the sound of speech.
Let's give an everyday example: the frequently used word "real" has a phonemic transcription a), b) or c)?
The first option is fictional and erroneous, the second and third are British and American pronunciations. What is the moral of this fable?
So that you are not painfully ashamed of your reading, we recommend that you at least briefly familiarize yourself with these tables as follows:
- read the line from left to right;
- listen to the perfect pronunciation of the sound;
- we take a mirror in our hand and train hard (you will surely like to train [æ] or [ð]).
Table of English sounds similar to Russian
These sounds in English transcription do not have to be explained on the fingers.
Sound | Example | Explanations |
---|---|---|
[ɑː] | car, far, garage | Sounds like a long "ahh". Remember the cartoon about Mowgli, where was the wise Kaa? |
[ʌ] | up, but, love | Short sonorous "a". Something similar in Russian "ai". |
[ɔː] | more, board, floor | Sounds like a long "oo". Imagine surprise. |
[b] | book, board, tab | Russian energetic "b". When you are walking down the hallway in the dark and suddenly you stumble |
[g] | green, grace, agree | Russian "g", but not as energetic. |
[f] | forest, atmosphere, enough | Very energetic Russian "f". |
[k] | kill, cord, school | Russian "k". Before a stressed vowel, it is pronounced aspirated (if you put your hand in front of your lips and say "keel", then your palm should feel your fresh breath) |
[m] | mother, lamb | Russian "m". |
[n] | nine, note, intrusion | Russian "n". |
[p] | pub, gallop, open | Russian energetic "p". Before a stressed vowel - with aspiration. |
[v] | vest, vocal, give | Russian "in". |
Now let's look at some tricky examples in practice:
subtle - hardly distinguishable
"Sutl" and only like that, no "subtle" with a drum "b" in the middle.
palm -
palm
Naturally, everyone wants to be under a palm tree, but here it does not smell like it. Not “palm”, not “by:lm”, but “pa:m”, as in “car” and “path”. In company with a palm turn out to be calm- "calm" and balm- "balm".
halt - stop
Drive away the analogy with the German "halt" - the correct pronunciation is "ho: lt".
won - won, won in the past from "win"
Wonderful if you pronounce "won" like "one" - .
of - preposition of belonging
Only a botanist would think of checking the sound of a two-letter word? Oh well. "Of" and no nails? Remember: "Of" is pronounced with "v" at the end. Full form- [ɔv], reduced - [əv]. Always.
Table of English sounds that have something in common with Russian
These sounds cause the greatest temptation and at the same time danger: the relative similarity with the usual pronunciation in Russian threatens with an absolutely wrong sound. Pay enough attention and understand the differences well.
Sound | Example | Explanations |
---|---|---|
[i] | fit, bit, symbol | The middle between "s" and "i". Pronounced very briefly, as at the end of "apchi". |
cheese, tree, sea | What photographers ask us to say on camera. As in the Russian word "syyyr", but with a touching smile. | |
[ɒ] | hot body rock | Average between "o" and "a". That is, by no means the Vologda “o”. |
[u] | cook, foot, woman | It looks like a Russian short "u", but it is easier to pronounce and the lips are slightly stretched. It turns out like "y" with a half smile. No pouty lips. |
true fool shoes | Like the previous sound, but longer. | |
[e] | get, bed, head | Intelligent "e". As in the Russian word "tin". |
[ə] | about, until, alias | Average between unstressed "e" and "a". |
[l] | let, laughter, illegal | Softened Russian "l". Something between the sound of the word "la" and "la". |
[s] | stress, sunday, citizen | Muted Russian "s". He never whistles. Remember the song "Girl" by the Beatles? Now, if their famous inhalation “sssss” is pronounced with an exhalation and briefly, then you get beautiful English [s]. |
[z] | zero, cosmonaut, xenon | Everything is the same as about the sound [s], only loudly. |
[t] | tree, trunk, receipt | Looks like Russian "t". But the tip of the tongue should not be put to the teeth, but to the tubercle behind the upper teeth. |
[d] | drink, ad, diligent | Similarly: like the Russian "d", only the tip of the tongue rests on the tubercle immediately behind the upper teeth. |
[ʃ] | ship, action, special | Between the Russian "sh" and "sh". Does not whistle, because the tongue does not rest with force on the teeth, but gently touches them. |
[ʒ] | pleasure, visual, garage | Softened Russian "zh". Doesn't ring or whistle. |
jump, jungle, logic | We connect English [d] with [ ʒ ] and get a soft "j". | |
inch, chance, catch | We connect English [t] with [ ʃ ] and get something similar to the Russian "h". As in the word "kitsch". | |
[j] | yes, yet, you | Average between "y" and "i". |
[ɪə] | hear, fear, beer | It looks like the Russian "ie" with an accent on "i". |
air, hair, care | Russian "ea" with an accent on "e". | |
make, tray, ace | Russian "ei" with an accent on "e". "I" is pronounced very short. | |
hi, sky, bye | Russian "ai" with an accent on "a". "I" is pronounced very short. | |
[ɔɪ] | boy, joy, coin | Russian "oi" with an accent on "a". "I" is pronounced very short. |
how, cow, hour, our | Russian "au" with an accent on "a". "U" is pronounced very short. | |
fire, wire | Russian "aye" with a strong accent on the first "a". Pronounced quickly and fluently. | |
our flower | Russian "aua" with a strong accent on the first "a". Pronounced quickly and fluently. |
were - were
"Were" is not the same as "where" - . Instead of a diphthong, we use a neutral vowel - , an abbreviated form -.
debt - debt and doubt - doubt
Fans of the group "No doubt" had more than a dozen years left to clarify how the name of their favorite group sounds right. "Debt" and "daubt" are not so easy to pronounce. In English, there is no such Russian-speaking phenomenon as stunning or voicing a consonant, but throw away their words for a sweet soul: it is pronounced and.
good - good, book - book and look - look
The double "o" does not become a long "y" in these words. Therefore, you should not copy the howl of wolves to the moon - speak correctly with a short vowel -,,.
Table of English sounds that have nothing to do with Russian
Practice well in pronouncing these sounds online, at least your speech apparatus should get used to playing them correctly.
Sound | Example | Explanations |
---|---|---|
[ɜː] | earn, her, first | If the Russian "o" wanted to become "ё", it would sound exactly like that. Something like the sound when children tease by sticking out their tongue. But you need to achieve this sound without protruding anything anywhere. To do this, silently prepare your mouth to pronounce "yo", and say "oo" out loud. |
[əu] | go, joke, own | Between the Russian "ou" and "yo" (without "y") with an emphasis on the first sound. "U" is pronounced very short. |
[æ] | cat, apple, compact | It is very important not to confuse this sound with [e], otherwise instead of “bad” (bad) you get “bed” (bed). You need to stretch your lips wide, lower lower jaw and say "e" from the heart. |
[h] | hot, head, uphill | Every Russian man knows how to pronounce this sound. When they ask you to “come on, breathe,” then all the men begin to speak English, because they pronounce [h] exactly as they should: a slight exhalation, vaguely resembling an “x”. |
[r] | red, random, orange | Russian bears are fluent in English [r]. Try to growl, bending your tongue up. |
[w] | well, what, windows | Fold your lips into a tube and stretch sharply. And now the same thing, but with sound. |
[ŋ] | strong, sing, sink | Children are scolded for talking with their mouths full. But if you listen to the sounds made, then there many consonants sound exactly like [ŋ] . Open your mouth and, without closing it, say "n". |
[θ] | thanks, ethical | Stick your tongue between your teeth and say "s". |
[ð] | they, there, others | Stick your tongue between your teeth and say "h". Best Workout is to say the expression "Is this" 100 times. Never later confuse "z" with [ð]. |
folk - people, folk
The letter "l" has become a victim and is not pronounced at all -.
comb - comb
No "comb" - only "koum". The English "m" and "b" are quite insidious guys who will mess things up more than once. Be alert!
won't - will not - short for "will not"
Were tormented by the question of how the cunning English distinguish between "want" and "won't" in oral speech? It’s just worth pronouncing the negation in the future tense correctly -. That's all the magic.
salmon - salmon
Not "Salmon" and certainly not "Solomon". Salmon is on your mind - as in "cat" and "apple".
Bonus for the most patient
The human brain is the eighth wonder of the world, the deep possibilities of which we can only guess so far. Something important for us now is known for sure: the brain has speech center. There is no special center responsible for reading, but there is for speech. That is why we strongly recommend repeating the words out loud for the hundredth time. It is out loud, and not to yourself, because in this case, muscle memory is also connected. Naturally, words can "live and sound" in your head. The main thing is not to get stuck and stop at the stage of deciphering the transcription symbols, choosing the necessary rule for each sound. In this case, only the speed of a snail is ensured.
If the language is still alive after previous exercises, then we bring to your attention a video that is better to see once than to hear about it 100 times. All phonetic transcription of English in 10 minutes. Clear, concise and very clear.